Canadian Literature and the Miners' Strike

My reading this week has been mainly based in Canada for some reason.

I started off the week with a crime novel - The Calling by Inger Ashe Wolf. A serial killer is crossing Canada preying on the elderly, "helping" those who are already dying. No-one even realises he's doing this until he makes a mistake in the small town where Hazel Micaleff is in charge of the police. I liked the main character in this - she's in her sixties, divorced and living with her elderly mother. This is not a profile that would fit most fictitious detectives. The book was only okay however - the plot was a trifle on the weak side. It seemed obvious to me where the story was heading but I thought that it must be a bluff and there would be a twist at the end. I was disappointed however - the expected twist never came, leaving me with a feeling that I'd been cheated. I know that it's difficult to fool me in a crime novel - I've read so much crime fiction that I can spot a misdirection or a red herring at twenty paces, so I can forgive an author who doesn't quite manage to blindside me provided the plot or the character or the setting is original enough. This, for all it's promising start, original serial killer slant and just-the-other-side-of-middle-aged detective, failed to impress me in the end.

I stuck with Canada however for my next read as I'd got hold of a proof of the first novel by a Canadian writer called Shandie Mitchell. Under This Unbroken Sky is about a family homesteading on the prairies in the 1930s, about children learning how tough life is, about how some people can take the strain of that kind of life and some can't. It's a wonderful novel. It's not due for publication here until August but I can heartily recommend it.

For a bit of a change, because I had been meaning to read it for quite a while, and because this week was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of the miners' strike, I started GB84 by David Peace. It's typical Peace style - much jumping around between characters, different fonts, etc etc. It's harsh on the police, on the NCB, the government, Special Branch and the unions. I'm not finished it yet, I'm just about to hit the Battle of Orgreave, so there's a long way to go and Peace is just getting warmed up. I wonder if he ever gets the urge to write something fluffy.

Back to Canada then in the meantime for a bit of respite from at that eighties angst and violence. Three Day Road is set just after the end of the First World War. Niska, the last Canadian Medicine woman to live off the land, collects her badly injured and morphine-addicted nephew from the train which has brought him back from the Great War. It's a three day journey by kayak to get him home. I'm thinking I'm going to like this one just as much as I liked Through Black Spruce.

I've finally finished knitting all those circles for Astrid. Here are the final ones blocking, flanked by the pile of ready-blocked circles.

Now I just have to lay them out in the right order and stitch them together - all 52 of them!

I was slightly distracted mid-week by the sudden urge to knit a Simple Yet Effective shawl (Ravelry link). I blame my fellow bloggers for my failing - you know who you are.

The shawl requires a ball of Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn - well, there just happened to be one in my possession, though I had started to knit those Hypnosis socks with it. Gribbit. They were soon frogged and the shawl started. It's perfect TV knitting so this week it has been the accompaniment to Red Riding on CH4, to almost a whole series of the Sopranos on DVD and this morning to the final part of Being Human. So much great TV drama, so little time. Better get some more Noro sock yarn!

Serial Killer Fix

Much as I've enjoyed many of the books I've read over the lst month or so, something has been missing. I've been in need of a good serial killer fix. Now, some of you may disagree, but as far as I'm concerned no-one does serial killer fiction like the Americans. I like British crime fiction, I like a bit of European crime fiction now and again, but for a really good serial killer you need to cross the pond.


So, I picked up a little selection on Sunday at a car boot sale - all authors I'd never read before - and settled down for a good fix of serial mayhem.



The first book off the pile, though it looked like a crime novel from the cover, turned out to be a romantic novel in disguise. The Murder Ballad by Jane Hill (she's British!) was a sheep in wolf's clothing. It was about a woman who meets an American folk singer, marries him with undue haste and moves to the backwoods of North Carolina with him. Unsurprisingly he turns out to have a few skeletons in his closet. It wasn't a bad book, and once I was resigned to the fact that there was ne'er a serial killer in sight, I kept going and enjoyed it in a half-hearted sort of way. Having just watched and loved the BBC's Folk Americana series I was interested in the old ballads that were mentioned throughout the plot, but you never got all the words or all the story. If you wanted to read a better book about traditional music (though these are set in Tennessee, not Carolina) then you should take a look at Sharyn McCrumb's Ballad series, and in particular, The Songcatcher (which seems sadly to be out of print in the UK). It charts the passing down of a song though the generations of a family. Much better fare.


