Life moves along

A reading blog should have some book reviews on it. Well, how about a list of books read? Better than nothing, and proves that I have been doing something these last few weeks. These are the books I actually finished. The list would be a lot longer if it included those I started and abandoned. Time is too precious to finish a book you're not enjoying.

Oolong Dead - Laura Childs (knitting themed mystery)

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built - Alexander McCall Smith (detective)

Far North - Marcel Theroux (science fiction)

The Liberation Diet - Kevin Brown (health)

Home Safe - Elizabeth Berg (slice of life)

Blackout - Connie Willis (science fiction)

Passage - Connie Willis (science fiction)

Knit Two - Kate Jacobs (knitting/slice of life)

The Raphael Affair - Iain Pears (mystery/historical)

The Kalahari Typing School for Men - Alexander McCall Smith (audio book - great for learning the correct pronunciation of the African names)

And I've been knitting too. But not a lot. A pair of socks are taking me an age to finish. 1 1/2 shawls that I'll take pictures of soon. And the cutest little baby sweater that was so easy to make. I can't stop looking at it - it's that sweet. Fits my son's baby doll - so it's newborn size. (Bernat Worsted; Yoked Cardigan by Hannah Fettig)

Time to think about summer reading

Good beach reading would be "Bone by Bone" by Carol O'Connell. A murder mystery that kept me turning pages long past the time I should have been in bed. I'll have to check out her other books. I'll give it two stars.

I told a friend recently that since I had so many knitting projects started I wouldn't be casting on anything else till some were finished. Well...a tiny baby hat that matches the baby blanket from the last post doesn't count. After all, it's part of the same project (in a way). It's the same yarn. And it worked up so quickly that someone blinking might not have noticed. It sure was fun to knit, though! Pattern: Aviatrix Yarn: Paton's Decor Needles: 5mm & 3.25 mm

Summer reading...a little early

I've just finished up two fiction dramas. Both had child abduction as a theme (I usually avoid reading books of this nature - my kids are too dear to me to even read about such possibilities), so I got them mixed up sometimes. One is a paperback and the other I listened to on my ipod.

Six Seconds by Rick Mofina is a suspense/mystery that had several plot lines 

coming together to create a page turning story.  Suffice to say that I put off bedtime last night to finish it, so it was a good read. I got this book from the library.

Look Again by Lisa Scottoline was an audible.com purchase. When this suspense story came to what I thought was the end, there was still 2 hours to go. Incredibly the plot took an unexpected turn and when on for the extra time.

I give both of these books two stars - great entertainment.

I have a new knitting trick I developed over the last number of socks I've knitted. When knitting the gusset of a sock you decrease every other row. I had been putting a plastic safety pin on the heel of the foot when decreasing and moving it to the base when knitting around. But what happens when your safety pin isn't handy? 

My new method is to turn up the cuff of the sock when decreasing and let it down on knitting around. No extra tools to have on hand - it's quick and efficient. Here's the trick used on the pair of socks I just finished - Opal Rendez-Vous, colour 2062.

Decrease row.                                                               

Knit around row.

So I cracked another book cover already!

Or at least, I popped the CD in the computer. A novel even! "The Chrysalis" by Heather Terrell and Timothi Graham was a very interesting "read".

Loving historical fiction as I do and enjoying also the technique of combining the past and present in alternating chapters, this book satisfied both of these and went one more. It spanned three time periods. The Chrysalis is a painting done by an obscure painter in the late 16oo's (if I remember correctly). Therefore one chapter takes place there with the development of how the painting came to be. The second time period is just previous to WWII when the painting mysteriously disappears when its Jewish owner has his property confiscated (or does he???). The third time period is the present day story of an art auction house that is investigating the true owner of the painting. So there are many layers of plot development to the storyline and much to be learned about art, WWII, art auction houses, investigation and more. It carried me along nicely with my knitting click, click, clicking away.

The one thing that disappointed me was the fact that the artist and painting were fictional. There really was no painting called the Chrysalis that I could find.

Book theft, book madness and cheese...

Books about books - what more could a booklover want? "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak almost slipped through my fingers. In the first few pages we learn that the narrator of the book is Death himself. Weird, I thought. Worth my time? Give it a few more pages, I decided. And I was hooked. This book bursts with words and word pictures. Some authors use the technique of personification to add color to their stories. This book has personification on every page. It's alive with it. If you love words and the images that words conjure up you will love this novel. At the same time it is a heartbreaking story of a young girl growing up in Germany during WWII. "The Book Thief" touched my heart. Take note that Chapters rates this for ages 10 - 12. I found it in the Young Adult section of the library. I wouldn't want my 12 year old son to read it. The language is sometimes questionable and it's too sophisticated a storyline. There are plenty of other books on this time period that would be more suited to this age group.

"The Bookwoman's Last Fling". A murder mystery about books! I love it! John Dunning obviously loves books and horses, as that is the framework of this book. Can we ever have enough books? Is there such a thing as too many? This book will probably give you a bit of a twinge if you're like me and have books everywhere. I finished it in several days and consider it a great summer read. I'll definitely look for others in the Cliff Janeway series.

So that's the book theft and book madness. Where does the cheese come in? In this fast paced world you MUST read (and reread) or in my case, listen to the audio of, "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson. The short parable speaks about change and how we react to it in healthy and unhealthy ways. His amusing metaphors will linger with you and cause you to rethink your reactions to the unavoidable changes that come along in life.