Category: Reviews



Crochet Hats: How to Crochet Lovely Hats Like a Guru: (Crochet, Crochet for Beginners, How to Crochet, Crochet Patterns, Crochet Projects, Knitting)Crochet Hats: How to Crochet Lovely Hats Like a Guru: by Emily Leonard

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Two things in my life happened almost coincidentally: A dear friend sent me a lot of wonderful yarn for Christmas and I found out about a group here in Christmas Valley that crochet or knit hats for cancer patients. Hence, my checking out all these books about making hats, and scarves, etc. Okay. I was crocheting before that but I didn’t have much yarn to put to a project so I stuck to crocheting with plarn (yarn made from plastic shopping bags). I enjoyed the things I was able to create and felt I was doing good for mother earth by recycling, but my hands were starting to hurt with the type of crocheting I was doing. Now I have marvelously soft yarn to “play” with.

Oh, yeah, the review for the book. This one has a few patterns that look like they’d be fun to try so I’m going to try and keep it handy as I expand my repertoire. Granted I haven’t tried any of the patterns yet, but all the bits and pieces you expect in patterns were there so I assume they will come together as the pictures suggest. If they don’t I will come back to this review and revise accordingly.

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Slouch Crochet Hat Pattern: One Day Crochet GuideSlouch Crochet Hat Pattern: One Day Crochet Guide by Eva Solis

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Don’t bother. Nothing here but a nice cover picture. If you are one of those people that can look at a picture and make the thing, this is the book for you. For the rest of us who do better with a pattern, this is not it.

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Ugly Girl Ties the Knot (Ugly Girl Series #2)Ugly Girl Ties the Knot by Alice Wasser

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ah, shoot! I am sorry to leave this series behind. I loved that these were perfect people in love but rather real people with real problems that don’t easily resolve in a bundle of flowers and a ring.

The main character, Millie has a few extra pounds and self-esteem issues. Her main squeeze, Sam is a quadriplegic. He’s cute, but, can you see? Real issues right off the bat. Yet these two are engaged.

Jealousy is the worst part of this book. I hate reading romance stories just because of this irrational emotion. But with the lighter attitude of the series mixed with some heavy-duty issues, I think this is an almost impossible combination to pull off. But Ms. Alice Wasser does a great job of it! And the jealousy issue drops by the sideline.

This is an example of what I wish more authors would take on. Stop writing about perfect, skinny, beautiful people. They don’t represent the reader. Give us diversity and let us into lives that might be more interesting, if more challenging. Good job, Ms. Wasser! Um…any chance of another after the baby is born?

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Pulled (Flawed, A Short Story)Pulled by Becca J. Campbell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a cute little story to add to the Flawed series. I loved the young girl who was the main character. I loved the way Becca J. Campbell tells her stories. They always seem believable. Her writing is clear.

BUT I hate short stories. They always leave me with more questions than answers. This is no different. Though the story didn’t end in a cliffhanger, it still left me wondering what happened next. What causes the Pull? How did it start?

Oh, it is refreshing to read about a person that isn’t in her teen to mid-twenties.

I hope there is more about this character coming up.

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Confessions of an Ugly Girl (Ugly Girl Series #1)Confessions of an Ugly Girl by Alice Wasser

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Finally! A book that isn’t about the thinnest, sexiest, and most beautiful people. Is anyone else as bored as I am by this trend in books and movies/television? Heck, I’ve gotten to where I can’t tell actors and actresses apart as they all attempt to look the same. And they are always striving to be the same age. Don’t other ages, shapes, shades, orientations, etc. deserve adventures, love, money, their story told? And don’t get me started about the lack of strong females, having many of them in the same show. Look, I’ve spent my last year reading books by women with female main characters. Once I was convinced of this lack I started seeing how badly our reflections in films, have also been in short supply. Oh, and take a look at the news, no matter what channel you watch. Okay, stepping down from my soap box…

So when I saw this title for free I had to grab it. It was fun and yet had good strong bones of reality. The main character isn’t needing a man. She has a great career with plenty of income to cover all her needs and wants. The job is boring but she likes it. But she would like to meet someone and have romance in her life. Her perception of herself is that she is ugly and fat. Is it her reality that keeping those things from her, or her own self-image?

