Skip to main content

Unravelled Wednesday and What are You Reading Monday - the one were lockie D coninues

The cool kids are now referring to lockdown as "locky D" because we needed a nickname for this shit situation. Melbourne has just passed London as the city with the most days locked down (204 and counting) as well as one of the harshest. They brought back the curfew last week. Anyway, I am going for a ride with my father after work - we live in the same 5kms and it's allowable to exercise with one other person not from your household. As you can imagine, we are all very tired.

Which brings me to the NetGalley review book I started yesterday Reasons for Avoiding Friends by Megan Leaval.   

It is awful. The plot focusses on two women in their late 30s who were friends at school. One has moved back to where they grew up and has 4 kids and an out-of work husband. Gwen's husband hasn't actually been home since I started the book, she hates her mother but speaks to her every day, and is upset that her kids are growing up. The other character Iris  is a trophy-wife in New York. Her husband is having an affair with her best friend, her step-kids are nasty and the hired help is out to get her. It's all very negative, gossipy and unpleasant. There is SO much internalised fat shaming and diet talk. Every page. And the women are all in competition with each other. Oh and there is an MLM plot. I'm a quarter in, and I am just not interested in going on with this book. What should I read next?

The knitting is going well - I've almost finished the final sleeve on my Diaphanous Raglan. They look really long here, but when worn they balloon out magnificently. It's been a fun knit, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks after blocking. 

I've also almost finished spinning the singles for the contrast colour of Waiting for Rain, so it will ready for plying on the weekend. I've just got that little bit of fluff left to go.

To read my all my book reviews, and to see everything I knit, you can find me on Ravelry as Sharondoubleknit and on GoodReads as Sharondblk.

I'm joining in with Kat from As Kat Knits for Unravelled Wednesday and Kat from the Bookdate for It's Monday, What Are You Reading.  Thanks Kat and Kat for hosting these linkups. 


Labels:

Comments

  1. Ranee @ Arabian Knits27 August, 2021

    I am a spinner in my head, but I just don’t have the space and time in my life yet. Maybe when our kids are older.

    That book sounds miserable. If you are looking for light fiction, one of my favorite guilty pleasure books is called _There’s a slight chance I’m going to hell_. I have been reading one serious book about Gertrude Bell, and a lot of light, happy little murders.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jane27 August, 2021

    Mercy. That is a long time to be locked down although I wish our governor would follow the science instead of going for political gain. Anyway, your spinning looks so pretty. Ditto for the knitting. Hang in there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sharondoubleknit30 August, 2021

      It is, but it wasn't continuous. We got breaks!

      Delete
  3. shelleyrae @ book'd out30 August, 2021

    Victoria has definitely been doing it tough, but I prefer Andrews approach than Gladys. We are only in week 3 of lockdown since I’m in northern regional NSW, so far our LGA has been Covid free but through luck rather than good management!
    I don’t have patience for negativity right now. I found The Garden of Hopes and Dreams by Barbara Hannay to be an uplifting read.

    Wishing you a great reading week

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sharondoubleknit31 August, 2021

      Thanks. That book sounds uplifting, and I'll be reading it next. I do like Andrew's approach, it's just a hard time. I've had exposure sites at both ends of my street this week :(

      Delete
  4. Marg30 August, 2021

    It sounds like you should read anything other than that book!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tee30 August, 2021

    I spin also, however my knitting is not up to saying I really knit, so I just have bunches of spun wool haning about LOL

    Here is my link:
    https://twogirlsandtheirbookishlife.blogspot.com/2021/08/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-august.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kathy Martin31 August, 2021

    I'm sorry that your lockdown is so strict. I'm also sorry the book you are reading is disappointing. I would have given up on it. I'm much quicker to mark a book DNF than I used to be. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Geogradiant MKAL Part 1 - that was unexpected (spoilers)

Stephen West released the first MKAL clue on Thursday night. I started knitting it without looking at spoilers. When I got up on Friday he had sent through an "alternative" clue one. I then went and had a look at the spoiler thread to try to work out what was going on. Which was that some people thought the pattern looked like a "German hate symbol". I knit on anyway, since I was half-way through. Then he took down the original clue, replacing it with a mitred square in garter stitch. The Ravelry forums and Instagram are a complete shit-show, even though Rav is being moderated. It's been a bit disheartening, having something that is usually quite light and fun weighed down with all this. I admire Stephen's quick and sensitive response to this drama. I also feel that anything can look like anything if you squint. To me this looks like a Celtic knot. I think mine is pretty, and I'll knit on through all crises. 
7 comments
Read more

Linky Wednesday - 3/2024

  It's been a bit of a week. Because of my hand , I can't really knit, so I'm doing some charity crocheting:  It's quite fun, but also I'm halfway through a shrug for myself, and I'd rather be knitting. Oh well, we can't always get what we want! In reading, I'm reading Stargazy Pie , the next Victoria Goddard. This is a comedy of manners and  lots of things happen. I can't say I feel deeply  about any of them, but that's not the point. It's fun.   I'm listening to Elin Hilderbrand's The Five-Star Weekend . It's got a lot of characters, and it took me while to get into it, but now I'm invested. Women's fiction at it's finest. Next up is a review book Tidelines by Sarah Sasson. Great cover. It's Australian, and you know how I love a local book (although I think it's set, or at least starts in Sydney). It's described as a coming of age  novel, and I love those too, so it sounds like a winner.  I just re-read t
16 comments
Read more

Linky Wednesday - the one with the pause

In meditation it's said that the pause between the in breath and the out breath is a gap, a space to rest. Well, I'm in that in-between space for reading, listening and knitting. This is a random photo of a highlight of my week - I filled up my lolly jar. These are just supermarket party mix. During the lockdowns, we sources a great pick-and-mix delivery service, but at some point they started sending from the UK, which is a bit silly. Rachey messaged me a new one she found, and I impulsed purchased a kilo of mixed lollies, and then she sent me a link to the biggest lolly shop in Melbourne, which also delivers sweets by the kilogram, so i think I'm sorted for the rest of the year!  In reading I've just finished  The Beckoning Lady   by Margery Allingham . It's the second last book in the Summer of Mystery, and I have to admit, having now read nine Margery Allingham books, that they are OK. I wouldn't have read them if they were not connected to this club, but on
5 comments
Read more