My summer of reading

At the start of the year I started logging what I was reading on Goodreads, and set myself a target to read 20 books in 2020. I used to be an avid reader, but that had dropped by the wayside as life became busier with children, work and general life stuff. I started the year well, then the pandemic hit, and my reading slowed back to almost nothing as I go distracted by what was happening in the news. At some point a few months ago, I made the conscious decision to spend less time scrolling on my phone, and more time reading. At the minute I have four books on the go at a time: one ebook, one paperback, one hardback and one audiobook, which seems to cover all eventualities! I am lucky that I can read at the same time as knit, so if I'm knitting a large stretch of stocking stitch, I'll have a hardback or ebook on the go at the same time. If the knitting is a bit more complicated, I'll listen to an audiobook. The paperback is saved for when I go to bed, so that book will often take me ages to read!

Here's what I've been reading for the past few months.

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Pretending by Holly Bourne

I listened to this on Audible while doing chores and it was fantastic!

Story review:
Holly Bourne has a reputation for tackling challenging issues in a really engaging way, and Pretending is no exception. April has been hurt in a previous relationship and convinced herself that men only want perfect women, women like Gretel, who April creates as an alter ego.

April sets up an online dating profile as Gretel and soon meets someone who seems to really like ‘Gretel’. But is Gretel what men really want? Or is it April?

Bourne investigates how it is possible to recover from an abusive relationship and regain trust in others. This book was sensitively written and offered several interesting points of view.

Audible review:
The narrator has a fantastically charismatic voice that was really engaging. Some of the production was poor, which the odd short repeated section that was distracting. Overall a good listen though. 4.5 stars 

 

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Sunny Side Up: A Story of Kindness and Joy by Susan Calman

I enjoyed Calman’s first book, so picked this up on a whim when I saw it on sale. This book is about finding joy in the little things, and I can definitely get on board with that, but the book was far too long and rambling for my liking, and was mostly directionless. 2.5 stars. 

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The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman* 

The Thursday Murder Club centres on a luxury retirement home, where a group of residents get together once a week to solve unsolved crimes. One day, a real crime happens in the area and the group set about solving it.

I’m familiar with Richard Osman from Pointless and comedy panel shows, and I feel this book was written in a style that is in keeping with his voice (warm, with wit and sarcasm). The style makes the book a real page-turner, and the characters were all interesting.

I was engaged throughout, and was desperate to know whodunnit! I didn’t predict the final outcome, but it was sufficiently plausible, and overall this was an enjoyable, easy to read, murder mystery. 4 stars.

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The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

I listened to this in the car on a long journey, and it really kept me going.

Where do you go when you die? Maybe you go to The Midnight Library, where every possible life is lined up as books on the shelves. If you open a book, you get to live that life, if you are not disappointed by it, you can stay forever, but if you are, you can go back and choose another life.

Nora hasn’t done well in life, as a child and a teenager, she was full of potential, but none of it came to anything, and after a particularly bad day in her thirties she decides it is time to die. She finds herself in The Midnight Library and is excited to try out some of her new lives.

This book has an interesting idea at its heart: how do each of our decisions change where we end up, and if we could change any one of those decisions, would we be happier? I did, however, work out quite quickly what the final conclusion would be, but that didn’t stop me enjoying the story, however, I feel this is probably a book to read in as few sittings as possible so it doesn’t lose momentum.

Audible note: Carey Mulligan has a gorgeous soft voice. I got annoyed that she didn’t pronounce ‘Marcello’ consistently, she called tacos ‘tar-coes’ and read Caius College phonetically, rather than as ‘Keys College’. 4 stars.

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The Power by Naomi Alderman

The paperback version of this book has been sat on my bedside table for ages, but I didn't get more than a couple of chapters in as the font is tiny! I picked this up on Audible for a long car journey, and got on much better with it.

The idea behind this book is simple: one day women around the world wake up with the ability to create electricty within their bodies and harness this power to their advantage. Men suddenly become  second-class citizens. The book is written as a historical document, telling the story of the origins of The Cataclysm, interspersed with the labels on museum exhibits.

The book is a clear critique of modern society, and was a brilliant listen, even if the histrical document format was a little odd, and I don't think added anything to the story. 4.5 stars.

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Blanket the books are resting on is Fluffy White Clouds by me, available on Ravelry** and LoveCrafts.

*Book supplied for review purposes via NET Galley. All opinions are my own.

**Ravelry may cause issues for people with photosensitivity. Proceed with caution.

Yarning Along: Festive plans afoot

I've got a much longer Yarning Along post for you today than usual. Partly to make up for the lack of post last week, and partly because I have plans afoot!

