Books - Quarter 3 - Part 2

This is my second part of the books I have read recently.  I like to break it up into quarters throughout the year to have it semi-organized.  Last year I was trying to gain at least one bit of useful information from each book I read and I am sad to say that I forgot to do that this year.  Darn!

Here are links to my other Books posting for 2013:

• Books - Quarter 1
• Books - Quarter 2
• Books - Quarter 3 - Part 1

I will resume my education through fiction books starting with my next set of books.  This was not that easy.

8. This is the start of the Kay Scarpetta novels.  This is actually book #2, where Post Mortem was the first novel.  I started with what I owned.  This was a very action packed murder suspense novel that involves the Chief Medical Examiner, Kay Scarpetta.  She gets very close to her cases to the point that she was next on her murderer's list.  Trace fibers from the victim has her and Detective Marino tracking down leads that seem to go nowhere and everywhere.  She heads to New York and even Key West and finds out the people she can trust are not the people she should be trusting and vise versa.  The victim was fleeing from a stalker that landed her in Key West.  When she returns, she is brutally killed.  The detectives find that she unarmed her alarm prior to letting in the killer.  If she was so scared of the stalker, why would she let him in?  The answer comes to Kay almost too late when she does the exact same thing that the victim did and almost was killed herself.  This novel was a hook for me where I definitely want to read this whole series. 
What I have Learned: It is hard to say what practical knowledge I have learned by reading this book, but will have to say simply that Bestselling authors are close to a sure way to know that you will enjoy the story.  I have been giving first novels a chance for about 2 years now and I am tired of not really enjoying them much.  I will try and choose more wisely.

9. This book marks a moment in history...this is my first eBook.  Yes, I have broke down and bought a tablet. I have explained my dealings with the tablet further after the book list.  This is the first book in the "Joe Pickett" series.  Joe is a game warden and he is stationed in Wyoming.  Needless to say, people are not necessarily following the law and things get "cowboy" real fast when an animal thought to be extinct has been seen and found in the area and even in Joe's own yard.  People in the area would rather see this animal stay extinct than have the government know that they are still alive.  What I have Learned: As for a practical learning experience, this was tough.  I could probably say that my attempt at going for Best Selling Authors has worked because I believe I will thoroughly enjoy this book series from this author.

10. It amazes me how many great books this man can write.  He never stops writing.  This was my second eBook, borrowed from the library.  I seem to read the eBooks in record time for me because the library only gives you 14 days to read them, then they expire and are inactive on the device.  So, I am reading under the gun.  This book is the first book in a series about a private investigation agency called Private.  Private has the edge in technology, having the best of the best PIs, scientists and doctors working  for them.  It's fiction, so of course they do.  Jack, Private's owner, has to solve his best friends wife's murder, a teenage-girl serial killer and find what his inner demons are trying to tell him.  It dives right into the first case and this book keeps running until the end.  Great story, drama, romance, suspense, right up to the end.
What I have Learned: Again, best-selling authors deliver a great story.  In addition to not really learning anything from a fiction story where everything comes out perfect in the end.  The type of problem-solving skills this books adopted are from unattainable technology that the police do not even have to use (due to a limit on government budgets).  It was an enjoyable story, but also, not very realistic.  Sometimes books are just a great way to escape and unwind and then you can go back to reality.  No harm done.

I intended to use the tablet as an eReader and if I had to look something up quick at home and did not want to fire up the laptop.  This experience was very frustrating to me for a couple of reasons:

1. I had to download the library app so I could borrow eBooks, but had to renew my library card first, personally, at the library.  Once I had that in place, I logged onto the app to set my library up.  This app is not the greatest; it does not help you in anyway.  You need to know how to navigate through it on your own.  How nice. 
2. Once I started searching, I realize that my library has a crappy selection of books.  The titles I searched for were either not listed at all or they only had a few copies and I had to get put on a waiting list.  One book, Dan Brown's Inferno I am on the waiting list as # 327.  Really!  You can have the book out for 14 days, so I could wait as long as a year for it.  Even C.J. Box's book, I had to wait for it and it is the first book in the series.  Not exactly new.  Anyway, I have not tried buying a book yet, so we shall see if that process is any easier.

After reading two eBooks, I like it, or I should say, I'm not against it anymore.  I do like the real book, so I will continue to read from my bookcase, because I have plenty of those left.

Anyone out there against eBooks or now love the eBook and never want to read a paper book again?

Books - Quarter 1

Yes, I have been a big slacker...I have not been reading (in addition to blogging)...

Since my move I have been too busy to do any crafty projects.  Just unpacking and cleaning - lots of cleaning.  Hopefully I get back on track soon.

