Just When Things Begin To Look Normal

So I was back on track and doing my wee blog again.  Ready to commit and make weekly stitching and reading posts when what happens? We decide to move! I have had to pack up my craft cupboard and book shelves.  I packed 9 boxes of books!!!! and that doesn’t include the couple of hundred books that are off to good will next week.

How did we accumulate so much crap in 10 years!

I haven’t stitched in 4 weeks.  I’ve not finished a book in 4 weeks. In fact I’ve barely picked a book up at all in the past 4 weeks.

We move this weekend and unpacking never takes that long as packing so normal viewing will resume very shortly.

Here’s a cute picture of my cat Simon as a consolation 🙂

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14 May 2020

Today we moved to level 2 but I’m not going to dwell on that 🙂 I’m going to focus on my stuff instead.  Do a wee round up of projects completed over the past few months 🙂 I really do want to get back into the habit of this 🙂

My first grandbaby was born about this time last year.  I made this for her room 🙂 Its a free pattern from a wonderful artist.  If you want to follow her she is on Facebook as Cross stitch patterns by Maria Brovko https://www.facebook.com/groups/CutePatternsByMaria/

My brother turned 40 & got married on the same night.  This was my present to them.  I just love it! The colours are stunning when you see it in real life. It’s an Etsy pattern and I will make it again one day for my own home 🙂 https://www.etsy.com/nz/listing/518613247/when-life-gives-you-lemons-cross-stitch

Sorry if this offends anyone.  A very good friend of mine got diagnosed with cervical cancer early last year.  It was very very aggressive and she only had a small chance of survival but she did it.  I made this for her during that time. Again it was an Etsy pattern https://www.etsy.com/nz/listing/464519735/cross-stitch-pattern-fuck-cancer-raise?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=fuck+cancer&ref=sr_gallery-1-30&organic_search_click=1

I do very intense full coverage cross stitches most of the time.  They are extremely time consuming with most of them taking at least 3 years to stitch.  They are also very fatiguing to stitch.  Due to this, every so often I need a wee break which I am currently doing now.  I’ve found a wonderful designer called The Witchy Stitcher and she does some awesome gothic horror works with fairly simple designs.  I’m not usually a huge fan of the simple designs but I love hers.  I stumbled on her by accident when one of my stitching groups were talking about something called the Universal Monsters SAL (Stitch  A Long) which was about to start and featured, that’s right, the old school Universal movie monsters.  I joined up and loved it! Had a absolute ball stitching it and when finished it went to live with my cousins 5 year old boy who also loves it 🙂

 

I had that much fun stitching this that I promptly signed up for the next one featuring more modern movie monsters, Chopping Mall.  I’ve very nearly finished this one 🙂

I’m only doing snapshots of this one at the moment as its more fun for the big reveal at the end 😉 If your interested this link will take you to both SAL’s 🙂 https://www.thewitchystitcher.com/sals

Last, but not least, where I got to with Warm My Heart before I needed a wee break.  This is about halfway done now.

So many teeny tiny stitches haha 🙂

Till next time xxx

Its the end of a lockdown baby

I fell off the blogging wagon.

No reason really, I just stopped.

I guess I probably felt like I was just talking to myself, which I probably am.

Its time to start doing it again I think.  It’s a great way for me to keep a record of what I’ve been up to.

So what have I been up to? Tons of stitching, a bit of charity work, a fair amount of actual work (with lockdown ending next week I had 12 quotes accepted yesterday afternoon and made my first appointment for re-opening morning) and a whole heap of staying home in my bubble.

What have I learnt in this time which has been 1 month & 5 days in NZ?

