Author: Nicky

Review – Creepy Crawly Crochet

Posted November 19, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Creepy Crawly Crochet by Megan KreinerCreepy Crawly Crochet, Megan Kreiner

Received to review via Netgalley

To begin with, Creepy Crawly Crochet is a good resource on its own, because it includes clear illustrations and step by step instructions for various stitches and techniques, including the adjustable/magic ring which forms the first part of a lot of amigurumi. It has info on finishing off your toys, too, including stitches to join things, how to make fringes, etc. Throughout the book, the patterns come with plenty of guidance on how to assemble them, and where special care might be needed. There’s a list of abbreviations in the back, too, along with a conversion chart from US sizes to UK sizes.

The designs themselves are also pretty neat; the faces are shaped really well, for example, and it makes great use of stitching to create body shapes and designs, in a more subtle way than I’ve seen in a lot of other designs. It’s little touches that make the designs look great by giving them just that little bit extra realism… right down to the bits of zombie brain.

I think it’s a fun collection and worth getting, especially for a beginner, because it covers a lot of the basics as well as some pretty easy designs.

Rating: 4/5

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted November 19, 2016 by Nicky in General / 12 Comments

Busy, busy week! But I have books. <3

Fiction acquired:

Cover of Ayiti by Roxane Gay Cover of Memory of Water by Emma Itaranta Cover of An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows Cover of After Atlas by Emma Newman

Cover of Feedback by Mira Grant Cover of The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu Cover of The Philosopher Kings by Jo Walton

I’ve already read The Philosopher Kings, of course, but with the UK edition out (and on offer, actually), I had to grab it. I grabbed Ayiti to help finish off a reading challenge; The Dark Forest because The Three Body Problem left me just curious enough; and Feedback, After Atlas, Memory of Water and An Accident of Stars because I’ve been meaning to read ’em.

Non-fiction acquired:

Cover of Spectacles, by Sue Perkins Cover of Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson Cover of One Plus One Equals One by John Archibald Cover of Deadly Companions by Dorothy H. Crawford

A bit of an odd combination, I’ll admit. Celebrity memoirs… biology!

Books finished this week:

Cover of Spectacles, by Sue Perkins Cover of The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston Cover of Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson Cover of Ayiti by Roxane Gay

Reviews posted this week:
–In the Forests of Serre, by Patricia McKillip. Possibly my favourite of McKillip’s books so far, this is magical and rich, based on Russian fairytales and taking them somewhere unique. 5/5 stars
–Poems: Three Series, by Emily Dickinson. Not a fan, sorry. 2/5 stars
–Busman’s Honeymoon, by Dorothy L. Sayers. BBC radioplay. Fun as ever, featuring Sarah Badel as Harriet Vane and doing a brilliant job of it. 4/5 stars
–The Celts, by Nora Chadwick. Admittedly out of date, but still absorbing and informative. 4/5 stars
–Ultimate X-Men: The Tomorrow People, by Mark Millar. This… didn’t really work for me, which is sad since I do enjoy Ultimate Spider-man. Alas. 2/5 stars
–The Wind Off the Small Isles, by Mary Stewart. A Mary Stewart I hadn’t read? Yep! This is a novella, so it’s lacking a bit of the detail and length I’d like, but it still evokes that lovely sense of atmosphere that Stewart was so good at. 3/5 stars
–Flashback Friday: The Sunbird, by Elizabeth E. Wein. I loved this one, possibly more than the rest of the series so far, even though it was the furthest from the Arthurian canon. 5/5 stars

Other posts:
–Top Ten Tuesday: Movies. A few of my favourites…
–What are you reading Wednesday. My weekly update on what I’ve just finished, what I’m reading now, and what I might read next…
–This is my genre, show me yours! A fun tag about my favourite genre, including rambles about how much I love it.

I could wish I’d managed more reading, but it hasn’t been a bad week! How’re you?

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Review – The Sunbird

Posted November 18, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Sunbird by Elizabeth E. WeinThe Sunbird, Elizabeth E. Wein

Flashback Friday review from 12th February, 2011

I think I liked The Sunbird best of the series so far. It goes even further from Arthurian myth — the only character from the Arthurian canon is Medraut — but in the process makes an enchanting narrative. Young Telemakos is growing up and showing all signs of inheriting his father’s ability to stalk prey, but he uses his skills politically.

The story of his search for the figure called the Lazarus, and what happens to him there, are compelling. The darkness from the other stories remains here. Telemakos is a very strong character, almost unbelievably so, and yet still believably a child, too. The reactions of the other characters to what happens to him feels real and shocking, and is well-handled.

Medraut as a character develops further here, into someone one can like, or at least sympathise with a little — largely divorced from the Arthurian canon, by this point.

