Fiber Fool

It appears the third week is the charm. This week’s list is not quite the challenge the previous two have been (thank goodness). For me, I like to keep summer reading light. Oh wait, who am I kidding? I always like to keep my reading light it seems :-)

I do a good share of my reading on my iPhone in the form of e-books and audio books. For the audiobooks it has to be either free through my library’s subscription to NetLibrary or something that my mom also likes to read and is available at Audible. My audiobook reading is a bit more sporadic. If I’m in a knit phase of design I can devour them, but if I’m in design, editing or layout phase I can go weeks without listening to them.

For e-books, I like them to be available at Fictionwise.com or cheaper than mass market paperback list price from Amazon or Apple’s iBook store. Even then I have a hard time justifying their purchase since I could easily check out a print version from my library. I also hate buying a book and being unable to share it with friends or resell it. But, reading on my phone while on the treadmill is much easier than a paper book. Then again, I don’t read on my phone if I’m soaking in the tub either…

Well, onto the list which probably isn’t a summer’s worth of reading (at least I hope I read more than ten books this summer):

1: Spin a Wicked Web by Cricket McRae - this is third in a fun and really quick to read cozy mystery series that focuses on the home arts, though not on one specific craft. I believe the author has some sort of ties to the Fort Collins area as she frequently has book signings and her books are almost always readily available signed, even from Barnes & Noble. She’ll be at Old Firehouse Books near the end of July signing books and talking about cheesemaking and I think I just may have to go!
2. Beguiled by Lori Foster - I first exposed to Lori Foster through an audiobook or two my mom had gotten through Audible and discovered I quite liked her racy writing. I was surprised I enjoyed it so much as most of her stuff is published by a Harlequin imprint. I’ve learned that Harlequin is not the same today as it was when I checked those books out by the pound from my public library when I was in high school. Though I do in generally prefer to sprinkle them in here or there. Foster’s books often have a slight edge of suspence and danger which means a touch of mystery. I do need to look into her “darker side” books under the name LL Foster sometime soon.
3. Indigo Dying by Susan Wittig Albert - this is a good way into the China Bayles series set in Texas. I have really enjoyed this series, but haven’t read the series in quite a while. I was missing this book, but have the two following ones, but a stop into Old Firehouse last week had me filling my hole so I’m ready to move forward once again!
4. Aunt Dimity Goes West by Nancy Atherton - another cozy, this one usually set in a small village in England that features a young mother who gets help solving mysteries from an unlikely correspondent, Aunt Dimity in ghost form. I think what first attracted me to these books was how the ghost communicates through writing. It took me back to that old PBS TV show, Ghostwriter (I was a bit older than their target market, but my sister and some of the kids I babysat for were the appropriate age and I remember wishing I were). These are fun, often heartwarming quick reads that I love to reach for on rainy or sick days.
5. Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke - this is fifth in the Hannah Swensen series set in southeastern Minnesota. When I first read this series I was turned off by the similarities to the series by Diane Mott Davidson and a lack of attention to detail in getting the names of towns correct. But, the series is available in audio format from NetLibrary so I’ve started reading one here or there again. Plus, with it being read to me I don’t know when a town is spelled incorrectly. Also, since we got a cupcake bakery that has some innovative flavors I appreciate the same qualities in the fictional cookie bakery and the recipes that are included.
6. Maiden Rock by Mary Logue - I just devoured the previous book in this series over the weekend. What I love about her books is how often the reader knows who did it and the mystery is in how they are either going to discover it or going to find the evidence they need to bring the criminal to justice. Though I had forgotten about that aspect until I read Poisoned Heart. It is just a little different. These books also sort of straddle the line between cozy and police procedural as the main character is herself a sheriff’s deputy, but in a small town just east of Minneapolis/St. Paul in Wisconsin.
7. Unravel Me by Christie Ridgway - this is the second in the Malibu and Ewe series which combines knitting and cooking and romance all together. If I remember correctly there was even some mystery involved as well. The romance was slightly steamy. But all-in-all perfect “beach reading.” The Apple iBook store has this one so I think I’ll be trying out the new iBook app for iOS4 here soonish as it is a $1 less than list. I’m probably old fashioned, but I can’t get myself to spend the same price or more for an ebook version than for a print version when I can’t loan it out to friends and there is a chance that in the future I would not be able to reread it.
8. Hothouse Orchid by Stuart Woods - this is currently on my nightstand as I checked it out from the library on Friday. I was so excited to notice that there was a new installment in the Holly Barker series which my mom turned me onto. I read the previous book back in 2007 so I hope he does a good job of setting things back up! There tends to be lots of action and danger.
9. Lover Unbound by J. R. Ward - this is super steamy vampire romance. If you enjoy the Charlaine Harris books, but wish they were as steamy as the True Blood television series, this series if for you. This is the fifth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I’m kind of surprised I haven’t read it yet. Maybe I’ve been putting it off because this is the last one of the series that I own and it is getting harder to find these books used. I didn’t think I’d like vampire books, but Chris’ recommendation of this series was spot on!
10. The Memory Collector by Meg Gardiner - this is a more traditional mystery/suspense novel. It is second of three so far featuring Jo Beckett who specializes in psychological autopsies. I really enjoyed the first book, The Dirty Secrets Club and just haven’t gotten around to this one because it wasn’t often available at the library. If it is still frequently checked out I think I’ll put a hold on it. I haven’t been making use of the hold option lately because my reading time has been in spits and spurts and I couldn’t always be assured of getting a book read in the allotted 3 weeks. I think it might be time to just bite the bullet and make time should that happen.

