Class one

Well, *that* was different. In a good way.

Most beginning pottery classes go through making pinch pots, coil pots, and slab pots. In our first class at FW Clay, we started forming clay for rollers and stamps and prepping clay for kurinuki. I've tried kurinuki before, with some success. I'm eager to learn how to do better (especially not carve so deep there is a hole in the bottom.)

Yes, that pot is a bit wonky

The price of the class includes 25 pounds of clay and our choice of a book on hand-building. I chose Pinch Your Pot: The Art and Craft of Making Pinch Pots, by Jacqui Atkin. I have learned something new about pinching pots just by glancing through the early pages. My SO chose a different book, Hand Built: A Potter's Guide, by Melissa Weiss. We can share.

I'm stoked.

There's a new pottery place in town

Yesterday my SO and I went to the "grand opening" of Fort Wayne Clay. Nicole Capriglione is the proprieter. Since it wasn't busy (yet), she gave us a tour (during which I picked out over $90 worth of merchandise). I wish we could have stayed longer, as they were doing raku firing in the parking lot, but I had committed to being elsewhere. I am signing up for the hand-building class, though, to improve my technique.

The shop is still getting started - awaiting a big, beautiful new kiln - but I'm going to start taking my pieces there to fire. The maker space just doesn't get to my stuff in a timely manner. Besides the kilns not working well, I think production potters are filling them up with their mugs and sellable objects, leaving my measly two or three pieces alone on the shelf, neglected. Like my money doesn't matter.

So, what did I buy? Some tools...

...and a book.

I want this place to succeed, so my pottery dollars will be going here as much as possible. Nicole is *so* excited and personable and I think I will learn a lot from her and her assistants.

So many books, so little time

I joined a group on FB called Read26FW, where the challenge is to read 26 books during 2015. This group is for Fort Wayne, but anyone can join, and other cities have their own version of this project. Group members post progress, sometimes with a short review. While I am not interested in most of the books, I have bumped into some new authors to try plus reminders of books I've meant to read but have forgotten about.

As knitting ramped up for xmas and the winter, my reading has fallen off, but so far I am more than on target for 26. (Some were started in 2014, but whatever.)

The Burning Room, by Michael Connelly. I like murder mysteries and I'm a Michael Connelly fan, so was thrilled when this latest Harry Bosch novel "The Burning Room" became available on my library holds list. I cruised right through it. His writing is clear and concise, the characters "true", and he touches on topics like the difference between justice and revenge. If you like crime fiction, this is one for you.

Nora Webster, by Colm Toibin. This is the first book I have read by this "critically acclaimed author", and probably the last, too. Not much happens - it's more of a character study. And even though the blurb on the back says this male novelist writes convincingly about women, I thought he never really broke past the surface. It takes place in Ireland around 1970, and I missed a lot of the references to Irish politics, etc., so maybe I missed other things as well.

Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?, by Roz Chast. This is a combination of cartoons and text about aging parents, some of which I have seen in the NYer. Chast is brutally honest about the challenges her parents face and the ones she faced caring for them, especially her "bad daughter" feelings. Well worth the hour or two it will take to read.

Tracks, by Robyn Davidson. After seeing the movie, I was intrigued and wanted to know more, so picked up the book. Although the movie and the book share an outline of events, the slant and message are quite different. Of course, I liked the book much better. I added another of her works, Desert Spaces, to my list. She is working on a memoir as well.

You Disappear, by Christian Jungersen. I think I actually finished this in 2014, but don't think I have mentioned it before. It's a Danish novel about a woman whose husband suffers a brain injury. There is quite a bit of information about brain injuries and personality in the book, but it is presented almost like sidebars. Besides an entertaining read, there is a lot of food for thought.

Does your hometown have a "Read 26" group or program? If not, start one!