Since Christmas, or even earlier, I have not even read much.  When I visited my family over Thanksgiving, I brought a book up with me.  It took me until January of this year to finish it.  I've just been too busy to read.

The one book I finished in the first quarter of 2013 was:

1. This book was a bit dragged out in the middle part, as usual for Stephen King.  I think that is why it too so long.  I finally had to hole myself up on a Sunday in the house and finish it.  It starts off by telling a bit of history of a group of guys that grew up together.  During middle school, they befriended a kid with downs syndrome, Duddits, by saving him from the local bully.  Duddits had a special gift that can show the way (for lack of a better term).  This talent and his association with the other guys lead to each of them possessing a special mental gift.  The mental gifts show themselves at times and it prevents them from developing real relationships with people as they grow up.  They never formed friendships like they did in middle school.   During their childhood, they visit a hunting spot in the middle of nowhere in Maine with one of the fathers each year.  There is a dreamcatcher in the cabin.  They experience unique times together in the cabin.  They continue to meet once a year at the cabin, even though they have lost touch with each other as they are adults.  Fastforward to them as adults: They take their annual hunting trip to the cabin.  One of the days, they encounter a lost, unwell hunter in the woods and bring him back to the cabin to give aid.  This man has something very wrong with him and this starts the tailspin of everything going out of control.  There is an alien inside this man and it came from an alien aircraft that lands in the woods and pretends that it has come in peace.  The government thinks they know better (that the aliens do not come in peace) and want to annihilate it and all the beings in it.  The government then quarantines the entire area that encompasses the cabin and wants to kill every living thing in it.  One alien takes control of one of the hunting guys and sends him on a suicide mission to kill the government people and to want to eventually kill Duddits. The surviving main characters mentally work together to make it out alive and save Duddits.  Leave it to Stephen King to take a hunting trip and turn it into the end of the world, fighting off aliens.  It was a good read, but way too long.  I know Stephen King likes, not loves, to build each character, but sometimes it gets dragged out.  I give it 3 out of 5 thumbs up.

That book was like 700 or something pages long.  Ugh.  But, it was good.  I took equally as long to read my next book, so you will have to wait until summer to get the next list.

I found a great used book store:  The Bookstall in Brandon, FL. 

They will take your used paperbacks and give you store credit for them.  They even rent out best seller hardcover books.  Downfall is that they do not take hardcovers as used books.  In the past, I have brought in books, they look through them, select what they can sell, give me a small percentage of the cover price in store credit and I go down the street and donate the rest of the books to the library.  The library has annual book sales and the main branch in downtown Tampa has a bookstore that is open the first Sat of each month.  Everyone is happy: I get rid of book-clutter and get credit for more books and the library can sell my donated books.

Back in Mass, there is a used book store: Readmore Books.  Old, dusty building with books probably older then me in there, but they would take books for store credit and such.  I cold spend hours in there.  I am happy to have found better than equivalent to my "Readmore Books" in Brandon.

Books - Quarter 2

A busy knitting and crocheting life means a slow reading life.  I don't think I have ever finished this many knit/crochet projects in such a short time, so that being said: I've hardly had time to curl up with a book.

I have finished a couple books since March, and so I will share them with you today:

 5. This is book three of the Hilda Johansson series, in which the head housekeeper keeps finding dead bodies and solves the crime.  This book took place in the early 1900's when women doing the jobs of men was not received very well.  It starts out with Hilda (a Swede) and her boyfriend (an Irishman) go to the Carnival/Fair where the Irishman's uncle is planning a political speech.  Before the speeches are started the uncle's political rival is found dead and the uncle goes missing.  The uncle has been set-up and it is up to Hilda to prove it and find him.  Everyone is against this sort of behavior because she is a worker helping out a rich family and publicly dating outside of her nationality.  This also makes her a target and gets kidnapped herself.  She is locked in a basement room with only drug-laced water to drink.  She eventually discovers the real murderer and where the uncle was stashed, in addition to earning herself respect within the community.  This book was not as enjoyable as the first novel I read at the beginning of the year, but not bad.  I give it 2.5 thumbs up.

 6. My new bible.  Since I have discovered that I am gluten-sensitive last winter, I naturally had a lot of unanswered question on why there is a gluten/wheat allergy and how does that affect people, exactly.  This books has all the answers (or all the ones I knew to ask and ones I did not know to ask).  It goes over what it is, how the body deals with gluten in us sensitive folks to ones that suffer from full-blown Celiac disease.  It discusses the many forms gluten can take on, what they are named and how to avoid them in our everyday lives.  It gives hints on how to alter the way one bakes using different rice and nut flour blends in addition to where to shop for the gluten-free alternatives to our favorite foods.  Most importantly, it helps you accept this new life style change by giving you the facts you need to process the huge life change.

