Botched-Up Knitting

Remember the Little Kina I was knitting for my friend's little girl's doll? Well, I finished it only to discover that I messed up bad. After casting-off the sleeves, I remember thinking that the rows in the body seemed longer than the last time I knitted this project. But I pushed my doubts aside by assuring myself that it only felt that way because this was the second time working the project and I wasn't as driven to see the end result. Here's the finished product:

Do you see where I messed up? If you don't see it, the front does not meet. Grrr! When I made the increase in the neckline the second time I assumed that the second increase (k1, k1fb across) was the same as the first increase (k1fb across). So I doubled the increase both times, resulting in an unusable baby doll sweater. Doh! The good news is that I can unravel this sweater and will have plenty of yarn to redo the project correctly. First, though, I have to finish a throw I'm crocheting as a graduation present, and after that I have a layette blanket and booties to finish for an upcoming baby shower. Hopefully I'll have a post for those soon!

Library Loot {due back 6/17/2013}

 

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

We're still going strong with our once a month trip to the library! I didn't pick up anything this trip because I'm still in a reading slump, and am waaaay behind schedule with Les Misérables — my year-long read — and The Lord of the Rings, which I'm re-reading with my in real life book club.

MJ (11) – Mary Jane renewed Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson from last month, and didn't check out anything else. For some reason she is taking a really long time with this one, but she says she likes it and wants to finish it. I think it may be slightly above her reading level and more of a challenge than she wants to admit.



KADEN (9) – Kaden remains to be the brat most interested in visiting the library (followed closely by Eliza). He is still loving the non-fiction section. Our library has a kind of pitiful collection of non-fiction books for kids, so I fear that he will quickly get through the ones that interest him.

The Story of Werewolves by Thomas G. Aylesworth (not pictured)
               

ELIZA (3) – These are the books that I get to read over and over and over again. This week's loot isn't too bad. My favorite is The House in the Night — the illustrations are gorgeous! Neither Eliza or I cared at all for Dinosailors. She lost interest before we even finished reading it and hasn't picked it back up since.

               

THE COMRADE (old) – The Comrade always accompanies us to the library but usually doesn't check anything out. This time he picked out some world religion books he'd like us to read for homeschool. Here they are:

The Buddha by F.W. Rawding (not pictured)
   

Not in a Reading Kind of Mood

I'm in a reading funk, so I'm knitting instead! The pattern is called Little Kina and the Ravelry instructions (and more pictures) can be found here. This is my second time knitting this little pattern, and this time it is for a friend who saw the sweater on my daughter's doll and couldn't stop oohing and awing about it. It so, so easy — knit in one piece from the top down — and absolutely darling! And if you're really brave, you can buy the Baby Kina pattern and knit your toddler one to match her doll. I did this for my 3-year old and am glad to be done. The sweater for a large toddler took quite a bit longer than I had expected, and I was sorely tired of it by the end. Speaking of which, I have yet to take a picture of the brat and her bitty baby showing off my hard work! I need to get on that...

The worst part of the pattern for me was the neckline, but only because I hate, hate, hate knitting front and back. I wish there were another way to make an increase without leaving a hole...anyone? The baby doll neckline wasn't nearly as bad, of course, but the big girl neckline was complete torture. I had had ambitions of trying to knit one for myself (yes, there's a pattern for adult sizes, too!) but they are no more. I just keep hoping someone I know will fall pregnant with a girl so I can knit the newborn size. How cute would that be for a shower gift?! Even better would be if I fell pregnant with a girl. :)

Book Talk: Hush Now, Don't You Cry

Title: Hush Now, Don't You Cry

Author: Rhys Bowen

Genre: Mystery > Historical and Cozy

Length: 320 pages

My Rating: 5 – Meh, take it or leave it

From Goodreads.com: In the latest in Rhys Bowen's award-winning historical series, Molly Murphy is supposed to give up sleuthing now that she’s married, but the murder of an alderman puts her on the trail of a killer.

Molly Murphy, now Molly Sullivan, and her husband Daniel, a captain in the New York Police department, have been invited to spend their honeymoon on the Newport, RI, estate of Alderman Brian Hannan in the spring of 1904. Molly doesn’t entirely trust the offer. Hannan—an ambitious man—has his eye on a senate seat and intentions of taking Tammany Hall to get it. When Hannan is found dead at the base of the cliffs that overlook the Atlantic, Molly’s suspicions are quickly justified, and as much as she wants to keep her promise to Daniel that she won’t do any more sleuthing now, there isn’t much she can do once the chase is on. Rhys Bowen’s brilliant wit and charm are on full display in Hush Now, Don’t You Cry, another outstanding addition to her Agatha and Anthony award-winning historical series.

