Book Review: Treasure Island

Title: Treasure Island
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson; Forward by Avi
Source/Format: Purchased ; Paperback
Publisher/ Release date: Aladdin; Feb 1, 2000 (First Published 1879)
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Synopsis from Goodreads:
Climb aboard for the swashbuckling adventure of a lifetime. Treasure Island has enthralled (and caused slight seasickness) for decades. The names Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins are destined to remain pieces of folklore for as long as children want to read Robert Louis Stevenson's most famous book. With it's dastardly plot and motley crew of rogues and villains, it seems unlikely that children will ever say no to this timeless classic.

What I Thought:

This review is going to be on the shorter side. A long time ago, when I was younger, I tried to read Treasure Island but stopped around page 124 or 125. I decided to give it another go recently. Starting over from the beginning I found that it is an exciting adventure story. The first half of the book bored me. But, I still somewhat enjoyed it. This is because the first few chapters served as an in-depth introduction to the main characters and the relationships they had with each other. Otherwise, it seemed to drag on. It was better once the characters set out to sea.

There’s not much else I want to say, so I’m going to leave it here. Overall, I did enjoy Treasure Island. It’s a classic, fun, treasure hunting story, so if it sounds interesting to you, I recommend checking it out.

Thanks For Reading!

Book Review: The Genome Odyssey (ARC)

Title: The Genome Odyssey: Medical Mysteries and the Incredible Quest to Solve Them
Author: Euan Angus Ashley, M.D.,Ph.D.
Source/Format: Celadon Books and BookishFirst; Paperback ARC
Publisher/ Release date: Celadon Books; (Expected) Feb 23, 2021

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

In The Genome Odyssey, Dr. Euan Ashley, Stanford professor of medicine and genetics, brings the breakthroughs of precision medicine to vivid life through the real diagnostic journeys of his patients and the tireless efforts of his fellow doctors and scientists as they hunt to prevent, predict, and beat disease.

Since the Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, the price of genome sequencing has dropped at a staggering rate. It’s as if the price of a Ferrari went from $350,000 to a mere forty cents. Through breakthroughs made by Dr. Ashley’s team at Stanford and other dedicated groups around the world, analyzing the human genome has decreased from a heroic multibillion dollar effort to a single clinical test costing less than $1,000.

For the first time we have within our grasp the ability to predict our genetic future, to diagnose and prevent disease before it begins, and to decode what it really means to be human. (read the rest on Goodreads)

What I Thought:

The Genome Odyssey by Dr. Euan Angus Ashley is a wonderful ride through the world of genome sequencing. How it can help the field of science/medicine, the patient, and the patient’s families. And finally, it shines a light on the life changing impact that genomics can have. I was excited to get into to this since I have heard about the Human Genome Project over the years. Spoiler alert: it did not let me down.

Early on in the book, readers get to know Ashley’s background as he becomes interested in medical field at an early age. Also introduced are the many colleagues that joined him and their quest together to sequence genomes. Everyone got some type of introduction, so it didn’t feel like it was just random name dropping. It was the same thing with the patients too. Right off the bat, I loved that it was not overloaded with pure medical and scientific terminology. It was informative but not overly simplified. There were often brief explanations, analogies, or a short overview of the history concerning each term. Additionally, Ashley relates back to the past when researchers didn’t know much about/couldn’t figure out exactly the disease their patients were suffering from. Slowly, but surely building up to how the genome sequencing helped solve those mysteries for patients of today.  This was a slower read for me, but I still enjoyed my time reading this. 

In the end The Genome Odyssey was an interesting and informative read. It combined past and present medical history, historical achievements, personal and patient stories, technology, and company startups among other things. With everything that’s in it, I’d say it’s a well-rounded book. If this sounds interesting to you, I recommend checking it out.

*I received this book from Celadon Books and BookishFirst for this review.

Thanks For Reading!

Book Review: Finding Freedom (ARC)

Title: Finding Freedom: A Cook's Story; Remaking A Life From Scratch
Author: Erin French

Source/Format: Celadon Books; Paperback ARC
Publisher/ Release date: Celadon Books; (Expected) Apr 6, 2021

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

From Erin French, owner and chef of the critically acclaimed The Lost Kitchen, a TIME world dining destination, a life-affirming memoir about survival, renewal, and finding a community to lift her up

Long before The Lost Kitchen became a world dining destination with every seating filled the day the reservation book opens each spring, Erin French was a girl roaming barefoot on a 25-acre farm, a teenager falling in love with food while working the line at her dad's diner and a young woman finding her calling as a professional chef at her tiny restaurant tucked into a 19th century mill. This singular memoir--a classic American story--invites readers to Erin's corner of her beloved Maine to share the real person behind the "girl from Freedom" fairytale, and the not-so-picture-perfect struggles that have taken every ounce of her strength to overcome, and that make Erin's life triumphant. (read the rest on Goodreads)

What I Thought:

Finding Freedom is Erin French’s story and journey about not only finding freedom, but also rediscovering  herself in the process. Ironically from Freedom, Maine, she found ways to overcome the storms of her life. And in doing so, she also made more friends and family along the way.