Still on my quest for sequential murder I picked up The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe. This is actually set in Canada, not the US of A, but at least it has a killer, and he's onto his fourth (and I'm not even half way yet) so that definitely makes it a series. I'm liking the main character who is, unlike most detectives in this genre, a lady in her sixties living with her ageing mother. So far so good. This is different enough to pass muster, but it has those familiar markers common to the genre - mysterious killer (probably a sociopath), experienced police chief, rookie cop. Suits me.

Books in the Post

The postman has been busy this week bringing a selection of lovely books to Austin Towers.

First there is Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden (as recommended by dovegreyreader). I'm still researching the First World War (for the book I am currently not writing) so a tale about a Native American man's experiences of Ypres and the Somme is right up my street.

Next on the pile is Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen. This a re-working of his Watson Legend trilogy which had been out of print for a while. It was billed in the Times as not just a Great American Novel but a Great Florida Novel. How could I resist. It's not published in the UK and was a bit tricky to get hold of. I had to resort to eBay in the end.

Finally there's a great quilting book called 101 Fabulous Rotary-Cut Quilts which is an absolute mine of great block patterns and quilt patterns and inspiration.

Before I get to these though I'm still working through The Given Day, slowly, savouring it, making it last. It's not too often I grant a book that luxury. Review books need to be read quickly, notes taken and thoughts recorded and there are always too many more waiting on the TBR pile for most books to be treasured like that, but every now and again I find one that warrants this treatment.

Because The Given Day is a mighty tome and too heavy to carry around for day to day reading I've got through a few others. I started with The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. I know, everyone else in the world has already read it, and I'm way behind you all. It was still worth it. An excellent little volume. I've already passed it on to someone else to read, who happened to mention that they would like to, the day I'd finished it. Luckily I still had it in my bag and could oblige.

For a bit of a change I slotted in A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian which had languished on the TBR pile for a long time. It was interesting and amusing but I'm not sure I shall rush to read Two Caravans (which is also in the TBR pile).

I'm now halfway through Bleeding Heart Square, just out in paperback. It's very good, as you would expect from Andrew Taylor. More when I'm finished it.

Knitting in Circles

All my knitting this week seems to have had a circular theme. Firstly I am almost finished the circular yoke cardigan - just the button bands to go. As the main body of the cardy is black this will have to wait for a day with more light - I just looked out the window and it's snowing again! That wasn't forecast.

Anyway here is the almost finished cardigan with the bands of colour at the yoke -

It's mostly knitted in Stylecraft Charleston with the yoke in random stripes of Wendy Fusion in Berry and some handspun in various shades of green. It's very heavy and rather on the large side making it the perfect sweater for snuggling into on cold days. I'm planning to put odd vintage buttons on the front.

Also on the needles at the moment is Astrid from Norah Gaughan 1 (picture from the Berroco website). Here is one of the large circles blocking.

There will be 14 of these large circles (so far I've only done 4), and about 35 others in small and medium which are all stitched together to make the scarf. I'm knitting it in some old Jaeger Alpaca in a lovely petrol blue. It may take some time as knitting the circles is a bit fiddly - the large circle needs three different sizes of needle!

Next up will be a Mobius shawl from Cat Bordhi's Treasury of Magical Knitting. This book was a Christmas present from Pete and this will be the first thing I'm going to knit from it. I'm planning to use that purple handspun from the fibre I got from Gnat and Sheryl in Florida, mixed in with some odd strands of other stuff to give it a bit of extra texture and pizzazz.

Today while knitting I've been listening to C J Sansom's Shardlake series. I'm on Dissolution at the moment and enjoying it very much. I have read the book before but I'm still enjoying the audio (though it is abridged).

This is Getting Old..

I'm getting twitchy from sitting on my butt for three days. Ordinarily I'd be happy for the chance to sit around doing not much for three days but when it's forced on me and I really can't go anywhere, or do anything very much, it's really not much fun.

So, to alleviate the boredom here are some pics the Evilpixie took of Bubba and the chooks in the snow the other day.

Bubba has got over his fear of the hens and now seems to think they are small dogs - he will insist on sniffing their arses.

Here's the snowman she built, very fetching in a handknitted Noro hat. Note that it has no nose. It had a mushroom (we had no carrots) but Bubba ate it.

Here's Bubba looking very handsome. He's been limping a bit this week. We hope this is just a touch of arthritis brought on by the cold and not anything more sinister.

Marooned on my sofa I have started the new Dennis Lehane, The Given Day. So far so good. The opening chapter, about Babe Ruth and a scratch baseball game with some negroes by a railroad track is fantastic and would stand up as a short story in its own right. I can't wait to see what Lehane does with it as the book progresses.

