Unravelled Wednesday and WAYRN - 2 review books and a sock

Last week I mentioned that I started a review copy of Indomitable by Claudia Brooke and then set it aside. Since it was a review copy, I thought I should give it the respect of trying to read it, so I picked it back up. I was happy to read some urban fantasy about a dog that was bitten by a vampire. Sounds fun, right? Well, it wasn't. I hated the main female character Gracie. When a second first person voice appeared I thought the book might be salvageable. Then a third first person voice showed up. I guess Claudia Brooke doesn't know that books can be written in the third person? Anyway, I know we are not meant to quote directly from review copies, but let me give you a little sample of Gracie's thoughts after her boyfriend gets called in to work when she is at his apartment:

"He had picked me up, so if I wanted to go home, I'd have to call a relative. Scratch that. A relative ride would come with questions and lectures. Uber would be a better choice. But I was perfectly content in [his] apartment."

Then why did we have to listen to you debating your means home?

When the vampire, who is 6 foot three, don't you know, meets her he describes her as "a tiny thing". and keeps on crapping on about her tinyness. Oh good, tall men and short women again. But what really made me close the book was that the vampire dog shows up and starts talking in an "atrocious" accent. Maybe this whole thing was meant to be cute, but I found it juvenile, poorly written and not for me.Great cover though.

Then I picked up another review book, hoping that it's not just me being too grumpy to read. Luckily it wasn't! Three Muses by Martha Ann Toll is a (mainly) post holocaust book following two main characters (written in the third person, praise be). John survived the camps and Katya is an american ballet dancer and I love both of them. I read more than a third of it in one day, because it is compelling and interesting, and doesn't play the obvious pity cards. It too has a lovely cover.

The knitting has been going smoothly - I'm working on the knee high socks I started in Bendigo. I've just finished the first sock and am loving it - the colours, the fit, the pleasure of a clever pattern.

And that's my week in knitting and reading. 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.

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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.

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

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

What I made, by Sharon

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