Eclipse

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Hmmm, this was ok. There wasn't actually a lot of action in it, the whole thing was building up to a fight that lasted a couple of pages. It was more to do with the "does she love Edward? Does she love Jacob?" angst going on. It could have been a lot shorter.

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Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have not seen the TV show based on this book so didn't really have any idea about Dexter before I read it. I'm not giving anything away by saying that he is a serial killer, who only goes after bad guys - or does he?

A number of prostitutes are being brutally murdered in Miami, and as Dexter actually works for the police as a forensic blood splatter specialist he is in an ideal position to get involved. However his urge to kill his next victim is strong and when he starts having strange dreams about the murders as they are happening, he starts to wonder if he is actually committing the murders himself.

In the process of the book we get into the mind of Dexter and at the end of the book discover why he is the way he is.

An interesting slant on the serial killer genre, but there were some huge leaps forward in the plot which weren't that believable. I won't rush out to buy the sequel but might watch an episode on TV if I catch one.


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Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
You can find my thoughts on the first half of this book here
http://from-little-acorns.blogspot.com/2...
**SPOIlER ALERT**
I felt this first half was a bit slow but once you find out what really happened in Chapter 20 it all hots up. The tension builds and you wonder what is going to happen in the end. Will Max get away with what happened? Are there any witnesses? Who will try to trip him up? Will the second Mrs de Winter stand by him?

I enjoyed the second half of the book, but I was still frustrated that the second Mrs de Winter (it would be so much easier if we knew her name!!) didn't speak up at times. The author was clever in leading you to think one way about why Rebecca was in London that last day, when it was something else.

I'm not sure if I want to tackle another period novel again for a while though.

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Rebecca readalong week 1

In the past week I have been reading the first 16 chapters of Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier as part of a readalong hosted on You've Gotta Read This. I must say I almost didn't make it but luckily I wasn't working yesterday and got it done. It takes me to just over half way through the book, and these are the questions posed by Sandy to start off the discussion and my answers to them.


1. "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." This is quite possibly one of the most famous opening lines of a book. How do these words set the tone for the rest of the story?

I recognised this opening although I didn't realise it was from this book. I'm not sure that it set the tone for me really. I had no idea what the book was about before I started it so this sentence only made me wonder what Manderley was and why this person was dreaming about it.



2. Du Maurier obviously chose not to name the second Mrs. de Winter (referred to as DW2 from hereon). How did this affect your perception of her?

I found it slightly irritating that we do not know her name, and that she is only referred to as either Mrs de Winter, or "my dear girl" or "you silly child" by people. She is a lot younger than her husband but she is a married woman after all. I would have at least liked to know her first name.


3. Do you think the character of DW2 was believable?

I don't read a lot of historical fiction, mainly because I get frustrated at the women. DW2 is very subservient and will not speak up for herself (so far, maybe this will change). When she first arrives at Manderley, even her husband doesn't tell her what she is supposed to do and she is uncertain of her role in the household and she creeps around the house like a servant, frightened that she is doing something wrong. The spectre of Rebecca is hanging over her all the time, Mrs Danvers (the housekeeper) doesn't respect her and I'm not really sure why Maxim chose to marry her. She is possibly a believable character but not having lived in those "olden days" I can't be sure.


4. What was your first impression of Maxim de Winter? Did you like him? Did you trust him?

He seemed okay when we first met him, but has obviously got a troubled past. I'm wondering whether the death of his wife was a pure accident, and the dodgy cousin-in-law has a story to be told I'm sure. He also has a strange relationship with Mrs Danvers, I still haven't worked it out yet. He can change moods quite quickly and there is a hint from his sister that he can really lose it now and again. I've a feeling that is about to happen in the next chapter.

American Gods

American Gods by Neil Gaiman


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I had heard good things about this book before i read it and when I first started it I thought it was going to be just my sort of thing. However i have abandoned it at page 240. I still had no idea what it was about at this point and had no empathy with any of the characters. If someone wants to tell me what happens after this feel free, Maybe i have missed out on something wonderful or maybe Gaiman just isn't my thing.

