What I made, by Sharon

W elcome to part 31 in a series of non-fiction book reviews, originally based on the idea that the books I request from netGalley tell you everything you need to know about me. I have, after so many chapters of this series, realised that all these posts say about me is that  this was just a place to put these reviews! I can see how broad my non-fiction reading is, and how many interesting, good (and sometimes not-so-good) books and topics I've had a chance to explore thanks to Netgalley. Today we have the Violent Femmes first album, the Beatles movie A Hard Day's Night, and owls. Diverse indeed!  Owls by David Alderton (Publishing 14 April 2026) Owls have been a source of fascination and awe throughout history. In Indian folklore, owls represent wisdom and helpfulness, while in Ancient Greece they were seen as a good omen if sighted before a battle. Today, owls are often kept as pets by bird lovers, and can be found in woodland and forests from the Canadian Arctic to the...

 We're in the middle of Autumn, but the weather has been beautiful. I took the day off work to go to the beach with Anna, knit, drink coffee and follow it up with a trip to Cosco. Bliss. Speaking of knitting, my Celeste is going very nicely - I'm whizzing down the stocking stitch body. Is there anything more soothing than stocking stitch in the round?   Yes there is - knitting stocking stitch in the round with yarn I dyed myself . The reading has been good too. It's all NetGalley all the time at the moment, since I have 23 outstanding books - all ofr the future, and my ratio is still 94 percent, but I need to stay on top of it.  I just finished  Griftopia by Suzy Vitello  a somewhat odd family drama / satire on American life.  Now I'm reading The Thornbacks by which is even stranger, about a couple of female morticians (but I'm pretty sure that's not the point). It set in an unnamed city that feels a LOT like Melbourne, and is quite the experience. I'm a ...

I don't know what the collective noun for a group of hats is - a charity of hats? A celebration of hats? Anyway, this week I knit four hats, three for charity and one for a work colleague. I do love the  Fits the Whole Fam Hat  pattern. It's simple (as are most hats) It fits all sizes and it's made with three four ply (fingering yarns) held together, so it eats up a whole lot of yarn. Perfect for left over sock yarn.  I've finished with the current spasm of hats, because I will be concentrating on my Celeste jumper, but this has been (another) very pleasurable diversion.

I've had a good month with KoboPlus, currently finishing up  Vengeful by V.E. Schwab,  the second in her superhero (or not so much heroes) trilogy.  I should just have time to finish this, and complete the book of Victoria Goodard short stories which I got halfway through and then took a break from before my subscription expires. then it's back to NetGalley reviewing, which I have let lie fallow this month. I have 20 book waiting, which for me is a lot, but they are all for the future. and spread over the next 6 months. I'll be starting with   Griftopia:   by Suzy Vitello w hich, based on a cursory reading of the blub seems to be about families and overexposure and scam and grifting.  In audio I just finished   This Song Is About Me  by Melissa de la Cruz,  which is what you would get if Daisy Jones and the Six had been about Taylor Swift instead of Fleetwood Mac. It was a pretty enjoyable read, and the audiobook narrator was very good ...

Yesterday I finished reading Victoria Goddard's Till Human Voices Wake U s. while I always love Victoria Goddard (her books are heartwarming and affirming) this one was a bit weird. It was one of her very early books. I enjoyed it, but not as much as her later stories. I'm continuing the urban fantasy theme with Dancers in the Dark  w hich is set in the Sookie Stackhouse universe. I read all the Sookie Stackhouse books a very long time ago, finishing them in 2014, but I don't think I read this one. I'm enjoying it. Next up is A Ray of Sunshine   by Astrid Harewijn. Women's fiction, for a change of pace.  In audio books I decided I needed a complete change, and am listening to the last Aaron Faulk mystery by Jane Harper Exiles .  It's been a while since I read a non-cosy mystery and I'm loving the growing air of menace.     In crafting this week Shoni asked me to knit a pair of mittens for Lulu's birthday, so I did. I've just for the thumb of the seco...

The other day someone commented that my socks look like whimsy and happiness, and I thought about how I want my life to have many moments of whimsy and happiness.  So this weekend I decided to sew some dragonfly patches I had acquired on a spare cushion cover.  I don't sew much, and it's possible that my table is not an ideal height for sewing and this was kind of fiddly, so now my shoulders ache a bit, but my couch is just a little bit more whimsical. Now I'm off to collapse on it and read a book. Happiness.