A Year In Books: 2017

It's that time again - time to look at all the books I managed to read last year. And since I love the graphics Goodreads puts up, that's what you see here (thanks, Goodreads!). Speaking of, if you are on Goodreads, drop me a line (click here for my profile).

I made it a point to diversify what I read this year. I read everything from giant classics (War and Peace, David Copperfield), to super popular (The Lovely Bones, Into the Water), from self help (You Are A Badass, The Millionaire Next Door ), to brain science (Who's In Charge?). I didn't have as many books knock me off my chair this year (as you will see in my 5 star list), but I enjoyed quite a lot and still contemplate things about their stories long after I've read them. Others were total throw aways that I couldn't wait to finish. Definitely an interesting mix!

I did pretty well with writing reviews on the books I read until about halfway through the year (as you will see - I've linked each title to blog post review if it had one). Maybe I can blame this on the hurricane as well? lol Man that this really messed up my schedule. Moving on! I also changed my posting format to have one review post for every 5 books, which I much preferred because it made each review feel less ominous to write. Did you like this set up better? Should I include more reviews in each post so you can skip them? lol Let me know what you thought. 

So here are my books from 2017:

1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
2. Joy on Demand by Chade-Meng Tan
3. You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero
4. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
5. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

6. The Once and Future King by T.H. White
7. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
8. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
9. The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter

10. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
11. Naked by David Sedaris
12. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
13. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
14. My Week With Marilyn by Colin Clark

15. Kim by Rudyard Kipling
16. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K Rowling
17. The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley
18. Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer

19. The Remains of the Day by Kasuo Ishiguro
20. Tenth of December by George Saunders
21. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** by Mark Manson
22. My Ántonia by Willa Cather
23. Who's In Charge? by Michael S. Gazzaniga

24. The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
25. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
26. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
27. Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

28. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
29. Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
30. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
31. Theft By Finding by David Sedaris
32. Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen

33. White Oleander by Janet Fitch
34. Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss
35. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
36. To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris

37. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
38. You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
39. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
40. The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
41. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

42. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
43. MirrorMask by Neil Gaiman
44. The Lovely Bones by Alice Siebold
45. Believe Me by Eddie Izzard

46. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
47. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
48. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
49. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
50. Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown

51. Children Playing Before A Statue of Hercules by David Sedaris
52. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
53. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

I really squeaked out the 53rd book - I finished it at about 9 pm on New Year's Eve. I tried to focus on reading a balance of new fiction with books on the Books Everyone Should Read type lists. Click that link to take an epic quiz and see how many you've read. I found it last year and was at 99, now I'm up to 109 - not bad in my opinion. 

• You are a Badass 
• The Subtle Art
• We Should All Be Feminists
• The Omnivore's Dilemma

I didn't get a chance to write a review of The Omnivore's Dilemma, but seriously it's so good. I'm not sure if I just need to be more discerning of what I read to get more 5 stars or if I've read so much that it takes more to impress me on that level. Who knows?

I managed to yet again beat my goal on Goodreads :) I really love keeping track of everything there - I can look back on when I read something and what I thought of it. I can also see who I read the most (David Sedaris and Neil Gaiman this year) and other interesting statistics. I'm obviously a nerd (in case you didn't know) so I like things like this, lol. 

So that's my year in books! I've set a goal of another 50 books in 2018 (I've decided this will be the year for Crime and Punishment at last), so stay tuned for what I decide to read and my reviews if you're interested.

A Year In Books - 2015

This year seemed to be the year of books for me. If I had a spare minute, I was reading or listening to a book. Turn off your cable and this is what happens to you, lol. I'm pretty proud of my stats this year on my quest to read 1000 books in my lifetime. I love how Goodreads put everything together like an infographic, so here are some of the particulars about my reading in 2015.

