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Weird Books You Probably Shouldn’t Read

March 5, 2015 by Shellie Wilson

book-titles-crazy

I don’t know who these books were/are marketed at except maybe crazy Animal people or people who hate the world. I mean “Radiation Cooking” must have really been a big seller or how about the P.S Your Cat Is Dead Book?

Want to craft with all the Cat hair? Then check out this book on Amazon:

Crafting with Cat Hair: Cute Handicrafts to Make with Your Cat

Or you can pick up the  PS Your CAT is dead book whilst your over there too. If you have been wondering why you cat is always painting then you will definetly need a copy of this book. Why Cats Paint: A Theory of Feline Aesthetics.

Are you more of a Snake person? Then you will want to know What’s Wrong With My Snake?  next time it gets a cough or a stick shoved down it’s throat whilst wear a plastic latex glove.

Down to the Pantyhose Crafts: Well there is a whole collection of these books and I won’t comment too harshly as my mother used to create Granny dolls using pantyhose (new ones) so I better not call her crazy.

Panty Hose Craft Books

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Comments

  1. Susan Ivey Williams says

    March 5, 2015 at 11:28 am

    Only familiar with one of the weird books…Why Cats Paint. It’s a hoot! Maybe I love it because it’s a send up of art criticism, in the same elitist, pompous tone. And makes about as much sense as art critics do when they ascribe all the fatuous “deeper meanings” to human-made art that they do. Fun book.

    • Shellie Wilson says

      March 10, 2015 at 7:05 pm

      Love the title, my kids want to know if they can get a “painting cat” for Christmas.

  2. Christine B. says

    March 5, 2015 at 11:45 am

    Why Cats Paint is a sister book to Why Paint Cats: both are well done and are wonderfully written, seemingly serious but actually parodies. Read them and appreciate the humor with which they are written!

  3. Stephanie says

    March 5, 2015 at 7:04 pm

    I checked out the Crafting with Cat Hair from the library because it looked weird; but the crafts are actually really cute!

    • Shellie Wilson says

      March 10, 2015 at 7:04 pm

      Yes, I am sure you could make the crafts with felting wool instead.

  4. Becky PS says

    March 5, 2015 at 8:44 pm

    All these books are delightful -especially read in the spirit they are written. Except maybe the pantyhose crafts – it was written to actually do the crafts.

    Try reading the books.

    • Shellie Wilson says

      March 10, 2015 at 7:04 pm

      Becky, I think I could read everything except the snake book. The front cover is giving my nightmares.

  5. Marie says

    March 6, 2015 at 8:24 am

    PS Your Cat is Dead is actually very funny, a play by a guy named James Kirkwood who co-wrote A Chorus Line. The book title is weird, but definitely well worth reading if you can find it. I’m not sure it’s still in print.

    • Shellie Wilson says

      March 10, 2015 at 7:03 pm

      Marie, I am hoping some libraries still have it as lots of our readers are keen to read it now. 🙂

  6. Christine B. says

    March 6, 2015 at 12:42 pm

    The title of this article bothers me: “…You Probably Shouldn’t Read”…I think the author should have actually read some of these books before including them. Some of these books look pretty interesting!

    • Shellie Wilson says

      March 10, 2015 at 7:02 pm

      Christine, The best thing about a book is usually its captivating title. Glad to see it worked on the blog post too. Hope you enjoy the books.

  7. osofine says

    March 6, 2015 at 4:55 pm

    I remember when the Crafting with Cat Hair book came out – I assumed it was a joke book, but a quick scan of the Amazon page informed me that it was a real book for needle felting artisans and other crafters. The book currently has a 4.5 out of 5 rating from 172 reviews. 118 people gave it 5 stars! Most of the complaints are that most of the projects use other materials more than just cat hair (apparently the cute finger puppet on the cover is the only needle felted project that only uses cat hair). For a site aimed at crafters, I think it’s offensive to make fun of a book that the majority of crafters have positively reviewed is offensive and shows a lack of research in your subject. Why shouldn’t a needle felted that owns a cat or cats not use the excess fur they end up with after brushing their pets? One review said that the book gives directions for cleaning the cat hair before using it and points out that we use cleaned sheep’s wool for many, many things. What’s the difference? This kind of mindset is the same as people who eat store bought meat, but would be grossed out if they had to eat meat of farm animals that they saw alive.

    Oh, and on another post on this website (today is my first visit here), the writer typed “concur” instead of “conquer”. “Concur” means to agree with something. “Conquer” means to win or overcome. In this case the phrase was something like “I concur my fears”. That would mean you agree with your fears. Sorry I can’t point you to the post in question – it was in the first few pages of the site in mobile view (so fairly recent). I’m viewing and writing this on my iPhone, so please forgive any typos I may have made.

    This site has some good posts. Unfortunately, I’d have to rate this one as at least a partial fail.

    • Shellie Wilson says

      March 10, 2015 at 6:57 pm

      Welcome to the site !

      If you are new to the site then (I am assuming here) you don’t have a full understanding of how we work, blog and review items. I think you will find the term “offensive to crafters” one statement that never comes our way. We proud ourselves on finding out about all the latest craft gossip and articles that interest and engage our readers.

      Concor, conquer,- many of our bloggers are working from home, cars, school pickups, in their lunch hours, on ipads and laptops. Even I do all my e-mailing via my i-phone usually in the school car-park. So I am sure you can “forgive” any typos we may make.

  8. Dianne says

    March 9, 2015 at 5:01 pm

    I’ve read “P.S. Your Cat is Dead.” The title is certainly quirky and actually very appropriate to the story (a story about one man’s really awful day).

    • Shellie Wilson says

      March 10, 2015 at 7:01 pm

      Dianne, Thanks for the feedback. I might pick it up next time I am at the library. I

  9. Laurie says

    March 16, 2015 at 11:14 am

    I have the “What’s Wrong with my Snake” book. It has actually been quite helpful in diagnosing when to take my son’s pet snakes to the vet. 🙂

Have you read?

Knit a Great Button Down Shirt

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting. 

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of. 

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams. 

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs. 

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty. 

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this). 

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry. 

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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