Just Sitting

Yesterday, as the weather was bad I decided I would take the bus to work. This turned out to be a big mistake as I slipped on a patch of ice on the way to the bus stop and twisted my ankle.

Today (and most of yesterday) I have been on the sofa with my foot raised. It hurts to walk and I can't drive. So I'm marooned in the house again. I don't have to go to work again until Tuesday though so I'm just resting the ankle and doing a bit of knitting and a bit of reading and a bit of netsurfing on the laptop. Photos of the kntting etc tomorrow as it's dark now and the camera is upstairs. Going upstairs is too painful just for the camera!

I've had enough of the crap weather now, so can it please go away.

Brought To You By the Letter A

I have been randomly allocated the letter A by Roo over at Roo Knits so here are a few things I like beginning with that lovely letter.

Apples - most versatile of fruits, loved by me in pies, cakes, on it own and turned into cider.



Alpacas - they're cute and they produce great fibre - what's not to love. Here are some of the Shi'Loh Alcapas I met in Florida last year.

Androids - I've always had a thing for androids - from Marvin the Paranoid to Data from Star Trek. I'm a geek, I admit it.

Acorns - not sure where this came from but I love the look of these and the fact that whole oak trees grow from them. Perfectly packaged little nuts.

America - Yes, I love all things American - the way of life, the climate (well, in some parts anyway), but mostly the people. Americans never do anything by halves. They just dive right in and immerse themselves in everything while we Brits are just dipping our toes in. People with great enthusiasm (bordering on obsession) are a delight to me.

Aran Jumpers - remind me of when I was small and we used to wear the ones my mother knitted for us. Now I appreciate the skill involved (and still love the warmth).

Aberdeen - my home town. Actually I only lived there from the age of eighteen until I was about twenty five, so only for about 7 years, but all of my family originate there and it if I were ever to move back to Scotland that's the area I would move to. The Granite City, the Garden City. Catch it on a good day - in the sunshine - and it's beautiful.

Monday Monday

Just a quick update.

Not much knitting has been done over the weekend, due partly to my inability to count. I sat down yesterday to knit a few circles of Astrid and duly cast on. 84 stitches it said. So I divided it in my head and cast on three needles with 16 stitches on each needle. Duh. After two attempts to get the pattern to work ( and rather a lot of swearing) when it was obviously wrong I realised what I'd done. I'm not sure quite what has happened to my brain these days. It seems to have turned to mush. I gave up on knitting for the evening and finished my book instead.

I'm storming through The Red Riding Quartet by David Peace. I finished 1977 on Friday and 1980 yesterday. I wouldn't normally read two books by the same author one after another. I like to take a break in between. But these are very much in the same vein, and they follow on after one another as halves of the same story. Both were excellent and I'm looking forward to 1983 but I will just find time to fit in this before I start that.

Book Update

I have been sadly remiss in my postings bookwise this month, being distracted by all that time off and all that craft stuff.

But I have been reading. I started off the new Year with a surefire favourite. Without Fail by Lee Child. I've been reading his books all out of order, so this is one of the early ones. This one came before he could tell the time without the aid of a watch! It was quite a surprise to me - I was so used to him needing no such instrument that I was quite taken aback when he looked at his watch in one chapter. Anyway, that'll teach me not to read them in the right order. So, what was the book like. Well you know what to expect with a Lee Child - snappy plotting, great main characters, bit of love interest and everyone wants to get Jack Reacher. This one is no exception. He gets summoned to Washington by the Secret Service to check out their security on the Vice President Elect. Seems there's someone doesn't think he should be the VP-Elect. Who you gonna call? I found all the presidential security stuff fascinating, and there's quite a bit of backstory to old Jack himself - all about his brother. which I also liked as you don't normally get much on Jack's history or family. A really good thriller that does just what it says on the tin.

I moved on after that to Salt River which the final part of James Sallis' John Turner trilogy. It's a fine piece of writing, very much character-driven rather than plot-driven and I loved it, which may surprise some of you as I usually prefer a plot-driven book. This is just so beautifully written though that it just sucks you in. It was one of those books that you read slowly because you don't want it to end and there is no greater compliment I can give a book than that.