Again, it’s easy to read, well-written, but there are parts at which the soft-hearted will struggle.

Rating: 5/5

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This Is My Genre, Show Me Yours

Posted November 17, 2016 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

Saw this tag out in the wilds of Lucille @ A Dragon in Space‘s blog, and thought, yep! This sounds interesting.

This is my genre, show me yours!

The Rules:

  • Credit Drew @ TheTattooedBookGeek as the creator of the tag, either use the created tag name graphic or create your own and link back to my blog.
  • Answer the questions.
  • Tag as many people as you want.

Because I’m contrary and have no art skills, I am not creating a graphic.

1. What’s your favourite genre?

Probably fantasy. I mean, I’m really eclectic and wander into science fiction, crime/mystery, non-fiction and even romance. But unless I can sneak in sci-fi too by calling it speculative fiction… actually, yes, let’s do that. My favourite genre is speculative fiction.

2. Who’s your favourite author from the genre?

This is a really big ask. I mean, there’s Tolkien, because his work is an enduring love of mine. Well, I faltered a bit as a teen, but then read Ursula Le Guin’s essays and came to appreciate all over again the good parts of The Lord of the Rings, like the wry notes of humour. And then my degree taught me to appreciate the deep background, linguistic brilliance, etc.

And come to that, there’s Ursula Le Guin, whose works were also formative for me.

But if we’re talking whose work I pounce on immediately, I guess we’re at Jo Walton. She is not only an awesome writer who wrote Among Others, a book which reflects my own heart, but she is also a friend and giver of great advice.

3. What is it about the genre that keeps pulling you back?

The sheer variety, I think. One minute I can travel with Bilbo from the Shire, and the next I can travel by sandworm across Arrakis, or struggle to get home from Mars with Mark Watney. There seems to be just about no limit to the different books I could easily lay hand on even in my own collection.

4. What’s the book that started your love for your favourite genre?

That’s an easy one! The Hobbit! I probably wrecked my eyes reading that book — my parents told me I had to sleep and to stop turning my bedside light on. So I read by the light of the streetlamp… two houses away.

5. If you had to recommend at least one book from your favourite genre to a non-reader/someone looking to start reading that genre, what book would you choose and why?

No, no, this is silly, I’d need to know the person and their preferences. You have to tailor your recs, or it makes no sense. But for a lot of people, I might go with Harry Potter. It seems to have been a gateway drug for many, and it’s a pretty pacy, easy read.

6. Why do you read?

Why can’t I stop? Not that I want to.

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Review – The Wind off the Small Isles

Posted November 17, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Wind off the Small Isles by Mary StewartThe Wind off the Small Isles, Mary Stewart

A new-to-me Mary Stewart! Alas that it’s only a novella. Still, it’s characteristic of her work in the fine and detailed sense of place, in the sudden sweet relationship between the male and female characters, and in the atmospheric setting. Most of it would really have benefitted from a longer book: I really wanted to see more of this post-cataclysmic scene in Lanzarote, the lava beds and lack of trees… it’s not how I imagine the place, and it’s a fascinating glimpse of a whole different time — a time when tourism on Lanzarote was barely beginning, because volcanic activity had scoured the island.

The relationship, too… I can suspend my disbelief somewhat, but it would’ve been so much better to have a full novel of this, a full novel to explore the story and the development of the relationship. Just two brief encounters seemed very little.

I’d have also liked to see more of Perdita’s relationship with her employer; a female writer who may in some ways have echoed Mary Stewart herself, a strong relationship between two women… alas that the intended third story about Perdita, a full-length book, was never written.

Still, for a bit of atmosphere and setting — wow.

Rating: 3/5

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What are you reading Wednesday

Posted November 16, 2016 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

What have you recently finished reading?
Mara Wilson’s biography, Where Am I Now? Obviously, I wanted to be Matilda as a kid, so it was interesting to catch up with the life of someone who lived the dream… sort of. It’s quite touching in places, and she writes frankly about her anxiety disorder. I found it entertaining and worth the read.

What are you currently reading?
On the go right now… The Return of the King, as I finally finish off my reread, and Dark Sky, by Mike Brooks — the sequel to Dark Run. Tolkien’s work is fascinating, of course, although for once I think maybe I’m not quite in the right mood. Dark Sky is entertaining, though I’ve got a bit bogged down in the current section with the riot. I’m not entirely sure why. Perhaps I’m just being picky in general about my books. It wouldn’t be the first time…

What are you planning to read next?
I’ve got a tonne of non-fiction reviews all lined up to post at around the same time, so I think I’m going to try and make sure it’s fiction, at least. I have to look at my reading challenge prompts that are left; stuff like ‘a book I haven’t read since high school’ and ‘a book and its prequel’. Hmm…

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Review – Ultimate X-Men: The Tomorrow People

Posted November 16, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Ultimate X-Men Vol 1Ultimate X-Men: The Tomorrow People, Mark Millar, Adam Kubert

After enjoying the Ultimate Spider-man books, I was pretty hopeful about Ultimate X-Men — especially since I remember enjoying the appearances of the various X-Men in the Spider-man comics. I enjoyed X-Men cartoons a lot as a kid, and it seems to me a shame that — as with Batman and Superman, actually — I haven’t particularly enjoyed the comics. Unfortunately, The Tomorrow People didn’t change that much.