1. I really am a hermit:  I’ve loved being at home and only being allowed out for essentials.  I could happily continue to live like this in my bubble.
2. The less you do, then the less you do: By end week 2, early week 3, I realised that all my motivation had fallen out the window.  I was doing less and less and not caring too much.  As that could potentially become a problem I’ve reintroduced routine to my life.  I bought box hair dye and removed my Covid-19 styles and set myself a timetable for my day 🙂 Up between 7 & 8, breakfast then some sort of exercise (walking, downstairs gym, yoga . . . ) and chores.  Work until 11 or 12 at dining table. More chores like prepping dinner etc.  Watch government update at 1pm.  Free afternoon for anything I want 🙂
3. I’m a hugger: I miss hugging people when I see them.  Standing 2 meters apart and waving sucks.  I’ve seen my boy a couple of times as he lives just a k down the road but I haven’t been allowed to hug him.  My girls all live in other area’s so we’ve been limited to text’s, messages and phone calls.
4. Man we can drink: I’ve never gone through that much wine in my life!  Week 4 has been all about not drinking alcohol.  A friend of a friend said that the glass guys should have moved to a weekly pick up instead of fortnightly during lockdown and she’s not wrong.
5. I don’t miss takeaways: I know a lot of people have been doing this part tough but I haven’t missed them.  Mind you, I’ve had the time to cook properly and its something I enjoy.  We’ve been doing the groceries once a week and getting enough for some great meals.  We’ve had risotto’s and pasta’s and chicken saltibocco and nacho’s and my version of KFC DoubleDowns and loads of other things.  Admittedly we had Hello Fresh for 3 nights each of the first 2 weeks but I found I was happier cooking what I wanted instead.  I even made gnocchi from scratch including the sauce.  I’m kind of concerned that when it all returns to normal next week then this will change back again because being gone 12 hours every working day doesn’t lead to a lot of energy for cooking when you get home.
6. I’m going to read all the books and catch up on all the crafts: Nope. 3 books and 1 craft haha the time has gone really fast.
7. And the most important, Life is precious: I’ve had my tanty panties on a few times over the past week or so as I’m tired of hearing about how much the economy is taking a hit, and how much businesses are suffering.  Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand where these people are coming from and what they are saying and it saddens me the number of businesses that will go under but isn’t life more precious than money? Wouldn’t you rather you came out of this with your family intact?  I can’t think of anything worse than still having our business but because we chose to ignore the realities of how bad this virus can be our family gatherings are smaller and quieter.  Yes I know people die every day and I know death is the only guarantee that you are born with, but if its preventable, isn’t it our moral and ethical responsibility to do everything in our power to prevent it?  If you saw a person being attacked on the street wouldn’t you at least try to save that person? How is this different from stopping a physical attack? With this virus you can be contagious for 2 weeks before showing signs.  In that time you contaminate god knows how many people if your wandering around willy nilly, hugging and touching stuff.  Do you really want to be Typhoid Mary?  Do you want to be the reason that someone dies?  That’s the reality.  In New Zealand we have very successfully squashed our curve.  Unfortunately the roll off from that is a bunch of douches wandering around saying that the lockdown was unnecessary and an over-reaction.  Over 100,000 people have died from this in 3 months world wide but because we only have 12 or 13 deaths then we over reacted? I personally believe that the reasons our numbers are so low is because we reacted correctly.  EVERY death is a loss.  Just because you didn’t know them personally doesn’t mean that their life didn’t matter.  New York is loading their dead into refrigerator trucks and burying them in mass graves on islands.  One nurse talked of wheeling a deceased patient our on to the street and going past 3 padlocked refrigeration trucks before finding one with room for his person.  An aged care facility in New York had over 20 which included 2 caregivers pass in a weekend.  They had to stack them in the hallways. We’ve been very lucky here and our government as supported us admirably.  Yes our profits will be down for this year and probably next year too.  Yes most of us will be living a simpler less expensive lifestyle for a while we rebuild our cashflows and economy.  Holidays might be at home this year.  Nights out might be the treat rather than just another Saturday.  I noticed on Tuesday that Domino’s are interviewing for 1000 staff to start next week.  That tells me that they laid off nearly everyone rather than supporting their staff during this time even though the government had a staff support package. They didn’t even try.  Never buying Domino’s again I can promise you.

Wow, sorry about 7.  I didn’t realise I had quite that much of a rant in me haha to quote Dr Seuss ‘A persons a person no matter how small’.

New Zealand, we have dodged a bullet.  Lets be grateful and start our rebuilt.  Christmas this year is going to have pretty much everyone there 🙂

As my rant got a little long winded I’ll do another update later on what I’ve actually been up too 🙂

Kia Kaha everyone xx

Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie (Books I can’t wait to read)

April 17

I discovered this fun blog via Death By Tsundoku Top Ten Tuesday is a meme originated by The Broke and the Bookish now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is:

This week the theme is: Freebie (Books I can’t wait to read)

Please note I am having a ridiculously busy year and am now running really late on this meme but as I love it I want to catch up so you are all about to be spammed with multiple posts as I finish my back log 😉

SO MANY BOOKS I CAN’T WAIT TO READ!!!!! Narrowing it down it going to be the hard part for this one!