Next up was a complete change of time and subject. Company of Liars by Karen Maitland was one of the Waterstones New Writers promotion last year and also one of their Books of the Month. I do love the cover which totally sums up what the book is about. The story revolves around a group of people thrown together by chance, travelling across 14th Century England in search of work and to escape the plague which is on their heels. It's narrated by Camelot who sells fake relics. The other members of the company are a magician, a musician and his apprentice, a pregnant woman and her husband, a story teller and a strange white-haired girl. I'm not sure what to say about this book. I was enjoying the story as it meandered along but it was meandering and it didn't seem to be really going anywhere, much as the band of wanderers were going nowhere really. I kind of expected there to be a big revelation at the end, and while there were several smaller revelations I had already seen them all coming so there were no surprises. The plot seems to lose its way towards the end and fizzled out in a disappointing way. It was a shame as I'd been enjoying it but I felt let down by the end. Maybe this is a result of reading so much crime fiction. You come to expect a certain level of resolution and a certain level of tension at the denouement and this just didn't deliver in that department. This was a first novel and I'm hoping there will be better from her in the future. Her next is called The Owl Killers and is also set in the 14thC. It will be out in March and I shall certainly take a look.

I'm now reading The Man in the Moss by Phil Rickman, which is one of his more supernatural titles, not a Merrily Watkins mystery. And 1977 by David Peace. More on these as I get further into them. On the basis of the first few pages though I'm preferring 1977 to The Man in the Moss and I'm thinking that 1977 is a better book than 1974 which bodes well for the books to come in that series.

It Was Nice While It Lasted

I'm back at work tomorrow after my couple of weeks off so I thought I'd better update you on the crafty stuff I've been doing.

I started off the break with a nasty dose of startitis and I cast on three different knitting projects in the first week. I blame the cold weather as I suddenly felt the need to knit a cardigan, a shawl and a pair of mittens simultaneously.


The cardigan is of my own devising with some (quite a lot of) help from Ann Budd's miraculous Handy Book of Sweater Patterns. It will (hopefully) be a round yoke cardigan and the main body will be in Sirdar Charleston. It's a funny yarn - quite weighty and warm and with frizzy bits sticking out all over - sort of like what you might get if you crossed a mohair with a yak - but totally manmade. It feels nice anyway and it was in the stash so I feel virtuous. Actually all the things I cast on were from the stash (and hence were either bootsale finds or bought in some sale or other) so I've been very frugal. The yoke is destined to be some handspun from Artists Palette Yarns - merino in a lovely foresty dark grren with hints of yellow and paler greens. There's a possibility it might disappear into the black and if that's the case I shall intersperse the rows with something lighter - a heathery purple probably. I've knit the body and am halfway up one sleeve so it's going well so far. I've spun the green stuff too as you can see from the photo, despite ongoing wheel problems. I went to the first meeting of my spinning group since Christmas and was merrily spinning away (slightly lopsidedly) and the other connector snapped too. Luckily there's a new set already on order for me. I managed to shorten the connectors and cobble the wheel together but doing so has changed the angle you put pressure on the treadles and the wheel now slowly walks itself across the floor when I'm spinning. Grrrrr.



Anyway, also on the needles is a pair of Snowflake Mitts (Ravelry link). I blame Jo for this temptation as I first saw them on her blog and knew right away I wanted to knit them. I'm using some Rowanspun 4ply in a range of greens and neutrals and while I don't like them as much as I do the original blue mitts, I think the mossy green effect is very nice (plus I didn't have enough shades of blue in the stash).




Finally my third project is Astrid from Norah Gaughan Book One. I believe I may have said in my New Year Would Like To List that I wanted to knit more of Norah's patterns and here I am already on the first. The yarn is some Jaeger Alpaca in a beautiful petrol blue (from the stash, she says smugly). So far I have done 6 of the circles. There are about 50 altogether and they are a bit fiddly to do so it may take me a bit of time. The alpaca is also possibly not the perfect yarn for this as it is sticky and the large circles involve several dropped stitches which are allowed to run - they need a bit of encouragement in this yarn!



The other thing I've been doing is quilting. When I was in Florida I bought a jelly roll (Moda Civil War Crossing) from Rainbow's End in Dunedin. And when I bought my new sewing machine last week I thought I'd have a little go at making the quilt I'd been planning. This would be my first quilt ever and my first large project since an ill-fated patchwork skirt in the 1970s. The new machine really made a difference and while I'm by no means an expert yet, and some of the piecing leaves a lot to be desired, here is the quilt top -

I love the colours, especially the faded blues. It still has a border to be added and then it needs binding and quilting but I'm really pleased with it so far. The pattern is Garden Trellis from Jelly Roll Quilts . I only started it on Friday so as to test the new machine. I think if I was to do it again I'd choose a pattern that didn't use bias cut squares as they were a bit tricky to handle for a relative beginner (the pattern did warn of this, but I chose it anyway!). Next up though, apart from the ongoing blocks for the sampler quilt (I think I'm still only at block 4 of 75) will be something bright and modern.

