Books of 2012

Just the ones I've finished so far:

Fiction:
Book 1: Succubus Revealed by Richelle Mead
Book 2:  Notorious Pleasures by Elizabeth Hoyt
Book 3:  Drink Deep by Chloe Neil
Book 4:  Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
Book 5:  Bet Me by Jennifer Cruisie
Book 5:  One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
Book 6:  Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins
Book 7:  She Went All the Way by Meg Cabot
Book 8: Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt
Book 9: Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

NonFiction:
Book 10: Lynchpin by Seth Godin
Book 11: The Dip by Seth Godin


I must say, I found Seth Godin's books utterly irrelevant to my life. His assumption is that everyone wants to climb as high in the corporate ladder as possible and presumably make as much money as possible.  He is rather glib about dispensing the advice to quit and move on.  Clearly, the guy has no one in his life who is financially dependent upon him.  And the fact that he tries to spin his past business failures as expertise is pretty much revolting.  I have to wonder how many lives of others who were along for his enchanted ride in goofyland were financially or emotionally ruined.  He seems pretty self involved and clueless, frankly.  Plus, I went to his website and he wears stupid glasses.

If you are looking for good business reads, I recommend Jason Seiden ("My Life is Profersonal") who discusses the mingling of professional and personal without devolving into some idiotic mommy war.   His blog is great.

I also recommend a thoughtful read of The No Asshole Rule.

Grimm Legacy was a very fun read.  My son got it at the book fair a couple of weeks ago and it was my favorite type of book as a youngster, combining a certain autonomy from adults (see also, The Secret Garden and The Boxcar Children) and magical stuff (see Harry Potter, The Crystal Cave, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe,  and the first 7 or 8 Xanth books). 

The Succubus series conclusion was satisfying.  I was glad to see it was not going to drag on ad infinitum.  

The Night Huntress books by Jeaniene Frost started off slow-- the heroine is immature and rather stupid in the first book.  I am sorry to say that  she has a certain dynamic with her mother, where she craves her mother's approval which her mother is pretty clearly withholding intentionally, ugh.  Hate that.  Grow a pair, girl.  Also, gentle readers will want to skip the next part because it's about Ess Eee Ex.  These books have A LOT of it, and it is graphic.  I have heard it said that in Urban Paranormal that Anal is the New Oral and umm, I guess it is in this series.  So if you are not into that sort of thing, I've warned you.

Now that I am caught up on the Chicagoland Vampires series, I have to wait till August for the next installment.  Like a NORMAL PERSON.  It's so nice to start a series a few books in, but sooner or later, I get caught up to the author.  The end of the previous book was very WTF and this book ALSO was very WTF at the end.  The vamps of Cadogan House spend Drink Deep under observation by the big council of whatever.  I found the vibe in the house very much like what it was like at work under the previous regime.  And that's all I have to say about THAT online.

The Maiden Lane Series by Hoyt starts well, falters in book 2 in my opinion, but then gives us one of my favorite romance tropes-- Pirate With A Heart of Gold.  (Other favorites:  Girls Dressed As Boys Making Hero Wonder if He Has Caught The Dreadful Affliction of Ancient Greece, Heroes or Heroines Who Are Secretly Authors/Artists/In Trade, Treasure Hunts, Ghost Stories)

The 3 Contemporary Romances I read were by pretty much my 3 fave contemporary romance authors.  Cruisie, Higgins and Cabot are all very funny and write a sweet romance. There is really not enough humor in Romance as a genre. Unlike life, where Romance and Humor are often hand in hand. 

Impending reading topics for non fiction will focus on Agile and Lean methodology for software development.  Don't be jealous!

Clockwork

IMAG0506, originally uploaded by fudh4x0r.

This pattern from Westknits is mostly garter stitch, and yet, I didn't find it too much of a slog at the end.

I swapped with a friend it for some cross stitch. I knitted it in dk yarn (Kashmira from Joann's Sensations line) on a size six needle. It blocked out to be the size of the top bunk-- a twin bed. Well, a wee bit wider. After blocking, I would have liked the gauge a bit more snug. I have some other dk yarn set aside to make one for myself. I may though, make West's current pattern from Knitty. This one was well worth the money, so I may also buy another of his lovely shawl patterns for the yarn in question. The yarn is rather aggressively girly, so the geometric qualities of his patters will balance things out.

Stitch Markers

IMAG0518.jpg, originally uploaded by fudh4x0r.