1.  

   The Hate U Give

   by:
   

   Angie Thomas (Goodreads Author)

   “What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”

   Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.

2. 

   One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

   by

   Ken Kesey

   
   Like George Orwell and Philip Wylie, Ken Kesey is concerned with man’s battle to be himself in a world of increasing controls, the battle of joy and freedom against a society which fosters guilt and shame. His first novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, tells the story of a struggle between a man and a woman for the spirits and hearts of a group of people who have been defeated by the world.
   The setting for these defeated lives is a mental institution. The teller of the story, a half-Indian and a long-time inmate, has made the most complete retreat from life of all of them; he will not talk, and he has fooled the staff into thinking he is deaf and dumb. But through his self-imposed protective fog he is an acute observer. His vision of the life around him seems to have a truth which is beyond the definitions of sanity or insanity. To him the world is run by an all-powerful “Combine.” The hear of the war, the “Big Nurse,” is the chief instrument of evil. She wields her insidious power over the men to destroy their wills and freeze them into mindless obedience.
   Into this gray world comes McMurphy, a brawling, gambling man, full of spirit and a glorious lust for life. He is horrified by the docility with which the other men accept the rule of the Big Nurse and decides to fight her on her own terms. The battle begins, for him, as a lark – a way of winning the bets he has made with the men. And then, as he becomes more aware of the terrible dangers in it, and more committed to the others who have come to count on him for their own survival, his decision to go on is a heroic act of sacrifice and compassion.

3.

Lovecraft Country

by

Matt Ruff (Goodreads Author)

The critically acclaimed cult novelist makes visceral the terrors of life in Jim Crow America and its lingering effects in this brilliant and wondrous work of the imagination that melds historical fiction, pulp noir, and Lovecraftian horror and fantasy

Chicago, 1954. When his father Montrose goes missing, twenty-two year old Army veteran Atticus Turner embarks on a road trip to New England to find him, accompanied by his Uncle George—publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide—and his childhood friend Letitia. On their journey to the manor of Mr. Braithwhite—heir to the estate that owned Atticus’s great grandmother—they encounter both mundane terrors of white America and malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the weird tales George devours.

At the manor, Atticus discovers his father in chains, held prisoner by a secret cabal named the Order of the Ancient Dawn—led by Samuel Braithwhite and his son Caleb—which has gathered to orchestrate a ritual that shockingly centers on Atticus. And his one hope of salvation may be the seed of his—and the whole Turner clan’s—destruction.

A chimerical blend of magic, power, hope, and freedom that stretches across time, touching diverse members of one black family, Lovecraft Country is a devastating kaleidoscopic portrait of racism—the terrifying specter that continues to haunt us today.

 

4.

The Kingmaker’s Daughter (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels #4)

by

Philippa Gregory(Goodreads Author),

Is there anyone she can trust? The Kingmaker’s Daughter is the gripping story of the daughters of the man known as the “Kingmaker,” Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick: the most powerful magnate in fifteenth-century England. Without a son and heir, he uses his daughters, Anne and Isabel as pawns in his political games, and they grow up to be influential players in their own right. In this novel, her first sister story since The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory explores the lives of two fascinating young women.

At the court of Edward IV and his beautiful queen, Elizabeth Woodville, Anne grows from a delightful child to become ever more fearful and desperate when her father makes war on his former friends. Married at age fourteen, she is soon left widowed and fatherless, her mother in sanctuary and her sister married to the enemy. Anne manages her own escape by marrying Richard, Duke of Gloucester, but her choice will set her on a collision course with the overwhelming power of the royal family and will cost the lives of those she loves most in the world, including her precious only son, Prince Edward. Ultimately, the kingmaker’s daughter will achieve her father’s greatest ambition.

5.

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials #1)

by

Philip Pullman

Some books improve with age–the age of the reader, that is. Such is certainly the case with Philip Pullman’s heroic, at times heart-wrenching novel, The Golden Compass, a story ostensibly for children but one perhaps even better appreciated by adults. The protagonist of this complex fantasy is young Lyra Belacqua, a precocious orphan growing up within the precincts of Oxford University. But it quickly becomes clear that Lyra’s Oxford is not precisely like our own–nor is her world. For one thing, people there each have a personal dæmon, the manifestation of their soul in animal form. For another, hers is a universe in which science, theology, and magic are closely allied:As for what experimental theology was, Lyra had no more idea than the urchins. She had formed the notion that it was concerned with magic, with the movements of the stars and planets, with tiny particles of matter, but that was guesswork, really. Probably the stars had dæmons just as humans did, and experimental theology involved talking to them.