It was Halloween yesterday, and while it's not a festival I celebrate, I did make a token effort with some pumpkin carving, which I enjoyed much more the previous attempts I've made (I think I chose the right knife this year, which made it much quicker than earlier efforts). I also took my kids along to the school Halloween disco, which they enjoyed and I endured. I like parties with music, but it's not that much fun when you're expected not to dance!

  

And now it's November 1st and I can get started on my Christmas knitting almost guilt-free (I have a few commissions that I need to get finished so that I can cast something else on completely guilt-free). First up, I will be casting on some Christmas socks in this very festive yarn from Unbelievawool (it was a club colourway a couple of years ago), and carrying the project round in my brand new Christmas sloths bag from Yarn Magpie. Seriously, the bag is amazing, beautifully made and a lovely size, and who doesn't need festive creatures on their project bags. And once my Unbelievawool socks are done, I'll be knitting some Candy Cane striped socks in the new yarn from West Yorkshire Spinners (which I ordered the second I knew of its existence!).

While the socks will be my out and about knitting, my home project will be a Christmas stocking for a friend's daughter. I made a stocking for my friend's eldest a couple of years ago, and am pleased that a second was requested for their new daughter who arrived earlier in the year.

After the stocking is knitted, I shall be totally indulgent and cast on my Sincerely Louise reindeer head so it can be mounted on the wall in time for Christmas. I'm not certain the deer was designed as a Christmas ornament, but mine shall be adorned with tinsel over the festive period, and maybe even some fairy lights, so it will be super-festive!

You may remember that last year I had not one, not two, but three yarn advent calendars. You may also have noticed that I didn't show you the after photo for the sock yarn blanket. And that's because I still haven't completed all 24 days of squares, oops. My schedule required two squares per day, which was never going to happen, but over the next few weeks I am planning on adding the final 16 squares (days 16-24), so that I can be ready to add this year's advent squares over the course of December (one per day; the yarn will come from an advent calendar swap that someone was organising on Instagram). Here's what the advent section of the blanket looks like at the minute.

And in the spirit of Yarning Along, here's what I'm currently reading: The Power by Naomi Alderman. I heard of this book via Radio 4 ages ago, but was reminded of it last week and ordered a copy straight away. The premise is interesting: what would happen if all girls suddenly had the ability to control electricity and as a result became physically stronger than men. I'm a big fan of well-written dystopian novels, and so far this one is ticking all the boxes.

I finished reading Autumn just before half term, and felt the book was far too clever for me. I am actually considering reading it for the second time as I think there's a lot more I could get out of it now I know that it is character- rather than plot-driven. I have a couple of other books I am very excited to get started with over the next few weeks: The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman and Into the Water by Paula Hawkins. I loved the His Dark Materials series, so am glad that Pullman is revisiting that world again. I'm saving the book for a clear weekend as I suspect that once I start reading it I won't be able to put it down again! Into the Water is by the same author as The Girl on the Train, which I read very quickly a couple of years ago; I heard an small extract from Into the Water on the radio when it first came out and am excited to see what happens.

Thanks for reading. What are you excited about at the minute?

As ever, linking up with Rachel for Yarning Along.

Do you have any festive knitting plans? If you do, why not join in with the Vikki Bird Designs' Christmas KAL? All the details can be found in my Ravelry group.*

*Ravelry link. Requires a Ravelry account to read; membership is free.

Rain, rain go away...

This week has been a bitty one: it poured with rain all day on Monday and Tuesday (making the school runs super-fun), and today it's blowing a gale. Tomorrow my son's school is shut for the general election,* so we're totally out of routine, and it's all a bit chaotic, but I'm sure we'll survive.

I spent this morning at soft play (it's too windy to play outside today) with my latest project and my latest read. The project is a commission, so this is all you're getting: some beautifully soft Merino DK from Yarn Stories.** The book is Love At First Stitch by Tilly Walnes, which I've been wanting to get a copy of for ages!

The cute bookmark that came with my book order

It was my birthday a couple of months ago and I got a book token from my mum, which is a huge treat as far as I'm concerned. I love getting book tokens as they give me an excuse to browse in book shops. I have visited a couple of book shops since my birthday, but none of them had Tilly Walnes' book, which was what I was thinking of buying. I was about to give up and buy it online from Amazon (I had Amazon vouchers too, but I had mentally assigned those to new shoes), when it occurred to me to check whether you can use book tokens online and it turns out you can, hooray! So I ordered a copy, which arrived last week, and took it out with me this morning to browse while I knitted.

