Diamonds in the Library

What I’m Reading: Vol. 112.

July 14, 2020

What I'm reading. Book photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

Hello my darlings,

Well, it’s mid-July. I don’t really how how we got here, but here is where we are!

I hope that you are all remembering to take care of yourselves, even though the world is pulling our attention in so many different directions right now. Take a deep breath, have a sip of water, try to relax your shoulders. It only takes a minute and it’s worth it, I promise.

I’ve been reading lots of fantastic books lately, largely thanks to all of your suggestions when I asked you for the best books you’ve read by Black authors! Still so many to go, but that’s how I like my reading lists.

One quick note before we get to the books. You may have noticed the format of my book rec posts has changed recently. After seeing Jeff Bezos make more bank than usual off of abject human suffering during the pandemic, I decided I had to stop using Amazon affiliate links, even though they are the easiest way for me to make money from my book posts. Diamonds in the Library will now use Indiebound affiliate links for books, not Amazon.

Also, my JEWELRY GIVEAWAY with Bang-Up Betty ends tomorrow, so don’t forget to enter!

xoxo,
Becky

PS: please wear a mask. I don’t want you to get sick!

What I’m reading:

The Fifth Season By N. K. Jemisin: Indiebound/Amazon

A lot of you recommended this to me and OMG I can definitely see why. This is perfectly-crafted epic Science Fiction at its absolute best. I definitely understand why there’s such a fuss about NK Jemison. I need a minute to digest this one before I move on to the next in the series, but I’m definitely going to keep going.

Gideon the Ninth By Tamsyn Muir: Indiebound/Amazon

I just started reading this yesterday and I LOVE it so far. It’s dark and sarcastic and all of the main characters are powerful women. The blurb on the front of the book starts “Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space.” What more could you need?

The Heroes of Olympus By Rick Riordan: Indiebound/Amazon

You know I always need to be reading several books at once. Rick Riordan’s many books have been my nighttime insomnia audiobooks lately and I’m thoroughly enjoying them. I didn’t read read these books when I was younger, but they’re pretty great.

Internets:

This Exhibit Gives Visitors the Experience of Stepping Inside Van Gogh’s Paintings.

The Rise and Fall of an All-Star Crew of Jewel Thieves. I don’t endorse jewel heists but I do love reading about them.

30 Million-Year-Old Praying Mantis Is Preserved in Pristine Piece of Amber.

The Woman Agrostologist Who Held the Earth Together: When government wouldn’t fund female fieldwork, Agnes Chase pulled together her own resources.

How a Meteor Crash Formed Stunning Desert Glass.

The Coded Couture of Antique Lacework. Um, yes, I will read this.

The Underrated Haute Couture of Jacobean Needlework. This is incredible.

130-Year-Old Video Footage Lets You Explore Everyday Life in 1890s Paris.

“Mad Meg,” the Poet-Duchess of 17th Century England. I would never not read something like this.

A Three-Day Expedition To Walk Across Paris Entirely Underground.

Book images via UnSplash. This post contains affiliate links.

Bang-Up Betty jewelry GIVEAWAY.

July 8, 2020

Good morning, my darlings! Are you ready to see Bang-Up Betty’s super cute, fiercely feminist jewelry and then potentially WIN a piece of jewelry for yourself? I’m pretty sure that’s going to be a YES.

Bang-Up Betty is a badass woman-owned jewelry brand based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The brand’s most iconic designs are all in the vein of what you see able: super cute stamped brass designs with relevant and often edgy culturally relevant phrases. Everything is handmade, and the primary materials are brass and silver, which means most of these darling designers are under $100.

Bang-Up Betty has appeared on Diamonds in the Library once before, in my popular Feminist jewelry to wear while you smash the patriarchy post from 2016. It’s also worth mentioning – for general context and because it’s a fantastic fact – that Betty is NOT the designer’s name. It’s the name of her cat.