I wild released this copy (www.bookcrossing.com) of the book on the Ambleside to Bowness lake cruise boat if anyone wants to look for it!!

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have just finished reading this after taking several weeks over it. I felt that it was dragging a bit at the beginning but once I got about half way it picked up and moved quicker.
It started off with one story and then this was left behind while the main story played out and then returned to and concluded at the end. The two stories were linked though.
The main story was the search for a missing girl who disappeared at a family gathering 40 years earlier. Her uncle believes she was murdered and wants to know who killed her.
There were some interesting characters, some of whom are continued in the next book which I definitely want to read.

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The Woman in Black

Woman in Black by Susan Hill


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is an old fashioned ghost story but written by a modern author in 1983.
She has captured the style very well. At one point last night I was reading a creepy bit and a text alert came through on my phone. Did I jump? Not half!!
A quick read, you could probably do it in one sitting if you put your mind to it. Well worth giving it a go.

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The Broken Window

The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As usual Jeffery Deaver has produced a tense thriller, leaving you guessing right to the end.
All the well loved characters are back in the 8th book of this series, as they try to track down a killer who is using identity theft to choose his victims and then set up scapegoats for the murders to draw attention from himself.
Sadly one regular character does meet their demise in this book, but I won't give the game away!

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Birthday & subs

So last Saturday was my birthday, yay! Here are my prezzies.......

The book "The Silver Spoon" is brilliant. I've used it everyday since Sunday, mainly making sauces so far but I did make Turkey Stew with Mustard on Tuesday. Tonight I'm going to make bolognese sauce and already I can see it is going to be different to what I usually do to make it. There are no tinned tomatoes or garlic for a start! Interesting!

We went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on Saturday afternoon, which was okay. You couldn't go and see it as a stand alone film though becasue it didn't really end anywhere, I think you need to have seen all the other films or read the books.

Then we went to Nando's for dinner. Never been before. Again it was okay, the chicken burger was very nice but it was a bit fast food-ish for a sit down meal really.

I also had a cheque from my mum which I put towards my new subscription to Yarn Forward magazine. I have every issue right from the start so I thought I may as well subscribe again and save myself the price of two issues a year. My first issue and free gift arrived yesterday.

The free hat pattern is quite nice actually so that will go on my Ravelry queue!

After Colin met Eddie Izzard on Tuesday, he booked us tickets to go and see him in Liverpool in November!

The Silver Spoon by Phaidon Press


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
So far, I love this book. I have only attempted some of the sauces from the first section so far but I know that this book is going to get used so much more than all the "celebrity chef" cookbooks I have. This one is a real cookbook and as far as I can tell, covers almost anything you would wish to know about Italian cookery.

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No photos

I have TWO finished projects that I'm dying to show but I have no photos yet. Actually that is a fib, I do have a photo of my Twisty jumper but I took it with my phone and it is not modelled and basically I don't like the picture. I want to show it in all its glory. The other project is a little neckwarmer that I made from the Fidget pattern with two balls of Drops Classic Alpaca that I got with my extra ball of Eskimo. Oh, I do have photos of the newly acquired stash.

This is the Drops Classic Alpaca, now used up


And this is Drops Karisma which I don't have a project for yet,

but may make this pattern, Titania. I'm a bit worried it might make me look fat though! That lace panel round the middle is what worries me as I have a bit of a "spare tyre" in that area!

I can't believe that it is already a year since my 40th!!! I will be 41 on Saturday. Yesterday we decided to go up and see what all the fuss was about at Liverpool One and so that I could find something for Colin to get me for my birthday. We ended up in the same shops we would normally go in here in Chester, namely Costa, Smiths, Waterstones etc. I did pop into John Lewis for some buttons for the Fidget, and they were amazingly cheap for JL. I got 8 for just £1!! Anyway I decided I would like to do more cooking so Colin got me a copy of The Silver Spoon which is a HUGE Italian cookbook. Oh dear, he's going to be expecting all kinds of culinary delights now!