Not that Lyra spends much time worrying about it; what she likes best is “clambering over the College roofs with Roger the kitchen boy who was her particular friend, to spit plum stones on the heads of passing Scholars or to hoot like owls outside a window where a tutorial was going on, or racing through the narrow streets, or stealing apples from the market, or waging war.” But Lyra’s carefree existence changes forever when she and her dæmon, Pantalaimon, first prevent an assassination attempt against her uncle, the powerful Lord Asriel, and then overhear a secret discussion about a mysterious entity known as Dust. Soon she and Pan are swept up in a dangerous game involving disappearing children, a beautiful woman with a golden monkey dæmon, a trip to the far north, and a set of allies ranging from “gyptians” to witches to an armor-clad polar bear.

In The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman has written a masterpiece that transcends genre. It is a children’s book that will appeal to adults, a fantasy novel that will charm even the most hardened realist. Best of all, the author doesn’t speak down to his audience, nor does he pull his punches; there is genuine terror in this book, and heartbreak, betrayal, and loss. There is also love, loyalty, and an abiding morality that infuses the story but never overwhelms it. This is one of those rare novels that one wishes would never end. Fortunately, its sequel, The Subtle Knife, will help put off that inevitability for a while longer. –Alix Wilber

6.

The Thirteenth Tale

by

Diane Setterfield

Angelfield House stands abandoned and forgotten. It was once the imposing home of the March family–fascinating, manipulative Isabelle, Charlie her brutal and dangerous brother, and the wild, untamed twins, Emmeline and Adeline. But Angelfield House conceals a chilling secret whose impact still resonates…

Now Margaret Lea is investigating Angelfield’s past–and the mystery of the March family starts to unravel. What has Angelfield been hiding? What is its connection with the enigmatic author Vida Winter? And what is it in Margaret’s own troubled past that causes her to fall so powerfully under Angelfilds spell?

7.

Sleeping Beauties

by

Stephen King (Goodreads Author),

Owen King (Goodreads Author)

In a future so real and near it might be now, something happens when women go to sleep; they become shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze.

If they are awakened, and the gauze wrapping their bodies is disturbed or violated, the women become feral and spectacularly violent; and while they sleep they go to another place.

The men of our world are abandoned, left to their increasingly primal devices. One woman, however, the mysterious Evie, is immune to the blessing or curse of the sleeping disease.

Is Evie a medical anomaly to be studied, or is she a demon who must be slain?

8.

 The Lovely Bones

by 

Alice Sebold

Once in a generation a novel comes along that taps a vein of universal human experience, resonating with readers of all ages. THE LOVELY BONES is such a book — a #1 bestseller celebrated at once for its artistry, for its luminous clarity of emotion, and for its astonishing power to lay claim to the hearts of millions of readers around the world.

“My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.”So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her — her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, THE LOVELY BONES succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.
The major motion picture version of THE LOVELY BONES, directed by Peter Jackson and starring Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, and Saoirse Ronan is scheduled for release on December 11, 2009.

9.

Bridget Jones’s Diary (Bridget Jones #1)

by

Helen Fielding (Goodreads Author)

Meet Bridget Jones—a 30-something Singleton who is certain she would have all the answers if she could:

a. lose 7 pounds
b. stop smoking
c. develop Inner Poise

“123 lbs. (how is it possible to put on 4 pounds in the middle of the night? Could flesh have somehow solidified becoming denser and heavier? Repulsive, horrifying notion), alcohol units 4 (excellent), cigarettes 21 (poor but will give up totally tomorrow), number of correct lottery numbers 2 (better, but nevertheless useless)…”

Bridget Jones’ Diary is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud daily chronicle of Bridget’s permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement — a year in which she resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult, and learn to program the VCR.

Over the course of the year, Bridget loses a total of 72 pounds but gains a total of 74. She remains, however, optimistic. Through it all, Bridget will have you helpless with laughter, and — like millions of readers the world round — you’ll find yourself shouting, “Bridget Jones is me!”

10. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33151805-into-the-water

 Into the Water

by

Paula Hawkins(Goodreads Author)

In the last days before her death, Nel called her sister. Jules didn’t pick up the phone, ignoring her plea for help. Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind. But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped. And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool . . .

I have delibieratly not given explanations this time and am letting the choices speak for themselves.

All the above is via Goodreads

Ka Kete Ano xx

 

 

A couple of weeks not much to show

It’s such a busy year this year.  I currently have 4 extra adults and a baby living with me so there’s not been much time for crafting or reading or me.  Don’t get me wrong, it also has its up side.  Loads of laughs and chatter and food . . . food every where hahaha

Still I have managed to get a little bit of my projects done 🙂

I finally finished the second strip for my stripey blanket! These 2 strips have taken me 3 years so far!

The next two strips are narrower so hopefully will be a bit faster 🙂

I’ve done a little stitching also. Warm My Heart is truly coming out beautifully.

Stitching badges earnt since last update are these 🙂

I’ve missed out on a few that I could have earned due to being so busy but that’s ok.

Tomorrow is moving day for 2 of our adults and the baby.  A part of me is excited to have my upstairs back but another part of me is going to miss them terribly.  It does mean that with the real onset of winter (ski season opened last weekend) that stitching and knitting and all my other things will be getting an airing for the next couple of months 😉

Ka Kete Ano xx

May Crafty Bitches

Another great night but not much in the way of craft to show.  I totally forgot to show mine (whoops)

Ricki bought herself and as it’s the final 2 month of her MBA she has assignments coming out her ears.  I think creating a great future is a good enough excuse for the next month or 2.

Lynda bought herself also. She does jigsaws and mounts them.  The are a little difficult to transport so we just get to see the after photos’ when they are ready.

Mel was busy and made me an ear warmer 🙂 Ricki was kind enough to model it for us.

Mel has also started knitting for prem babies.  Such a worthwhile cause.  Any wool donations will be gratefully received.

Wine glass not included.

I am putting in a belated photo of my second completed stripey strip

Food was Russian this month.  Jamie & Ricki did salmon blini’s

This was after we had eaten all the salmon and resorted to tuna from my pantry.

Dinner was a fantastic array

The meat cake was awesome!

Then there was dessert

A great effort by everyone.

Looking forward to our June meeting for which we currently have no venue nor theme haha 😉

Ka Kete Ano xx

Catching up with Cross Stitch

This crafting blog as become more of a reading blog of late but you know, I think its really more just about my life.  At the moment most of my focus, apart from work and family, is on the Popsugar reading challenge and getting my cross stitch done for my sisters wedding next year.  I really want it done by then so a stitching we will go.

Unfortunately this doesn’t make for exciting updates so I have been procrastinating until my ‘weekly’ folder has too many pictures in it and I need to clear it out.

Soooooooo with out further ado here are some of the photo’s of my progress over the past month.

 

To keep me motivated I have, as previously mentioned, that I have joined a Facebook group that has challenges for number of stitches completed and then issues badges.  This is great for keeping motivated 🙂

My most recent badges 🙂

So that’s all for this update 🙂

Ka Kete Ano xxx

April Crafty Bitches

As we are up for our next Crafty Bitches meeting on Saturday I thought it was probably about time I did the blog for Aprils meeting lol

The food theme was supposed to be Sweden but a last minute find of an over crowded freezer and a ham that required removing caused a change to Hawaii.

As I am completely slack I forgot to get the rest of the food photo’s but at least I nearly remembered in time for the Hawaiian pizza.

Now on to the important bit.

Amy had a remarkably busy month with painting letters for Benny Boy’s door, casting and painting his foot and then the continuation of her sampler.

Due to the elimination of plastics in our supermarket Mel experimented and made bag.

And I did some rug work

Ricki is in the final 2 months of her MBA so has been unable to do anything except that this month and I am picking that next month will be the same.  We are just happy she made it for a wee catch up 🙂

Linda has been a part of our wee group for a while but has never made a meeting before. It was fantastic to meet her and we are looking forward to our next catch up and getting to know her better.

Ana had some last minute visitors so was unable to attend in the end.

