I've been reading

Because I mostly read ebooks, I don't have photos of book covers and don't want to take them from other locations on the web without permission. I apologise for the lack of pictures but it is, after all, a post about reading! LOL

 The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society is the one fiction book that I have read lately which stands out; not because the writing was particularly brilliant, but because it is set in post-war, previously German-occupied Guernsey -- something I've not thought about before. It's a simple story, told well enough to become compulsive but easy reading.

The book is obviously popular, over 10,000 people on LibraryThing have read The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society. The book was written by Mary Ann Schaffer, a retired librarian in her seventies who died before the book was published. The revisions were done by her niece, Annie Barrows. Written in the format of letters, it is an unusual format but works well in this case.

While travelling to my mother’s earlier this month, I finished the first section of Mao’s Last Dancer (by Li Cunxin), the autobiography of a poor Chinese boy who became a famous classical ballet dancer. I have not seen the movie and probably never will now that I am reading the book. I am actually reading this book in print format; perhaps that's why it's taking me so long to get through it! ;-0

While sitting around the motel room in Moree after mum's surgery, I read Head Over Heels (by Sam and Jenny Bailey). It is the biography of an Australian country boy who dreamed of following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a farmer – and how he reached his goal despite becoming a quadriplegic in a dreadful car accident when he was just nineteen.

Currently I’m reading another Australian book: In Search of A Wild Brumby by Michael Keenan. Brumbies are wild horses, introduced to Australia and considered by some as pests.

I also have in my pile of non-fiction books, Life at the Edge and Beyond: Living with ADHD and Asperger Syndrome (Jan Greenman) -- this directly impacts on my family and I really need to take the time to read this carefully.

But wait .... there's more!

How can one go to the library and not borrow craft books, more specifically books related to stitching! At the moment I am being inspired by these four:

• French Girl Knits (Kristen Griffen-Grimes) -- a book of patterns, two of which I would like to knit
• Design Your Own Knits in 5 easy steps (Debbie Abrahams) -- I need more time to take this one in!
• Long and Short Stitch Embroidery (Trish Burr) -- also known as needle painting, thread painting or silk painting; I would love to learn how to do this but not right now!
• Freddy and Gwen Collaborate Again (Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston) -- a book written by two well known quilters with two very different styles; I love it and have added it and its predecessor to my wishlist!

 If you're over at LibraryThing and want to take a look at my whole book-list (I am adding to it slowly), I am, not surprisingly, ellebee57.

What are you reading?
Did anyone give you books this Christmas? 

What's on your current reading list?

Just as with my knitting, quilting and sewing projects, I also have more than one "reading project" on the go.

On my iPad I was listening to The Wise Woman by George MacDonald, who was a favourite author of C. S. Lewis. This story was published in the nineteenth century and is described as a 'parable' or 'fairy story'. It was a little hard to get into because MacDonald's language is very descriptive but once the story got underway it was hard to stop!I finished it while doing some embroidery in Friday's beautiful spring-like weather.

I have since downloaded The Amazing Mind of Alice Makin by Alan Shea (read by Zoe-Anne Phillips), which is billed as historical juvenile fiction. Set in post war London, it follows Alice's imaginative life to which she retreats when her home life becomes unbearable.

Also on my iPad, I am reading The Distant Hours by Kate Morton.  This was recommended by Renee of "Sewn with Grace" and I am thoroughly enjoying it. It is described as a gothic novel but I'm not sure that's how I would describe it.

All three of these books were borrowed from my local library, as was the audiobook downloaded to my computer: Teacher Man by Frank McCourt (the author of Angela's Ashes). This as an autobiography about how he came through teaching to become a writer. It is a little hard for me to understand because it is being read by the author who has an Irish accent and I have to listen carefully - not ideal when I am using my sewing machine at the same time! Nonetheless, it is an interesting read.

My Kindle has all but been forgotten in the excitement of owning an iPad but there are books there too. I am in the middle of reading the classic Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. It's interesting but not compelling reading; perhaps that's why I left it several weeks ago. There are many other books stored on that device when I get to them.

