Crafts, leisure and happiness

Before I began to love knitting I was one of those people who at anytime had at least one book and more often than not around 3-4 books that they were currently reading. That's why my DH bought me a Kindle. And surprisingly ever since I've had the kindle (8 months now) I've bought and read only around 3-4 books and that's it. That's owing to a lot of reasons. 1. I quit my job around the same time I got my Kindle and I swear that has nothing to do with it, so I spent a lot of time at the library and most books I wanted, I borrowed from the library. 2. I quit my job around the same time I got my Kindle so I had a lot of time on my hands to knit. And I swear knitting also does not have anything to do with my quitting my job. So I knit a lot. 3. And since I spent a lot of time at the library and I love books and I love knitting, I looked for the knitting books section and needless to say I spent most of my time there. 4. Now since I'm in the habit of not BUYing boo...

Not that I was out of town or anything. I was just away from my blog for quite some time now - 3 weeks since my last post. I did have a few things to blog about but let's just say I did not feel like it. What did I do then? I organized a birthday party for my DS he turned two recently. Here's the cake I'd ordered. Isn't it beautiful. I was heart broken cutting it. I'm almost done with the choo choo sweater. Just have to seam and weave in the millions of ends. That's been the case for the whole of last week. I finally started on finishing it today. Lazy lazy. Well not really. The last couple of days were spent on this really nice book that Tami suggested - The Hunger Games . Tami, I love it! I finished it in 2 days. I meant to buy it but then I found it at the local library so I grabbed it. I might have to buy the second book in the series - Catching Fire because I'm in a long line to borrow it at the library and I can't wait. I hope it's as good...

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards My review rating: 3 of 5 stars This was an interesting read. It was definitely a page-turner but I'm not sure if I really loved the book or if I just wanted to get it over with. After the first few pages I felt this was any old Hindi movie and wasn't sure I liked it. Then when Caroline Gill takes the baby with her I started to like it. The whole decision making scene seemed so un-contrived, it just seemed to flow in natural order. I could relate to the character and felt I would have done the same thing in her place. Then came all that crap about Norah Henry in mourning forever. And David guilty forever - well that part I can understand in a way. But the Norah Henry character just did not do it for me and also David believing or "understanding" that he caused everything that happened with Norah's life or that everything that happened was a repercussion of what he'd done with Phoebe. Norah's depression - ...

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney My review rating: 5 of 5 stars Un-put-down-able! This is the first comic novel that I have read and I have to say this is one helluva debut by Jeff Kinney. It is all about an average boy-next-door type of kid Greg and his average life in his average school and with his average family told in an uproarious way with cartoons. I was laughing out aloud through the entire book. It's hard to say what part I liked most. The Zoo-Wee-Mama cartoon strip was priceless. And I especially liked the whole winter play incident, Greg decides to become a tree in the play so he can throw apples at a girl from his class that he wants to get back at, Toto the dog brings his comic books to read on stage, the shrub plays video games despite his costume, and the expressions on the faces of his family after the ruined play. OK, too many spoilers. In all, an outrageously hilarious book. I want more! View all my reviews.

To all you Harry Potter fans. Tales of Beedle the Bard is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Has two versions - Standard Hard Cover that costs just $7.59 and a Collector's edition that looks beautiful and costs $100.00! The book is scheduled to release on December 4, 2008. Another long wait!

To Sir with Love by E. R. Braithwaite My review rating: 4 of 5 stars Its a very simply written book and a well written one. I expected it to be a melodramatic, overly expressive book, but it wasn't. The simple descriptions gave a wonderful picture of the environment in which the children were brought up, their school and also a good idea of how east London looked. There are a lot of movies on the same theme and I believe we begin to in a way sub-consciously expect the same kind of drama in older books. And that's what I was afraid of when I picked it up. This book needed no drama to keep me interested in it until I finished it. If I were to tell you what I think of this book in one word that word would be "Simple". View all my reviews.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer My review rating: 2 of 5 stars The style of writing in this book seems more for a movie than for a children's book. The writing style IS interesting, not the book itself. It is more a children's book, unlike some other young adult fantasies like Harry Potter, Eragon or His Dark Materials which are interesting to adults as well. But then again it may not be the ideal book for the impressionable minds of children either. The protagonist is the evil character and may not set a great example for kids. Still would I read this book out to my child, of course I will. The more the inputs to a child's mind, the smarter and more well rounded he is. View all my reviews.

Trail Originally uploaded by vin E Who would have guessed that on Thanks Giving day, the Bailey Cove trail near Redding, CA would be deserted. It was mere luck that led my husband and me there when we were looking for something to do. The changing coldth (I refuse to use the spell check suggested word here) and warmth of the trail gave us a perspective of the sun's hide and seek with the sides of the mountains. The silence interrupted only by the tread of our shoes on the thick carpet of leaves and our controlled whispers of awe. The smells were green and brown. The colors, damp and dry. A chirp, here, a glimpse of a deer sprinting away, there. The afternoon sun reflecting against the now reduced waters of the gigantic lake Shasta. The fallen acorns, some of which now adorn the petri dish in my living room. It was indeed a thankful Thanksgiving.