Looking forward to the next meeting which is our house and Russia 😀

Ka Kete Ano xx

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Loved, but Will Never Re-read

April 10

I discovered this fun blog via Death By Tsundoku Top Ten Tuesday is a meme originated by The Broke and the Bookish now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is:

This week the theme is: Books I Loved, but Will Never Re-read

Please note I am having a ridiculously busy year and am now running really late on this meme but as I love it I want to catch up so you are all about to be spammed with multiple posts as I finish my back log 😉

This is kind of an easy one.  My ‘too read’ list is so long that there are ton’s of fabulous books that I have read but will never re-read as I have other things that would take precedent.

1:  This is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel                               https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29740478-this-is-how-it-always-is

Its about raising a rainbow child and I totally enjoyed it.  Couldn’t put it down even 🙂 but its a book that once read gives no reason to pick it up again so I don’t think this will be a re-read.

2:  Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell                                               https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18405.Gone_with_the_Wind

I truly loved this book way more than the movie, which is saying something as I have seen the movie hundreds of times!  Its my go to movie for in the heart of winter when its too miserable to leave the house. Why do I think I will never read it again then you ask.  Because its a really big book! Hard to hold up in bed or in the bath and if you accidentally nod off (who doesn’t when its late and your knackered) then you run the risk of concussion when it smacks you in the face.

3:  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen                                                        https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1885.Pride_and_Prejudice

Such a beautiful book. Funny, heart wrenching, romantic, old worlde.  Whats not to love about a Jane Austen book.  Why would I not read it again?  I found it hard going at times because you actually have to be awake and paying attention to read it.  Well worth the effort but, for me, not for a second read.

4:  The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien                                                   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5907.The_Hobbit

I so loved this book.  I read it over summer break just after I turned 12.  It was probably my transition book, you know, the first one that you ever read that is loved by adults and can’t be classed only as a children’s book.  Why would I not read it again?  For the same reasons as #3.  My uncle who lent me the book when I was 12 would be horrified.  He makes a point of reading all the Lord of the Rings books at least every second year.

5:  The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood                                         https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38447.The_Handmaid_s_Tale

Wow.  What a fabulous, yet scary, book.  Scary because you can almost see this happening now.  Fertility rates are down in all western countries and there is a rise to power by mycologists in some countries. You can almost believe that something like this could happen in a small country.  Why would I not read it again?  Although beautifully written the pace is very slow and I struggled to finish more than 10 pages at a time through some parts.

6:  Four Fires by Bryce Courtney                                                                                https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1016920.Four_Fires

Such an  engrossing family saga book that I read in the space of a couple of weeks and I have passed this book on to several people since reading it as I loved it so much.  Why would I not read it again? Same reasons as #2, its just too big to comfortably hold on to when reading.

7: Cleo: The Cat Who Mended a Family by Helen Brown                                          https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7532027-cleo

If you love books about animals and families this is your book.  My daughter read it and then passed it on to me and I’m so pleased she did.  Why would I not read it again? I cried WAY too much reading this.  Such a beautiful story yet so so so sad at both the beginning and the end.  Consider yourself warned.  Buy tissues with this book.

8:  Primal Fear by William Diehl                                                      https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/969195.Primal_Fear

This was a real spell binding page turner.  I loved this book and, once again,  I was given to me and I have passed it on to several people.  Why would I not read it again?  The movie absolutely wrecked it for me.  In the opening 10 minutes the race of the Janet (she was African American in the book) and Goodman (he was white New York Irish ex boxer in the book) had been swapped and that annoyed the hell out of me.  I REALLY hate it when movies mess with things like that! Makes me so angry!

9:  Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks                                                        https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1094593.Go_Ask_Alice

My mum recommend that I read this book when I was in my early teens so I did and loved it.  I re-read it several times during my teenage years.  Why would I not read it again?  I found out it was a lie!!!

Go Ask Alice is based on the actual diary of a fifteen-year-old drug user.  It is not a definitive statement on the middle-class, teenage drug world. It does not offer any solutions.  It is, however, a highly personal and specific chronicle. As such, we hope it will provide insights into the increasingly complicated world in which we live.  Names, dates, places and certain events have been changed in accordance with the wishes of those

concerned.

The Editors.

They lied to me!!! I can’t stand a lie.  If they had portrayed it as a story that could be true in countless homes or as a cautionary tale for teens then I would be fine with it and still love the story but THEY LIED TO ME!