 

I really had planned only to have a bit of a look at the pattern pictures, and make a mental to do list from the book, but I started reading the introduction and got hooked. I've read the first 50 or so pages, and even though I've been sewing for years I've picked up a few hints and tips (such as securing the end of the stitching on a dart by hand-tying a double knot rather than by reverse-stitching; and using shorter stitches when navigating curves), so I'm looking forward to reading the rest, and might even make a few projects from it - I might start with the Margot pyjama bottoms.

Lovely tutorial photos

I have been itching to do some sewing this week, and at the weekend I bought a magazine aimed at beginner sewists as I liked the patterns that come with it. There's also a tutorial inside to make a children's dress out of a t-shirt and a long strip of fabric (the tutorial was originally from Make it, Own it, Love it by Matt Chapple). My daughter has plenty of dresses in a similar style in her wardrobe and she wears them a lot, so this afternoon I bought a couple of plain t-shirts from Asda's school range to turn into cute summer dresses. Hopefully I'll get at least one stitched this weekend.

Cute dress idea! I might switch the skirt to a gathered one rather than pleats

Having read this, you may wonder how I'm getting on with the project and book I shared last week for Yarning Along? Well, I have managed about 50 pages of the book, and I am enjoying it, but not as much as Kate Morton's other books, I have no idea why as the styles are very similar. Maybe it's something as simple as the book being a rather heavy hardback? I have finished the first pink striped sock though, and promptly stole the needle for another project. I have added another 2 mm circular to my Love Knitting** basket, and I'll probably place an order tonight so I can work on both projects at the same time - I seem to be lacking vanilla knitting at the minute.

As ever, linking up with Rachel for Yarning Along. Head over to her post to see posts from other bloggers on crafting and reading. Happy crafting.

*If you live in the UK and are registered to vote, go and vote; whatever you may think, your vote does count and you should make your voice heard.

 

**Affiliate link.

Yarning Along: Sandal weather

It seems summer is finally here! Today has been clear, bright and warm, and, as the title suggests, I've worn my sandals for the first time this year! Hooray! I've had the washing out, and done some knitting in the sun.

Hot!

Blue skies

My current project is a brand new sock design. The idea for them came to me on Friday, I ordered the yarn on Saturday (along with some new needles), it arrived yesterday and I cast on immediately. There's not much to show yet, but I am really excited about what they're going to become, so I fully expect to speed through them (or the first one at least - I'll be writing the pattern for them between the two).

I'm also onto a new book having finished Spectacles last night (I loved it, but found the final 50 pages a bit slow. Plenty of laugh out loud moments throughout though, and I would definitely recommend it. It is very silly in parts!). I'm now reading Be Frank with Me, which I know precisely nothing about, except that it was passed on to me by Amy, who enjoyed it (I think...). I'm reading it now partly because it's a hardback, which makes it easier to read and knit at the same time, the perfect combination for an afternoon enjoying the sun in the garden, and partly because I like the cover (which looks a little like the cover for Spectacles. Maybe my reading has a theme at the minute).

Linking up with Rachel for Yarning Along.

Yarning Along: The final wedge

This weekend I tried my hardest not to knit so that I could give my hands a bit of a rest. I managed a whole 48 hours without knitting, and haven't done as much as usual this week either, and my hands are thankful for that. Not knitting meant I had time to get the sewing machine out, and while I didn't manage to complete the two projects I had wanted to do, I did finally finish the curtains for my daughter's room, which I bought the fabric for in October and cut out in March. That project had been pushed up to the top of the to do list as the mornings have been getting lighter and I was getting bored of having to unpeg the blackout linings every morning... The curtains do still need hemming, but I'm pretending I need to leave them to relax for a few days to stabilise at their natural length before I do them (in truth curtain seams are long and by the time I had done them I was bored!).

I've been focusing on knitting for me now that all my commissions are out of the way, and my current favourite is my Dotted Rays. I have just started the final shade of purple and am on the final wedge, so this is nearly done (does anyone else speed up as they get towards the end of a project?). The project isn't very photogenic at the minute as it's all bunched up on the needle, but that can't be helped.

I finished reading After You this week, and while I enjoyed it I much preferred Me Before You. And I have made no progress on Spectacles this week, but know I will enjoy it when I next have an early night. The other non-knitting thing I am excited about this week is the arrival of my La La Land DVD, which was a birthday present (but hadn't been released in time for my birthday); I loved seeing it at the cinema and can't wait to watch it this weekend (and then several times afterwards - the cd of the soundtrack is in my car on repeat).

Linking up with Rachel for Yarning Along.

A month in books: January 2017

One of my goals for 2017 is to read for at least 15 minutes a day. And it's working! I am actually getting through a few books! Here's what I've been reading in January.

