{read: Olympics vs. family} Gold by Chris Cleave

I loved the fresh writing and plotting in Little Bee and Incendiary, so I had high expectations for Chris Cleave's third book, Gold, in which he tells the story of three British Olympic cyclists and how their lives intertwine. Yet while I enjoyed the story, it didn't compare to Cleave's earlier two books. This one, which explores the themes of how we define success for ourselves, how society defines success, the cost and joy of parenthood, and the ties of friendship, had somewhat predictable plotting. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, but at times it almost felt like I was reading Jodi Picoult rather than Chris Cleave.

So what was the difference between his first two novels and this one? I think it comes down to two things. First, Little Bee and Incendiary made good use of first person narration, and Gold is told entirely in the third person. While this can work well in many cases, it seemed to keep me at more of a distance. Second, in his first two books Cleave took big, hairy problems like terrorist bombings, illegal immigration, and the problems faced by third-world African nations and made them personal. He showed you how they translate into the everyday lives of everyday people. While Gold deals with themes that interest me, I missed that connection to a more global problem and seeing its intricacies both distilled and concentrated into the characters' lives.

The cover, however, is awesome. It's an optical illusion that shows either two women's faces (similar to profile on the Little Bee cover)  or a gold cup depending how you look at it.

(This is a review of an advance copy. The book will be published in the U.S. by Simon and Schuster in July 2012.)

Gold by Chris Cleave (Simon and Schuster, 2012)
My rating:  4 stars

{crafts} Natural Bean Jewelry

I love these necklaces. They would be so much fun to make. I think the hardest part would be drilling the holes. Once the holes were drilled it would be fun for a child to help string the beans! This tutorial is part of Etsy's How-Tuesday and can be found at: http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2012/how-tuesday-natural-bean-jewelry/

Natural Bean Jewelry

Story by lisajune

Published on Jan 24, 2012 in Make

Photo by radicals & julieincharge

“Me, sexy? I’m just plain ol’ beans and rice.”  — Pam Grier

Once thought of as the seat of the soul, beans have been buried with the dead, deemed the seed of sin, grown for almost nine millennia, and eaten daily across the globe. With over 4,000 cultivar they come in coats of many colors: rich red and purple kidney, tawny intricate tans of cranberry, or the the simple stark contrast of the black eye. I’m Lisa Kraushaar of radicals— by day a mild-mannered Etsy Admin — here to show you how to make beans into beads, and focus on the legume’s more decorative values.

Supplies You’ll Need:

• Approximately 300 dry beans, any type (Pictured above are calypso beans, black eyed peas, red beans, and cranberry beans.)
• Waxed thread
• Flex shaft or dremel hand tool (or any tool that drills)
• 1mm drill bit
• Bench pin (or another wooden surface to drill into)
• 4 mm spherical burr
• Super glue
• Scissors

Directions:

1. With your bench pin at the ready, firmly secure your 4mm burr in your flex shaft or dremel. Carve a nook the size of the beans you’ve decided to use in you bench pin. This will serve as a brace to hold your bean secure when you apply the pressure of your drill.

Beans with drilled holes. Expect some bean dust!

2. Replace the burr with your 1mm drill bit in your flex shaft. Pinch the bean firmly parallel to the direction you’ll drill your hole. Hold it securely in the nook you’ve carved in your bench pin. Place your drill at the desired entrance of your hole and apply firm pressure against your drill bit and bean. At a gentle speed, push your drill through the length of the bean.

Hold your flex shaft firmly, but without a stiff wrist. In the event that your drill skips away from the bean, a loose wrist will give you the flexibility to pull away before nicking your fingers. You can brace your drill wrist against your bench pin for greater control.

Repeat step 2 until you’ve drilled holes through all of your beans.

3. Unspool about 2 1/2 yards of waxed thread. String your beans until you have about 6 ft. of beaded cord. The wax thread will be stiff enough to string your beads without a needle. If the tip of your string becomes frayed, twist or snip it back into a point. If you have any problems stringing your bean, blow air through the hole of the bean or clear it out with a needle.

4. Firmly tie both ends of your beaded string twice. Apply a small amount of super glue to your knot. Make sure to coat the spaces where stings some together. Let it dry overnight.

5. Snip the remaining string tight to your knot. Since you’ve glued the knot, you need not fear it will untie. You now have a beautiful string of beans that can be draped several times around the neck or wrapped around your wrist for a striking bracelet.

6. Wait for the oohs and ahhs to begin!

{a thought for Thursday} Pain and peace

It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace. ― Chuck Palahniuk, Diary

{wordless wednesday} Through the Statue

{read: don't miss this one!} The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

This is the story of the book I almost didn't read. The title didn't draw me in, I didn't like the cover, and the fact that it was set in North Korea put it low on my to-read list. Yet the good reviews kept piling up, so I put it on my library hold list. When it came in, it sat on my shelf until the day before it was due. Finally I picked it up to see if I wanted to read it or if I should just return it. Pak Jun Do and his story captured my imagination, and the story grew stronger as the book went along. (I had to pay 30 cents in late fees, but it was well worth it.)

This book is remarkable for the glimpse it provides of bleak North Korean life and the harsh regime, which at times reminded me of the Cold War and at other times reminded me of the Nazi death camps. Yet parts of the book are laugh-out-loud funny, such as the descriptions of American life and especially American blues music. In other places, unexpected honesty contradicts the propaganda and party line that you expect all citizens to espouse. I think one of the triumphs of the book is Johnson's ability to flesh out the characters to explore how they deal with the daily struggle of life under the Dear Leader and still retain their humanity. The plotting is understated yet crafty, as pieces of the first half of the book take on a larger significance in the second half than you expected when you first encountered them.  

The Orphan Master's Son is definitely a contender for the best book for 2012. It's by far the best book I've read this year and perhaps the best one I've read in the past 12 months. If you only read one book this year, make it this one.

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson (Random House, 2012)
My rating: 5 stars

{a thought for Thursday} A clean slate

Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet? — Lucy Maud Montgomery

{wordless wednesday} A great view

Happy Wordless Wednesday!