10: Lord of the Flies by William Golding                                            https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10032866-lord-of-the-flies

This was a forced read for 5th form English and I was determined to hate it . . . but I didn’t . . . and that annoyed me.  It was the second time in the same year that the teacher did that to me and To Kill a Mockingbird will always remain my favorite book so this poor sausage has been relegated to read it, loved it, won’t read it again pile.

That’s all for this one 🙂 All covers are courtesy of Goodreads.

Ka Kete Ano xx

Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I Liked That Were In Non-Favorite/Disliked Books

April 3

I discovered this fun blog via Death By Tsundoku Top Ten Tuesday is a meme originated by The Broke and the Bookish now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is:

This week the theme is: Characters I Liked That Were In Non-Favorite/Disliked Books

Please note I am having a ridiculously busy year and am now running really late on this meme but as I love it I want to catch up so you are all about to be spammed with multiple posts as I finish my back log 😉

Crud! This ones going to be tough

1:  Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy                          https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16692883-tess-of-the-d-urbervilles

Marian, Izz Huett, and Retty Priddle: aka the milk maids.  As far as I could tell they were the only redeeming feature is the tale.  They were fun and loud and even bawdy at times but actually came across as real people and not as lettuce sandwiches (all greenery and no substance) like the main characters of the book.

2:  Asylum Trilogy by Amy Cross                                                              https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16114807-asylum

Annie Radford: Although the trilogy is very tedious and disjointed I did like the character of Annie.  It was very obvious that she had mentally taken a leave of absence but the character herself was very readable.  It was a good thing she was the first character up in the trilogy or this series would have wound up in the ‘could not finish’ pile.

3:  Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice                               https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/978945.Interview_with_the_Vampire

Claudia: This kid got robbed of her puberty and was not ashamed to be angry about it. Only redeeming feature in an otherwise long winded boring vampire drama.  One of the few times I have ever preferred the movie.

4:  Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff                                               https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12360719-once-were-warriors

Grace: She was a beautiful caring soul in an otherwise abysmal home.  She was the only light in the room.  I’m really pleased I read the book after I had seen the movie as I really hated the way the book was written.  Apparently I am one of the few who feel this way about the book so fully expect to be disowned by all kiwidom.

5:  Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult                                                    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14875.Plain_Truth

Ellie Hathaway: I really couldn’t believe in this book.  Don’t get me wrong, I could see how a traumatised, very religious young girl could block out being pregnant but for it to drag out that long was quite hard to swollow. HOWEVER I did enjoy the character of Ellie and would love to meet her again in another book.  She was just so strong and determined.  Gotta love that in an attorney.

6: Solomon’s Song by Bryce Courtney                                           https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11896.Solomon_s_Song

Solomon: I loved this guy but for me this book was just one too many and I couldn’t finish it.

7: For a Ghost-Free Time, Call . . . by Sean Kelly                            https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31625567-for-a-ghost-free-time-call

Jared: I know.  Again he is the main character.  I didn’t find myself gripped by the book but enjoyed the character.  Reminded me a little of Odd Thomas but more criminally.  Am seriously considering reading more in the series and hope they get better 🙂

8:  Mount! by Jilly Cooper                                                                     https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25782881-mount

Rupert & Taggie Campbell-Black:  I adore Jilly Cooper books but this one just seemed a step too far off the track.  After how many years love rat Rupert looks to cheat on his wife?!? Taggie nearly goes down the same path?!? WTF!!!! It just didn’t feel right I’m sorry.  I do, however, still adore these two and can’t wait for the next installment 🙂

9: The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett                                       https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34497.The_Color_of_Magic

The Luggage:  I love Terry Pratchett HOWEVER I was late to the party after reading this one in my teens.  It didn’t rock me.  The Luggage had me in hysterics though, swallowing monsters, protecting Twoflower, eating ships.  It is very homicidal luggage.  10 years later I discovered Nanny Og and it was all over.  Often thought perhaps I should re-read this one. You know.  Give it a second chance as it were.

10.  Tis a Memoir by Frank McCourt                                                      https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4912._Tis_A_Memoir

Frank: Ok this one is technically not a character as it is a real person but I’ve run out of ones to use right now lol I loved Angela’s Ashes but didn’t really enjoy this one as much.  Still, I greatly admire Frank on the whole.

Thats this weeks another week caught up on.  All covers are courtesy of Goodreads.

Ka Kete Ano xx