February 27, 2007

What I'm Reading Today

I went to the library yesterday to find a picture of a quilt I want to refer to in an upcoming article. As usual, I ended up with a fine assortment of unrelated books. These are the ones I’m simultaneously reading this morning:

Naked Conversations: how blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers. Robert Scoble and Shel Israel. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2006.

Two years ago, my friend Brian told me I need to start writing a daily blog. I haven’t wanted to make a commitment to such a project, but this book is alerting me to numerous reasons I should take Brian’s advice.

Baby Brother’s Blues. Pearl Cleage. New York: Ballantine, 2006.

I fell in love with Cleage’s work when I read What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day… -- which I hereby nominate for a Best Closing Chapter in the History of Novels award. After gorging myself on the first two chapters of this new book, I decided to slow down so as to enjoy each delectable morsel.

Vietnam: Reflexes and Reflections: The National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum. New York: Henry A. Abrams, Inc., 1998.

On an art list I belong to, somebody recently posted the statement that she doesn’t look for inspiration at artists doing the same kind of work she does. Rather, she looks at the art of people working in different media on different subjects. If you want to obliterate some residual staleness in your own art, pick up this book. Pieces included were made by soldiers in the Vietnam War – mostly from the U. S., but also from Australia, North and South Vietnam, and Cambodia.

Kentucky Quilts 1800 – 1900. Louisville, KY: The Kentucky Quilt Project, 1982.

I checked this book out a year ago, when I began quilting. I can see a lot more today than I could then, especially details like embroidery, which I’ve recently begun using in my art quilts.

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