I’m sure there are plenty of other titles on my summer reading list, or ones that will make themselves a part of that list. There is a whole stack of Jim Butcher sitting here and somewhere I have a few more Gaslight Mysteries by Victoria Thompson and Freemont Jones by Dianne Day (though there may be holes in those series I need to fill before proceeding). Most definitely there will end up being some non-fiction in there as well. I just don’t happen to plan and anticipate those as much as the escapist fiction :-)

I don’t find a long reading list daunting so if any of these titles prompted some suggestions in your mind, please feel free to share them! I love finding new authors and series!

If you want to participate in 10 on Tuesday you can sign up with Carole at http://caroleknits.net/tot/. Also, be sure to check out her 10 on Tuesday posts each week and at the bottom you can add yourself and follow links to check out other participants!

I have a new spot I like to sit in lately. This summer we were at the flea markets on south College Ave and we happened across this rocking chair. I’m a person who loves rockers (I know it is a cliche when combined with the knitting, but my love of rockers came first) and we did not have any. When I saw this one I was in love. The price was right and it is nearly identical to one my godmother has. There is a tear in the seat, but the springs are good and solid and DH bought it for me as an early anniversary gift. It resides in our living room which has southern exposure and is a fantastic place to sit this time of year when the sun is low in the sky all day.

I have been spending a measurable amount of time sitting in this chair lately. Sometimes I read, sometimes I knit, often I enjoy a latte. Enjoying a latte has changed slightly in the last week however. Brandon, dog #2, has developed a taste for my lattes! During last week’s snow storm the doorbell rang and I ran upstairs from the basement to answer the door and it was a package for DH. While I was upstairs I decided to do a few things to save on trips up the stairs and Brandon headed back down right away. I figured he was just going to stake claim on his favorite spot on the futon before Emma came down. I was wrong. Upon returning to the basement there were dribbles of latte all over the table my drink was sitting on. So now, instead of enjoying them in one of my favorite mugs, I am having to enjoy them in one of my travel mugs to keep the mischievous one out of my coffee! At least one of my travel mugs is styling with a reproduction of some of my own artwork :-)

In addition to my fluffy fiction reading which has frequently contained vampires and other urban fantasy lore I’ve been reading in tiny spurts Blogging for Bliss. It is a guide for those wishing to blog about their creative pursuits. So far I haven’t really learned anything new, other than some fantastic creative blogs I wasn’t following. But I’m only a tiny bit in where they are talking about how to set up a blog. I have had some recommendations for this book from other bloggers I know who have blogged for some time and found themselves in a rut for some reason or another. Given their recommendations I’m hoping to find some new and fresh information and tips for keeping content flowing when you often can’t share what you are working on. We’ll see!

The knitting that has a lot of my attention right now is pretty much anything that involves Dream in Color Classy, LOL! I used it for the Rugby Slouch and had a fair bit of leftovers so I’ve been working with those. I also had to pick up more :-) I’m hoping that project will have left overs as well as I love the combo of all three colors - Bermuda Teal, Grey Tabby and Gold Experience and would like to use them together. So I’m knitting round and round and round on the Bermuda Teal hoping I’ll either definitely need the second skein or that I’ll have several yards left over from the first skein. I’m not going to give away what any of those things are in the picture (you are quite welcome to take a guess in the comments if you wish), but you won’t be waiting too terribly long to find out as they aren’t part of a long term project or being published elsewhere.