What have I learned as a result of reading these two books?  Well, for the first one, it is a bit of a stretch, but when you are locked in a large dark room, unstitch the lace edging from your underwear and use it as a "find your way back to your original spot" string so you don't get disoriented from the darkness.  (Yes, this is what Hilda did when she was locked in the basement.  She must've had some pretty frilly undies!)

I have learned a tremendous amount from the Gluten Free book that I cannot possibly list them all out.  One important thing is to not assume that something does not contain a wheat ingredient.  Even food items such as soy sauce and lots of creamy salad dressings has wheat or modified food starch (yes, it's often derived from wheat).  The onus is on you to figure it out by asking a ton of questions and read food labels very carefully.  Lots of people do not know what gluten is or how that affects people so you may order a salad and ask to hold the croutons, but you may get them in your salad anyway.  I am not that sensitive to it that I could not just pick them out, but not the case for all affected people.

I am currently reading two books that I just cannot get into.  One is a murder-drama novel that the murder happened in the beginning and nothing else since.  C'mon, will there be another murder; will all the excitement be squeezed into the last two chapters, as is typical with so many first novels?  Then the second one is a fiction novel based on a true story and it's just not that interesting.  I already gave up reading another book because it was just plain dumb in the first two chapters, that I was like, "Forget this!  There are way better books on my shelf than this waste of paper." 

I may have to say the same thing about the non-fiction/fiction book I mentioned before.  I think I'll just give it back to the gal I borrowed it from and know not to mind her book suggestions.  I don't mean that in a rude way, it's just that we apparently are not into the same style of writing. 

I hope you guys are having better luck with your book selections.  Happy reading!

Books - Fourth Quarter

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve and hope that you are not wasting this Sunday recuperating!  Today officially leaves 2011 behind.  It was a good year for me, so I hope that 2012 will be just as good or better.

I had a goal of 17 books this year, because that was one more than I read in 2010.  The total is in and I did not meet the goal.  I did match what I read in 2010, so I'm still content.  Here are my last 3 books of 2011:

14. This book is considered a "Romantic Suspense."  It had some mystery with a sex scene or two thrown in there - I liked it!  A woman moves from the city back to her small hometown in Georgia, where she is opening up a B&B in the home that was her grandmother's.  She instantly is attacked by her teenage crush because he is now the town sheriff and she is a suspected burglar. Of course, the teenage crush is the best-looking bachelor in town who is afraid of commitment.  As predictable as this book was, it was enjoyable with the mystery of who keeps breaking into her B&B and why?  She and the hunky sheriff solve the crime and hook-up.  I give it 3 thumbs up.

15.  I can't tell you enough how much I love reading Jodi Picoult.  Her books get so deep into a subject that is not all that common that you actually learn a thing or two.  This story is about a high school that had the ultimate act of violence occur at it: a shooting.  A troubled teen heads into the school one morning and shoots and kills 10 students and harms several others.  One of the main characters is an eye witness who can't remember what actually occurred that morning.  This story has you feeling sorry for the kids who die along with the student who killed them.  You are immersed into seeing the school system, the police investigation, the court system and how teens really feel inside even though they may not portray it on the outside.  You will have to read the book to find out what is "nineteen minutes."  I give it 5 thumbs up.

16.  This was a fitting book for winter.  I also enjoy reading Nevada Barr.  I had read most of these books, which is a series with the character Anna Pigeon.  She is a park ranger who is assigned a three month assignment on Isle Royale National Park, located in the middle of Lake Superior, in the winter.  The park has a 50-year scientific study to study the behavior of wolves.  Think camping in negative degree weather with hungry animals roaming around you.  Not my idea of a good time, but people do it!  The study is being threatened by Homeland Security and the scientists are not happy.  One of the scientists is ravaged by what appears to be a wolf, but it is very suspicious, then a second scientist goes missing.  Anna tries to be careful while trying to find out who and why someone may be the cause of these "mishaps."  No longer is it just cold outside, but also in the heart of someone at the island.  I give it 3.5 thumbs up.

I enjoy reading but I also enjoy knitting and sewing, so it is hard to find the time to do all of them, never mind all of them at once.  I have so many books on my book shelf, that I do not need to buy another book for a few years, if I read at the rate I'm reading.  I love books though, and can't resist buying them and borrowing them. 

I am not going to set a goal for 2012.  Actually, my goal is to relax more and not worry so much.  That is a challenge all in itself.  So, setting a goal for a leisure activity, like reading, is not something I am going to repeat.

As for the Craftolutions....we'll see.