I've continued my tradition of writing out reviews of all the books I read this year, and while I'm sure some people find my constant reviews a little boring, I am really glad that I "do my homework" and get them written. The reviews are much more for my own reading comprehension than anything else. By writing up my thoughts on a book, I am able to solidify my feelings and memories of it in a deeper way than if I just move on to the next story. I like to keep my hand in the game, though I'm sure if any of my grade school teachers found out that I voluntarily write my own mini book reports now, they would laugh their butts off. So if you care to read any of the reviews I wrote about the book I've read this year, click the titles and it will show you the review post (there are quite a few that I haven't posted a review for yet, but I hope to catch up next year).

1. Landline by Rainbow Rowell
2. Joyful Wisdom by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
3. 10% Happier by Dan Harris
4. Love in the Time of Cholera by Garbiel Garcia Marquez
5. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
   
6. Not Cool by Greg Gutfeld
7. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
8. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
9. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
10. 1984 by George Orwell
11. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
12. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
13. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
14. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
    
15. The Trauma of Everyday Life by Mark Epstein
16. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
17. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
18. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
19. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
20. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
21. Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
22. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
23. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
    
24. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
25. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
26. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
27. The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan
28. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
29. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
30. Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming
31. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
    
32. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
33. Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
34. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
35. Catch Me If You Can by Frank W. Abagnale Jr.
36. I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
    
37. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
38. The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel
39. The Wizard of Oz by L.Frank Baum
40. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
41. Sacré Bleu by Christopher Moore
    
42. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
43. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
44. Germinal by Émile Zola
45. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
46. The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
47. Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil
48. I Was Told There'd Be Cake: Essays by Sloane Crosley
49. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
    
50. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
51. Far From the Madding Crown by Thomas Hardy
52. This Time Together by Carol Burnett
53. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
54. Paddle Your Own Canoe by Nick Offerman
    
55. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
56. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle
57. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
58. Dr. Mutter's Marvels by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
59. Watch Me by Anjelica Huston
    
60. Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham
61. The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
62. The Path To Enlightenment by Dalai Lama XIV
63. A World Lit Only By Fire by William Manchester
64. The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson
65. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
66. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
67. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
68. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
    
69. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
70. Boundaries by Henry Cloud
71. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
72. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
73. Before Happiness by Shawn Achor
74. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
75. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
76. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
77. A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
    
78. Daisy Miller by Henry James
79. Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
80. Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Considering that I has a goal of reading only 24 books, I think it's safe to say I blew that estimate out of the water, lol. I was completely addicted to reading this year. I did a lot of driving, so I listened to audiobooks on the way. I listened to them while I knit, cleaned, sewed, even while I covered base boards with fabric at work. Reading is a wonderful escape when things get rough in your own life, and all these stories helped me to get a better perspective on my own goings on.

Some books are always better than others, and I like to keep a list of all the books I rate as 5 star. I have had a few 5 star ratings added to my list this year :) They are:

• 10% Happier
• Atlas Shrugged
• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
• Mere Christianity
• A Tale of Two Cities
• A Room of One's Own
• The Sound and the Fury
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• The Secret History
• Big Magic

I would absolutely recommend every single one of these books as they were excellent. There's quite a variety here as far as genre and style, but I like to keep things interesting in that way. I haven't been able to post the reviews on all of these yet, but I will update the links as I do post them. Check out my reviews to see if any of these sound like something you, too, would be interested in.

I'm keeping my goal for next year low in comparison to what I read this past year, Reading 80 books was a complete fluke, and while it would be great to have that crazy number again, I'm not going to press myself to that standard. I read for fun :) So I don't want to put too many deadlines or quotas on it. Here's to a new year of learning!

Book Review: Animal Farm by George Orwell

I have been extremely remiss in reporting on the books I've read over the last few months. This does not mean I haven't been reading (though I will confess about a month or so break). The past month I've been right back in my usual old lady groove of audio books and granny crafts.