Definitely Not a Luddite...

I have on my desk the Yarn Harlot's page-a-day calendar called Never Not Knitting and yesterday she was espousing sympathy with old Ned Ludd, knitter and smasher of that heinous object the knitting machine.

I'd have to say that although I love my spinning wheel and prefer to hand-knit over machine knitting, I'm not in agreement with her. You see I'm a lazy crafter. I like to get my crafting materials when they're ready to use. Not for me the bags of filthy, smelly, just off the sheep fleece. I like my fibre all clean and combed and preferably in a nice pretty colour - all ready for me to spin with. Of course I can wash a fleece and card it if I need to, I just choose not to. I can even dye it if I want, but why go to all that trouble when there's usually someone more talented and with more time on their hands who can do it for me.

When I sit down to spin (or to knit, or quilt or weave) I want all the enjoyment of the craft without all the hard work. If I've only got half an hour to spend I want to be spinning - not up to the elbows in greasy water! So I'm thankful for all the machines - the washers, carders, combers, blenders and industrial dye-baths that produce the fibre I like to spin with.

Agree with the Luddites - never!

Things I've Learned This Week

While marooned in the house this week by weather and the need to recuperate from the minor op I had on Monday I have learned a few things.

1. Chickens don't like snow.........

2. Chickens have no idea of portion control........

All our chicks are roughly the same size and age, though they are different breeds / hybrids. One seems to be under the impression that it's crossed with an ostrich.

3. The internet is an instrument of Satan and I have no will power. I bought a new sewing machine. Honestly, I was just looking, just thinking about maybe, possibly, at some time in the future, replacing the sturdy old workhorse I have been using for the last twenty five years, (which has a cracked case and only does basic stitches.) And my finger must have slipped because a brand new shiny machine arrived this morning - and it can do things I didn't even know sewing machines could do! Can't post about it now - too busy playing with it.

PS the scattered bodies in the chicken photo are not roadkill or even henkill but Bubba's abandoned toys.

Vintage Knitting Books

As I've been sorting through my books I've come across a number of fascinating vintage knitting and craft titles.

From the bottom of the pile upwards they are - The Pictorial Guide to Modern Home Needlecraft, published by Odhams in 1946. This is a lovely book (with great endpapers - see left) covering all kinds of tailoring and is a must for the dressmaker.

Modern Needlework in 600 Pictures dates from 1937 and covers much of the same ground but is full of great photographs which explain everything in great detail. It's really good for explaining how sleeves are set in and all that technical stuff!

The Knitter's Craft by James Norbury was published in 1950. It has a great picture on the endpapers of Wensleydale Knitters dated 1814 (see right) and apart from some great tuition at the beginning has some wonderful vintage patterns.

The next two are both Odhams titles - Knitted Garments for All and Modern Knitting Illustrated. Neither of then are dated but they seem to be from the early 1940s. Both contain a multitude of patterns - everything from Fair Isle Mitts to a Vest and Pantie Set and some great Camiknickers.

Then we come to Mary Thomas. I've got Mary Thomas's Knitting Book and Mary Thomas's Book of Knitting Patterns - both of these are excellent books. I think you could pay a lot for early edition of these in nice condition, but mine are reprints and well-loved (that's bookseller speak for tatty). The patterns are great though and they both include photos of early knitting history.

The next book on the pile is in a very sad state indeed. It's Fleming's How to Teach Needlework. This is quite a rare little volume, undated but the preface is dated 1887. I guess if it was in good condition it could be valuable. Mine is not at all in good condition. It has handwritten notes and patterns scrawled on the endpapers and in the margins and patterns cut out from magazines pasted over some of the pages. The lady who owned it was obviously a knitter as the knitting patterns are pasted over all the sewing pages! I love it. As a piece of social history it's just superb.

Finally perching on top of all that lot is the beautifully pocketsized Encyclopedia of Needlework by Th. De Dillmont. My copy is a little olive cloth bound hardback, published by S. N. Cooke of Birmingham but not dated. I've had a little look and I can't see when it was published. It covers all kinds of needlework from embroidery and tapestry to knitting and crochet. It's just the most delightful little book - it fits just right in your palm and begs to be read. Wonderful.

Most of these books have been out of print for a very long time but secondhand editions are mostly available at very reasonable prices from www.abebooks.co.uk (or www.abebooks.com if you're over the pond.) I'll continue to collect vintage craft books whenever I find them (at a reasonable price!) and I'll update you with any finds.