Sharp Objects

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I bought this book after an ad on Goodreads for the author's second book. I think I will be getting that one at some point too.
The main character is Camille, a newspaper reporter in Chicago who is sent back to her home town of Wind Gap to cover the story of the murders of two little girls. She left over 10 years ago to escape the clutches of an overbearing mother after the death of her sister from illness.
When she returns, she is not particularly welcomed, especially when she goes to visit old school friends on the pretext of getting quotes for her story.
Her family are totally screwed up, everybody in town knows everyone else and all their business, at least they think they do, but who knows what goes on behind people's closed doors.
The first part of the book I wasn't overly enamoured with but it picked up and I raced through the second half as the twists and turns drew to the conclusion.
I can't really say any more about it without giving anything away, but if you like a good thriller and damaged characters then this is a book for you.

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Toe Ups and Twisty progress

At the last knit group, Karen brought in a book called Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson. When I saw some of the lovely patterns in this book I had to have it so with a 10% discount code for the book depository I now have my own copy. (It arrived before I made my rash decision yesterday!) It shows you several different toe cast-ons, different types of toe increases and different heels so that you can mix and match if you wish. There are also about 20 patterns.


These are my 3 favourite patterns from the book. I think the colour of the yarns used makes the photos look gorgeous.


I started on my "Twisty" last night. I've called in that because "Drops 115-24" just doesn't have a ring to it really. After misreading the pattern for the centre cable and having to go back two rows this morning, I'm back on track. The main body is knit from the bottom up but in the round, before splitting for the arm holes and neck.


The yarn is almost the same colour as my living room carpet!

Super socks and yummy yarn

My first Finished Object since May!!! They didn't take that long to do though. I started them a couple of weeks ago when we went to Ireland for a couple of days and finished them last night.


Pattern: Conwy Socks from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush. I got this book free from bookmooch.com.
Yarn: Knitwitches Superwash sock yarn, colour Warm Earth which I got at Woolfest last year.
Needles: 2.5 Addi Lace using magic loop.
Mods: The pattern has calf decreases but I didn't do these so I cast on 60sts instead of 72 and just worked 48 rows of pattern straight. I did a standard toe too.

This morning my Drops Eskimo arrived for my short sleeve top. It is lovely and soft and squishy. I'm going to start this today.


I'm going to say the next bit quietly. I'm not going to buy any more books this year. I got two more this morning and my TBR shelf on goodreads now has 48 books on it, and not all of the ones I have beside my bed are listed on there yet. My book pile fell over yesterday and it wasn't pretty so I'm going to try to get through it a bit before adding any more.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I read this book on a recommendation as it is not something I would normally choose.

I thought there would be more detail about the war in Afghanistan but am kind of glad there wasn't. It was there in the background and I did learn a bit about it, how it started and the factions involved but it didn't take over the book. I did find at the end - the book finishes in 2003 - that it gave the impression that Kabul was peaceful, although there were UN troops there and also that certain "warlords" had been given positions of power. So why in 2009 is it not resolved? (My knowledge of world affairs is VERY limited, I apologise, I'm just not interested in politics at all!)

I felt for the women in the story and the oppression that they suffered. The circumstances of Mariam's birth affect her throughout her whole life, and she makes many sacrifices. The women's lives change dramatically depending on who is running the country at the time. Having to completely cover themselves and only leave the house if accompanied by a male relative seems unthinkable to those of us who have such liberty in our lives, and yet a lot of them just accept it as how things are. Mariam and Laila however, do not, and push against the rules to some degree of success in the end, even though they do go through some harrowing life experiences along the way.

I liked it but I wouldn't say I loved it, but I'm glad that I read something different for a change. Now back to grizzly murders..........!!!


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So what have I been up to?

Oh dear, I really need to update don't I? Well here goes........

On July 3rd Colin travelled up to Fort William in torrential rain to climb Ben Nevis the next day for his 365challenge. His usual travel companion Dave went with him and they were met up there by several others, who all managed to make it to the summit in about 4 and a half hours.


One of our oldest uni friends, Paul, who lives near Edinburgh also travelled up for the day and joined them too. (Nice legs, boys!)


When they made it back down to the bottom, Paul's wife had been off to buy champagne for them all to celebrate completing the 3 highest peaks in the UK.