Believe it or not, I had never read Animal Farm by George Orwell until last month. I'd read exerts, seen the animated movie back in high school, and I had to know the main points of the plot for one of my AP tests, so I've always known what it was about. Now that I've read it, it's kind of amazing that I didn't take the plunge before given my fascination with Russian history. Anyway, Animal Farm is the story of the Russian Revolution told with farm animals. The animals don't like how the farmer is abusing them and taking all their resources, so they revolt and take over the farm. The pigs are the smartest of the animals, so they run things and decide on the rules. Snowball and Napoleon are the two main pigs that are in constant opposition. At first Snowball is the more ideological one - he establishes the absolutes of the animal world and paints 10 rules on the side of the barn for all to see. Eventually when Napoleon stages a coup and runs Snowball out of the farm, the animals start noticing differences in the 10 rules. The absolute statements now have additional justifications added that seem to make all the awful things Napoleon is doing seem ok because they technically still abide by the rules. As time goes on, Napoleon basically reestablishes the farm exactly as it was in the time of the farmer, and no one can even tell the physical difference between the pigs and humans anymore.

That's an extremely condensed lot synopsis. Oddly enough this book humanized the sad event that was the revolution. After the ideology of Vladimir Lenin was established and woo-ed the Russian people, Stalin came in and took advantage of the people's trust. It doesn't take long in the book before the animals start to think about how they are working harder than they ever had to under the farmer, yet they have less than they did while he was in power - which is a great correlation to Russia's situation under royal rule. Things weren't great then, but they certainly weren't worse then they became after Stalin gained power.

I'm sure I've completely botched this explanation, lol, but it made sense to me. This book was a very poetic representation of the sad irony the Russian people experienced. Funny how a book told with animals can put human actions into a better perspective. I really enjoyed this both for the factual representation as well as just the story itself. I can certainly see why it is still reputed as such a classic. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Thousander Club decided on Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn for the book of the month of February. It seemed interesting, so I decided to join in and give it a read. Well, give it a listen since I read this by audiobook.

The book started off interesting enough - a man comes home on his 5th anniversary to find the house showing signs of struggle and his wife missing. As evidence is found, it seems to point more and more to the husband as the prime suspect. Throughout the first part of the book you learn how Amy and Nick's relationship began and what their life together was like over the last 5 years. You learn about their personalities and quirks both through the husband's reflections as well as intermittent diary entries from the wife. By the end of this section of the book, the police are positive that Nick (the husband) is their man even though he keep protesting he is innocent. There is a huge twist, which I will not mention here so I don't spoil it for anyone who want to read the book, but it is quite big and forms the remaining half of the book.

I was not a big fan of this book. In my opinion, the 3 parts can be broken down like this: Part 1 - Ridiculously clichéed Dateline episode; Part 2 - Actually interesting and worth reading; Part 3 - The Author ran out of steam, yet couldn't let the villain get their just desserts, so it just fizzles out into a crap ending. I get that the author was trying to be different and deliberately not end happily, but I feel that the book really suffered because of it. The book went from being well formed and well written to feeling forced. Also, the two main characters are "realistic" to the point of being unlikable. I will say that it was eloquently written, though there was quite a bit of language that I didn't love, the large part of the book was almost poetic at times and very to the point. All in all, it left a feeling of "Ugh" when I finished it, so I definitely will not be venturing further into the world of Gillian Flynn novels. I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells

The Thousander Club Book of the Month for October was The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells. Having just finished my previous read, I had a "why not" moment and decided to jump on board and give this classic a read.

