Lookalikes 131

Mating Rituals of the North American Wasp by Lauren Lipton

Better Than Yesterday by Robyn Schneider

 Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn by Sarah Miller

 

Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund

Here is one I've been holding onto for awhile! I think my favorite is Better Than Yesterday because it is so colorful! Though these don't display my favorite composition ever they are fun! 

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Hardcover vs Paperback 113

The Day I Killed James by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Hardcover

Paperback

Barnes and Noble:

IT WASN’T SUPPOSED to end up like this. But it did.

When Theresa brings James to a party as her date, it’s just for the night . . . and he knows that. But when everything goes horribly wrong, James drives his motorcycle off a cliff—and Theresa knows she’s responsible for his death.
Theresa tries to run away from the pain, becoming a new young woman with a whole new life. She meets people, of course, but she never really makes connections—she’s too scared she’ll hurt them, too. But what Theresa discovers is that you can try to run away from the pain—but you can never really run away from yourself. The only way out is through.

This compelling tale of love and loss is about broken hearts—and how to begin to repair your own.

Unfortunately neither of these covers does much in the way of making me want to pick up the book. I could see them maybe working if the book was set in the early 90s. Can anyone comment on when this book is set? But regardless I feel like it doesn't tune into the emotional aspect that the summary does, just the incident that starts it all.

Have you spotted a Hardcover vs. Paperback you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

Weekly Dose of Crafts!

This quickly turned into the week of simple cowls! But before that...

I finished my last Christmas present and got them all wrapped and under the tree! Here is a scarf for my Grandpa seconds before I wrapped it!

Now it's time for cowls. I had seen several people making tube scarfs and I really wanted to try it but it ended up being much too large of a tube because of the needles I had, so it quickly became a cowl. I just sort of winged this one.

Yarn used: 

Bernat Roving Cobalt

I also finished my mystery KAL which turned out to be a shawl! Does anyone have any idea for blocking acrylic? I tried it once by steaming it with my iron and letting it sit pinned overnight and nothing happened. I think I need something that steams better.

Here is my sister modeling it in her robe lol!

I finished 3 more ornaments, I want to do a few more so I can have them as little gifts on the tree! As you can see a few have already been claimed by family members!

Finishing up the mystery kal freed up a needle size I needed to complete this cowl pattern. I am in love with this yarn, it's Lion Brand's Amazing!

Yarn used:

Lion Brand Amazing 2 balls Aurora

Being my first holiday season really doing yarn crafts I've only made presents for my family but being all done with those I realized I could make a friend a birthday gift! I am using this cowl pattern. I love the seed stitch, it's so pretty! 

Yarn used:

Wool Ease Thick and Quick 1 skein of Cilantro

Here is a junky picture of another Knit Picks order I got in the mail on Monday! Anyone check out the website today? There are new kits, yarn and all books are 40% off... I might have another order in my cart! 

For more crafty goodness be sure to stop over at WIP Wednesday! And find me on Raverly as mint910.

Hardcover vs Paperback 112

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby

Hardcover

 

Paperback

Amazon.com:

Nick Hornby returns to his roots-music and messy relationships-in this funny and touching new novel which thoughtfully and sympathetically looks at how lives can be wasted but how they are never beyond redemption. Annie lives in a dull town on England's bleak east coast and is in a relationship with Duncan which mirrors the place; Tucker was once a brilliant songwriter and performer, who's gone into seclusion in rural America-or at least that's what his fans think. Duncan is obsessed with Tucker's work, to the point of derangement, and when Annie dares to go public on her dislike of his latest album, there are quite unexpected, life-changing consequences for all three.

Nick Hornby uses this intriguing canvas to explore why it is we so often let the early promise of relationships, ambition and indeed life evaporate. And he comes to some surprisingly optimistic conclusions about the struggle to live up to one's promise.

I'm all about the vintage look of the paperback. Something about the earbuds for eyes on the hardcover just does not work. 

Have you spotted a Hardcover vs. Paperback you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

This Week In Books

Tuesday:

The Knitter's Guide to Hand-Dyed and Variegated Yarn by Lorna Miser (Purchased at local yarn store and signed by author)


Thursday:

Brave New Knits by Julie Turjoman (Purchased at Borders)
Dakota Child by Linda Ford (Harlequin Ambassadors)

Blog Tour: Goodnight, Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros

Amazon.com:

New York Times bestselling author Teresa Medeiros absolutely dazzles in this quick-witted, laugh-out-loud funny, and highly moving love story that will set readers’ hearts atwitter. 

Abigail Donovan has a lot of stuff she should be doing. Namely writing her next novel. A bestselling author who is still recovering from a near Pulitzer Prize win and the heady success that follows Oprah’s stamp of approval, she is stuck at Chapter Five and losing confidence daily. But when her publicist signs her up for a Twitter account, she’s intrigued. What’s all the fuss?