In the meantime, not being into climbing mountains, or any kind of exercise for that matter, I had a houseguest to keep me company. My mum!


We didn't really do much, just pottered around, and treated Susie to a lovely juicy bone which she was very chuffed with.


On the Sunday was the thrilling Wimbledon men's final. I decided to support Roddick as he was the underdog and because he had beaten Murray so if he won it would mean Murray had been beaten by the eventual winner and he would be excused, hahah! Dave and Colin arrived back during the 4th set and Dave is a big Federer fan so there was good rivalry going on there. Poor Dave needed to drive back to Reading but hung on to the bitter end.

In books, I have just finished One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson, (see review below) and have decided to try A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini next as several people have recommended it to me.

In knitting, I still have several WIPs but that hasn't stopped me casting on a pair of Conwy socks from the book Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush. The photos in this book do the socks no justice at all, it is much better to look at the finished ones on ravelry to get a better idea of how they turn out. I am using a variegated red/orange/dark red yarn that I got at Woolfest last year from KnitWitches yarns.

Hopefully in a couple of hours I will be able to hear properly again after at least 5 weeks of having blocked ears. Since the infection I had, my left ear has never "popped" and then a couple of days ago my right one got blocked with wax. I am going to get them syringed this afternoon, so hopefiully I will be back to normal.

One Good Turn

One Good Turn: A Jolly Murder Mystery by Kate Atkinson


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I do like Kate Atkinson, I find that her books do flow easily.

This is the second in the trilogy featuring private detective Jackson Brodie but is not really based around him. There are lots of characters which at first seem separate but all tie in together at the end. I'm not sure if it all quite made sense but that might be just me.

This is the third Atkinson I have read in a relatively short space of time and I think I need to take a break from her. Sometimes the way she goes into the background of her characters' lives feels too much, and although it really gives you an insight into their characters it can sometimes feel like it is just filling space. (Although if you asked me now what could have been left out I couldn't really tell you!).

The ending gives an idea of what may happen to Jackson in the third book, but I think it is not necessarily going to turn out that way.

I did like it, but I didn't love it.


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Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
I didn't like the original Pride & Prejudice so I thought this may be a good laugh by taking the mickey out of it.

I was disappointed. The joke of zombies is funny at first but then it just gets boring. I have worked in a path lab and am not particularly squeamish but some of the blatant descriptions of pus and vomit made me feel a bit sick. I only made it to page 123, then I abandoned it.

I feel bad because I suggested this for a book group read and it won the vote so I have subjected other people to this rubbish. But some peole may enjoy it, you never know.


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New Moon

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Halfway through the first book I didn't think I was going to carry on, it was all a bit dull. Then it picked up and when I'd finished it I decided I would carry on with the series.

I liked this book better than the first I think. It was obviously what was going on with Jacob and his friends though.

I felt that some bits of the book were only written as set up points for the next books, like the bits with Victoria. She is obviously going to crop up again. And Charlie's friend died just in order to set up a misunderstanding. But I guess that is called moving the plot forward. It did work in this instance as the plot completely changed then and there.

I thought the emotions Bella felt were written very well, and I could really imagine the pain she was feeling when Edward left her. The descriptions of this were very good.

So what is going to happen in book 3?


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Jamaica Inn

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Well I enjoyed this one. I know, shock horror I enjoyed a classic! Well it was a Virago Modern Classic so a bit more recent which helped.

It is set in the late 19th century and is the story of Mary Yellan who moves to stay with her Aunt and Uncle at Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor when her mother dies. It is not a typical inn though, there are no guests and the coaches pass on by without stopping. The landlord (Mary's uncle by marriage) is a wrong'un and is involved in smuggling, and her poor aunt keeps quiet to keep the peace with her drunken, violent husband. There are various unsavoury characters and you aren't sure at first who is on whose side.

Not to spoil anything but I did think there was something not quite right about one of the characters early on in the story and was right about them. This didn;t spoil the story though which had me gripped all the way through.

In fact I have even bought another 3 books by DuMaurier as I liked it so much!


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