The Island of Dr. Moreau is written as the memoir of Edward Prendick, a man who found himself shipwrecked in the middle of the ocean. He is saved by a doctor named Montgomery who nurses him back to health and takes pity on him when the boat reaches its destination and allows him to stay on the island. Montgomery works for Dr. Moreau, a surgeon who fled all organized society when his controversial experiments are exposed to horrified onlookers. Moreau's goal is to humanize animals. He uses surgery, implantation, and lobotomy to give his animals a more human appearance and also gives them the ability to talk and reason to a certain extent. He sometimes even combines several animals parts in this effort. Each of his "monsters" end up eventually being a disappointment to him, and they are then cast out into the island to live together. He instills in them a code of laws that help keep them a) human-like, b) from eating each other, and c) from revolting against him. Moreau is treated like a God by these animals, as he is their creator. Like so many other "monster" style novels, this God complex turns out to be Moreau's downfall when one of his animals escapes his torture and kills him. Prendick and Montgomery are left to fend for themselves as well as some of the more loyal "Beast Men." Eventually Montgomery is also killed and Prendick is left alone to watch the eventual regression of each Beast Man back to its animal form. Prendick eventually is able to escape the island and is picked up by a ship that brings him back to England, but he can never forget the things that occurred on the island and finds himself believing that everyone is actually an animal in one state or other of the regression process.

This book was well written, but honestly I found it a little difficult to get into. Don't get me wrong, I am no PETA member or anything like that, but I had a hard time keeping reading when the book describes the tortured screams of the puma that Dr. Moreau is "transforming" when Prendick first arrives. I'm not squeamish, but I'm not a fan of torture, human or animal. I read on though and after that part is done it's not so bad. The section where the animals describe "the law" is pretty tedious, but it does make sense as to why it was important to emphasize. Once the law is broken and an animal tastes blood, their regression begins. Dr. Moreau can only maintain control while his laws are in place and inforced. The afterword in this book places a big emphasis on the difference between Dr. Moreau and Dr. Frankenstein. Both create monsters in the name of human advancement and science and both are killed by their creations in the end. The big difference is that Moreau never feels remorse for his actions. He is completely focused on the goal and has no moral problems whatsoever with what he is doing. He is even able to look at the animals as just test subjects to allow him to endure their screaming and pain.

Overall I was left with a feeling of "eh" when I finished this book. It was interesting, but really not my thing overall. I can completely see why this book cause so much fame for H.G. Wells simply because of its controversial nature. All I can say is that ... it's short, lol, so it's worth the read if you are curious. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Craft Book Review: Kyuuto Amigurumi (and Crochet Update!)

While looking around on Ravelry one day, I came across a really cute amigurumi someone else made. The glory of Ravelry made it possible to see that they used a pattern from this book to make it. Next stop was to my local library website to see if they had the book - which they did - put in a request and wait with baited breath for it to arrive. This leads to this week's Craft Book Review: Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts by Tomoko Takamori.

This is an English translation of a Japanese craft book. For those of you who don't know, the Japanese are crazy about amigurumi (thus the Japanese word to describe them) as well as all things cute, making their craft books highly sought after. The thing about them though - they are in Japanese usually. They do include crochet diagrams along with their written instructions, so you can still pick out the pattern if you know what to look for. Kyuuto makes it so you don't have to do that. Everything is already in English and in a format that you can understand ... after a little mulling over.

Like most other craft books, it starts out with a quick explanation of the skills you will need to know in order to complete the patterns. This is one of the smallest "before you start" sections I've ever personally seen - at first I didn't think the book even had one because the first two pages were stuck together. The left pic above shows the explanation page and the right pic shows the tutorial on how to assemble your animals. Very minimal instructions - this book relies mostly on pictures.

The next section has very pretty pictures of all the patterns in the book. The actual patterns are separate from the pictures, kind of like a craft magazine. Just like all Japanese craft books have a reputation for, the photos are very artsy and pretty. Some show details of the animals while others show the animals in a cute setting. Either way, there is no denying that the book has some seriously cute patterns. The patterns include:

• American Lion
• Big Teddy Bear
• Black and White Kittens
• Boy and Girl
• Butterflies
• Cat-Like Tiger
• Citron Puppy
• Colorful Donkeys
• Cotton Candy Elephant
• Cotton Puppies
• Fluffy Animals (bunnies)
• Frogs on Holiday
• Jackrabbit
• Little Duckling
• Little Teddy Bear
• Piggies in Love
• Sheep from Woolen Planet
• Striped Teddy Bear
• White Seal

