I only had one book I wasn’t able to finish this year – and it was a translation from German, so I’m going to blame it on that.
1. The Broken Goddess – Hans Bemmann
The book is written is the first person, talking directly to the other protagonist, but it wasn’t a letter. It was irritating. I lasted two chapters.
Because I’m finding that I feel really odd if I don’t have two projects to choose from (especially when one is like the Annis shawl and takes a loooong time to get through 1 row), I’ve cast on a Quest hat for myself, using Quince and Co. Osprey yarn, in the Peacock colorway. I’m doing version #1, in size large (though the large men’s version of the hat was so large, I may scale back to medium – I’m making a game time decision).
Well, with the year drawing to a close, with company still in town, and knowing how much I have to do this weekend, I think I can safely say I’m done with my knitting for the year.
I definitely didn’t go for quantity this year, but I did manage to get rid of a lot of yarn. I did quite a bit with scrapes, and also did some projects with yarns I’d had hanging around for a while (that covers both shawls I made this year.)
I really did enjoy the lace I made this year, and will definitely do more next year. There’s also more sock yarn scrapes to use up – some of which are big enough I’m trying to come up with something more than just hexipuffs to use them for.
The subtitle of this book is An African Princess in Victorian England. It’s the story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, who was rescued by an English naval officer when she was about to be sacrificed by the Dahomian king. She was a princess from a neighboring tribe, who had been captured in a war. The Dahomian king gave her as a gift to Queen Victoria.
This book draws on Sarah’s letters, and well as notes from Queen Victoria and members of her staff, as well as the Queen’s diary. She had taken a genuine interest in the girl, who as a result was able to have a very good education. She ended up going back to Africa, as a teacher for young girls there.
This book is pitched to young adults, but it’s a good source of primary materials, and sticks well to the facts – it’s a decent historical review, and presents an interesting slice of history from that era – one you would not expect to run across.
This is the third book of the Obernewtyn Chronicles, and finds Elspeth Gordie journeying to the capital city of Sutrium, to see if the rebels there will ally themselves with the Misfits of Obernewtyn. Unfortunately, this alliance is not as easy as the Misfits had hoped, and leads to trip to Sador, where they are asked to participate in battle games to prove if they are worthy allies or not.
At the same time, Elspeth is learning more about the Gypsies, and their connections to the knowledge of the Beforetimes. They might be an important key in her task to destroy the Beforetime weapons that have caused such havoc in the Land.
I really enjoy this series – the world is an interesting twist on the typical post-Apocalyptic tale, and I really enjoy the characters (especially the animals they work with, since the Misfits can speak to them). It’s really neat that they’re opening up other areas beside the land (Sador in this case), and I’ll be interested to see what they encounter next.
I like Patricia McKillip because of her lovely writing style. She also writes really layered stories, and often just throws you into the action at the very beginning. That means that some of her books are down right confusing, and this one falls into that category.
Cyan Dag is a knight of the King of Yves, and on the eve of the King’s wedding, finds out that his perspective wife, the Lady of Skye, is actually a monster disguising herself as the Lady. So, he sets off for Skye to find the real lady, who is imprisoned in a tower. There’s a side story of a baker in a seaside town in Skye, and the Lord of Ysse, who is trying to wrest power back from the King of Yves. The stories are related, but it take a really long time to find out how.
This is still a lovely book, and I did ultimately enjoy it, but it would probably not be a great introduction to McKillip’s work – she can be much less convoluted, and those stories are better starters.
Since it’s the end of the year, I figured I should update my hexipuff status – here’s the current pile. It’s up to 43 now, which still isn’t enough for the smallest sized blanket, but I still have plenty of sock yarn that’s either in scraps,and ready to be made into scraps, so I’ll keep plugging away.
Once Upon a Time VI Reading Challenge 3/21/12 to 6/19/12 – finished 6/17/12
RIP VII Reading Challenge – 9/1/12 – 10/31/12 – Finished 10/24/12
Pattern: Who? by Sara Amoroso
Yarn: Quince and Co. Lark in the Parsley colorway
Needles: Size 6 DPNs
Ok, my Christmas knitting is now officially done. Finally!
I found this pattern the last time I made an owlet sweater, but didn’t think I had enough yarn the last go around, so didn’t try one last time. This time, I had more than a skein left, so out the pattern came. It’s quite simple, and very cute. (This is the Child size.)
I have to admit it – the second I found out the main villain of this book was a person turned into a whale that couldn’t stop eating, I just loved it immediately.
If you haven’t caught my previous reviews, this series is about Arthur Penhaligon, who manages to find his way to the House at the center of the universe. The Architect of the House has gone away, leaving the Morrow Days in charge, and the Morrow Days haven’t been very good with the power they were granted. And it’s up to Arthur to fix things.
This is book three, so we’re up to Wednesday, the aforementioned whale. She’s actually been betrayed by the other Days, so she’s willing to help Arthur, if he can find her missing key, which will restore Wednesday to her true form.
In the meantime, since Wednesday rules the Border Sea, there are pirates. Except they used to be bureaucrats. I’m sure the humor of that goes over the head of much of the target audience, but I loved it. Definitely a fun read.
The North Wind and the Sea 