Then she meets someone who’s picture shows he’s far too handsome for her. He likes her, flirts with her… on the phone. When they meet she finds she has some of her own biases to overcome. I love how well the author expresses this relationship and its growth.

Because the main character is an actuary the book is full of random facts that I feel add a lot to the story.

Oh, and I may as well include that the love interest is a quadriplegic. Now here are some life issues to deal with. This is such an interesting story that I had to grab book two to see what happens next.

Please, if you get the chance, read this book and see how some of the non-rich and famous and gorgeous people find their way to love.

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Misconceptions (It's Complicated)Misconceptions by Erika Land

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Drama. The kind of drama I hate. Drama wrought from jealousy and suspicion. I can’t tell you how often I thought about putting this book down and moving on to another more interesting book. But I was curious to see why the secondary character acted so pitifully ambivalent.

But knowing why brought even more questions. Why, if all that bad stuff happened, could she go to therapy and group sessions and still not tell her partner? Why was she so mean?

This book also had one or more African American lesbians in it. What I found sad was that I just didn’t feel those characteristics were brought up until about halfway through the book. It wasn’t a bad thing. It was just that I assumed we had two characters who were thin, white, and beautiful as most authors think we want to read about. But I, for one, would love to read of ordinary people. People of different colors, different ages. Heck, I spent most of my 66 years reading about the adventures of men. Now that I am reading of diverse women I’d like that pointed out right up front. Kudos for diversity!

But this was a story of what happens when people don’t communicate and let their suspicions and bad emotions lead their lives. I don’t like to be around those kinds of people. I don’t need that kind of drama.

Oh, and another bad thing: cliffhanger. Grrrr! For the jealousy and the cliffhanger I should rate this one star. But for the attempt at diversity and the honest idea that a person can love more than one person at a time (mothers love more than one child!) and for different reasons. But one doesn’t need to be dishonest in it. Communication was what the characters needed to do and to listen to each other.

I can’t decide if I am interested in the next book as I can see more of the emotions reflected in that bonus chapter, just a different character.

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Organization: Declutter: House Cleaning Hacks (Tidying Up House Cleaning Organizing) (Cleaning Reference DIY Projects)Organization: Declutter: House Cleaning Hacks (Tidying Up House Cleaning Organizing) by Hanif Wyatt

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was tucked into Crochet: Knitting: Beginner’s Guide for Crochet (Crochet Sewing Crafts) by Dorothy Smith as a bonus book. I included a bit of a this review on that book. Here’s a bit of what I said:

Yes, this had some good ideas. I especially liked the recipes for household cleaners. Guess, all in all, that was a good idea to include the book here as I was able to read it. Who couldn’t use new housekeeping ideas?

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Crochet: Knitting: Beginner's Guide for Crochet (Crochet Sewing Crafts) (Hobbies DIY Quilting)Crochet: Knitting: Beginner’s Guide for Crochet (Crochet Sewing Crafts) by Dorothy Smith

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Shoot! Darn, this computer without a rechargeable battery! I had nearly finished writing this review when it became unplugged and turned the whole thing off. So let’s see if I can find my way back to this review.

This book promised to be different than the last two books I read on crochet, it said there would be pictures. There were. Just not enough. Since this is for the beginner it should have pictures about the initial loop and foundation chain. The pictures were of swatches of yarn patterns. They were beautiful. Looked like they were done by professionals. Nothing would be more intimidating that seeing those pictures. Better would be pictures of the swatch in progress showing how to hold the hook and move it into the proper places.

This review isn’t finished. But I need to stop writing for the night due to aches and pains from the five-mile walk we just got back from. I will edit and write more here tomorrow. Sorry.

Twenty-four hours later I am ready to attempt this again.

