List No. 1

I am so obviously in a blogging rut. Projects ARE coming along- just very, very slowly. So I will entertain (or horribly bore you all) with another thing that I love to do: make lists.

I can make lists all day, every day. I will try to post one every few days until my next big post. Can we make list-a-day a blog challenge?

I begin with:

Books Read since March (i.e: since arriving in Yellowknife)

along with my very short, half-assed reviews

because there is nothing else to do.

Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood. Is there any wonder why I like Margaret Atwood? Her literary style is masterly, the pacing is excellent her characters and story have boundless depth. You can also tell she does her research. That said, it was a very satisfying read with engaging characters, wonderful reading, memorable story, etc etc forever.

The Tommyknockers, Stephen King. I am liking horror fiction a lot lately, and decided to take the plunge into more "popular" writers- Stephen King seemed like a pretty obvious start. There are some very memorable and chilling bits and the unusual fusion of sci-fi and horror was novel But the book is Too. Damn. Long. It ruins the ominous pacing by making it drag on and on. The climax was epic and the ending was great (everybody DIES) but I was so glad it was over.

Wetlands, Charlotte Roche. Equal parts unnerving and fascinating, and not for the squeamish. This is a headlong rush into the innermost thoughts (and bodily functions) of an strongly opinionated and liberal-minded young woman that is sometimes gross and shocking but un-put-down-able. Regardless of your opinion of the story by the end, it will definately make you rethink your relationship with your own body.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Mary Ann Schaffer & Annie Barrows. Making a trip into bestseller-land: it is certainly a good book with unique and witty writing. The occupation of unprotected British islands by Germans for 5 years during WWII is the main story but the love and influence of literature is the heart of the experience. It has an incredibly happy fairy-tale ending for the main character, which I'm not sure how to feel about.

Let the Right One In, John A Lindqvist. Very much the most chilling vampire fiction I've ever read- this is the vampire legend at its most primeval, mysterious and dangerous, counter-acted with the fragile innocence and trepidation of childhood with just a touch of the evils of humanity. It inspired a fantastic movie with the same pacing- peaceful yet ominous, with moments that are tender and brutal. Among the best of the best in vampire fiction.

The Last Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko. The last of the Night/Day/Twilight Watch series is as great as all the previous ones- chock-full of magic and spells and supernatural beings and alternate worlds and on and on... with a mystery to solve with each chapter. My only gripe with it is that it's over!! Each chapter and end of story left me feeling lacking because I wanted to *keep* reading, to learn more and more about this particular magic universe, terribly interesting and vast but largely unexplained. I suppose that is a good thing- I bid it farewell with fondness in my heart.

A Great and Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray. I was under the impression this would be good teen fantasy fiction with strong female characters but sadly, it told an extremely unremarkable and predictable storyline- so blase, I can retell it now: Girl is uprooted from hometown and placed in a strict finishing school following family tragedy where she is unpopular and rubbish and finishing school because she is Different but Special. Makes it into the popular crowd somehow but still defends the unpopular; they have a secret club; they enter a fantasy world with magic powers they didn't know they had; they are warned a lot not to abuse these powers but do anyway. Slight plot twist that reintroduces/explains the tragedy at beginning of story. Supreme evil threatens. Supreme evil is defeated, one person dies (by their own choice). There. Saved you the trouble.

Their problems in both the real and fantasy world never have very much depth or menace, and the unexplained bits aren't even interesting enough to read the next in the series. Ho hum.

The Luxe, Anna Godsbersen. Now this was teen fiction I could get into. Full of soap opera-like twists and turns and love quadrangles the high-society, rich-and-spoiled-but-with-everything-to-lose characters are all manipulated in such ways as to make their lives impossible. The dresses and parties are pretty but their lives are a mess. It's a wonder their heads don't implode with the intensity of their emotions. I found it very entertaining and am going to read the whole series.

Twilight, Stephanie Meyer. I have already read lots of spoilers for the books to come (including the last one, with every character's eventual fate) and fear what is to come if the general opinion is that the books go downhill after the first one- which was fine- okay, the lead characters are terrible and the love story is rubbish and more irritating than not but the story and secondary characters look(ed) promising. It was readable and enjoyable but not gripping or essential. I can definately wait till they are all out in paperback- but I mostly want to finish it as to understand Twilight references.

Dead until Dark, Club Dead, Living Dead in Dallas, Charlaine Harris. Incredibly entertaining and might I say- a great companion to the True Blood series. You'll like Sookie a lot more if you read the books. I just bought the box set- can't wait for it to get here!!- for the fun, sexy, supernatural escapism that it provides. I will definately re-read them all- in a Southern accent.

Winter Reviews

It's going to be a slow week on the crafting front with so much holiday goodness coming up. God knows I'm not going to use my days off on embarking on some seriously creative project (besides last minute present-making and potluck-dish-baking). So here I give you my reviews on some things that are keeping me happy this winter (all awesome)


"I like you: Hospitality under the Influence" by Amy Sedaris

Quite simply the most enjoyable and useful homemaking book you will ever pick up! A humourous advice book as well as dead useful when you need to prepare food for a funeral in hurry, Sedaris teaches the masses what she does best with dry wit and endless flair. A slightly disorganized layout and relatively limited variety of recipes doesn't put this at the top of the list for reference tomes, but there are some mighty solid gems and major crowd-pleasers among these recipes- and it's entertaining enough to curl up with and read cover to cover!
The recipes are simple as hell- which might bore the chef looking for a challenge- but that is also the beauty of it: completely foolproof instructions and the use of full-fat, no-holds-barred flavorful ingrediants guarantees each dish to be delicious. Sure, some of them seem like no-brainers ("Root Beer Float"? "Baked Chicken Wings"?) - but for those of us who never actually learned how to cook, this book is an invaluable tool that actually makes cooking, entertaining and homemaking fun.
(ps: the amazing Li'l Smokey cheeseball present at the Haliblogospheremagonianmas2008 party was a recipe from this book- 'nuff said)

knit. 1 magazine

Search results describe this as a "knitting magazine targeting hip 18-35 year-old knitters" and boy, does it succeed. Not too cutesy or country-style like many craft magazines, and not as complex as Vogue knitting (gorgeous, but impossible) Knit.1 hits just the right combination of challenging and simple patterns. Hip, trendy items like funky hats and stockings clash with classic cabled sweaters and lacy shawls in every issue. There are always a few fun, fast-knit items that can be tried right away (instant gratification knitting!) and of course, there is the major advantage of a new issue every season! Perfect for those of us with a short attention span, and valuable reference material to collect to build up your pattern hoard.

Asumiko Nakamura

Okay, this is a person- a mangaka (manga artist) and illustration artist to be exact. She has only been published in Japan thus far and has very little online presence so it is difficult to expose others to her work. Her manga published in Kera magazine (a crazy/weird teen subculture fashion magazine made available to me by parents living overseas that would otherwise be an extravagant import) is where I first saw her.
Just when I thought manga art couldn't impress me anymore, Asumiko comes along to raise the bar! Her style is very flat and consists of extremely delicate ink lines, with particular attention to eye-catching pattern and embellishment. She also has a strong eye for fashion and seems to relish elongated, exaggerated forms and of course- super concentrated detail. Everything about her drawing screams the perfect fashion illustration for me.