Looking Forward

So, last time, I said I would be posting about what I'm looking forward to this year.

Well. I'm hoping to read some really good books this year. I'd like to think I might find another writer of the calibre of James Sallis this year, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. He's the kind of writer you could go your whole life without finding, and I can't believe I'd never heard of him until about six months ago. I just finished his latest John Hunter book and it is a masterpiece. More about that later though.

I'm hoping that there will be some really good crime books out there for me to review this year. A bit less of the mediocrity that I've found in some this year, and more good quality stuff. I'm planning to expand my literary horizons and read more non-crime. I know I probably say this every year but I'm still trying.

On the crafty front I'm planning to knit several more Norah Gaughan designs, following on from Mobius, which I haven't really blogged about - it got lost somewhere in the mayhem of Christmas, but it's finished and I love it. I'm being a bit of a project tart this week and have cast on three different new projects - a shawl, a pair of mitts and a cardigan - whoops! I'm going to do more weaving this year. I've not really got the four shaft loom I acquired last year up and running yet - still needs a little TLC but I will get a project warped up on that shortly. My spinning will continue much as the last year. My wheel is a little under the weather at the moment as the conrod connecter snapped just before Christmas, but I've spoken to the lovely people at P&M Woolcraft and a new set will hopefully be winging its way from Canada shortly. In the meantime I've done a short-term fix which will work temporarily - it just means the spinning action is a little uneven. I shall actually start to sew the quilt I've been planning since I got back from Florida - possibly even this week! I've got all the fabric ready, just need enough daylight to be able to sort the colours the way I want them.

On other fronts, now that we know the Evilpixie can look after the house/dog/chickens, we are planning to have a few more trips than we've been used to. Wonderwool in April is a definite, especially as it ties in with the Mid-Wales Food Festival - something to keep Pete occupied while I fondle the fibre. We might make a weekend of that as it's a long day with the driving as well. We're going to have a long weekend to Barcelona or somewhere else where we can get a cheapish flight. A visit to Scotland is also on the cards. We've not been up there since my father died so it would be nice to meet up with old friends and revisit some favourite places. We'd like to go to Seattle too and then travel down the west coast of the US but that will have to wait till the exchange rate improves a bit (and we've saved up some money!)

I can't say that I've set myself any resolutions for the year - they always seem too much like tempting fate. I think I'll just see what happens and take it from there. Bring it on.

Auld Reekie

Now,before I get flamed let me just explain that I have nothing against the fine city of Edinburgh in itself. I love Edinburgh. It's a beautiful city and one where I've spent some really good times.

But there seems to be something about books set in Edinburgh that just get on my wick. I had a look down my list of books read last year and the most disappointing ones were set in Edinburgh.

So the Annual Fiat Punto Award for the Book Hurled onto the Backseat with the Most Venom goes to - Blood Lines by Grace Monroe (who is two people, so I'm getting my money's worth). Weak and inplausible plots, unlikeable characters and a setting (Edinburgh's legal community) that I really couldn't give a stuff about.

The I Can't Believe I Paid Good Money for This award goes to - Doors Open by Ian Rankin. It probably wasn't all that bad really, but it wasn't what I had been expecting and I was disappointed by the characters and resolution. Could do better. (And I hope he does!)

The Friends of the Earth Save More Trees Award goes to anything by Grace Monroe. Please Avon, do not inflict any more of this tosh on the bookbuying public.

Worst Book of the Year though goes to a little known category of book, one I only just discovered. The knitting mystery. In particular this goes to Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton. It's a cozy of the worst sort - and it was so badly written that it was horribly compelling - I had to keep reading just to see if it could possibly get any worse. And trust me, it could. Now I'm not a fan of cozies anyway, though I know a lot of people are, so I didn't really think it would be my cup of tea, but surely even a little knitting mystery should be better written than this. I also spotted on the shelves in US bookstores mysteries about crochet, quilting, beading, scrapbooking - you name it, it has a little sub-genre all of it's own. Now I think I get the appeal of reading about a craft that you love but why does that standard have to be so bad. Can't they find some better writers who knit? Tragic.

Next post is about what I'm looking forward to in 2009. You can bet your life it's not a book set in Edinburgh. Or a knitting mystery. Or a knitting mystery set in Edinburgh.

Time Out

I hope you all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to the new year as much as I am.

