Interaction of Color by Josef Albers

If you are going to take one color theory book with you to a deserted island, this is the one. Designers tend to think of Josef Albers (1888–1976) only as a color theorist because Interaction of Color is a classic design school text. However, outside of the design world, Albers is better known as an abstract painter. His work, particularly his Homage to the Square series, influenced Op-Art artists who furthered his explorations in human perception or “the discrepancy between physical fact and psychic effect.” He was the first living artist to have a solo show at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. This book was originally published in 1963 and it still stands up as the best way to think about the relationship between colors. Here is a quick summary: 1. Color is the most relative medium in art. 2. Experience is the best teacher of color. There is no shortcut to your 10,000 hours towards mastery of this subject. Unless you experiment with colors in the manner in which Albers prescribes, you will not fully grasp how the exact same color can look different in a small quantity than it does in a large quantity or how the same color looks different surrounded by another color. Color is constantly related to its neighbors and to changing light conditions. 3. It is difficult to visualize specific colors. Visual memory is very poor by comparison to auditory memory. 4. People have strong preferences in regard to colors. No way around it, other than to try to add in a color you don't care for and see if you can change your mind. 5. Few people are able to distinguish tonal value in different hues within close intervals. There are apps to try to help you develop this skill. 6. When two colors have the same value, they “vibrate.” Because the eye reads value more than hue, vibrating colors compete for the eye’s attention and are uncomfortable to look at. 7. While there are innumerable colors, in most of the world’s languages, there are only about 30 names for different hues. 8. Any color can “go” or “work” with any other color, it is principally a matter of in which proportions they are used. Albers often required students to use colors that they disliked in order to have them realize this relational aspect of color. You might say there are no ugly colors, only ugly uses of color. These principles are astoundingly useful in modern quilting, and I cannot believe that I have been quilting for 50 years and never read this book--my only defense is that I have zero design background!

The Mortal and Immortal Life of the Girl from Milan by Domenico Starnone

The book opens with a retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Euridice. Euridice dies young and Orpheus, who loved her desperately, goes to the Underworld to bring her back--the only thing he has to do is to not look at her while he is escorting her out--but he fails to follow that one rule and Euridice is doomed. In this book a young boy in Naples named Mimí sees himself in Orpheus. As a child, he watches from the kitchen window as the girl from Milan dances on her balcony. He resolves that, should the girl fall to her death, he would go to the underworld and rescue her. His obsession with her infects his friends and they have great fights over who she belongs to, despite them never speaking to her or knowing her all. She is almost literally mythical for him. The next layer in this book is one of class. The author reminds us that not so long ago Italy was not one country but many regions that were united under one language, which is not the one he grew up speaking. Since Mimi grew up speaking the Neapolitan dialect at home, Italian is his second language and he is desperate to join the ranks of the great poets he reads in class. It is only once he grow up, becomes educated, and learns the girl died shortly after she left his neighborhood that he want to transport the girl from Milan's story from the Neapolitan, where it lives in his head, to Italian, where others can hear it too. This is short and fascinating.

Xolo, North Liberty, Iowa

We are always on the hunt for a new Mexican restaurant. We like La Mexicana in Coralville, but we feel we could do better. Unfortunately, this is not the place. To start with the pluses: The fish ceviche was good--a large portion, and we would have liked an appetizer portion, but strong citrus and no off flavors. The menu is enormous and there are far more choices than at other local Mexican restaurants--including Chicken Milanesa and Huaraches, which are favorites of mine. The chips are very good, maybe the best locally, and the choriqueso dip was excellent. The choripollo was excellent, the best part of the meal. Now for the not so great news: It is pretty expensive for Mexican food (although the portions are large), and the service is quite slow--we previewed the menu, ordered quickly, and it was 45 minutes from sitting down to getting our main courses. The rice and beans were not good--underseasoned and the rice did not have a great texture--this is a deal breaker for me--we love rice and beans and if they are not really good, we might as well not go. The guacamole is not good, and probably not made in house. The restaurant itself if very nice and can accomodate large groups, but as a weeknight dining option, we wouldn't go back.

Universality by Natasha Brown

This book is smartly written and while short, it is not an easy read--don't be fooled by it's weight. The reason it doesn't rate more highly for me is that it is whip smart satire, but as I currently live in a country where The Onion is hard to distinguish from the actual news, it all makes it harder for me to appreciate. It begins with the kind of viral long-read article you might DM your mates, featuring an illegal lockdown rave by an anarchist collective squatting on a banker’s farm, an activist bludgeoned with a solid gold brick during the proceedings, and said banker – who wants his missing ingot back. Chaos, clicks and conspiracies ensue and it isn't even clear if it is real or fake. After a run at the privilege of living off your connections and your parent's cash, the novel’s focus shifts to Miriam ‘Lenny’ Leonard, a middle-aged, girl-bossing white lady columnist who rides the tide of demagoguery, seizing the opportunity for fame, riches and eyeballs at any cost. Lenny’s provocations are all too familiar in the present moment. Language becomes muddied, skidding from hot takes to fresh outrage all over again as she says the unsayable to feed the ghoul of populist opinion. Like I said, it is well done. and she isn't wrong, but I didn't appreciate it--bad timing on my part!

Dolce Villa (2025)

This is a lifeless script with adequate acting--except for the town mayor, Francesca, who is fun from start to finish. The real draw here is the charming Italian town where they are selling houses for $1 in the hopes of revitalizing a village where the population is shrinking to the point of not being sustainable. This is actually happening-two of my kids studied abroad in Sicily and a town nearby, Gangivecchio, had such a deal. The scenery is spectacular, and the house they are renovating is gorgeous. The story here is that a duaghter who is wandering aimlessly in both Italy and life happens upon this village and embarks on a plan to renovate a broke down palace using money that her Italian mother who died recently left her and her father, who used to be a chef but quit when his wife got ill, goes after her to stop her. Stop her he does not, and they both find love, love of land, and love of food and making it. No surprises.