The pattern names have obviously been translated which can account for their weirdness ("fluffy animals"? really?), but the patterns themselves are super cute. Personally I think a sheep is better when it's from "woolen planet", don't you? lol

Once you ooh and aah through all the pictures of cute things to make, the next section holds the actual patterns. This is where things got a little interesting for me. The patterns are kind of a combination of a diagram and written instructions. I'm used to lines like "sc 2 in next stitch and 1 in following stitch, repeat 5 times" and things like that. This book does not make it that easy. I blew up the pattern for the Little Teddy Bear - I smudged out the instructions for copyright sake, sorry. But you can see that the pattern is listed in symbols. If I had not made so many animals already and therefor known the basic construction of an amigurumi, I could have been completely lost. So, I made a little translation of my own for others who may be confused at first:

The black symbol that looks like a bar bell standing up means single crochet. The top symbol with 2 circles above one on the bottom (like a V) means increase, or single crochet 2 in next stitch. The bottom symbol with the one circle above two at the bottom means decrease, or single crochet 2 together (sc2tog). The lines are set up like math equations. You do the part in the parenthesis as one action and repeat it the number of times it says outside the parenthesis. So for row 6 up there, you would sc 4, then sc 2 in next stitch and do that all 7 times to get all the way around. Make sense?

So, what was the animal that made me want to get this book? It was the Colorful Donkeys pattern. I know that sounds silly, but they are so cute and crazy looking. Very different from other patterns I've seen around so I had to give them a go. 

What idea drew me to the colorful donkey? Why, a piñata of course! I happened to have all the typical donkey piñata colors already in my stash (and they were all Red Heart With Love brand yarn). The biggest decision - how to use the colors. Did I want stripes like a real piñata? Or just use the colors as the pattern describes (i.e. each section of the donkey a new color)? To answer this burning question, I grabbed some crayons and colored like a 5 year old. And yes, I did draw those donkeys - I am seriously the worst artist ever - but they did the job. In the end I decided (with consultation by the husband) to go with my original drawing - going by the pattern instructions but using my wild colors. We thought it was the best looking drawing. So I set to work and created this little guy:

This is Pokie the Piñata! Isn't he fun?! Ii just love how all his colors came out together and I decided to tie them all in with the pom pom on the tail. Love it!

This pattern had me try a new technique for making amigurumi faces - felt! I cut a circle of felt (to the size shown in the pattern) and then whip stitched it onto the mouth piece with black embroidery floss. Then I used the same embroidery floss with a teeny tiny crochet hook and made a chain for the mouth. I think it was about 12 chain stitches across, and I sewed it onto the mouth piece as a smile. This makes for a very cute face, but man was it time consuming! I'm used to big crocheted pieces you can sew in, not this tiny stuff. I will say that for a baby this is a great method since all the facial features are nice and flush with the toy so they aren't in as much danger of being ripped off. Still, it took a dang long time.

Here is a side view so you can see all his colors and how they are put together. This was one of the longest assemblies I've ever done! The book has you make the entire head piece before you attach the ears, eyes and mouth. I'm no amazon or anything, but my fingers were having a pretty hard time getting into that little neck to sew and tie things down. Next time I will trust my instincts and sew them on as I go and before I bottle-neck down to a smaller opening. Keep this in mind if you are making any of these patterns - I'm sure if it does it on one, it does it on all of them. The real kicker is that all of these patterns are written to be made in sock weight yarn. If I had a hard time getting into a hole made with worsted weight yarn, imagine how impossible it would be in sock weight. Yeah, I don't want to imagine in either.

All in all I liked this book. The patterns are really cute and I love my little piñata I made from them. I will definitely put out a disclaimer that this is not good for beginners to amigurumi. You should be pretty comfortable with making animals before trying any of these patterns - do not be fooled by how simple they look! For those who know their way around with amis, I recommend doing what I did and borrowing this from the library to try one of the patterns before you buy it. I may make one or two more animals, but I wouldn't buy this book when all is said and done.