I'm at the beginning of a lovely long period of time off work - almost two and a half weeks. This is as a result of working almost every day over Christmas (apart from the day itself) and some sick days because I'm having a minor operation at the start of next week and will need a little recuperation time - that's time on the sofa with some knitting and a couple of books - tough!

So it's time to catch up on the blog and get back to regular posting and I thought I'd kick off with my Favourite Books of the Year.

I had a look back at last year's post of this time and I said I wanted to find a new author to savour this year and I managed that with the discovery of the wonderful James Sallis. So top of my favourite reads of the year has to be Cypress Grove, the first of his Turner series. Don't you just love when you find an author you hadn't known about previously and can delve back into his body of work and see him develop as a writer. I have his latest book Salt River on the Next to be Read shelf ready to be the first book of the new year. And I've also looking forward to his biography of Chester Himes.



I also enjoyed the second and third books in C J Sansom's Shardlake series. Dark Fire was excellent but I think Sovereign just pipped it. I'm looking forward to reading the latest book, Revelation, this year. I'm saving it till later in the year so I have something to look forward to (probably when the standard paperback comes out) and giving him the chance to get going on another.

Next up is a little gem I stumbled across by accident. I'm not normally a fan of anthropomorphism and I hate those mysteries where the cat solves the crime but this one - where a flock of sheep try to solve the mysterious death of their shepherd was just wonderful. It's Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. It's not cute and it's not fluffy and it deals with many different topics relevant to sheep including animal rights. Unfortunately the paperback seems to be out of print in the UK.

The Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin is my next choice. A Moor, a Jew and a woman doctor who specialises in examining the dead. It's an unlikely combination in 12th Century Cambridge but that's where they are sent to solve a series of hideous child murders. I really liked this, thought the characters were intriguing and it was just that bit different from the usual run-of-the-mill historical mystery.

Finally, bringing up the rear is Flesh House by Stuart MacBride - just out in standard paperback format by the way if you haven't read it yet. It's got all the usual MacBride trademarks - it's funny and it's dark and it's gruesome. I had felt a little disappointed in the previous one in the series but this one is an absolute cracker. And it has the distinct advantage of being set in the glorious city of Aberdeen.

I've not read as many books that I would jump up and down and shout about this year as I would like. There's been some real mediocrity out there. However there have been a few others that merit a mention. Volk's Game by Brent Ghelfi is a thriller with an unusual main character. He's not a man with many scruples and it's rare that you meet that in a crime novel these days where things tend to be more black and white. Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden was recommended by dovegreyreader and proved every bit as good as she said. One of several she's alerted me to that I probably wouldn't have picked up on otherwise. That's one of the reasons I love the blogosphere so much. The Redemption of Alexander Seaton by Shona McLean was a slow starter - it took me two attempts and a bit of prompting before I got going with it but once I got started I couldn't put it down - intrigue, espionage and witchcraft - who knew all this went on in Banff in the 17th Century.

Tomorrow we set off down the blood-stained track towards my least-favourite books of the year. Anyone who wrote a book set in Edinburgh had better beware.

Merry Christmas to Everyone

Well, it's here. The last celebrity biography has been bagstuffed, the sale restickering is done and booksellers everywhere can heave a giant sigh of relief and have a well-deserved glass of wine.

We're off to Oxford tomorrow for lunch with the family.

Best wishes to everyone - I hope you have a great Christmas and I'll be back shortly with my picks of the year and the traditional Mysterious Yarns Awards.

Of Colds and Aran Waistcoats and Eggs

I've been ill with a cold for the last few days. I managed to get through the week at work and finally succumbed to the cold on Saturday, the first of my last days off before Christmas.

Consequently I am glad that I had decided the Aran Waistcoat of my earlier post would be better made for my Mother-in-Law as a birthday present. I felt no desire to knit at all on Friday (by the time I got home from work my voice was almost gone), or on Saturday, most of which was spent curled up on the sofa with a book. Luckily I'd felt this coming on and so had laid in a copy of The Last Breath by Denise Mina. More about that another time.

Anyway, I'm feeling rather better now, have recovered my knitting abilities (such as they are) and have started the Aran Hat for my MIL. Hopefully, time permitting there will be Aran Mittens to accompany it. I've nearly finished Mobius too. It took a bit longer than I'd expected - vast amounts of long and dull stocking stitch on the back, coupled with a slowness of knitting, due to my mounting cold. But the major parts are all completed now, just need blocking and then I can knit the collar to the right length and stitch it all together.


Big news though - we have our first egg!



It appeared on Saturday, and we weren't sure which hen was the proud producer. It was sitting in the nestbox when Pete went to clean them out. It's only small, but it's the first one.