My Thoughts:

I picked this up at the library this week because I've been craving a mystery, was feeling like The Time In Between was dragging (I still plan to finish it, though!), and I needed a change of pace. I'm a big wuss when it comes to mystery/crime. My room is in the very back of our house, down a long, dark hallway, and I often get spooked by suspense in the non-suspense genre books I read. So when I saw on the jacket that this is considered a "cozy" mystery, I thought it might be just what I was looking for.

This is the 11th book in the Molly Murphy Mystery series, but the first one for me. I knew nothing about Molly or her husband, Daniel, going into the book, and I do not think this hindered the readability of this book at all. It was an easy, quick read, and the mystery/suspense was very mild.

I liked Molly okay as a heroine. She was bright and observant, and I never found her annoying or grating on my nerves. The men in the novel I could do without, but I think it would be unfair to judge the book by the men as it is set in the early 1900s when men, and society, were much less accepting of a woman participating in what was considered male roles. The Hannan family was completely unlikeable, and their numbers made it difficult to keep them all straight. I thought Miss Gallinger was a hoot and wish she had been a part of the novel much sooner.

SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT!

I can't really say that I liked this book, but I was interested to see who the killer was. And the reading was so easy and fast that I made the choice not to skim the book. The book didn't really pick up until about page 200, at which point it really went quickly. I thought the ending was a joke. The killer was confronted with no evidence and immediately confessed. The fact that he was able to grab Kathleen was absurd — at that point there would have been many adults stepping in front of and towards her. There is no way that she would have been that exposed in real life. And, then, him being pushed off the cliff to his death tied everything up way too neatly. The real kicker: all this happened in about two pages of the last ten pages of the book. At this point it all felt very contrived and anti-climactic. I very much doubt I will try another Molly Murphy Mystery.

Library Loot (due back May 20th)

 

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

In my attempt to slowly join the book blogging world, I have decided to "steal the button" this week. I still haven't mustered the courage to "link up," but hope that will come soon. Sorry to Claire and Marg for having participated in "Library Loot" without having given credit where credit was due.

The ladies who officially do "Library Loot" make a weekly post. I post when our books are due back and we check-out a new batch. Maybe someday we will get to a point where we frequent the library more often, but right now I'm happy that we are still going strong with our 2013 Resolution to at least go once a month. Yay for us! Here's what we picked up today:

ME

           

MJ (11)

      

KADEN (9)

       

         

ELIZA (3)

                     

Audiobook Review: The Kitchen House

Title:  The Kitchen House

Author:  Kathleen Grissom

Category:  Historical Fiction; American > Southern

Length:  369 pages

My Rating:  7 – Very good

From Goodreads.com: When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin.

Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.

My Thoughts

I don't know how fair my review is going to be since I started listening to this book clear back in April 2011 when I had a 45-minute commute to work. Since then I have picked it up only when my exercise buddy has cancelled and I needed something else to keep my mind off the dragging minutes. It served very well for both purposes — commuting and exercising — and made both much more enjoyable than they would have otherwise been.

Now to remembering from the beginning... 

I remember being drawn into the story right away. The narrators, Orlagh Cassidy and Bahni Turpin, did an excellent job. I liked that there were two narrators rather than one doing all the voices. For me, two narrators gave a greater distinction between Lavinia and Belle, making them more real. I also felt that two different narrators helped me move between the points of view more easily.

The characters were all very well-drawn. I felt like I knew all of them, and had personal feelings (love, like, annoyed with, hate, etc.) for just about every character in the book. The storyline was absorbing, and every time I left the book I looked forward to going back. I feel like the plot was believable, and that Ms. Grissom had done her homework.

I have two complaints (which may be considered spoilers!): First, that Lavinia and Will were kept apart by nothing more than a miscommunication. This annoyed me to no end, and felt really contrived and cliche. I wish Ms. Grissom could have found a more interesting way for them to not wind up together. I would have been more content if Will had never shown up while she was living with her aunt and uncle, and she had simply fallen for Marshall (the creep) and married him. Second, I wasn't crazy about the way it ended. Everything went to shit (like we knew was going to happen) and then it just worked out for everyone still living. It went rather too quickly and too easily after all the sorrow and heartbreak that occurred throughout the rest of the book. I left the book today feeling disappointed with the ending.

The "Author's Note" at the end of the book was very interesting, and I almost wish it had been included at the beginning. It seems Ms. Grissom was truly inspired to write this story, and that the characters were living inside her for a time. I've heard other authors talk about characters taking them over like that and always feel envious. It would be lovely to write a book, but I just don't feel that calling.

