LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 274

Digital sketch of a kittenish cat sitting facing the viewer.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 273

Digital sketches of three different ears.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 272

Digital graphite sketch of a hand, palm facing the viewer.

MEET ME IN ANOTHER LIFE BY CATRIONA SILVEY

This book has an intriguing premise, but though the writing is fair, the protagonists are dull, and the book itself is basically chapter after endless chapter of conversation.

The dénouement doesn’t save it, merely serves to point out how good this idea could have been in another’s hands. It’s also the softest sci-fi imaginable, and probably better suited to those who don’t generally read sci-fi. ★★☆☆☆

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 271

Digital graphite sketch of a woman’s head.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 270

Digital graphite sketches of three different hands.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 269

Digital graphite sketches of two different hands.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 268

Digital colour study of a brown eye.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 267

Digital colour painting of a green eye.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 266

Digital studies of four different noses.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 265

Digital pencil sketch of a woman’s head and shoulders.

SOURDOUGH BY ROBIN SLOAN

About a woman working at a tech company in San Francisco who, after being gifted a sourdough starter, becomes enamoured then obsessed with baking bread and what happens.

It started out fine, a bit odd but fine, and then gradually devolved into a silliness of a type I abhor. I really did not enjoy this at all. I don’t mind satire when biting and funny, but I found this pointless, boring and a waste of my time. Not for me. ★★☆☆☆

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 264

Digital pencil sketches of 3 different noses, 2 different ears, and an eye.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 263

Digital graphite studies of four different noses and three different ears.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 262

Unfinished digital pencil sketch of a woman’s eyes and nose.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 261

Digital pencil sketches of 3 different ears, 2 different noses in profile, and an eye.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 260

Digital pencil sketches of a dog, a squirrel, a guinea pig and a cat washing its belly.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 259

Digital painting of a manatee against blueish backdrop.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 258

First (unfinished) attempt at a digital pencil master study of Lady Agnew of Lochnaw by John Singer Sargent.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 257

Digital painting of a red apple against a greenish backdrop.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 256

Digital sketch of a cat sitting facing the viewer, a cartoonish drawing of a woman and an attempt at a slightly more realistic portrait of a different woman.

LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 255

Digital graphite sketch of a cat.

UNDER THE RADAR: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO AUTISM AND GIRLS BY EMILIA MISHEVA

A relatively thorough look at how autism can present in girls. The book has a fairly academic perspective of little use to me personally, but should be valuable for adults who spend time around children.

An interesting read, and though this is a book I wish adults around me had read when I was young, ultimately it wasn’t particularly useful to me now. ★★★☆☆

SELF-CARE FOR AUTISTIC PEOPLE BY MEGAN ANNA NEFF

Perhaps this book might be most useful to younger people? Once you’ve been an adult for a few (too many) decades, a lot of the content is information you’ve no doubt seen many times before. That being said, I found a new-to-me technique called cognitive shuffling which sounded both interesting, and potentially very helpful.

Age and experiences aside, there is absolutely value in having actionable stuff listed in one place conveniently sorted into categories such as physical, emotional, mental, social, and professional self-care. ★★★☆☆

SOME DESPERATE GLORY BY EMILY TESH

At first, I was very taken with this and thoroughly enjoyed a good chunk of it. However, at a certain point the narrative veers into a type of sci-fi I don’t enjoy, and it became a slog to finish.

Though well written, interesting and with well drawn characters, once the pivot happened I simply lost interest and found the rest of the book slow and long-winded. Regardless of how I felt about the book as a whole, I also found the ending disappointing. ★★★☆☆