On Sunday we were standing on the patio discussing which chicken was the most likely layer when Betty (she's the biggest of our girls, but a bit nervous) squatted down by the herb trough and laid another one with a resounding crack onto the paving slab. Miraculously it didn't break and she scuttled off looking a bit embarassed.

We had them fried on muffins this morning and they were lovely. Probably the most expensive two eggs in history, given the cost of setting this all up, but well worth it! Here's to many more.

Crafty Update

As promised here's what I've been up to apart from reading and selling the odd book or two.

I finally finished spinning the purple fibre that was a gift from my lovely friends in Florida -

Aren't the colours wonderful? I was planning to knit some lacy fingerless gloves with this but now that it's all spun I find I have more than 500 yards of it - way too much to be just gloves so it may be a shawl. Here's a close-up.

Hopefully you can see all the variations in shade from the kettle-dyeing.

I've been carrying on with the Christmas knitting but I had a little setback and accidentally cast on Mobius from Norah Gaughan Book 2.

It is knitting very quickly though, and I'm using some yarn from the stash, so it's not like that counts, is it? I'm hoping to be finished by the weekend.

On the subject of Christmas knitting, Pete asked if I could knit something for his Mum, like a pair of aran mittens and while looking for a mitten pattern I found this -

I know she'd love it but I'm not sure if I could knit it in time. What do you think? It's patterned on the back as well as the front, but it is double knitting weight so it should knit up quite quickly. Can I do that in time for Christmas?

Finally, just to say that I watched Wallander which was on BBC1 on Sunday night and really enjoyed it. The Swedish tourist board must be chuffed to bits - all those lovely scenic shots. I haven't read any Henning Mankell in a while, but I rather recalled a grim, grey urban setting for the books I'd read. I liked Kenneth Branagh as Kurt Wallander - a tortured man finding it difficult to cope with the kind of things his job brings him into proximity with. Well worth a look at the second in the series.

Monday Book Update

Well, bless me, December already, as if the additional mayhem in the shop hadn't already alerted me that Christmas was fast approaching.

So let's just start with the apology that would normally be coming your way later. Blogging may be somewhat sporadic this month as work becomes more hectic and I lose the ability to think by the time I get home. I will try and update you as often as I can but am making no promises.

So, lets get on with the business at hand. I've been a busy girl this week and have squeezed in quite a few titles. Last time I blogged I was in a quandry about what to read next. Never fear, the fates stepped in with a timely proof of Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden, just when that most useful of bloggers, dovegreyreader, had been enthusing about it. A most enjoyable and enthralling read it was too. A fascinating account of the lives of the Cree in modern Canada and how their lives have changed with technology. This is due to be published in the UK in March and I can highly recommend it. I shall now have to seek out his previous book, which is about Cree soldiers fighting in the First World War.



Next up, at the end of a tiring week, some action and adventure with a strong plot was needed. Who else would fit the bill but Bernard Cornwell. Sword Song is the fourth in the Alfred the Great series, which follows the life of Uhtred, born Saxon, raised by Danes, sworn to Alfred but eager to escape his oath and fight for his own destiny in the North. Now, while I enjoyed this book for the storytelling, which is always one of Cornwell's strong points, I did feel that it didn't move the story arc of the series along very much. It seemed a bit of an interlude to the main body of the plot, so while enjoyable in itself, was a bit lacking in substance. Of course, this could be the masterful Mr Cornwell toying with me, and it's possible that with hindsight, this book could be the hinge that the whole series hangs from. There were one or two hints at things to come that may prove very interesting. Guess I'll just have to wait for the next book.

Finally I came back to The Redemption of Alexander Seaton by Shona MacLean. I started this ages ago, before I went on holiday, but I misplaced it and only found it again last week during the big book sort. This time I managed to get a bit further and have now got well into the action (it did take a little while to get going). Set in Banff in the 17th century, this is about the murder of a young man. The tale is told through the eyes of the Alexander Seaton of the title and it's beautifully written with a fantastic sense of time and place. The language really makes you feel you're in the town. It's very atmospheric. But, and I think the publishers have missed a trick here, I wanted maps. The plot concerns some maps, and I really wanted there to be a map of Banff at that time to help me navigate myself around. Maybe that's just me (I love maps). I don't know much about cartography but apparently it was a fairly new science in the 17th century and much suspicion and ignorance seemed to surround it. Anyway the book is proving to be one of those that you can't put down once you've got into the meat of the plot.

Crafting update tomorrow - hey, two days off in a row. Can't be bad.