*As a side note - my nephew LOVED this piñata! All of the pieces are narrow enough for his little 7-month-old hands to grab a hold of and all of the appendages are a small enough width to fit in his mouth and chew on. Plus he's really colorful, so Luke was all about it :)

Book Review: The Watsons and Lady Susan

I have acquired the entire audiobook collection of Jane Austen books :) I decided to listen to them all in the order that they were written, so these two shorter stories came first.

The Watsons by Jane Austen is a short story about a girl, Emma Watson, coming home after living with her wealthy aunt for most of her life. She is pretty and proper and having a hard time adjusting to the manors of her siblings. She attends a ball and is thought to be very pretty and catches the interest of the local favorite bachelor whom she has actually been trying to avoid. He even comes to see her at home the next day - quite scandalous!

The interesting thing about this story is that it is only a small fragment of the bigger story. It really seems to not have enough development to have been meant to stand alone. It's sad that it was never finished because the little bit you can read is enjoyable.

Lady Susan by Jane Austen is a story about a social climbing woman. She is middle aged, very pretty, and very charming when she wants to be. She is also very cunning and is constantly on the look out for the next rich man that can set her up now that her husband's gone. She also tries to marry off her daughter to a man she hates simply because he has money. Luckily her true nature is exposed before anyone takes the plunge!

This story is written almost entirely of letters. Each letter is from one character to another and explains the plot through each person's point of view. The conclusion at the end is the only non-letter section and it is told through an omniscient narrator who explains what happens after the letters stop. I know this is a crude explanation of the book, but I wasn't too huge a fan. Most of Jane Austen's stories have a wholly likable main character who you are rooting for. Lady Susan is far from likable. The only consolation is that she doesn't get everything she wants in the end. I'm glad that I read this, but I can certainly see why it's not one of Miss Austen's better known pieces.

Sorry that neither of these is a very thorough review. They were short and I read them over a week ago. And I just can't do more at the moment :)

Book Review: Water For Elephants

I am proud to report that I actually read this entire book in less than 16 hours (and that included sleeping time)! This wasn't done deliberately, but I am feeling pretty accomplished just the same.

Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen is the story of a young man named Jacob in the 1930s who inadvertently runs away and joins the circus. He has just lost his parents and all of their possessions with them and decides to hop a train one night only to discover it is The Great Benzini Brothers Circus train. He had studied as a veterinarian in college (though he did not finish his final exams), so he is hired and helps care for the animals but pitches in wherever else he is needed as well. Jacob is introduced to a lifestyle he never dreamed of as well as the love of his life, Marlena. Their story is tumultuous to say the least due to Marlena's husband, an inconsistent maniac who you never quite know if he is angry or happy as he flips quickly between is emotions. Jacob and Marlena do not acknowledge their mutual interest in each other at first due to Marlena's marriage, but as things become worse the two of them are thrown together irrevocably with the help of Rosie, the elephant they train. The two young people make the best of their situations as they come and could never imagine how they end up.

This story tells another at the same time as this past circus adventure - the story of Jacob as an old man in a nursing home. It's a strange contrast to go back and forth between the two stories, but it really adds a depth that the book would have lacked otherwise. I really enjoyed this quick read. There are a few instances of bawdy circus behavior that are a bit shocking, but it all goes along with the life they lead. It really was a nice love story - plus the elephant is so cute! lol I'm such a girl. All in all, I would recommend this as an escape to a completely different time and place :)

Craft Book Review: Stitch By Stitch by Deborah Moebes

So, I happen to be slightly addicted to craft books. I know there are more of you out there - come on, admit it. You're sucked in by the pretty photos and promises of learning a cool new technique just like the next crafty lady wandering around Barnes and Noble. I would always go to the crafts section of any bookstore I was in and longingly sift through the newest books to see what lovely things I could make if I only bought this book. Then a few months ago it hit me - I wonder if the local library has any of these new books? This was an absolute revelation for me and I have been a card carrying library user ever since. Now when I find myself longing for a certain craft book, I see if the library has it first. This way I can peruse through it at my leisure and see if it will actually be useful for me to purchase.