Books - Second Quarter - Part 2

My summer reading continues.  So far I have read a total of 11 books to date at the end of this post.  So, according to my Craftolutions, I only need six more to go.  That is about one book a month.  I have a ton of books on my book shelf that I have not read and I can't help but buy more when I go to book sales.  How can you pass up a hardcover book for a buck or a paperback for a quarter?  I can't! 

I only have two books to add to the Second Quarter reading list.  I read these while on vacation at the end of June.  I will continue the numbering, as before:

10.  This book I bought specifically for a beach read.  It is a chic-lit book that takes place in Hawaii.  Perfect!  A woman, Keeley, from the states (a mainlander) moves to Hawaii to study volcanos.  She meets a Hawaiian tour guide, Kam, and they get married.  They have a son (not necessarily in that order) and enjoy life for 5 years.  Keeley found out that Kam was cheating and she has served him divorce papers on the fourth of July.  Independence Day.  Kam is planning on moving to Fiji with the new girlfriend and wants sole custody of the son.  Meanwhile, there are funny lines and slightly outrageous situations that  Keeley finds herself in.  The volcano that Keeley is studying is supposed to be dead, but she finds that something is brewing inside it that she must warn the people of Hawaii about.  She meets someone that claims he know Davey Jones from the Monkeys and that gets her interested in him.  Through the bad-timing scenarios and misunderstandings, she is confused on whether divorcing Kam is the right thing to do.  This is a cute book, worth reading on the beach, but hard to take serious (can you ever take chic-lit serious?).  I give it 3 thumbs up.

11. This book I have been wanting to read for awhile.  This book takes place in a small town in Dublin, Ireland.  Three children about 12 years old go and play in the woods behind their town.  They play in these woods everyday, so this day should not be any different.  But then they don't come home that night and a search party goes out to look for them.  They find one of the children in the woods alone with blood in his sneakers.  He cannot remember what happened that night.  Twenty years later, he has changed his name and is now a detective investigating murders in Dublin and still cannot remember what happened to the other two children.  A case comes up involving another young child, a girl, in the very woods where his friends disappeared.  They give him and his partner the case, not knowing the connection he had with the area.  Does the lone survivor/detective ever figure out what happened 20 years ago in the woods?  Can he solve this case knowing details of the old case?  This book is a who-done-it suspense that will keep your attention.  It is a very dark story in which there are no light parts that make you laugh or smile, but it was very good modern day detective novel.  I rate it 3 thumbs up.

After that last book, I think I need some time off from reading.  I read that book in less than a week due to traveling, so I felt its weight on me and it put me in a funk.  My next one will be have to be a light-hearted and easy read to get me back into the swing of things.

Tell me, what is on your summer reading list?

Books - Second Quarter - Part 1

So, I as I mentioned in my Books - First Quarter post, I am reading a ton of books this year.  I figure that I need to read about one book every 3 weeks or so.  I go in spurts where that is all I do is read, where my nose is in a book every free second of the day, to not picking up a book in over a week.  I figure that summer is where I pick up my slack and I always travel at some point during the year and an airport and plane are the best places to read large chunks at a time.  I am off to a slow start this quarter, but I will make it up.  I will start the numbering from where I left off, so I can better track what number I'm on.

To keep this post fairly breif, I will post my books in two parts.  Here is part one.

I usually rate them (and I encourage debate, if you feel my rating was not enough or was too high) on a 5 thumbs-up scale.  One being the lowest and five being the best.

5. This book I borrowed from a friend at work.  It takes place over 100 years ago in England and Brazil.  This book is told by both the husband, Thomas, who was a naturalist that studied butterflies as a hobby and his wife, Sophie, that encouraged his hobby.  He gets the opportunity to travel to Brazil's rainforests on an expedition with several other men who study botany, insects, wildlife, and birds as scientists.  He goes and leaves Sophie behind for 6 months while he tries to find a certain specimen of butterfly that has been told to him as a myth.  While she is dealing with his intermittent letters home he is thrilled to have such an opportunity.  This thrill is turned into obsession with finding this butterfly and horror at the actions he sees while in the rainforest.  He comes back home mute.  Sophie cannot understand why he won't speak and goes to much length to help him.  At the end of the book, you find out why he came home mute and it is shocking.  While this book is fiction, some of the accounts are base on a true life story, which is why the ending is surprising.  A very good read.  I rate it 3.5 thumbs up.