I’ve been following Bang-Up Betty for years, first on Etsy and now on Instagram and I’ve shared her designs on social media occasionally when they felt perfect for the cultural moment (this happens pretty frequently). I know I’ve shared her “I Believe in Science” necklace before, although I’d never seen this super cute circular version with the itty bitty microscope before.

I’m glad I’m finally able to show you her work in full blog post form! And of course, I’m super pumped for the giveaway – we’ll get to that soon, don’t worry.

Most of Bang-Up Betty’s stamped designs are available for customization (bracelet here, necklace here) although I always enjoy the frequently sassy, often fiercely feminist, and lavishly liberal words and phrases she offers ready made. She also makes customized pet tags and key chains.

Bang-Up Betty also offers crafting classes! These used to be exclusively in-person in Arkansas, but since the pandemic some of the classes have been available through a combination of virtual Zoom sessions and mail order kits. SO COOL.

The customizable “naughty word” necklaces above were the subject of one of these classes, which I wanted to take but tragically forgot to sign up for. Hopefully I’ll be more on top of things for the next one! See more info about Bang-Up Betty’s crafting classes here.

The newest collection from Bang-Up Betty takes the designer’s expertise in brass to a whole new level. Instead of snarky sayings, the new collection features beautiful detailed, wonderfully textured flora and fauna.

The nature-inspired designs have a beautifully serene boho Art Nouveau sort of vibe. They’re brass, so the collection is very accessible price-wise, even though many of the nature pieces also include a gemstone accent (like the prefect honey-colored citrine drops on these bee designs).

Now, I promised you a JEWELRY GIVEAWAY and I intend to deliver! The fabulous Bang-Up Betty is offering one lucky Diamonds in the Library reader the chance to win a piece from her gorgeous new nature collection.

Lady Grey mask chains: jewelry for your mask!

July 2, 2020

There is almost nothing in this universe that I find cooler and more exciting than a completely new way to wear jewelry, and Lady Grey has found one. My darlings, I’d like you to meet the Lady Grey Mask chain.

Like many of you, I am someone who is attuned to the aesthetics of life. I enjoy beauty and I like to adorn the things that are part of my daily life. Masks are also now a part of my daily life, thanks to COVID and my desire to protect myself and those around me from the virus.

I’m lucky that I have a crafty sister who sews me beautiful personalized face masks out of colorful, iridescent, and otherwise gorgeous fabrics, but for the most part masks are a bummer. A vitally important bummer that everyone should be willing to embrace for the good of us all, but still a bummer.

You can masks out of pretty fabric if you’re talented in that way (like my sister!), but beyond that, masks hard to adorn. Anything you attach to the front makes the mask heavier, hotter, and potentially less effective. PSA: please don’t poke holes in your mask by pinning things to the part of it that’s supposed to protect you.

Lady Grey’s solution to this conundrum? A mask chain!

The Lady Grey mask chain attaches to the straps of your mask to help keep it on, both when it’s covering your face and when you need to take it off but want it nearby. No more crumpling your mask into a ball to stuff it into your pocket or your purse (I’ve definitely done this) or putting it down on unsanitary surfaces while you eat or hydrate.

The Lady Grey mask chain is made to be ideally suited for masks with ear loops, like in the pictures above, but you could just as easily attach it to a mask with ties. Or other things, if you want to play with it when it’s not in use. There are so many things you can do with a good chain that has clasps on both ends.

I can’t tell you how much this fills me with glee. It’s just so fun and so clever – and so actually useful. We’re all going to be wearing masks for a while, so I’m hugely in favor of anything that makes it easier and/or more pleasurable. You can also see the Lady Grey mask chain in action in a video demonstration here.

By the way – Lady Grey makes super cool, edgy, wearable jewels at a very appealing mid-range price point (plenty to love that fits in the under $200 category). Their whole website is worth a look, especially if you’re not familiar with the brand.

What do you think, my darlings? Isn’t it wonderfully innovative? Do you want a mask chain now?

Find the Lady Grey mask chain here.

All images c/o Lady Grey.