Saturday 5 December 2015

The Year In Books December 2015

I spent most of November reading "A Place Called Winter" by Patrick Gale.     I've read a couple of  Patrick Gale's novels and I do quite like them, although I can't really say he is one of my favourite authors.    "A Place Called Winter" got lots of critical acclaim and  although it was very good, for me at least, it didn't live up to the hype.


With my Christmas holiday approaching I am planning lots of afternoons curled up on the sofa, my favourite tipple at hand (Cherry Brandy), either reading or knitting.    My list of December books includes " The Private Diaries of Alison Uttley" by Ronald Blythe and "Company of Liars" by Karen Maitland.    

As a child I loved Alison Uttley's Sam Pig stories, being  introduced to them by my dad who still has a copy of the Sam Pig story book given to him when he was a small boy.    I am looking forward to reading the diaries and finding out more about Alison Uttley.      "Company of Liars" is set during the time of the Black Death in the late 14th Century and is full of "magic, superstition, potions and spells".   Sounds just the thing for cold, windy, winter afternoons.

This post is joining in with The Year In Books - see here  for more.

Thursday 3 December 2015

Joining in with Yarn Along

Last time I posted here was way back at the end of the summer.  Since then the autumn has passed by in a sleepy haze: I've been busy working, then recovering from Shingles and then from a very painful wisdom tooth extraction.  At last I am starting to feel more like myself - enough to take up my knitting again, to recover my sewing machine from a friend who borrowed it several months ago, and to dust off my baking tins. 


Yesterday I cast on for a new knitting project: Fishtail Wrist Warmers, which I'm knitting in a 4ply Rowan yarn.  I may have stopped knitting over the last couple of months but I didn't stop reading.  The book that I am enjoying very much at the moment is "Crescent" by Diane Abu-Jabbar.   As the blurb on the cover says "romance, risk and recipes", what's not to like?
 
 
Other Yarn Along posts can be found here Yarn Along