6. Here is my first classic novel since college.  I thought I would go to Jane Austen's first book, even though it may not be her best work.  I wanted to understand her from the beginning.  It took a bit to read and get the flow of their speech, but it was not as bad as I thought!  It takes place in rural England in the 1800's.  It is about a young girl, Catherine, 17 years old going to Bath, England with a rich neighbor couple.  She is introduced into society only knowing the etiquette that she learned growing up, so she was very naive when interacting with other adults.  She would not realize when someone was being sarcastic, etc.  Once you see this is happening, she gets herself into a situation where she likes a guy named Henry (finds him "most agreeable") and is tryng to run into him at the social hall ("Pump Room") and the theater.  Meanwhile another guy named John that she finds most disagreeable is trying to win her affection but is doing it by sabotaging any interaction she may have with Henry.  But she is not entirely naive because she befriends Henry's sister to get closer to Henry.  You go girl!  Although some parts were dull and the end was a bit hurried and did not go into a lot of detail of some scenes that may have warrented further chapter and verse, it was a novel that started Jane Austen's writing career so one has to respect it.  I rated it 3 thumbs up.

7. This book was recommended to me from Vince's mother.  She has his entire book collection.  This book is filled with characters that crave power.  It starts out in the 1800's with a diamond boom in South Africa.  A Scot leaves his home country to try to tap into those diamonds.  This book takes you on a journey of greed, deception and ultimate power.  Each generation of this Scot's heritage is hungrier than the previous.  The lengths that they will go to to win the game they play with money and people are beyond reason.  The book is a classic suspense tale of what happens to each one as the greed to posses takes hold.  The character string is Jaime McGregor starting in South Africa, almost dying.  He marries the daughter of the man who almost killed him, Margaret.  Meanwhile he builds an international corporation.  They have two children, one is killed and the other, Kate, goes on to take over the buisness.  She marries her father's right-hand man.  They have a son, Tony.  Tony is manipulated by Kate each day of his life and makes him her puppet.  He marries and has twin daughters, Eve and Alexandra.  Tony attempts to kill Kate when he sees what she has done to his life and is commited to an insane asylum.  The twins are to inherit everything.  Eve is the greedy one and attempts to murder her sister starting from age 5 to obtain her sister's inheritance.  Eve is disinherited and Alexandra does not want the corporation.  Alexandra marries a doctor and has a son, Robert.  In the end, Kate is still trying to mold the perfect heir to the corporation. This book was very intriguing and hard to put down.  I rated it 4.5 thumbs up.

8. This book was written by a local Floridian author.  This book I have had on my book shelf for a few years and it is a signed copy.  I usually give my books away when I am done, but not my signed copies!  This mystery takes place in Key West.  The main character, Alex, is a beach bum that discovers that his ex-girlfriends are being murdered on the island.  The first serial murder is a woman that looks like his current girlfriend, Annie.  Alex is a freelance photographer and often takes jobs photgraphing crime scenes and this is how he finds one of his ex-girlfriends, dead.  He then figures that maybe Annie should have been the first victim.  This book throws a ton of characters at you all at once, so it was hard remembering who is who in this who-done-it.  Since Alex works with the local police, he has contacts who let him know some of the clues and then he tries to find out on his own who is killing these women so he can clear his name.  Meanwhile he finds out that Annie is sleeping around with a sleezy lawyer.  This sleezy lawyer is involved with these murders along with a detective and an old aquintenace from Alex's past.  Alex's ex-girlfriends are also connected to these men which Alex is slowly figuring out.  Alex travels to Miami, Fort Lauderdale and even Georgia to snoop out clues on these guys.  I don't think that I am describing this story very well, but you get the gist of it: Murder, old girlfriends and deception.  It was an interesting read.  I rate it 3.5 thumbs up.

9.  This is a mystery that I bought at a library book sale in St Pete.  It takes place at the turn of the 20th century in London, England. The main characters are William Monk, a former police detective turned private eye (aka an agent of enquiry) and his wife Hester Monk, a hospital volunteer who is crusading for cleaner and more educated health care facilities.  A man seeks out Mr. Monk for his enquiry ability in finding his missing fiance.  This novel is very Sherlock Holmes-ish and takes the reader into the rural working class of London to find the missing fiance only to discover a murdered coachman and hidden secrets that the found fiance would rather be unjustly hung for the murder than share with anyone.  This novel is one of the many tales with William Monk written by Anne Perry.  Very intriging; would read more of this series.  I rate it 3.5 thumbs up.

I will be taking a break from blogging for the next few weeks but hope to finish a few more books and knit a baby blanket before June is over.

I may post some pics from my vacation, but I'm not promising anything!  See ya in a few week!

Books - First Quarter

As I said in my Craftolutions post, #8, I am going to read 17 books this year.  I'm off to a steady start, but February was a slow reading month for me. I recently had to travel for work, so I read an entire book on the planes (going and coming back), so that put me back on schedule.