One of the gifts I received this year was a cookbook by the woman behind 101cookbooks.com (and mightyfoods.com, which I didn’t know about until I got the cookbook), Heidi Swanson. I’ve occasionally shared my adventures trying recipes Heidi has shared on her blog and have been quite happy with every one I have tried. When I got the cookbook I was super excited and had to jump right in as soon as we returned home of course!

The book is Super Natural Cooking: Five Ways To Incorporate Whole and Natural Ingredients into Your Cooking and focuses on using foods as close to their natural state as possible. This means there is no white flour or refined sugars in the recipes. There is a chapter that includes info on how to stock your pantry in a natural way. The recipes are divided into four categories - grains, cooking by color, superfoods, and natural sweeteners and each of these chapters also includes more detailed info on ingredients to incorporate (or in some cases avoid) into your cooking. I’d guess if you ignore the gorgeous photography the amount of information is about equal to actual recipes.

I had already made one of the recipes in the cookbook that was quite good. For New Years Eve we decided to have a special meal and I tried the Chocolate Black Turtle Bean Tostadas with Chile de Arbol sauce (cut in half for just the two of us - and we’re still enjoying leftovers as garnish). The result was fantastic and refreshingly different. We did decide it was not a great choice as a main course (I served it with roasted garlic soup form The Border Cookbook : Authentic Home Cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico), but it was fantastic anyway and I am thinking of ways to incorporate it into portable appetizers we can take to potlucks or game nights etc. as I think many of our friends would enjoy and appreciate this rich and complex, yet meatless dish.

On New Years day I decided to jump right back into the cookbook and set about making the all natural Thin Mints. I was not disappointed. My results varied from the recipe, yielding double the amount of cookies despite 2/3 of the them being thicker than called for. Also, since the cookies were thicker and so dark I don’t think I baked them quite as long as I should have so they are not crisp, but the flavor balance is fantastic and you’d never know there is no white flour. Instead the recipe calls only for whole wheat pastry flour which Swanson says you can sub 1:1 for white AP flour in any recipe.

One cannot completely judge a cookbook by only three recipes. But I have read all the introductory info and through each and every recipe. Overall, I think this is a great cookbook for all natural foods that is not overly “granola” in taste if you know what I mean. Everything is vegetarian (though not vegan). I do think those of us in middle America might find it a bit challenging to be able to fully utilize the recipes as some of the ingredients will require mail ordering specialty ingredients such as teff or wild rice flour or pomegranate molasses. Swanson did anticipate that and included a pretty thorough list of sources for some of the hardest to source ingredients. From the three recipes that I’ve made I have to say I do not think this cookbook is for the faint of heart or those who prefer quick cooking. Lots of the complexities in the savory food is created through the use of special sauces or spice mixtures that need made in addition to the main portion of the recipe. Those extra steps can greatly increase the prep/cooking time. I do think it is worth the effort when you have the time and energy though.

Overall, I’m still quite glad I got this cookbook from SIL1 and her family and I am sure it will get used. I do think it will not be one to reside in the limited space of the kitchen with the other frequently used cookbooks due to the more obscure ingredients and increased effort required to make the dishes. However, if I’m in search of something vegetarian that will impress or is different from standard fare Super Natural Cooking will be one of the “go to” cookbooks for inspiration.

Thank you guys for so many fantastic comments here on the blog and at Ravelry on my February Lady Sweater. I have cast on a second sweater, but am not very far as yarn arrived for a secret design project shortly there after and has taken all of my possible knitting time right now as the shoulder is acting up once again :-(

There hasn’t been a ton of time for reading either, but it has been a long while since I blogged about my reading so I figured it was about time. On the far right is my current before bed reading. Fire and Fog
is the second book in the . The series is a historical cozy mystery. Caroline Freemont Jones grew up in a Boston society family. When her fathered remarried after being widowed the young woman took a train to San Francisco and set up a typewriting business. Somehow (as in all cozies, right?) she finds herself in the midst of an interesting mystery in each installment. I am a sucker for historical mysteries and I am thrilled I stumbled across this series.