The Christmas Surprise by Jenny Colgan
The story starts with newly-engaged Rosie finding out that she's unexpectedly pregnant. Her war-hero fiance (Steven) hears news from Africa that the sister of two children who died while he was trying to protect them is also pregnant, and the couple plan a trip to Africa. Obviously things don't go quite to plan, especially when you add in Steven's aloof family. The action in this book splits itself between Africa and Derbyshire, and while you have to suspend your disbelief for some of it, I was caught up in it and found it a very enjoyable read, especially over Christmas.

This book is the third in the Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop series, and while I have read the second (Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop; over Christmas 2015), I don't think that matters on this occasion - the book has a handy summary of what happened in the previous stories, so you can start this one with all the background in place, and it is an easy read. I definitely plan on reading more of Jenny Colgan's books when I fancy reading something light, but well-written.

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is a novel based on Judith Kerr's experiences as a Jewish child in the 1930s and her life as a refugee. Anna is a pretty typical nine year old girl living in Germany when her family are forced to flee and live as refugees, first in Switzerland, then Paris and finally England as her father is a high-profile anti-goverment writer with a price on his head as Hitler comes to power.

This book is one that I had been meaning to read for a long time, but may never have actually got round to if a friend hadn't sent me a copy for Christmas. I have read many of Judith Kerr's books for children, including the Mog series and The Crocodile Under the Bed, but hadn't read any of her novels. I found the book very easy to read, and wanted to know what happened to the family, and their wider community; there is peril, and a lot of laughter mixed in with pictures of poverty. Highly recommended.

Five Give Up The Booze by Bruno Vincent
Five Give Up The Booze is one of a series of Enid Blyton parodies written for the Christmas gift market. The Five in the title are the Famous Five, whose childhoods were depicted by Enid Blyton as they went on adventures and drank ginger beer and are now grown up and struggling with modern life. These characters are firm favourites from my childhood, and the book didn't disappoint; in this instalment the Five give up alcohol for January. Very light, very enjoyable. My only criticism is that the pictures (which hark back to the original books) are in no particularly order, and don't often faintly relate to the section of text they are placed in. I have another to read, and will be looking out for the others when I fancy something quick to read.

A week in the life: 8th January 2017

I've decided that this year I will try and post a few more progress shots of projects, rather than just declaring them done before I show pictures, so thought I would start by trying a little round-up post for the week.

This week has been a busy one, with the kids going back to school and nursery, and I've had lots of little bits and pieces to catch up on that didn't get done over the holidays. I have enjoyed being in one place for the whole week and not having to travel the length of the country.

My main project this week has been a sample for a new design for a magazine, so I can't show you more than these two pictures (it's seamed, and is purple), but now that's done, and I have been working on some things I can show you.

I've been working on my Toft chameleon. Progress is a little slow as I can't work on him while I watch TV (I have have to look at crochet all the time, and as every round is different, it takes a lot of concentration). I have made it to the neck, and finally made a start on stuffing him yesterday, only to realise that I really ought to have started that step rather earlier! I had to use the blunt end of a knitting needle on the inside of the piece to poke the stuffing into the tail, and then the pointy end of the knitting needle to shuffle the stuffing around from the outside of the tail to give it a good shape. So fiddly! But worth it; the tail looks pretty fab now.

My out and about knitting is the pair of socks I started during the holidays. I've not made much progress, but feel I ought to get cracking on them as they're currently housed in a Christmas project bag, and I don't want to hunt out a more seasonally-appropriate one.

Annoyingly I've injured my 'pushing finger' (the one that I use to push the stitch off the needle when I've finished the stitch, so I constantly have a plaster on that finger (it is healing, but very slowly, occasionally I forget about it, remove the plaster, then promtly stab myself again and am back to sqaure one), which is starting to get annoying. Hopefully it'll be better soon.

Yesterday I cast on a new project: a jumper for me! It's a reimagining of the Antler cardigan I cast on last year, then decided that I wanted it to be a jumper instead, and a bit bigger. I have knitted as far as the elbow on the first sleeve, but the only photo I have shows way to much of the chaos on my living room floor, so I'll wait until I've done a it more before sharing any photos.

I have managed to stick to my target of reading for 15 minutes every day (though not necessarily by going to bed earlier - I slept for longer into this morning than I meant to, oops), and have finished my first book of the year: The Christmas Surprise by Jenny Colgan. I started reading the book over Christmas, and enjoyed it. It's part of the Rosie Hopkins' series (not that it matters - there's a series summary at the start of the book), and is a light, easy read. The surprises start pretty near the start of the book, so there's not much I can tell you about the story, but it's lovely and heart-warming, defintely one of the better examples of chick-lit out there.

Hope you'vbe had a good week this week. What have you been up to?