Anywhoo, that brings me to a new blog series I will occasionally post about - Craft Book Reviews :) Since I love to look at them so much, I thought I would put my personal reviewing out there for others to decide if they too need these books or could use them. So I start today with Stitch By Stitch by Deborah Moebes.

I was first introduced to this book by the Design and Sew and A-Line Skirt class on Craftsy, which I'm taking :) Deborah Moebes teaches the class and she begins with an explanation of her books. She said it was designed for beginning and seasoned sewers and I decided it would be worth a look through. I borrowed it from the library and immediately glanced through to see what it was all about.

Stitch By Stitch is actually a book that is designed to teach you how to sew if you have never sewn before or to help you brush up your knowledge and skills if you learned long ago and have forgotten much of what you learned. Her goal with the book is to help you love sewing like she does since she often hears students in her classes say that they tried to learn long before in a home ec class or from their mom, but the teacher had no patience or drilled too hard on perfection so they just gave up on the idea. Deborah Moebes seeks to correct that and help overcome any big issues you may have had due to lack of understanding or the teacher's lack of willingness to answer your questions.

The book starts off by going over all the basic need-to-know information about sewing: the tools you need, tools you may want but don't have to have, the different parts of your machine, differences in fabric types, how fabric is made, etc. There is a lot of information to be had and I will even confess I learned a few things myself. The book then goes into a few small tutorials like how to make bias tape and how to make mitred corners.The mitred corners was particularly interesting for me - I've looked through a lot of books and that's not a common beginner technique that's explained. It's simple to do and it really can make a huge difference in the finish of your items.

After all the basics are covered, the projects begin. The projects are designed to be done in order as you will learn a new skill with each one you complete.

Out of all the projects, there are the ones I would like to make for myself (above pic, listed clockwise): Relaxing Eye Mask, Carport Wrap Skirt, A-Line Skirt, Piped Throw Pillow, and Cap-Sleeved Blouse. I'm most excited to make the carport wrap skirt. The photo doesn't show it off so well, but that's just because the example is such a busy print. It's a skirt that wraps around the back on both sides and ties at the waist. I've never worn this style of skirt before, but this one looks so easy I definitely want to give it a try. The A-line skirt happens to be the same skirt that is used in the Craftsy class, except in the class she shows you how to make it using a pattern you've drafted yourself - this book includes a paper pattern. The shirt is just a simple basic item that any wardrobe should have, so that one's a given. I have been thinking about making an eye mask for a while, so now I will have a pattern for one :) And the pillow is something that you don't really need a pattern for, but it's always nice to have a little instruction as you go, even if it's just sewing a square.

One of the things I like best about this book is the fact that all of the patterns are included on a cd at the back. You just put the cd in your computer and you can choose what size you need for each project (if applicable) and all the patterns are in pdf form. So, you just print out the pages, tape them together, and start your project! Detailed instructions on assembling the pattern pieces are included too. This is what really makes this book one step above in my opinion. So many craft books have small versions of the pattern pieces printed in the back that you are supposed to blow up 200% and print yourself - seriously, who does that? Since xerox machines aren't really the norm anymore, so you would have to go to a copy store and pay who knows how much to print them out. Not really my idea of convenience. I like things all to where I can do it myself at home, so this cd makes that happen.

I really enjoyed looking through this book. Even though it's designed for beginners, it has some cute projects that anyone could enjoy. I would definitely recommend this for anyone who wants to learn to sew or wants to brush up their long unused skills. Deborah Moebes does a great job of breaking everything down so you can get the most of the information at hand and I'm confident this book would really prepare you for sewing for the first time :) And I can't wait to make a few of the projects for myself!

*As a side note, I am totally loving Deborah's Craftsy class and hope to start drafting my own a-line skirt soon!