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I read a review that described this a a mockumentary without an emphasis on the Mock--another described it as an earnest look at the music scene of the 1970's. Having been a young person at that time, in college and traveling quite a lot to see music myself, this up close look at the inner workings of a band that is in the midst of a meteoric rise in popularity does ring true. If this is a part of rock and roll history that you want to look more closely at, and have not been satisfied with the available memoirs and non-fiction books that document actual bands, or not particularly interested in any one band but want to experience the inner workings of a fictional band, this is a good rendition of that era. The other motivation might be the inner dynamics within the band, and in that context this is a pretty tame depiction. The book may have had a resurgence in interest because there is an Amazon Prime mini series based on the book tht has been well received.

Lisa Thorpe: Backyard Bird Fabric Collage

I went to the Minnesota Quilters show in St. Cloud last month and took a workshop from Lisa Thorpe doing collage with birds as the central theme. The one on the right is hers and the one below is the collage I made. There were so many things to love about this workshop, not the least of which was that I finished what I started that day and I was very happy with it. I also left inspired to do it again, and the teacher provided all the tools to make that happen, from how to create my own fabric with pictures of birds to selling a do-it-yourself kit.

I have taken a number of classes from great teachers over the years, but rarely have I had a teacher who came so prepared to make her students successful. The first ingredient to that was that her supply list was detailed enough that I actually packed well for the class. I brought things that I had that had bird themes, adn I brough fabric that would work in the background. If that wasn't enough she literally had enough materials with her that if you had packed 100% incorrectly (as has often happened to me) you could be successful because she brought lots of bits and pieces to do collage with, may that she had printed or hand stamped herself. Finally, if you just did not want to make choices, she has wonderful kits that you can assemble. It had beginners, intermediates, and advanced crafters all covered, everyone left with a project well on it's way to completion, and they were all different even though we had the same shared class.

The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

This is a novella which reads like a memoir that really packs a punch--and you know that it does because it was reissued for the 25th anniversary of it's release. It has staying power. I loved the Introduction of this novel just as much as I love the actual novel itself. Cisneros explains how she came to write this book, explaining that she felt ostracized when she moved from Chicago to Iowa for graduate school because she is Mexican American. Eventually she realized that she should write the book that none of her classmates could, the book that would encapsulate her childhood and the childhoods of so many other Mexican Americans that faced discrimination and “othering” because of the color of their skin or the language they spoke at home or where their parents were born. While it was written in 1983, it is so true today, almost 50 years after they were written. I no longer find this surprising, as we are coming up on 200 years since America could import people to sell, and yet the racism that scaffolded slavery is alive and well in the 21st century. When the book opens, we meet our narrator, twelve-year-old Esperanza Cordero. She and her family has moved around a lot, but most recently — and it will turn out to be her home for the next several years — they have moved into a house in an impoverished Chicago neighborhood on Mango Street. It’s not all she’d hoped for and she goes on to tell us why.

MS Tiramisu

This is the easiest and most delicious tiramisu when you look at effort to result. The secret is Italian ladyfingers and mascarpone. Gli Ingrediente 7 large egg yolks 71 g (1/3 c) granulated sugar Two 8-0z containers mascarpone cheese, cold 1-1.5 c espresso 24-26 ladyfingers (8x8 dish; 18 if individual portions). [An excellent choice is Savoiardi Lady fingers available from Amazon Cocoa Powder, dutch-processed, for dusting Le Indicazione 1. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks and sugar on high until the mixture is pale, puffy, doubled in volume, and falls in a thick ribbon when the whisk is lifted, about 10 minutes. Reduce to low and add the mascarpone a large spoonful at a time. After all is added, scrape the bowl and mix on low for 10-20 seconds until just homogenous. Pour coffee into a bowl 2. To assemble in a baking dish, dip a lady finger in coffee for a few seconds, then place in the bottom of an 8” square baking dish. Repeat until the bottom of the dish is fully lined. Spoon on half the mascarpone mixture and spread in an even layer. Rap the dish to settle it, then cover the mascarpone with a second layer of coffee-dipped ladyfingers. Scrape on and spread the remaining mascarpone mixture. 3. To assemble individual portions, you will need 6 8-oz ramekins. For each portion, soak 2 ladyfinger halves in the coffee and place in the bottom, spoon on ¼ cup mascarpone mixture; repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 layers each of ladyfingers and mascarpone. Rap the ramekin so the layers settle. 4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 2 days. Remove from refrigerator just before serving. Sift cocoa onto tiramisu and serve right away.

The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

There is a lot and almost nothing going on it this novel, which one review I read called aspirational fantasy and a treatise on self-deception. There is a complex tension that runs through this book between nothing happening and everything falling slowly apart. It is also about dead end minimum wage jobs, desperation, and the family you choose. Hai is a mess. He is caught up in the expectations of Vietnamese immigrant families to assimilate and succeed and his complete inability to inhabit that dream. He won a scholarship to go to college and yet flamed out spectacularly. He is emerging from rehab, clean but more of a dry drunk than a straight ahead success and on one fateful night he meets Grazina, a Lithuanian immigrant who survived the war but lost her husband and she needs someone to take care of her. A match made in poverty. Hai has no ambition for himself, but he doesn't want Grazina to starve, so he gets a job in another roadside diner, and there he makes a family of sorts out of others who are hanging on, not the same as he, but they are more similar than they are different. It is heart breaking, predictable, and somehow lyrical and unexpected. The lies we tell ourselves to go on and the ones we tell others to get by. It is all here, and beautifully rendered at that.