It might not help that it’s a team book, so we don’t see one individual character for long, and it definitely doesn’t help that they’re teenagers and that Scott Summers accordingly has a tantrum. A tantrum that has entirely predictable results, of course. Meanwhile, Wolverine switches sides, more or less for no apparent reason. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch do so as well, with comparatively little background. And Magneto is entirely too easy to take down — obviously this isn’t going to be the last the X-Men see of him in this series, because it’s Magneto, but.

It felt like a lot of flash and not much bang, really. I own three more volumes, so I will read them. After that… I don’t know. Not on the strength of this volume.

Rating: 2/5

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Review – The Celts

Posted November 15, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Celts by Nora ChadwickThe Celts, Nora Chadwick

Although this book is undoubtedly out of date, published in 1971, it’s a fascinating survey of what was known and believed about the Celts at the time. Some of the theories are less in vogue now (with more credit given to the spread of ideas than the spread of people for the changes in agriculture, art, etc), but descriptions of the archaeology, art and literature are solid and worth reading. I found Chadwick’s style very pleasant and easy to read: this is serious and somewhat academic in depth, but not boring.

Pretty much my only quibbles, when you lay aside the outdated theories, were the way the literature was described at length. I don’t need a description of Táin Bó Cúailnge — I’ve read it! And my other quibble would be the intense focus on Ireland. It does make sense within the frame Chadwick gives us, where Ireland was more conservative in culture and thus retained purer Celtic culture for longer, but I would still love to have read as detailed a discussion of the Welsh texts surviving, particularly stuff like the Triads.

If you read it knowing that, of course, other theories are in vogue now and some of it has been disproved, it’s a pretty sober and admiring look at Celtic culture. Maybe a touch too much judgement re: civilisation vs barbarism, with the Celts decidedly on the latter end, but there’s still admiration, and no prurient focus on the idea of ritual human sacrifice (which, judging from this, was not considered common then either).

Rating: 4/5

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Top Ten Tuesday

Posted November 15, 2016 by Nicky in General / 9 Comments

This week’s theme is not about books, but movies. I actually have to confess that I am not actually much of a consumer of films or TV… but I do have some favourites.

  1. Anastasia. That bickering relationship between Anya and Dmitri? Yeaaaah. Also the ending song: “We were strangers, starting out on a journey…” Always sticks in my head.
  2. Stardust. It’s different to the book, but charming in its own way.
  3. Captain America: The First Avenger. Please let me hug Steve Rogers.
  4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Please let me hug Steve Rogers.
  5. Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr). I watched it half a dozen times in the cinema. In the cinema. The sequel was less fun, though it had its moments.
  6. Spirited Away. The soot creatures! Haku!
  7. Howl’s Moving Castle. Vastly simplified from the book, and yet I still enjoyed it as an adaptation. Even if it cut out the Welsh bits. Calcifer!
  8. Pacific Rim. Non-toxic masculinity with a lot of heart.
  9. Apollo 13. That movie never gets old. Everyone was brilliant, and every time I tear up at some point. This is rare for me, so, yeah.
  10. Guardians of the Galaxy. So. Much. Fun.

And now anyone who knows me is wondering why I made a post so obvious it’s approximately like pointing out that Earth has a moon.

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Review – Busman’s Honeymoon

Posted November 14, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L Sayers, audio versionBusman’s Honeymoon, Dorothy L. Sayers

Featuring Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey, Sarah Badel as Harriet Vane and Peter Jones as Bunter

Busman’s Honeymoon, or: the Wimseys will never, ever catch a break.

Honestly, despite the fact that it is a murder investigation, this one is fun. It has plenty of Peter-Harriet banter, plenty of Bunter being the ridiculously amazing manservant that he is, and plenty of heart as well. Peter and Harriet have finally got married, and they’re letting each other in, and Busman’s Honeymoon sees their first hiccups of married life — where Peter’s work as a detective makes Harriet feel like a traitor to friends who are under suspicion, and they have to decide who compromises… I like Sarah Badel’s version of Harriet, laughing and teasing, but warm too.

It’s not just about the relationship, though: there’s a solid mystery at the back of it, which is fun in its own right. And at least with this one, you really feel no pity for the criminal…

Rating: 4/5

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