Taken under the wing of one of her Twitter followers, “MarkBaynard"—a quick witted, quick-typing professor on sabbatical—Abby finds it easy to put words out into the world 140 characters at a time. And once she gets a handle on tweets, retweets, direct messages, hashtags, and trends, she starts to feel unblocked in writing and in life. After all, why should she be spending hours in her apartment staring at her TweetDeck and fretting about her stalled career when Mark is out there traveling the world and living?

Or is he?

Told almost entirely in tweets and DMs, Goodnight Tweetheart is a truly modern take on a classic tale of love and loss—a Griffin and Sabine for the Twitter generation. 

Being a fan of twitter and romance and novels told in the epistolary format I just had to give this book a read! While it did succeed in entertaining me and keeping me coming back for more (which isn't happening a lot lately to be honest) I feel like I just needed more in a few instances.

Using something like Twitter I think this book could have benefited from a bit more design and formatting a la the book Tweet Heart. Having the tweets treated pretty much like the rest of the text in the book had me confused a bit at the beginning as far as if it was an actual tweet or a direct message. Also to help shape this conversation between Abby and Mark I would have loved to have seen some of their just regular tweets not directed at each other.

Their tweets were pretty fun, though sometimes very full of current pop culture references which might not stand the test of time or fly right past some people's heads. I loved the idea at the heart of the book, Abby struggling to write her second book after a huge amount of success with the first and some wonderful stranger there encouraging her to do so. 

From the summary I knew they had to be some kind of twist coming about Mark and who he really was. So I definitely kept reading to find out what it was. To be honest I was hoping for something a little different, trying to be vague here to not give much away. Also I would have loved a bit more at the ending, it ended pretty quickly for me. But overall a fun book!

Goodnight Tweetheart was released on December 14th 2010
Genre: Contemporary Romance
3.5/5 Stars
Review copy provided by the publisher

Weekly Dose of Crafts!

Can you believe it is almost Christmas? I'm freaking out! I'm almost done with presents but not quite! 

We finally decorated our tree tonight and I knew just what I wanted to put on it!

This ornament was made based on Attic 24's newest pattern! I somehow decided it was a good idea to make like 9 instead of say 2 or 3. So I only have 1 done and some I will turn into stars which is also part of the same pattern! I just used bits and pieces of cotton I had!

Also, this weekend I finished my first fingering weight sock and I love it!!!! After I finish the mate for this one and the mate for the Ladybug sock (which is currently in progress) I think I'm going to try a sock from the toe up!

I also cranked out another scarf for a present. I thought it would look good in my head and luckily it actually did look good knitted up! It's just a basic garter stitch scarf but 3 different strands of yarn!

Yarn used:

Homespun Apple Green
Red Heart Shimmer Lime
Dark Horse Beautiful B106

I was a bit worried the ribbon yarn I used in the 3 strand scarf above wouldn't make a long enough scarf but in fact I had tons of extra so I made these little mini decorative scarves with the extra. And you guessed it, they are presents too!

Yarn used: 

Dark Horse Beautiful B106

This week's background is actually a tie blanket my sister and I made yesterday which is yes... another present! And so is the below garter stitch scarf! 

Yarn used:

Knit Picks Comfy Bulky Bison

And finally, last week when I was at sock class, Lorna Miser was there teaching some classes and giving a talk and signing books! I was lucky enough to purchase a book while I was there and the wonderful ladies at my favorite LYS had her sign it for me! So I got to pick it up yesterday and bring it home with me!

Who else is excited for the holidays to come and be over so we can knit some non-presents for awhile or rather non-urgent presents!

For more crafty goodness be sure to stop over at WIP Wednesday! And find me on Raverly as mint910.

Hardcover vs Paperback 111

Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs

Hardcover

Paperback

Amazon.com:

The ladies of the #1 New York Times bestselling The Friday Night Knitting Club celebrate special times with family and friends.

Not only are the holidays are just around the corner, the women who knit at Manhattan's Walker & Daughter have an extra reason to celebrate: there's a wedding planned for New Year's Day. In the meantime, college-age Dakota Walker is working to finish a sweater her mother started before Dakota was born. As she takes on her mother's pattern, she learns from her family and friends that there was much more history in these stitches than she had anticipated, and that to build on her mother's legacy, Dakota must allow herself to become the woman she truly desires to be... 

 

Definitely the paperback. I feel it matches the look of the other books in the series better and look at all that knitted food, how beautiful! I want to make some! I'm not sure that I like how it says "First Time in Paperback" though, anyone know why that would be put on a recent book?

 

Have you spotted a Hardcover vs. Paperback you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

This Week In Books

 Monday:

Wither by Lauren DeStefano (Shelf Awareness-I think?)

