Another Book

Okay, so I've finally broken down and read a book from one of the authors that has been haunting my "must read" list for the longest time: Anne McCaffrey. I really don't know why it's taken me so long to finally pick up one of her books and read it, but I know that it will be another while before I pick up another one of her titles again.

Now, now... I'm not trying to be mean here, there is probably a really good chance that the book I read, Dragonflight, may not have been the best book to start with. Also, there is another good chance that if I would have known that there was going to be time travel nonsense involved in the story that I wouldn't have chosen this particular title at all.

I do have a thing about including time travel in books and movies - the only exception being "Back to the Future". There are other movies that I have enjoyed that have time travel in them, but it's not the time travel part that I enjoy - I usually get really annoyed by it. There are quite a few Star Trek movies that have time travel that I've actually, almost enjoyed. :-) :-)

Okay, so going back to the book - and I'll have to warn you, if you get upset with spoilers, I'm a master of spoiling everything about a book or movie. So, if you don't want to hear any more, then just stop here. :-) :-) For those that have already read the book or don't care, please keep reading. :-) :-)

The story was going along okay with the main character, Lessa, being chosen by the golden dragon and her mental connection to not only her own dragon, but all of the dragons. It was a little slow at first, but this didn't really bother me at all. Some of the best books I've read had slow story starts. :-) The part that had me rolling my eyes was when Lessa was being taught to fly "in between" and accidentally figured out how to time travel. Now, here is where this got on my nerves... and if I'm wrong, please feel free to let me know. But how can a beginner to flying on a dragon have just figured out that the dragons can time travel, when so many generations have been traveling the same way? There must have been at least someone in the past - which seems to be hundreds of years, if not more - discover that this was possible? Then, to top that off, this beginner goes back in time 400 years and teaches the other dragon riders how to time travel to get back to her time. I just shake my head on how ridiculous this part of the story developed. This is just my opinion now, okay? I'm not trying to say that Anne McCaffrey is a bad writer or anything, just this part of the story didn't do it for me.

As for the writing itself, it was actually pretty good. I loved the uniqueness of the names of the characters. F'lar being the only unique name I can remember (sorry, the book has already gone back to the library so I can't look the rest up). But I like when writers invent or use really unique names when writing fantasy or sci-fi. That was one of the things that made me like Terry Books so much. :-) :-) I've read some really neat fantasy books that just didn't have the same flavor because the names were just a little too common to me. Yeah, it's me, not the writing itself... if I'm going to read fantasy - especially when they take place in a completely different realm with different species and such, I want the names to be as unique as the planet that they're supposed to come from. :-) I just love to nit pick, don't I? :-) :-)

So, I think it is safe for me to say that I'll probably not continue reading the "Dragonriders of Pern" series unless someone can tell me otherwise. If time travel is a regular thing in this series, then I really don't want to read anymore. If this is a regular thing with the author, then I don't think I'll read any more of her titles anymore either. So, for you McCaffrey fans out there, I am willing to give another book a chance, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know! :-) :-)

I also just finished another series that I've been listening to in audiobooks for the past few months by Patricia Briggs - The Mercy Thompson series. The person who suggested it was a really neat kid that I know, Evan, who not only has very similar taste in movies that I do, but also loves to read and knit almost as much as I do too! :-) :-) I wont write about the books now, but I did want to send out a huge THANK YOU to Evan for suggesting such a neat series. :-) :-)

Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing

A couple weeks ago when I went to the library I was caught browsing through the new release books. I must have had a puzzling look on my face because one of my favorite librarians asked me if I needed any help. I said that I wanted something fun to read - something to lift my spirits - since I have found myself not being able to knit, crochet, bead or do anything due to the pain in my shoulder again.

The book that was suggested was called: Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing by Kathy Cano-Murillo aka the Crafty Chica. :-) :-) I knew that the name sounded familiar, but I just didn't know from what. I was in pain at that moment and couldn't really think very straight, so I just filed it away in my brain with hopes to remember later.

The book lived on my kitchen counter for a few days before I started to read it. Not being able to do any crafting myself, I wasn't sure how well I'd be able to handle reading about someone else crafting - or in this case, sewing. Well, I pushed aside my bit of depression and started reading more.