Well, here is my list so far and how I rate each book (5 thumbs up is the best):

                                                1. This book I got as a Christmas present.  This is the first non-fiction book I have read in a very long time.  It is about how this one woman decided that living a simpler life would be more fufilling.  She still had a 9-5 job, but when she got home she turned into a homemaker.  She has funny accounts of the highs and lows of learning how to raise chickens so she can have fresh eggs, learning how to be a beekeeper to have fresh honey, raised rabbits for their fur, grew her own garden of veggies, and she even has a couple of husky dogs that she would sled with and also make them into pack dogs (trained them to haul bundles on their sides like a donkey).  This is a story and a resource for where to get info so you, too, can live a simpler life.  She is very down-to-Earth and you end the book wishing you could raise chickens!  I rate it 4 thumbs up.

2. This next book is from an author that I have read from several times.  Her books always start off a bit slow because she is building everyone's character but always has a strange twist at the end.  This book has a wedding that the guests are all alumni from the same private school, but they have not seen each other in 20 years, so it is like a reunion.  The wedding takes place at an inn that one of the alumni converted from a house.  Each character has a secret that is either revealed dring the story or at the the end, which is the twist.  It has the characters remembering their earlier years and either wishing they did things differently or glad they didn't.  She takes you into each character's mind and feel what hardship they bring to the inn with them.  I rate it 3.5 thumbs up.

3. This third book has been on my reading list for awhile.  I have read the entire Mayfair Witch series when I was in college but I had not read any of the Vampire series.  This book is part of both series where there is a Mayfair witch, Merrick, and a few of the Vampires, Lestat and Louis.  Merrick, I don't remember, was ever mentioned in the Mayfair series.  This book has her calling on someone from the spirit world, but it has a lot of character history that occurs by going into the past.  That part made the book boring to me because I was forgetting the point of the book, which was raising a spirit.  The end was the most interesting because the spirit was finally raised.  If you were a fan of either set of series, then this is a good book to read, but if you were not, then I would not recommend it.  These books were written way before the Twilight series and all the other vampire novels out these days.  So if you liked the Twilight stories then start reading either one of Anne Rice's series; they are more mature.  I rated this 3 thumbs up.

4. My final book for this first quarter is from one of my favorite authors.  This book has a man accused of double homicide and has been sentenced to the death penalty.  The double homicide takes away one of the main character's husband and daughter while she is pregnant with her second child.  The man (inmate) is on death row for 11 years and during this time the second daughter is on the waiting list for a heart transplant.  The inmate gets this idea that he must donate his heart to the young girl in order to make things right for what he has been accused of doing.  Jodi Picoult books have a way of making you like the "bad person" in her books because they are real and human too.  She has you think beyond social stigmas and stereotypes and makes you think of the morality of the matter at hand.  Does the woman want this heart for her daughter to live from the inmate?  No.  Does she need it?  Yes.  I won't ruin the story, but this was a fantastic book.  I rated this 5 thumbs up.

My next set of books, I want to fit in a classic, like something from Jane Austen.  I have a few of her books, I just have not started any of them yet.  I tried listening to one of them on an audiobook and they read with such a thick English accent that I could not even understand them!  So I returned the audiobook to the library.  I carpool to work most days so listening to an audiobook isn't practical anymore. 

I'm also not into those e-readers either.  For me, reading a book is about the actual book in your hand, not some computer that you read off the screen.  So, right now, I am boycotting e-books.  An audio book at least has someone reading the book to you in the way the book should be told in, so I feel like that is a good alternative to not have the phyical book in your hand.  Otherwise I like feeling each page, and carrying the actual book around with me.  Does anyone agree with me or do you like the e-readers?  I'm interested in knowing what is so great about giving up a paper book...

Craftolutions 2011

Happy New Year!  With the new year here, why do we feel obligated to create goals?  My answer to that is so we can be a better person than we were the year before.  Although these are my Craftolutions, my knitting, sewing, and on the path to enlightenment declarations, if I make someone happy by making something handmade for them, then it will be worth my time and make me feel good in the process.

I want to complete my UFO's (unfinished objects).  Now, I am allowing myself the freedom to do an alterante project with the yarn.  I have a few projects that are only about a few inches long, so I can unravel it and repurpose those yarns into a project that will actually see the light of day.  I think that is more important than completing a project that had it's issues from the start!

I want to organize my patterns and craft ideas in a 3-ring binder.  I have knit and crochet patterns stuffed everywhere, swatches in random bags, yarn labels in my notions bag and magazine image clippings tucked in books.  My sister has her's organized in this manner and it was so nice to look through.  I want to organize it with a section for Completed and one for To-Do.  I will include those swatches in a sheet protector along with the pattern and yarn label.