Summer to autumn reading

I like to listen to books on CD while I knit. At my older brother's urging, I recently selected Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. I thought The Passage of Power was long - AH has it beat by two disks. But I did it. I listened to the whole thing, although I had to renew it twice. Fortunately, it was very interesting and educational. I didn't realize just how critical Hamilton's role was in the establishment and preservation of a federal government, as well as the economic framework that is basically still in place today. Aaron Burr was the prototype for the modern day politician (and an asshole). John Adams was a nut case. It's amazing that the nation survived its fragile beginning, and yet many of our modern day issues have their roots in the post-revolutionary period. When it comes to politics, some things never change.

Other recent reads:

• Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King. Not one of his better novels. The first of a trilogy - don't think I'll read the others.
• Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail, by Louise Shivers. I'd never heard of this author until she passed away this past summer. The story in this novella rings true.
• The Divorce Papers, by Susan Rieger. Told indirectly through correspondence, emails, memos, legal briefs, etc. Very effective. Quotes Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing.
• The Real Thing, by Tom Stoppard. It's a play, so a lot is lost in the reading of it. One of my frustrations from living in the hinterlands is limited access to live performances of plays.
• Starting Over, short stories by Elizabeth Spencer who is 93. She's still got it.
• New Life, No Instructions, by Gail Caldwell. Not what I expected and a bit disappointing.
• Dept of Speculation, by Jenny Offill (pronounced "awful"?). I think I would like to try being an art monster.
• Breakfast at Tiffany's, by Truman Capote. Too bad Tru spent more time resting on his laurels than writing.
• Tell the Wolves I'm Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt. My daughter liked this one, but I didn't despite the provocative title. In fact, I abandoned it after a couple of chapters.
• No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy (on CD). Did not see the movie, but liked listening to the book.
• All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy (on CD). Read by Brad Pitt, the economy of language is stunning, makes Hemingway sound verbose. I didn't realize this is the first book in a trilogy, will have to read the others.
• Mathilda, by Roald Dahl (on CD). A little disconcerting - I can see why some parents object to this book - but fun.
• Tibetan Peach Pie, by Tom Robbins (on CD). He is so full of himself I didn't make it to the end
• After I'm Gone, Laura Lippman. Classic Lippman.
• Mr. Tall, short stories by Tony Earley. I particularly liked "Jack the Giant Killer".
• Daring: My Passages, by Gail Sheehy. Having lived through the same time period (but while leading a much less exciting life), I enjoyed this survey of recent history. And yes, Sheehy was *very* daring.
• The Third Plate, by Dan Barber. I'm enjoying it, but not making much headway due to Nook issues.
• Misdiagnosed, by Jody Berger. This one will cause you to run screaming from any kind of health care professional, conventional or otherwise.
• Silences, or a Woman's Life, by Marie Chaix. A bit confusing, and just as scary as Misdiagnosed. Don't get sick, don't get old.
• Top Secret 21, by Janet Evanovich. One of the better Stephanie Plum novels.
• Not My Father's Son, by Alan Cumming. I don't usually read celebrity authors, but I'm a fan of "The Good Wife" so I gave this a try. 
• Stone Mattress, short stories by Margaret Atwood. Loved some of the stories, hated others.
• One Simple Change, by Winnie Abramson. I already do almost all these things, and contrary to the subtitle, my life is not transformed.
• Slow Dancing with a Stranger, by Meryl Comer. I heard one or two interviews with the author and was intrigued, but the book was a bit disappointing. Maybe I've read too many books on Alzheimers.
• Rooms, by Lauren Oliver. When I realized this was about ghosts, I almost quit it, but the story is so well crafted, it sucked me in after two chapters.
• Sex Is Forbidden, by Tim Parks. I really, really, really enjoyed this book. Most Buddhist nonfiction is a snooze fest, but Buddhist fiction tells it like it is. This is no exception. And such a provocative title!
• If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name, by Heather Lende. Should be titled, If You Died Here.... Lende writes obituaries for the local paper in her tiny Alaskan village, so the main topic is death. BUT! This collection of essays is very entertaining and uplifting if a bit christiany.

Wow. I've been reading a lot, which is a good thing and one of my goals in retirement. And I read more fiction than I used to. Initially, I had a little bit of trouble giving myself permission to read more - shouldn't I be *doing* something? - but reading *is* doing something.

What are you reading these days?