World Book Day

It was World Book Day today apparently, so it seems like a good time to update the "What I'm Reading" feature.

Building Strip-Planked Boats, Nick Schade. Another boatbuilding book has been added to my library. This just-released book was written by the author of The Strip-Built Sea Kayak, the host of the Kayak Building Bulletin Board, and the designer of the Guillemot kayak I built. To be honest, I haven't really started to read this one, though it is on my nightstand and I have paged through it (and this is supposed to be a somewhat boatbuilding-related blog). It looks good so far. It's about twice as thick as his earlier book, which I used to guide me through the Guillemot build. The photos and illustrations are all black & white. I look forward to see which techniques he has updated from the earlier book, published about 15 years ago. I have noticed that he uses a different style of stems, which is a good improvement. The new book covers the building of a very sexy looking kayak, the small "wee lassie" canoe, and a dinghy. After I have actually read through it, I'll try to post some comments.

The Russlander, Sandra Birdsell. This book tells the story of a Russian Mennonite girl in the early 20th century. Katya is living through turbulent times, and there is tension growing between the wealthy Mennonite farmers and the Russian peasants. Currently, I'm about halfway through. The book occasionally makes reference to Katya as an elderly woman in Winnipeg and it appears that the story is her recollections. It's an interesting book so far.

The Unicorn's Secret: True Heart, Kathleen Duey. I've been reading this series of books with my 6-year old as bedtime reading for the past several months. Picked from the library as a chapter book that looked simple enough for her to understand, and featuring unicorns it was sure to have her interest. I am really enjoying the time spent with my daughter reading these books. This evening we finished the 6th book in the series and my daughter is eagerly anticipating the final two books.
The Egg In The Hole Book, Richard Scarry. I also read with my younger daughter today, and this is one of those we read. I asked her what she likes about this book and she said "the egg".