Dumpling Cats by Sarah Sloyer

Format: Digital ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Publication date: 14 Jun 2017

Disclaimer: There are affiliate links at the end of this review. If you click through and buy something (not just this book, but whatever you want), it will help my bottom line. Thanks!

The subtitle of this pattern book (Crochet and Collect Them All!) shows the author's inspiration. Neko Atsume is a popular mobile game from Japan that involves attracting cats to your yard in order to collect them, and the chubby little amigurumi characters bear a striking resemblance to the cats in the game. You don't have to be a fan of the game to fall in love with these Dumpling Cats, though. Making stuffed items can be addictive!

I haven't made any of these patterns, but based on my experience in reading crochet patterns I would say this book is pretty straightforward. There are patterns for 25 cats plus patterns for a few accessories like a cat bed. Each cat has a name and a short blurb describing its personality. The patterns are written clearly and each one has several photos showing steps in the construction process. There are a few intermediate patterns in the book, but the majority of them are labeled easy. If you have any experience making amigurumi at all, these patterns will be a breeze for you. Several of the patterns seem to build on others, like a cat with a fish tail, so that should help if you decide to make the entire collection.

Whether you want to make a cat to give to your child, to decorate your desk, or to stuff with a bell and give to your real live cat to play with, Dumpling Cats gives you several cute options to choose from.

Dumpling Cats at Book Depository
Dumpling Cats at Amazon

Book Review: "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die"

I'm a big fan of lists. I make them all the time. Whenever I want to learn something new, I like to find a list of steps to take. I know that most lists are subjective, especially the ones that try to define the best of a genre. Still, I like to have some sort of guidance when starting on a new venture. This blog is no different, so when I saw "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die" at the library last week I thought it would be a great help.

This book is a collection of short reviews written by a variety of international critics. The reviews are divided by era, with 3/4 of the books reviewed coming from the 20th century. The surprising thing is that the book has a picture on every other page. There are portraits of authors and photos from film adaptations of the novels. For the older books, there are posters announcing stage adaptations and even sketches of costumes for some shows. The presence of so many pictures makes for a much more lively reference book.

I am in the process of making a progress list for the sidebar. Although I haven't made it all the way through the book, I'm sure there are books that I have already read so I might as well cross them off right away and see what I have left. The earlier books (pre-1700s) may be difficult to find, so I may have to eliminate those. One of my biggest challenges will be not dismissing books that look unappealing from the review. My goal is to stop reading the same old books and broaden my knowledge. Welcome to the University of Dani!