The two books on the top of the stack I read a few books ago (which aren’t included in the photo because they were library books). Any Given Doomsday
is the first in a brand new series by Lori Handeland. And yes, there are two copies there. It seems that due to my accounts on multiple book/reading related websites I got on the publisher’s list twice for an ARC copy of this title and their database wasn’t smart enough to send me just one. The series falls in what many call Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance genres. The author cites Laurel K. Hamilton as a source of inspiration and many have found the similarities between Hamilton’s Anita Blake series and this new book to be too blatant. As I had not yet read any Hamilton and have recently discovered that paranormal things like vampires and werewolves and the like are not bad things in fiction (due to a recent obsession of DH & I with Buffy
and Angel) I enjoyed the title quite a lot. The book does have some pretty explicit love scenes and obviously includes paranormal things and a fantasy world. If you do not find such things offensive I would like to give my second copy to a new home.

I have another ARC that I read earlier this summer. The book is Summer Blowout by Clarie Cook. It is definitely a fluffy beach book sort of title, but a fun light read. It will likely appeal to those who enjoy fashion and beauty. As shelving space is always tight around here I’ve chosen to not hang onto this book.

For those unfamiliar with ARCs they are Advanced Reading Copies. Publishers send them out to start buzz about the title, often in advance of the book’s availability in bookstores. They are labeled that they are not for sale. The terms I accepted when I got on the list to get copies was that I would post a review either on one of the book/reading social network sites, on my blog here or on Amazone (or all of the above). I would ask that you observe these same conditions if I send one of these books to you. The title doesn’t have to go to the very top of your reading listing. Certainly finish any library books first. But you should be able to read the title in the next 4-6 weeks and post a review at some public web site when you are done - Amazon, B&N, Powell’s, a personal blog, GoodReads, LibraryThing etc.. Honest reviews are encouraged.

If you are interested in either of these two books, can meet the same terms, and are in the US, leave a comment with the title of the book you are most interested in. If there are multiple requests I’ll either draw a name or use the random number generator to choose the winner. I will then mail the books media mail to the winners. Leave your comments by Tuesday, 21 October.

Those who come for knitting and fiber arts, please have patience. A lot of what I’m currently working on won’t see public eyes until 2009! That means blog fodder about knitting is hard to come by. That said, I’m anticipating two knitting related posts before the week is out - I hope!

It came to light during my eight weeks of physical therapy this spring that the massive amounts of computing were the main contributor to my shoulder/neck problems (and no, it wasn’t the mousing shoulder). So I’ve had to cut back drastically on my Internet time. Most of my computing time is being spent these days on drafting patterns for publication in books and magazines or taking down notes or charting pattern ideas for future design projects. This means my usual blogging time and blog reading time as well as time spent on Ravelry has been cut down to the occasional quick pop-in. I am still read sporadically, but my commenting has become nearly non-existent.

Getting away from the computer more is a good thing in a lot of ways. I’m out in the garden more regularly and for longer periods. I’m knitting a lot more efficiently. The other side effect is I’m reading a bit more at the moment as well, as can be witnessed by the stack of books at the top of this post. We’ve had a few weekends were DH and I have spent most of it reading in between some yard work and little socializing here or there.

The books up top are just a smattering of some of the books I’ve read in the last month or so. Others have already been returned to the library. The past two weeks I’ve relied very heavily upon Prospector, the more regional form of Interlibrary loan. In between reading about knitting and dyeing I’ve been reading plenty of cozies (as well as a few not-so-cozy mysteries). Because I’m nearing the end of one of my favorite cozy series, Aunt Dimity, I’ve been on the look out for some new series to try. In the process I finally brought my LibraryThing up to date and have been poking around that site more deeply when time allows. I also discovered another fun web site (in addition to the ever helpful Stop You’re Killing Me) called Cozy Library. Cozy Library isn’t nearly as comprehensive in scope as SYKM, but it includes helpful reviews without having to check the reviews at Amazon or other web sites that allow customer reviews.

Speaking of LibraryThing, I am thinking I may close out my Shelfari account soon. Chris told me months ago about some of the questionable practices of Shelfari (and yes, I realize that information is coming from LT, but the links provided really do back up what they are saying). It has made me think about not supporting them further with my visits to update my shelf and such. I am disappointed as I really like some of the newer features Shelfari has added recently such as an easy way to keep track of books you want to read and books you wish to own and books you’ve read or are currently reading without having to remember to tag everything appropriately. I also find the groups a bit more useful since they have their own shelves of books and don’t rely completely on conversation to recommend titles. At the same time, I love that LibraryThing interfaces with my public library so I can easily see if they have a given title. Since I prefer to support the library for my fiction reading and for test driving possible non-fiction purchases I love that feature of LT. If you are on either of these services I’m fiberfool at both. Look me up so we can share what we are reading.

If you’re aren’t on either of those, my most recently read books can be found in my aStore as well.