Tuesday:

The Lady Most Likely... by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, and Connie Brockway (Just Showed Up Review Copy)

Wednesday:

A Time of Miracles by Anne-Laure Bondoux (Just Showed Up Review Copy)

Thursday:

Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros (For Blog Tour)


Friday:

Socks a la carte 2 Toes Up! by Jonelle Raffino & Katherine Cade (Purchased at Borders)

Saturday: nothing

Lookalikes 130

It Happened One Night by Lisa Dale

Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis

I know it's winter but tons of white on anything but a very simple cover doesn't do much. I guess if I had to pick I would pick It Happened One Night because there is a bit more of the cover there. But neither of these get much out of me. 

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Blog Tour: Dining With Joy by Rachel Hauck

Amazon.com:

"Chef" Joy Ballard longs for a simpler life. But when a good-looking outsider arrives and spices things up, life becomes deliciously complicated.

Host of a regionally syndicated cooking show, Joy Ballard has a little secret: she can't cook. But when her show is picked up by a major network and given a prime time slot, her world heats up faster than a lowcountry boil.

Enter Luke Redmond: handsome, creative, and jobless after having to declare bankruptcy of his Manhattan restaurant. When her producers ask him to co-host the show, Joy sees Luke as her way out. But Luke sees much more than just a co-host in Joy. 

Their relationship begins to simmer on and off set. Until Joy's secret is revealed and her reputation is ruined on national television by her rival, Wenda Devine.

But could Devine's cruelty be a divine gift? Losing Luke--and her sister--forces Joy to consider where her worth really comes from. Could God be cooking up an even bigger adventure from the mess? And will Joy hang on long enough to find out?

Let me start off by saying that this is not a review. Embarrassingly I have not had the chance to yet finish the book (first time this has happened :/) So I will only be commenting on my impressions so far.

From the first page I liked Joy, a sweet girl that really cares about her family, so much so that she will pretend she can cook to continue her father's cooking show. Match her with Luke a talented chef that has fallen on some hard times with the closing of his restaurant in NYC and you are sure to get some sparks. While it's not a traditional romance I like that it rotates between each of their perspectives.

I love the sort of comedic situations that have popped up in the book so far, Joy absolutely refuses to partake in cookoffs (because she knows her secret will be revealed) but through a series of events she's forced into one anyways. I can't wait to see what other lengths she will go to, to hide her secret. From the summary copy we know she doesn't keep up the charade forever so it will be interesting to see how she is discovered and what happens next.

I also know this is part of a series and based on what I have read here I think I'm going to have to take a peek at the other books as well. The element of religion is part of this book and I always enjoy reading books of this nature to see how they are handled. And in every instance I've found that the religious aspect of the book isn't overpowering or preachy and that I really dig. It's there but in a natural way I think.

Anyhow, I can't wait to finish the book and see where it goes! Have you read any of Rachel Hauck's books?

Weekly Dose of Crafts!

This week I'm going all iphone pictures, sorry! 

Last week I got the newest issue of Crochet Today! At first glance I thought the Love Bugs were cute but didn't even realize they were Ladybugs. When I did I decided I must make one for a Christmas present. I hadn't made an amigurumi in months so it was a lot of fun and a heck of a lot faster than I remembered, I made it in a few hours one night!

Yarn used:

Vanna's Choice

Scarlett

Black

Last week I finished my second (and third!) sock. This is the Ladybug sock in the sport weight. Can you tell I like ladybugs?

Between all these longer projects its fun to throw up short projects, here is another one, a fish washcloth based on this pattern. I'm not sure how I liked how the shape was formed with drawing the stitches together, it doesn't lay flat when you do that. 

Yarn used:

Sugar'n Creme

Hot Green

White

And finally over the weekend I finished my second worsted weight sock and I have a real honest to gosh pair of socks, well slipper type socks but still!

I decided it was time I try what I consider a real sock in fingering weight yarn. It is going a lot faster than I thought it would with such thin yarn and I'm actually about the turn the heel so I'm a lot further than this picture shows.

Yarn used:

Berroco Comfort Sock 1818

I also got some yarn in the mail this week that I ordered last week during Cyber Monday and a Holiday Sale on Tuesday. Last Tuesday I was on the hunt for some more of Red Heart's Shimmer, the local stores that usually carry it were out and I needed some ASAP to finish some presents so I took the chance to order online directly from Red Heart. I also got a few of their other yarns that aren't currently carried in store!

My family (in particular) my mom keeps asking if every sock I make is for her so I finally let them pick out some yarn so I could make them some socks! Luckily the Felici was on sale so I got that and a few other things in the Knit Picks Cyber Monday Sale. By the way, who doesn't love Felici? I'm seriously obsessed I think I'm going to buy some more....

And finally there is only one week left in the Mystery KAL I'm participating in! I'm definitely thinking it's a capelet! 