The story is predictable and I think the character development was a bit weak, but the overall flow of the story was really well done. The story, like a fairy tail, was really cute as well. Sure, I was able to figure out pretty much how the whole novel was going to unfold but it didn't take anything away from the pure enjoyment.

The main character, Scarlet, was just a bundle of energy that didn't let anything or anyone slow her down. I love characters like that. She did what was needed to achieve her goals, and at one point almost put her own health in jeopardy. I found myself relating to Scarlet back in my days of college and working my first 10 years in the corporate world. I remember working 100+ hour weeks, surviving off of less than 4 hours of sleep each night that stretched for months on end. Scarlet was very lucky though and didn't end up with a permanent injury like I did... but I digress...

Even with all of the obstacles in front of our heroine, she still managed to make her dreams come true and find friendship and love at the same time. She found herself reconciling with her family again and was able to put what mattered most to her back into perspective.

The book is scattered with life lessons and words of inspiration. It was refreshing to read a book like this - most of what I read is in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy realm so this was really a step away from normal reading for me! :-) :-) I can find myself following some of the advise that Miss Scarlet shared with her blog readers for my own goals and dreams. So, in a way, this little treasure of a book is a fun self help book! :-) :-) You take what you want from it, but I found this book more than just fun reading. :-)

I finished reading the book last night and finally took the time to read about the author. I really don't know why I always do that to myself... what does it hurt to read about the author before or while reading the book? Anyway, I still couldn't place the name or Kathy Cano-Murillo or Crafty Chica with anything that I could remember in my brain. So, this morning I finally broke down to go to her website: http://www.craftychica.com/. Well, it turns out that I'm a subscriber to her newsletter and follow her on Facebook! Well, duh! I knew the name sounded familiar.

So, if you need something fun to read this summer, I would strongly recommend "Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing". Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the back of the book has some fun activities to play with as well. The one that got my attention was how to make your own duct tape dress form. :-) :-)

I do have to let you know though, that if you're good at guessing the story line and knowing what happens ruins the book for you, then this book may not be for you. But I didn't think this book was for me either, and I really enjoyed it anyway! :-) :-)

One tid bit of information that I also liked about this book was that it took place in my local stomping grounds around the Phoenix, AZ area. :-) :-) One of the characters was from Chandler too! :-) :-)

Since I can't really do much other than read, dream, sketch and write (due to my awesome voice recognition program), I may find myself blogging about my recent, or not so recent, reads this summer. Only cooler temps will let me know if I'll be able to design more jewelry in the future and make all of those sketches in my book into actual projects. :-)

Take care,

Pinka

Once Upon A Tree

Wow, I can't believe a month has already passed since my last post!!!

So here is what has happened since - I've been helping a group of high school sophomores with a portion of one of their projects to raise money to help save the forests in Colorado and northern Arizona. One of their fund raising projects was to make crochet water bottle cozies and jewelry made out of unwanted beads and thread. They did such an awesome job and I am so proud of them.

They also learned to make bracelets and necklaces out of pop-tabs as well as origami flowers that were a huge hit at their Valentine's Day dance last month. I can't believe the dedication and time that they put into this project and still keep up with their studies and homework! They have some pictures up on their website and Face book page... check them out:

http://onceuponatree.yolasite.com/
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Once-Upon-a-Tree/153851691311979

I've lost count on how many plastic bags and pop tabs they collected, but if you can see their pictures on the Face book page, you can see the pile! It was amazing... I believe they are going to be donating the extra tabs and bags to appropriate recycling centers to make sure they do not go into the landfill.

I think one of my favorite pictures on their FB page is when they are making that probably now very infamous 'plarn' - plastic shopping bags cut up into strips thin enough to crochet with. They made so much plarn that I'm sure that they go into a slight panic any time they hear the crinkle of plastic shipping bags. As for me, I will always think of them and their smiley faces. :-)

I hope some of the pictures from their FB page get passed to their main web site because they are just so much fun to see. Even the stories that these girls have about their first challenge are awesome and so much fun to listen to. I will miss then terribly and hope that they will consider coming to one of our Cactus Stitchers meetings to visit. I still have two more plarn totes to make for the group so I may be calling them with a need for more plarn..... bwahhh haaa haaa haaa haa!! :-) :-) Just kidding girls, I have enough! :-) :-)