demimancy's reviews
1800 reviews

The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley

“Be Persephone. Always negotiate.” 

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Reading this novel was like being served an omelette of my own id. It’s Beauty and the Beast & Jane Eyre & Hadestown & Beasts of the Southern Wild and home, home, home. 

Amazing Octopus: Creature from an unknown world by Michael Stavaric

adventurous funny informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

Great kid-friendly book on octopuses with an excellent sense of humor. Enjoyable for adults, too :) 

A Knitter's Year: 30 modern knits for every season by Ida Wirak Trettevik

These knits are great! I love the layout of the patterns--thanks for prioritizing a pattern on a single page--and I know I'll cast on a few of these in the coming weeks for holiday gifts. A gorgeous knitting book!

Charming Colorwork Socks: 25 Delightful Knitting Patterns for Colorful, Comfy Footwear by Charlotte Stone

Charming is the word! Each one of these colorwork patterns is written clearly as well as charted, and the wide variation of design themes and color combinations means this book will be a staple of my knitting for a long while to come!

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

adventurous hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Whether Violent or Natural by Natasha Calder

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Fishermen's Knits from the Coast of Norway by Margareth Sandvik, Line Iversen

informative

Loved the combination of history and instruction giving the inspiration and meaning for these hardy knits. Beautiful patterns modernize historical garments, and while the patterns are written fairly minimally, they are easy to read. Looking forward to finally making my plain v-neck vest, a pattern for which I've been looking for months!

Black Folk Could Fly: Selected Writings by Randall Kenan by Randall Kenan

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

Conscious Crafts: Knitting: 20 mindful makes to reconnect head, hearthands by Sicgmone Kludje, Vanessa Koranteng

inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

5.0

Yes!!! Support knitters of color and add some beautiful, simple, easily explained patterns to your repertoire. What I love about this knitting instruction book is the combination of diagrams and photographs, as well as clear, concise explanations of some of the trickier knitting concepts. I've been seriously knitting for four years now, and I still find that tension, gauge, and blocking--not to mention seaming and joining new yarn--are difficult to understand or explain to others! Not so here in Conscious Crafts. Knitting IS relaxing, which means it should be as accessible as possible. 

Also, a minor, but beautiful note: the yarn used in the photographs isn't perfect. The visual evidence of handmade work even in gauge swatches is SO encouraging and inspiring! Knits don't look Insta-perfect as soon as you make them unless you're really skilled, so seeing small discrepancies stitch to stitch is like seeing a non-airbrushed body in a swimwear ad. Thank you, Vanessa and Sicgmone!