Sunday 26 May 2013

What I'm reading

This week has been rather minging to put it mildly.  Pretty much the only thing I have managed to do was read, so lets talk about books.

What are you currently reading?

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith. I hadn't planned on starting this just now, especially after glancing through the prologue and humming and hawwing about it. I forgot to bring another book for break time though, so I started it and ended up reading it at home as well. I was pleasantly surprised once I got past the prologue and I'm enjoying it so far. I suspect I'm going to be ROBIN! throughout the book but I'll have to wait and see as a certain person nicked it off me.

I also started The City by Stella Gemmell as it's still on the request list. I am not really feeling it right now though it's nicely written. I'm intrigued enough to keep reading though and see if I connect with it at all.

What did you recently finish reading?

Darkening Skies and Defiant Peaks by Juliet E McKenna. I loved them both. I'm going to have to reread the trilogy at some point to catch all the little details I missed, but that isn't going to be a hardship. I liked the repercussions that echoed through the books, and still adored most of the characters. I also loved all the insights into the various magic systems, and McKenna definitely has a writing style that sucks me in and want to not put the books down.

Worth Any Price by LIsa Kleypas. I mentioned to someone that the only reason I finished this book was because I couldn't get up to get anything else. It really was that bad. The characters fell completely flat, and it was more a case of telling that they had fallen in love with each other than showing it, and there was a bondage scene that made me want to through the book across the room. I'm not sure I'll be picking up another Kleypas as she has been more miss than hit for me.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Nothing new as I need to finish both I'm in the middle of.

Saturday 18 May 2013

Conquering Moss stitch! Or, playing with a pattern

It's been a long, tiring couple of weeks for me, and the weather has turned from gorgeous sunshine to the middle of winter overnight. On the bright side of life though, it's my Saturday off work, and I'm having fun playing with knitting and finally coming to grips with moss stitch.


It's going to be a fairly straight forward face/dish cloth with an owl motif in the middle, but I'm having a huge amount of fun figuring out the stitch counts, making the motif and generally putting my first pattern together. I don't know why I didn't try this before!

(Okay, I do know why - despite my science degree, my brain has up until recently had a hatred of all things maths related and thought a tension square needed more brain power than I had. Happily it turns out, my brain is more than up to the challenge.)

Maybe now I can over come my mental block on the top with moss stitch that I started and abandoned back before Christmas.

Wednesday 15 May 2013

What I'm reading #4

My long weekend took rather more out of me than I anticipated, though the tea haul was certainly worthwhile. Let's not talk about that though, let's talk about books instead!


What are you currently reading?

I haven't touched Quiet by Susan Cain and A Place of Execution by Val McDermid since last time so I'm not sure if they really count.

I recently started Lois McMaster Bujold's Komarr, and I really enjoyed what I've read so far. I only put it down because I didn't have the spoons to carry on, and the omnibus edition I bought resembles a brick. It's certainly not the biggest one in my collection, but it was big enough to cause problems at the time.

The one I'm actively reading, i.e. I only put down about ten minutes ago, is Darkening Skies by Juliet E McKenna. It's the follow on Dangerous Waters (which I'll talk about below) and so far I am loving it.

What did you recently finish reading?

I finished one of Lois McMaster Bujold's novellas, Winterfair Gifts and I adored it. I don't really have much else to say about it really. I also reread her A Civil Campaign, and I think I loved it even more this time around. It was just so easy to sink into reading it, and I kept smiling as I read it. I think it's going to be a comfort read for me, and I can see myself rereading it repeatedly.

Dangerous Waters by Juliet E McKenna. I ended up enjoying it just as much as I thought I would, to the extent I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next book. McKenna managed that rare trick of making me care about reading about characters I wasn't particularly fond of, and she certainly has a knack with creating multifaceted characters. I enjoyed everything about it, from the world building, the characters, the politics, to the magic systems and the plot itself. I definitely have a soft spot for the wizards though, Jilseth in particular. I can see it growing better with rereads, and I definitely see that happening, as well as rereading McKenna's earlier stuff sometime later this year.

Calculated in Death by J D Robb. It was an okay entry in the series. I think by this point I am mainly reading for the characters, especially the Dallas - Peabody interaction but it was an enjoyable enough way to pass a tired afternoon.

What do you think you’ll read next?

I don't know why I bother answering this one as every week I turn around and read something else! :D I'll probably finish off the McKenna trilogy, then pick something from my library pile.

Friday 3 May 2013

Anticipation

It's the start of the long weekend for me, and I'm looking forward to a weekend of knitting, reading, and visiting tea shops.

Sometimes I think the best part of a project is that bit just before you start, and you are filled with anticipation. This ball of James C Brett Twinkle, shade TK15, is going to be an Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how the relatively simple pattern and the shot of metallic thread combine.

Thursday 2 May 2013

What I'm reading #3

 It finally feels like spring is here! It's been a hectic couple of weeks, but I did manage to squeeze in some reading time.


What are you currently reading?

I'm still in the middle of Quiet by Susan Cain and A Place of Execution by Val McDermid, but slightly further ahead in both.

I also picked up Dangerous Waters by Juliet E McKenna. It's been on my to request from the library list for ages, and so far it is not disappointing me at all. I'm actually enjoying it which is a marked difference from the last two fantasy books I've read.

What did you recently finish reading?

Frankly, it's been a crap week or so for books. (Spoilers for Fade to Black by Francis Knight and Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George.)

The best of the bunch was The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook. I liked a lot of the ideas, and the book wasn't bad, but I never really connected with any of the characters despite wanting to. The greatest feeling I got from the book was disappointment, and I don't think I'll bother with any of the others in the series.

I didn't actually finish Fade to Black by Francis Knight. I picked it up to finish it, and the main character intensely annoyed me again so I decided there was no point in forcing myself to carry on. I feel like the book could have been so good - the initial worldbuilding and set up had me quite excited, but it quickly degenerated into the outsider comes in and does a better job than the resistance and saves everyone. By itself that could have been okay, but the main character was an unlikeable arsehole who kept reminding the reader that he didn't know why he was bothering and didn't want to care, and the women were divided into two types: those who wanted to sleep with the main character and vengeful harpies. Oh sorry I forgot the third type: cold hearted bitch. (I had to go check the book was actually written by a woman.) Annoyed is probably my greatest feeling from reading this one.

I didn't properly finish Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George either. I skimmed it again, and my thoughts of disappointment, why am I forcing myself to read this? were confirmed. I do think it was a little better than This Body of Death as it did suck me in at parts but there wasn't an actual murder in it. That, and the random fat shaming of characters that were essentially stage dressing were majorly disappointing. I don't think I'll even go into the main characters because I just want to throw things when I think about them. I can feel the need to rewatch the TV series come on again, where there is actual consistent character development, and it doesn't give the impression that the author hates one character and uses another as an author stand in.

I did perk up at the idea presented at the end of the book that the next one would be a proper Barbara book, but my hopes were dashed when I read the blurb for it. The worst of it is, I'm still probably going to skim read it. :(

What do you think you’ll read next?

Bitter Seeds
by Ian Tregillis I think, though Elizabeth Bear's Shattered Pillars is making it's way to the library for me. Maybe both since it's a long weekend.