What are You Reading Now?

[cosmicfolklore]

These aren't my typical "pipe smoking books" but a few that I picked up this last winter and casually read inside. Good "bedtime books."

Fret Sawing and Wood Carving by George A. Sawyer, 1875

A Manual of Fret Cutting and Wood Carving by Sir Thomas Seaton, 1875

Manual of Fret Sawing and Wood Carving, American News Company, undated but 1870's

I was attracted to these by the fact that I've long been a casual whittler, (not artistic, but "whimseys..." chains, balls in cages, stuff with moving and sliding parts, etc,) and while I've got a very nice fret saw, I never considered the two together. These books coupled the two activities in their titles. Back in the late 1800's, fret sawing was considered a boy's pastime, but was later taken up more seriously by adults. These books give an interesting take on an outwardly simple subject, with a flavor of times long gone, occasionally getting into such things as how to make stains, etc, using materials that I doubt one could obtain any more.

I decided to print the picture off the cover of the smaller, paperbound book, showing a charming domestic scene from the 1870's... The father in his chair reading his paper, the mother sewing back in a corner, and the children sawing wood on the living room table.

That Knew Concept saw in your pic... I was one of the first to test the proto type for those saws when they were first released. Kewl to see them becoming so popular.

 

[khiddy]

Currently enjoying an audiobook, The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an American Film Classic by Daniel de Visé, narrated by Johnny Heller. Quite a story, including not just bios of the principals, but also the history of Second City and SNL. A great read/listen.

 

[Alejo R.]

 

[LeafErikson]

Glad I’m not a coal miner in industrial England!

 

[Kobold]

 

[ssjones]

View attachment 380370

I'll have to get that one. The TV show was excellent.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

 

[Aylesbury Pike]

View attachment 380413

An interesting thinker, certainly (and a pipe smoker).

 

[makhorkasmoker]

An interesting thinker, certainly (and a pipe smoker).View attachment 380551

Yes, I’m enjoying his work. I like his pipe too. I’ve started this one now

 

[krizzose]

Almost done with this (which was outstanding, BTW):

 

[warren99]

 

[carlomarx]

 

[Choatecav]

View attachment 381977

Man, that is a helluva story, for sure.
One of the great coverups of all time.

 

[carlomarx]

Man, that is a helluva story, for sure.
One of the great coverups of all time.

Largely forgotten story. Reading is slow going, I have to put the book down because I get so angry.

 

[MisterBadger]

Edited by the diarist's great-great grandson, and mostly about eve[=nd places within a twenty mile radius of where I live. A peep into the ordinary life of an ordinary man, and of a largely vanished world, nearly 200 years ago, on the eve of the reign of Queen Victoria. The world Thomas Hardy wrote about in his novels.

 

[brian64]

Largely forgotten story. Reading is slow going, I have to put the book down because I get so angry.

Not so much forgotten as largely never known by the vast majority of Americans...because the powers that be didn't want it known.

 

[SSGT.]

View attachment 280390

Currently reading this. It's a good in depth history of the band from Jimmy Page's pre Yardbirds days, and the forming of Zeppelin and through the years as the band progressed from album to album.

Hammer of the Gods was a great book on Zepplin as well.

 

[SSGT.]

 

[Brig]

"Give Me Tomorrow" by Patrick O'Donnell.

Reading it Digitally.

 

[Briarcutter]

H

View attachment 382534

How is it? I believe George was a friend of CS Lewis