For more crafty goodness be sure to stop over at WIP Wednesday! And find me on Raverly as mint910.

Hardcover vs Paperback 110

Heist Society by Ally Carter

US Hardcover

Australian Edition

Amazon.com:

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own--scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she'd expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster's art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s (very crooked) history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way. 

This is an interesting one, they portray very different ideas of art thefts. The first a high society rich girl with the sunglasses and the fancy clothes straight out of the movies and the second a more everyday looking girl dressed as a cat burglar. I guess I prefer the US edition probably because on the Australian edition it looks like that girl's head has been stuck on someone else's body. I really do like the red security/alarm system lights though! 

Thanks to Kelly who pointed out this H vs P!

Have you spotted a Hardcover vs. Paperback you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

This Week In Books or Blink and You Will Miss It

 Monday:

Vixen (The Flappers) by Jillian Larkin (Just Showed Up Review Copy)

Tuesday: nothing

Wednesday:

Knit A Dozen Plus Slippers by Amy Polcyn (Ordered from Amazon)

Thursday: nothing

Friday: nothing

Saturday: nothing

Lookalikes 129

 Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal

Haven't done one of these in awhile! But here is one that shares a cover model (at least I think so!) The Anna Godberson covers are always beautiful and I'm intrigued by the Sweet Valley cover, that's an interesting way to show twins! 

Have you spotted a Lookalike you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

Weekly Dose of Crafts!

Me and my camera got a little lazy today so I didn't take pictures of EVERYTHING I worked on. Such as, my mittens that were missing thumbs finally got thumbs and they turned out so fabulous I think I'm going to make another pair for a Christmas gift! I also worked on a few more pieces for the felted slippers, hopefully I will get felting on those sooner than later!

In Twinkie Chan's book she has this wonderful Gingerbread Man Scarf, for kicks I did the body for one and then though wow would this make the cutest pin ever? So yesterday I pulled out some sport weight and made him into a little pin gingerbread man. I think he turned out pretty cute and is part of a Christmas present for someone!

Yarn used:

Red Heart Designer Sport Latte

I got Part 2 of the Mystery KAL pattern on Thanksgiving so I tackled that over the weekend! I'm super exited to find out what it is, I'm thinking some kind of shawl or something!

Here is the finished hat for my sister. OMG I love how it turned out and I want it lol! I found the perfect buttons for it too. Even though I only had 1 ball I decided I must start a matching cowl and promptly ran out of yarn (and then those mittens and then another scarf-yes I got carried away with my plans) but found out the RH Shimmer is sold out locally. :/ So I made a purchase from the Red Heart website last night. Oops. I swear I didn't plan this!

The ladybug sock is going great too! I think in a few days it will be done. I also started the matching worsted weight sock to match the one I finished last week. My sock is going to continue for at least a few more weeks!

Last week Borders had some great 50% coupons, I didn't have any ideas of what I wanted to buy so I just went and took a peek and decided to try some of the Yarn Harlot's books. I'm really enjoying her Casts Off book. Have you read any of her books?

 

For more crafty goodness be sure to stop over at WIP Wednesday! And find me on Raverly as mint910.

This Year In Movies: November

Parks and Recreation Season 1- I watched an episode or two when this aired on tv, I thought it was ok turns out the whole season was like that but luckily the season is short and the second season gets pretty awesome!

Parks and Recreation Season 2- See above.

Dexter Season 4- Finally got to find out how the shocking ending of the season occurred, I somehow read a spoiler and had to wait like a year to find out why!

The Back Up Plan- Cute.

Letters to Juliet- Pretty cute.


Make It Happen- Fun similar to the other dance movies...

Diary of a Wimpy Kid- Loved this, read the graphic novel a few days later, I love what the movie did with the original material, in a few cases it made it better!

Greenberg- Ugh. I need to stop watching his movies, just because he co-wrote a few movies with Wes Anderson doesn't mean his own work will be anything like it.

Nothing Like the Holidays- Sweet movie, hadn't seen a few of these actors in anything in awhile!

Modern Family Season 1- Damn Netflix probably still has this is on a Very Long Wait, so thank god Target had it on sale so I could finally watch it. WATCH THIS SHOW.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1- Can't believe this is coming to an end very soon. I remembered the book and being almost too dark so I was glad for the moments of humor.

The Office: Overtime- This was a collection of The Office shorts from the web, I hadn't seen most of them but was hoping there might be a few more than there were. Oh well.

Date Night- Cute! These two make a great comedic team!

Psych Season 1- I wasn't sure if I would like this show but it's actually pretty fun. (It's streaming on Netflix right now if you are interested!)


Royal Pains Season 1- Another one I wasn't really sure about but it held my attention!

Killers- Funny! This was a Black Friday purchase, glad I bought it!

White Collar Season 1- Another one I really didn't know much about but I got it from Netflix and enjoyed it!