Check-In: Les Misérables

My intention was to have done a check-in long before now. I was really hoping to have a regular check-in schedule but got caught up in over-analyzing it, like I often do with things. I really am amazed I ever got this blog up and started. I'm one of those people who have a hard time officially starting something until it suits me perfectly. Laura Ingalls Wilder said it best, "We'd never get anything fixed to suit us if we waited for things to suit us before we started." Seriously, this is the story of my life! I am working on it...

Anyway, I am reading the Norman Denny translation because, of the three I tried, I like the way it read the best. I do own a Kindle, but decided I wanted this for my home bookshelf. I bought the Penguin Classics version (pictured below) and am really pleased with it. My schedule is pretty easy: twenty-five pages a week, Wednesday to Wednesday (that's the day of the week I started it on and have just gone with it). If I continue being consistent with my schedule, I should finish in mid-December, giving me a couple of weeks until my 2014 year-long reading challenge. The only thing I regret is having made this a year-long challenge. I could have easily done it in six months, but had some Facebook friends who wanted to join me. We started the read-along with ten women participating and are already down to just three.

I've enjoyed the musical since junior high school and can't for the life of me figure out why I didn't pick up the book then. The release of the most recent movie got me to thinking about how I had yet to read the book. Normally I am the type of person to just pick up a book and read it until I'm done, with no other books on the side. I had several reading commitments for the months of January and February, so I thought I'd try my hand at reading a second book slowly on the side. I'm really enjoying this arrangement because I don't feel as guilty reading twaddle (mindless drivel) when I know I spend some part of my week with something more challenging.

I have completed Part One: Fantine, and am about 30 pages into Part Two. It is wordy and descriptive, but in a worthwhile way. The characters are slowly built up, with lots of background stories about each of them. I'll admit that this can be tedious at times, particularly where I am right now with the detailed background on the Battle of Waterloo, but I just keep reminding myself that this was how books were written before stories and images were thrown at us in quick succession via television and video games. Overall, though, I'm enjoying having all the cracks filled in and getting to know all of the characters better.

Finding My Voice

I'm a late comer to the world of book blogging. I don't know where I've been that I missed the existence of book blogs. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I am oblivious to most popular and trending things that pop up around me unless a friend or family member throws it in my face. And, since I've not been a huge participant in the blogging world in general  — previously I only followed about five blogs and only had a blog myself to post pictures for my parents — I wasn't really paying attention to the fact that blogging had grown into a huge enterprise. It was January of this year that I stumbled upon my first book blog — Iris on Books. I was researching what translation of Les Misérables I wanted to read and stumbled on a post that detailed her decision for choosing a translation for Anna Karenina. I immediately fell in love with her blog and so began my search for other book blogs to also enjoy. It wasn't long after that I decided I might also enjoy blogging about the books I was reading.

It's been harder than I thought it would be. First of all, I haven't really practiced writing at all since I graduated from college in 2008. Yes, it's only been five years, but I'm finding that, for me at least, writing is a skill that needs to be kept up. I remember being a fairly confident writer with quite a few things to say. Now my brain just kind of feels fuzzy, and my words/thoughts are jumbled and hesitant. Number two, there are some amazing book blogs out there with extremely talented and articulate voices. It's quite intimidating! There have been quite a few times when I have wanted to leave a comment or participate in a challenge but have been afraid for people to link back to me to see who I am, and I'm not sure I'm ready for my weaknesses as a reader and writer to be exposed. Even writing this I am embarrassed at my lack of self-confidence. And lastly, I'm finding that my volume of reading is pitifully inadequate compared to other book bloggers. My goal for the year is 36 books but I'm running into bloggers who read 8-12 books a month! I know that they are probably spending more reading than I am, but I still think I must be a terribly slow reader in comparison. That, coupled with the fact that I still struggle with discovering what I want to say about a book, makes me wonder if I'm even a careful reader.

Despite my frustrations so far, I'm not going to give up. I have clearly become a lazy reader who has been reading for the storyline and forgetting the rest. And I think this is going to be my first goal — to notice more about the books I am reading than just the plot. This means I need to start reading with a pencil and mark passages that stand out to me; maybe even take some notes. A re-reading of Adler's How to Read a Book may be in order (well, I'll have to think more on that one!). I also may start writing about more than just books in order to get me writing more often. And hopefully, before long, I will gain enough confidence to make a comment somewhere.

Book Review: The Twilight Saga (Books #1-4)

Title(s): Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Category: Young Adult, Fantasy/Paranormal, Romance

Length: around 500 pages per book

My Rating: 6

From Goodreads.com: Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife-between desire and danger.Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.

My Thoughts

This is my second time reading The Twilight Saga. I started with the intent  to re-read Twilight only. My daughter has been begging me to let her try it, but I didn't trust my memory about there being no sexual content. And, while my memory served me correctly, I decided against her reading it for the time being. I think she can do without an intense teenage romance for a little while longer.