I want to have patience (aka HP).  I can't tell you the number of times I get worked-up over a project that is not coming out right or is taking too long.  Mostly my sewing projects get me frustrated.  I imagine something being easy or should only take a few hours and when it doesn't lay flat, or takes forever to complete, I often have meltdowns.  Yes, I am admitting that I swear and often shed a few tears over my inability to accomplish the task at hand.  I believe it is due to me always wanting to challenge myself and so, of course, I don't always pick it up as quick as I would like.  I need to take a time-out and deal with my patience.  New mantra: Breathe in, HP, Breathe out...

I would like to knit, crochet, or sew something for charity.  There are several charities that knit for babies or animal shelters that can always use blankets.  I am not going to put a number on how many items I will make and donate, I can only say that I will do what I can throughout the year.  A few that I have Googled are Knitting for Charity, Knit-a-Square, and Hugs for Homeless Animals.  Reading through these websites makes me feel like I should have done this ages ago.

I would like to teach someone to knit.  This may be for selfless or selfish reasons.  I want to share my knitting skills with someone; it is a great gift to give.  But, I would also like to have a local knitting buddy to hang out with and do my projects and swap ideas.  I have taught one person to knit.  She is still knitting and is developing her skills wonderfully.  She emails me once and a while for help and I do what I can, long distance!  A few people have expressed interest in learning to sew, so maybe I can get them to make that sewing machine purchase and I can help with that skill.  Although, knowing my record with meltdowns, it might not be the best idea.  Or I could think of it as working on my patience (Craftolution #3).

This is always something that needs constant watching.  I need to be realitic with projects and I need to give myself more time to complete them.  For example, with Christmas, I started in the beginning of November, but it still was not enough time to do all my homemade gift ideas.  Another example is stating I'm going to make this one thing for everyone, then not liking the first one and having to come up with a Plan B; that happens often.  So, if I start early enough, coming up with a Plan B or even C should be no sweat!

I want to get back into jogging.  Now you're thinking, "How does this relate to the Craftolutions?"  My thoughts are that knitting, crocheting, sewing, etc are pretty sedentary "sports" if you will.  I need to keep a healthy body and a healthy mind to cut down on meltdowns and to have HP.  Along with this, I want to complete at least one 5k a quarter.  One year I did a 5k each month, because I had a goal to get my time under 30 minutes.  I did not get under 30 minutes, but at least I was out in the sun doing something.  I am not going to say under 30 minutes this time, but to get it between to 30 to 34 minutes. That is being realistic :-)

My last Craftolution is reading!  Last year I read 16 books, so this year my goal is to read 17 books.  I did finally finish reading my last book of 2010 (Knit Too).  Not sure when I will be reading, since I will be so busy with jogging and completing UFO's.  Ha ha.  I don't like to pre-choose books, I will just read whatever I'm in the mood for at the time.  I will try and break it down into quarters, so that will be about four books a quarter.  I will post my reading lists as I go so I can stay on track.

So, what are your New Year's Resolutions?  As long as you stay postive and set realistic goals, then you can achieve them.  If you are having trouble, see me and I will help you stay on track.  But, I also reserve the right to get your support with keeping me on track!  Here is to 2011 [clink your knitting needles, crochet hooks, sewing needles, and book bindings together now]!

Summer Reading List

Yes, the summer reading list.  I posted on Facebook in June, that I was setting a goal to read nine (9) books this summer.  I got some thumbs-up and was excited to meet and possibly even exceed my goal.  Well, it is almost mid November and I am still reading...I do have to say I did read eight books during the summer months.  I am stuck on my ninth book and I don't know why it is taking me so long.  I love to read, I guess I am in a reading funk.  Let me share the books I read this summer along with a cheers rating (5 thumbs-up is the highest rating):

1. I picked this first book up at a yard sale.  This is a romance, but I think they called it 'paranormal romance'.  I never heard of that before, but I have read Heather Graham before and enjoyed her, so I figured this would be good too.  I was right, but I put it in the beach-read category.  A woman is a performer at a Las Vegas casino when someone is murdered and falls on top of her at the craps table (think opening scene from CSI Las Vegas).  There is a PI trying to solve this murder before too much info hits the press.  Paranormal part: The woman can see dead people that are in limbo after they die.  Interesting, but hectic ending with lots of ghosts coming out in an abandoned western town for a shoot-out.  I give it 3 thumbs-up.

 2. I got this book from a friend who reads avidly.  Jennifer Weiner has written tons and I have read at least two of them, one being Good in Bed and the other being In Her Shoes.  I enjoyed both of them; so I gave this one a try.  Right off the bat, someone is murdered in her perfect Conn surburban kitchen.  The main character is new to the area and is a stay-at-home mother that is not as perfect as her neighbors.  She is the only one that seems to care who killed this woman.  The book is filled with detail, suspense, chic-lit humor and real-life emotion.  I have recommended this book to several people and will continue to.  I loved how it matched up the good parts of chic-lit with a murder mystery.  I give it 5 thumbs-up.