There are a crapzillion tutorials on the web for making these. Here is mine.

For tools, I had only crimping pliers and some sort of pliers with a bent front? I think I needed some other needle nose pliers. I may well have them, but I can't find them. Oh, and I spilled an entire jar of glitter in my craftsman tool chest that I use for nonknitting craft stuff. Glitter: The Herpes of Crafting. I will NEVER get rid of that shit.

For materials, I had findings in gold plate. I couldn't find sterling and nickel irritates my skin. I'm a thenthive printhess. The findings included 2 inch gold plated headpins, 10 mm rings, gold crimp beads, bead spacers. I bought a small tube of beads to supplement my random leftover beads.

Put 3 random beads with spacers or crimpers between them. I used some crimp beads as spacers because I am pretty sure there are no crafting cops.

Above that, put a crimp bead.

Bend the head pin over, making a loop and thread the non-head end into the crimp bead. That was the part that was the biggest hassle. I had a couple head pins that got hopelessly mangled.

Crimp.

Add 10mm ring to the loop on the headpin.

If I were doing these again, I would use a 3 inch headpin and skip the 10mm ring. I would make the loop and then give the end a little twist above the beads, on the stem, as it were.

So now. . . .my knitting has jewelry. More jewelry than I do, actually. I think I spent about 90 minutes making 24 of them. I am not built for speed though. I tend to fuss unnecessarily over things like making them all the same or all unique. I went with unique, but then I wondered if I had randomized the bead placement enough. It's tough work being nuts.

ReverbBroads Day2 Prompt

There is a facebook group for bloggers called Reverb Broads.  I liked 'em for this writing prompt:  What is the stupidest thing you've done this year.

It's kind of them to narrow it down to 2011 for me. . .

You know what I did that was stupid?  I got caught up in a bad scene at work.  I don't know how it started but I know how it ended.  I can't talk about specifics or I could get fired.

I pretty much learned all the same lessons I've been learning for the last few years about  forgiveness and work politics.  I feel pretty stupid for staying in Stockholm, but I get a lot of paid time off.

Let's Kill Monday

Seriously.  I will bring the shovel. 

Book Whatever: Sarah's Key

I have a Nook, so I can buy books with no forethought.  Normally, this is only bad for my bank account, not my mental health.  I saw Sarah's Key recommended to me because I liked a couple other books set around WWII.  The title rang a bell and I thought that maybe the mom of one of Charlie's friends recommended it.  I bought it. In the first chapter, I started to wonder if reading this was a good idea.  I couldn't bloody stop myself.  I have not fully conquered the need to finish every damn book I start.  This book is only slightly less depressing than Jude The Obscure.  They both have divorce and suicide, but this one has fewer dead children.  There are Nazi Collaborators  though, which sort of edges out Thomas Hardy.  I can't say I recommend this if you are in one of those stretches where you are doggedly trying to keep up your own spirits in a stiff upper lip sort of way. Turns out it was my mom who recommended it.  She has a lot higher tolerance for that sort of thing.

Things I Find Baffling

There is a new interface  now, if you are blogging, instead of getting a smallish text box with a lot of business around it, you get a smallish text box with a lot of white space around it.  I can see that those with writer's block or performance anxiety might be losing their crap right now. The tags are easier to select if you use a set of them.  Other than that, I am not sure if this is progress or just change.  I am in favor of progress, opposed to change for its own sake.

I am baffled that no matter how much of an asshole someone is, that Jesus loves them anyhow.  There seem to be an excess of assholes around me lately.  It's a constant struggle not to be an asshole back.  Good thing  I read "The No Asshole Rule".  If you work as part of a team that is in crisis, I highly endorse it.

I don't understand why the last 10 rows are so daunting on my current 2 projects.  I am just slogging along.  

I find it baffling that there are so few washable striping yarns.  If I want to make a mitered crosses blanket that is machine washable, I am relegated to making it on sock yarn and teeny tiny needles.  I think I shall pass on that.  I have not ruled out hobby lobby's "I Love This Yarn!" despite the irrational exuberance of its name.


I am also confused that anyone thinks jingoistic flag-waving makes them seem like they have contributed anything.  I don't care if we are talking about 9-11, the environment, or the jobs market.  Facebook Slactivism is on my last nerve.

I don't understand why I have totally lost the love for my little book reports.  I still clipping along at the rate of about a book every week, but I'm keen on the paperwork of keeping track.