I don't really know what I want to say about these books. I'm not in love with them, as so many are, but I am also not a part of the vehemently hate group. Is there a camp that falls somewhere in-between? I wonder because I never hear from that group. Truthfully, I am fascinated by Ms. Meyer's vampires. I'm less fascinated by the shape-shifters. And I'm even less fascinated by the humans. So, my driving force in reading/finishing the books was to find out more about this world, and I was genuinely interested in seeing what would happen with the Cullen family. I consider Bella a necessary evil. Unfortunately, I had to sit through her story to get to the stuff I wanted to read about — the vampires. I did find Bella less annoying this time around though. Not because she wasn't annoying, but because I went in knowing she was and that I wasn't going to sympathize with or even like her.

This was not a careful re-reading. I "finished" all four books in six days, taking plenty of liberties to skim over parts that I didn't care about (including almost all of Jacob's narration in Breaking Dawn). The last was the most tedious book for me. I really didn't like how Jacob was part narrator. I found it awkward and wordy. I also thought the confrontation with the Volturi was much longer than it needed to be. I know they were searching for things to fight over, but it just started feeling unnaturally long and contrived. I have not seen any of the movies, but I really wonder how they made this last book into two. I guess there was just so much I didn't care about in this one that I can't imagine them not being able to leave enough out to make it in to just one movie.

I'm giving these books a 6 – Good, recommend with reservations. There is a lot I can make fun of about them just for the sake of poking fun. But, ultimately, I think they are a fun, escapist fantasy — quick reading and mindless.

Book Review: Tallgrass

Title: Tallgrass

Author: Sandra Dallas

Category: Fiction, World War II, Mystery/Suspense

Length: 305 pages

My Rating: 4

From Goodreads.com: During World War II, a family finds life turned upside down when the government opens a Japanese internment camp in their small Colorado town. After a young girl is murdered, all eyes (and suspicions) turn to the newcomers, the interlopers, the strangers.
This is Tallgrass as Rennie Stroud has never seen it before. She has just turned thirteen and, until this time, life has pretty much been what her father told her it should be: predictable and fair. But now the winds of change are coming and, with them, a shift in her perspective. And Rennie will discover secrets that can destroy even the most sacred things.
Part thriller, part historical novel, Tallgrass is a riveting exploration of the darkest--and best--parts of the human heart.

My Thoughts

My first Sandra Dallas novel was The Diary of Mattie Spenser and I loved it so, so much. It really resonated with me and, years later, I have strong emotions when remembering it. I keep picking up Sandra Dallas books hoping for a strong connection, but have had no such luck with her other books, although I have found some of them very entertaining and quaint. 

I was really excited about this one. I have always felt extreme anger and sorrow about the Internment of the Japanese during WWII, so I was looking forward to reading a book with this as a backdrop. Unfortunately, the whole thing just fell flat. The characters were one dimensional — no one seemed to change or learn anything, and everyone was either good or bad — and I didn't care about any of them at all. I was most curious about Marthalice and she was absent from the family entirely but for a few letters. The writing did not bring me into the story at all. I was not able to picture the town or the Stroud farm. It was like a soap opera with a lot of drama but not a whole lot actually happening between the murder and finding out who did it.

Lastly, you can't help but think of To Kill a Mockingbird while reading it and, well, there can only be one To Kill a Mockingbird and this book doesn't even come close. I really think I'm done with Sandra Dallas. Her books just do not keep my interest anymore.

Library Loot (due back April 22nd)

We made it to the library ahead of schedule. Woot-woot! If you'll remember, we made a family goal to visit the library at least once a month so that the brats have more participation in picking out their own books for nightly free-reading. Here's what we picked up today:

ME

Yep, just one for me today, and I'm already second guessing whether or not I'm really that interested in giving it a try. Seriously, I don't know what I was thinking. I dislike English court, and I dislike Henry VII. On the other hand, I really enjoyed Katherine by Anya Seton and this was recommended as "enjoyed by other readers who liked Katherine by Anya Seton."

MARY JANE (11)

 
MJ is the reason we made an early trip to the library. She finished The Hunger Games and was dying to read the rest of the series. She picked up these two in the "Teens" section and sat down to read while the rest of us looked for books.

KADEN (8)
   
Kaden also knew what he was going to the library for: more Hardy Boys mysteries! He also likes to look through the non-fiction section. He is such a careful, conservative little guy and has a hard time picking more than he thinks he can read, even when we encourage him to get the five allowed on his card. He is such a sweet, considerate little boy.

ELIZA (3)
   
     
Eliza has the biggest loot of all! Of course, she'd leave with twenty at this age since she wants all of them. She got her first library card today and, in the future, will be limited to five as stated on her card.