There were all the usual new stitches. No patterns for articles of clothing or anything, Just stitch swatches. Not a bad thing, especially for newbies. But I was hoping for something to make for me. There were new stitches for me to learn, though, so that made me happy.

I would have written this review just as I finished the book, but this one came with two more books. It might have been a good thing if they were more about crochet. But the next one was about housekeeping/organization. Well, for someone with ADD this is a shiny thing that can’t be resisted. So I continued reading/scanning as I went. Yes, this had some good ideas. I especially liked the recipes for household cleaners. And I will copy and paste this part of the review to that book as I already had it. Just hadn’t read it yet. Guess, all in all, that was a good idea to include the book here as I was able to read it. I will keep these books in mind when I am ready for new patterns, new housekeeping ideas… and yes, there was yet another preview.

The preview in the back of the book was Vegan Cookbook. All three of these books need some thought in the title department. Just like the other two books, I already have this book so it was nice to have the chance to see that I will be able to enjoy it later. I wish I were a vegan. I keep trying but I like cheese too much. But it is my aim and I will read this one later and see if it can help me.

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Modern Crochet For Women: 20 Delightful Crochet Projects That Make Your Home The Coziest Place: (Crochet patterns, Crochet books, Crochet for beginners) ... beginner's guide, step-by-step projects)Modern Crochet For Women: 20 Delightful Crochet Projects That Make Your Home The Coziest Place: by Abigail Seiters

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is an example of what most of the free crochet Kindle books are like. There are a lot of patterns and the only picture is the cover. I’m giving this book one extra star, though. Mainly because a few of the titles of the patterns seems to describe the finished product well. Toilet Paper Cover, Pineapple Doily, Kleenex Box Cover. Pretty self-explanatory. In this case, I may try to keep this book handy. Who doesn’t need a cozy for their paper products and a lacy thing to sit under each? Sorry. But just like the books, remember this humor is free. 😉

By the way, I object to the title: Modern Crochet for Women. Many men, who are progressive and crafty love to keep a cozy house and love to crochet. Modern and for Women is archaic. And WRONG!

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Maximum Ride ForeverMaximum Ride Forever by James Patterson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amazon Prime isn’t all it’s supposed to be. Okay, I know that has nothing to do with the book at hand, but it affects how I felt as I went into it. You see, when you have Amazon Prime, you can have a family account. How exciting is that? That means we shouldn’t have to replicate purchases. My husband has a normal amount of books in his Kindle collection. The Maximum Ride Forever was a part of it. I tried to borrow it.

Okay, let me back up here. I have a full public library’s amount of Kindle books and I get more every day. With Prime, my poor husband was getting all my books onto his Fire carousel. So he called Amazon and they worked him through a couple fixes (two phone calls). He thought he had it fixed. But as of that moment, his copy of Maximum Ride Forever disappeared from my carousel with only 15% read. After much hassle, we decided to sign him into my Audible so I could listen to it on my tablet. Phooey with the book. So I spent my day listening to the story while I sewed. Not a bad way to read, huh?

Kasey Lee Huizinga does an amazing job as narrator for the story. She encompasses Max’s attitude. She does all the characters with the acting skills that should be on Broadway. BUT…

I just wasn’t thrilled with yet another Maximum Ride book that seemed the same as the last few. Boring! Even in the height of adventure, even with bad things happening left and right, it seemed the same story as last time and the time before. Sure, it was a distraction I was glad to put my non-sewing mind to. Still, I found myself calling out to the room, “Again?” I know. What do I want for a post-apocalyptic world that still had mutants in it? There were a couple surprises but I shall not place a spoiler here if you can read it and be as surprised as I was with each… bad or good surprises.

By the way, I think that listening to Maximum Ride is far better than reading it. Get the Audible version if you can. Just an FYI: the Kindle version is $9.99. Too high for me. But it does have text-to-speech. It may not be as much fun as with Kasey Lee Huizinga, but it could help the story go faster as you drive and listen.

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