What I read and knitted while away

I talked about our bushwalking trip yesterday. One of the great joys of the trip was that there  was lots of time for reading and knitting and amazing places to do so. The walking days were not long, generally 5 - 6 hours and every afternoon was full of sunshine. Then it got dark and cold at 6 and we would retire to the tent around 7.30 and read until I couldn't keep my eyes open, which was usually only about an hour or two. 

For our three nights in hall's Gap we had wonderful chairs to sit in, kangaroos to watch and birds to listen to in the perfect reading spot. That was my reading view.

Before we left I posted that I was going to knit Bright Axis, a simple tee, while we were away. I thought it would be loads of knitting. It was the perfect project - simple, engaging and pretty. I finished the knitting portion in the car on the way home, and Leon and my parents had to endure three hours of me not having any knitting to do. Now I just have to sew up the shoulders and it is finished.

So, what did I read during this time?

I finished A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Shwab, which was ... fine. I think It's young adult, and it just seemed very black and white. The good is good and the bad is bad and it all seemed a bit simple. Not bad, just basic.

Then I read Kate Atkinson's Transcription, which I had been saving up for a holiday. This World War Two Book follows an 18 year old during the war, with a post war timeline as well. it's compelling, interesting and a fun read.

After that I (foolishly) went into another YA fantasy, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. The plot made no sense to me - why would the king be making criminals compete to be his Champion? Why is everyone described in a really physical way? This book just throws everything at us - bad kings, good looking princes, plucky young women - everything. I DNFd at 37 percent, when I was about to climb into bed to read and realised I just was not wanting to.

While we were in Hall's Gap (look at that spot to sit and read!) I also started a NetGalley copy of Recipe another instalment in the Object Lessons series. This one is pretty good, although remarkably American-centric.

At the failure of Throne of Glass I stated Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett. It's another fantasy novel with a young woman on a quest as the protagonist, but this one actually held my interest, for the rest of the trip and beyond. 

And that's my holiday reading and knitting. 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.