3. The summer before last, I finally read the Twilight saga.  I enjoyed it, but I will only read them once.  I know, what kind of Twilighter am I?  Well, I did not choose a 'team' so everyone will have to live with it!  This novella came out and I actually bought it new and read it before some of the biggest fans I know at work.  Along with it being about the short second life, it was also a very short story.  Although short, it was just as addicting as the other four books.  I don't need to sum up the book, if you are a Twilighter, but for you non-believers, it takes a minor character and tells a portion of Eclipse through her eyes.  I give it 5 thumbs-up.

4.  I bought this book at a library book sale.  This is a local author from Tampa and this book is from in a series.  I had not read any of the other books in the series, and I don't think that I will either.  This book's main character is this vigilante guy that appears dumb but goes around killing 'bad guys'.  I think this book is suppose to inject humor while killing the bad guys, but it was lost on me.  I found it too annoying to like any of the characters.  I only give this 1 thumb-up.

5. Nevada Barr is one of my favorite authors.  Her book series is about a National Park Ranger, Anna Pigeon.  This one takes place in California where a firestorm breaks out and she and several other park employees/firefighters are stranded on a mountainside.  A murder takes place and it was done by one of the people stranded alongside Anna.  She is trying to figure it out, while keeping the peace until they are rescued.  There were a few boring parts, so I give this 3.5 thumbs-up.

6. Here is another Stephanie Plum book.  In my earlier post Ten Big Ones, I wrote about the numbered series from Janet Evanovich.  I read To the Nines in July, while I wrote about Ten Big Ones in September.  So, I am backtracking a bit.  As always, this book was a funny one.  She is looking for a skip and the angle in this one is that someone is leaving her flowers with devious messages that make Morelli a bit nervous.  A great addition to the Plum family.  I give it 4 thumbs-up.

7. I borrowed this book from a co-worker.  I was very eager to read this much-anticipated novel featuring Michael Landon.  I heard some mixed reviews, but if you are a fan of The Da Vinci Code,  then you will enjoy this next adventure.  Micheal is tricked into going to Washington DC by a Free Mason poser.  The history of the monuments in the Capital are covered in this book.  This book is suspensful and keeps you guessing who is on Micheal's side.  I give this 5 thumbs-up.

8. Like I said before, I read this one in September and covered the Stephanie Plum series.  This segment of Ms. Plum's life deals with a gang in Trenton, NJ.  She has Lula helping her and in the meantime, she gets to stay in Rangers 'Bat Cave'.  This one is hilarious and has to be read in order to get the full appreciation of the situations she encounters.  I give this a 4.5 thumbs-up.

9. This book I am still reading.  It has taken me over a month to read only half the book.  It is enjoyable, but I guess I've been really busy.  The preceding book, The Friday Night Knitting Club, was an excellent read for knitters and non-knitters.  This continuation of the Club is how they are dealing without one of their close members, having babies, and I'm not sure what else because I am only half-way done!  I can say that there is not a lot of knitting going on, so that is a bit disappointing.  That could be why it is taking so long.

Well, that was my summer reading list.  I like to keep track of the books that I read so that I can: 1. Not read the same book again, 2. Try to correlate the genre of book to my mood throughout the year and 3. To try and read at least one more book each year. 

So, in looking back on 2009, I read 14 books (this included the Twilight series).  This year the total is already at 15.  Technically, I could stop stressing and take the rest of the year to read Knit Two.  I think that I am funny sometimes, where I make-up these 'rules' in my head, only to try and find a way around them.  For example, if I read more than one additional book this year than last year, then in the year 2011, I will have to read 2010's number, plus one!  If I just coast the rest of the year, then it will only be 16 books.  I don't know why I need to organize something leasurely like reading books, into a schedule and stress over it.  How do I not think like this? Does anyone else do this or something like this with leasurely hobbies?

Anyway, I enjoy reading mysteries, some chic-lit (not all, some are just too typical and unreal) and non-depressing drama.  I have read a few Oprah Book Club selection books and wanted to dig a hole and not come out, they made me feel so depressed.  So, if a book boasts the Oprah Book Club seal, I don't touch it!  I think, "thank you for already determining that I don't want to read it."  I would ask for reading recommendations, but I have two book shelves stuffed with books that are on my To-Do list.  Let me finish those, then I will ask!  

Get outside and enjoy the weather, or if the weather is not enjoyable, then curl-up inside with a good book!  Happy reading!