The first few pages open casually, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. French introduces the reader to herself while she is hard at work. In part one, she often went back and forth from her young adult life, to her time as a teen, and then to her childhood. This made it somewhat repetitive. However, subsequent chapters in each part (chronologically starting in part 2) pertained to specific events in her life. At this point the book flowed freely and at a better pace. Eventually, I found that it was hard to put down. And, before I knew it, I had finished it. 

In the end, Finding Freedom is a riveting yet inspiring memoir. French takes the reader through her trials and tribulations; sometimes feeling devoid of hope. Slowly, but surely, she takes back control of her life; and, most importantly, never stops dreaming. This memoir may make you laugh, cry, and hungry… very hungry. I recommend checking out Finding Freedom, especially if it seems interesting to you. Or maybe if you would like to know more about the woman behind The Lost Kitchen.

*I received this book from Celadon Books for this review.

Thanks For Reading!

Book Review: Hollywood Park (ARC)

Title: Hollywood Park
Author: Mikel Jollett
Source/Format: Celadon Books; Paperback ARC
Publisher/ Release date: Celadon Books; (Expected) May 26 2020

Book summary:
Hollywood Park is a remarkable memoir of a tumultuous life. Mikel Jollett was born into one of the country’s most infamous cults, and subjected to a childhood filled with poverty, addiction, and emotional abuse. Yet, ultimately, his is a story of fierce love and family loyalty told in a raw, poetic voice that signals the emergence of a uniquely gifted writer. Read more on Goodreads

What I thought:

I didn’t know what to expect when I received an ARC of Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett. The only thing I knew was that the synopsis immediately caught my interest. It recounts Jollett’s life after Synanon, and the eventual beginnings of The Airborne Toxic Event. This memoir was an emotional roller coaster, but I don’t feel like I can squeeze everything into this review.  However, there were a couple of things that definitely stood out.

In the beginning, it was written from the point of view of Jollett’s childhood self. As he got older and experienced various things, the POV shifted too. It painted his life in a way that the reader could easily visualize it, and contributed to being a page turner. There were all the sad moments that had me on the verge of tears, but of course, there were the times that made me smile too.

By the end, I found that I really enjoyed Hollywood Park. Three words from the synopsis caught my attention in particular: “…raw, poetic and powerful…” I think this is the perfect way to sum it up. I recommend checking it out if it sounds interesting to you.

*I received this book from Celadon for this review

Side note: I’ve never heard of The Airborne Toxic Event, but I’ll definitely be checking out more of their songs. Also, FYI, they’re going to be releasing an album of the same name on May 22nd.

Thanks for reading.

Tambour Hook

After watching several videos last year, I became interested in getting what I now know is a tambour hook for myself. I was especially interested in the pace it seemed to offer. I found a Lacis one at Walmart for $16 (here's the link).

For this post, I decided to make a simple design featuring my blog's
name and URL. As you can kind of see in the sketch I wanted to keep it simple. But, as you can see in the finished photo, I kept adding on as I saw fit.  The scallops, which are hard to see in the sketch,  were always planned, but as a single line.  I ended up adding everything else.

Next, I really wanted to do something I haven't done before.  And that was adding beads. I wasn't going to do it at first, but then I thought to myself, "If not now then when?" Again, I turned to Youtube. The beads that make up the L, H, and two Os were done from the underside right side up. I followed this tutorial from Sarah Homfray Embroidery. The lower beads, below the scallops, were done from the right side. The video I saw for this wasn't really a tutorial, but it really helped me. It's from Alexandrina Dordea and you can find that video here.

When I first started beading I had a really hard time and had to take several breaks. It also didn't help that I was doing this on muslin instead o something like organza.  But, I eventually learned the technique.

And finally, I don't really have the proper frame yet (I'm shopping around), so I kind of jury-rigged two different set ups. The first was with an embroidery hoop sandwiched between two heavy books. However, once I expanded on what I was doing, I figured it wasn't going to work. I didn't feel like constantly removing and replacing the fabric. I took foam from my serger's packaging, cut out a square piece of it, and pinned my fabric to it. During the process I realized I messed up. I should left  some foam on top to pin the fabric to. That's why I decided to try and use felt to mend it. It sat a little weird, but it was good enough.

I initially started and finished this in November, but I had other plans. In total, this took about three weeks on and off. If I had continuously worked on it with breaks, it probably would have taken about three days.

Last, but definitely not least, here's the list of the Youtube Channels (and other places) I watched. I definitely recommend checking them out if you're interested in learning tambour embroidery.  Or to see pretty Embroidery:

• Sarah Homfray Embroidery
• Robert Haven
• Mary Corbet, and her website: Needle 'n Thread.
• Tatiana Kozorovitsky
• Alexandrina Dordea, and her Instagram.

Thanks for reading.