And, yes, I still read books in print. At the moment I am reading two autobiographies: Mao's Last Dancer, which was loaned to me by a friend in my sewing class and Be Your Best, by Australian swimmer Geoff Huegill, which WM and I bought for DD. She has finished it and kindly loaned it to me.

I have dozens of books on my library wishlist, in my Kindle and on my "to be read" shelf. Oh for a few more hours a day! LOL

The current favourite book in these little guys’ house is The Red Tractor.

What's on your current reading list?

What's in the knitter's corner?

My knitting corner is a mess! My preferred place to knit is on a 2 1/2 seater lounge (sofa) looking out onto the garden. My knitting bag, a project bag (or two) and a book (or two) are usually all that's on the other seat. Today there is a pile of stuff on the "spare" seat. It doesn't usually look like this and today it will be cleared and look like normal again. I like to be reasonably tidy and to be able to just move things quickly so someone can sit there if need be. I have been so busy knitting and reading or listening to audiobooks that I have got into a big jumble!

So what's there?

• two hats, a scarf and a pair of socks waiting to be photographed - scarves, socks and hats look so much better modelled than photographed flat (DD is visiting today so we can take the photos and pack the stuff in the "ready-to-go" charity box)
• my March Mystery 220 project - second clue today; woo-hoo! action: knit the clue then pack the WIP in a project bag until next week's clue
• one Ambassador of Love mitten (Rav link) - incomplete, waiting for the top to be grafted and the thumb knitted; this was one of the two January Mystery 220 projects; I cast on two days ago - I am knitting it as a mystery object so haven't paid attention to the pattern page
• three loose dpns that were being used for the mitten and will be needed again to complete the thumb
• a magnetic board holding the chart for the Ambassador of Love mittens
• No Purl scarf (Corrugator scarf) - started last week and ripped out and started again last night because it was too narrow; this is my television/travel knitting
• the project bag containing the yarn-in-use from which I am knitting the No Purl Scarf
• two pre-wound balls for the No Purl Scarf - the project I took to DD's and didn't get around to knitting!
• an empty project bag (to be used for the March Mystery 220 project)
• scrap papers containing instructions for the Corrugator Scarf, the Ambassador of Love mittens and the Old Shale Wimple (now frogged but I'd like to try it again)
• two knitting books (Rav links): Handknits to Wrap and Adorn (I was going to knit a beanie from this book but settled on the Slip Stitch Stash Hat instead) and Big Book of Knitting by Katherine Buss (I was looking for cast on instructions but it didn't help because being left handed I couldn't follow the directions and didn't have a mirror handy)
• patterns for Slip Stitch Stash Hat and Fourth Grade Hat (Rav links): both completed - see first bullet point
• a yarn label with the instructions for knitting socks - file for possible later use/reference
• a pair of scissors and a pin cushion holding my tapestry needle and needle threader (used for grafting and sewing in ends) - these are usually on the lounge within easy reach
• a tape measure because my knitting bag is under so much stuff I can't put it away
• a booklet containing information about workshops and coupons for the Craft Expo which opens tomorrow
• The Tin Ticket: the story of convict women in Australia; my great-great-grandmother, Agnes McMillan, is one of the central characters
• Bridget Jones's Diary - I've never seen the movie and was offered the book to read - didn't even finish the first month of the diary, didn't like the writing style or content; skipped to the end which was as I expected! Won't bother to hire the movie!!

And in the immediate vicinity?

• a bag containing two EZ UFOs - a February Baby Sweater that needs buttons and a Tomten that needs the zipper sewn in; the zipper is pinned but I have to search for some matching yarn/thread to do the job
• my Fibonnacci Strip blanket (afghan) which still has about 300 ends to be sewn in!
• my iPod (in its docking station) loaded with a couple of audiobooks - my current listening is Julie Andrews*: an intimate biography (by Richard Stirling), and next in the queue is Slave: my true story (by Mende Nazar)
• the TV guide from the Sunday paper

What's in your knitting corner?

*Although Julie Andrews had an intinerant childhood, for the most part she grew up in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England; which is the same place where my great-great-grandfather, William Thomas Bowley, was born and raised. His father, Edward, was the local barber/hairdresser.