Book #23 of 2012...

Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody

From Goodreads.com:

After the nuclear holocaust of the Great White, the surviving humans condemn all Misfits (mutants) to either death by fire or exile to Obernewtyn, a remote mountain institution where mysterious experiments are performed on some exiles. Elspeth Gordie is a Misfit, struggling to hide her mutant mental abilities and earn a Normalcy Certificate. But when her secret is betrayed, she is sent to Obernewtyn, from which no one has ever escaped. At Obernewtyn she finds not only dreadful experiments, but ambitious overlords who seek to use the Misfits' paranormal powers to recover the devastating secrets of nuclear war.

My take:

4 out of 5 stars. Decent story but I'm not sure that I'll read the next one.

Book #22 of 2012

Hollowland by Amanda Hocking

From Goodreads.com:

"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door." Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.

My take:

5 out of 5 stars...this is THE BEST post apocalyptic/zombie book I've read this year. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Can't wait to read the second one. This not a long book but the characters are good, the plot is good. Keeping this one to read again.

Book #21 of 2012...

Strange Places by Rob Heinze

From Goodreads.com:

After Seth dies at a place called Widow's Peak, Tracy Mitchell takes a reporter's job at a magazine called Strange Places. The job description is simple: visit so-called "strange places" in New Jersey and write about what you find. Tracy has another motive for taking the job, and that is to understand how Seth, her best friend's brother, had been killed by a lightning strike on a clear day at a strange place called Widow’s Peak. And to understand this will allow her to process her friend’s subsequent death.

What Tracy discovers is a terrible evil linked to all the strange places...an evil that does not want to be discovered.

My take:

5 out of 5 stars on this one. This was another Amazon freebie I picked up on a whim but it was really good. Scary and a good mystery. This was not a book that I figured out the ending before I got there. Interesting character development and just all around good story telling.

Pinterest Anyone?

As usual, I'm late to the Pinterest party. But like most things, I get there in my own good time. I signed up for an account this week and have been happily pinning away and viewing others pins.

So far, I'm liking it.

It's a nice way to "store" all the images and items that catch my fancy without having to try to go back and find them later. I always find things I like and either bookmark them or try to save the image off on to my computer but then I can’t credit the source because I can’t remember where I got it from.

Plus it’s fun to see what other people are pinning too.

If you’re so inclined, you can follow me on Pinterest. I’m under my Ravelry name of WeezieKnits.

Book #20 of 2012...

Tales of Mystery and Terror by Arthur Conan Doyle

From Goodreads.com:

This volume presents some of Conan Doyle s unduly neglected masterworks. Each begins in a quietly factual way, making all the more dramatic the crescendo of fear and puzzlement that ensues as each new circumstance is revealed. Even without his supremely logical brain child, Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle shows that his tales are unbeatable for thrills and excitement. This is a great opportunity for the listener to discover a new facet of this master s ability to mystify and enthrall.

My take:

3 out of 5 stars. This is a collection of short "camp fire" stories. I'm sure they were pretty scary when they were originally published but by modern standards they're pretty tame. I enjoyed most of the stories by my favorite was The Brazilian Cat and The Lost Special. I think this would be great "scary" stories to read to children. I don't think it would freak them out but it would be fun to see if they could figure out the endings before you got there.

Book #19 of 2012...

The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorn

From Goodreads.com:

In a sleepy little New England village stands a dark, weather-beaten, many-gabled house. This brooding mansion is haunted by a centuries-old curse that casts the shadow of ancestral sin upon the last four members of the distinctive Pyncheon family. Mysterious deaths threaten the living. Musty documents nestle behind hidden panels carrying the secret of the family’s salvation—or its downfall.

My take:

3 out of 5 stars. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. But the whole time I kept wondering if I'd read this book before. I'm sure I have but I don't remember when or where.

New York Cardigan...

Time for my next knitting project...New York Cardigan by Erin Harper. This is going to be a very nice sweater for spring.

This model is adorable! I love the dress she's wearing in the first picture. I think I'm going to have to make myself a similar one.

Hubbs and I were up in Rocklin last Saturday running some errands. Hubbs has gotten really into hunting and we were checking out some gun stores, window shopping. I can only take so much boy stuff before I need a does of either girly stuff or fiber stuff. I think it's safe to say that Hubbs feels the same way about girl stuff. LOL.

I love my smart phone. I googled knitting and it came up with a yarn shop right across from the gun store...right across the street. Sweet. After we drove around a while due to bad GPS directions, we called the shop and got better directions. Turns out it was across the street.

The shop is called Filati Fine Yarns. Let me tell you, this is an amazing shop. It was huge and had tons of yarn. My local yarn shop in Elk Grove is nice but this place carries a lot more yarn and the prices were very reasonable. I'm very in love with this shop. I didn't know that there was a place so close with a very extensive collection of yarns for sale. They had everything from acrylics to expensive luxury yarns.

I picked out Cascade 220 in colorway 8012.

I've knit with Cascade 220 before and I'm sure that New York Cardigan is going to knit up beautifully in this yarn. I can't wait to get started on this project.