The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller

I don't read a lot of mysteries, but this book sounded interesting.  After surviving World War I, Laurence Bartram learns that his old friend John Emmett has apparently killed himself.  Laurence agrees to investigate for John's sister Mary.  But as one of the characters tells Laurence, "You're dogged but you're not a natural detective. . ."  What I liked about this mystery that was different from others I've read was that it presented Laurence's musings about the case as he learned bits and pieces.  Most of those musings turned out to be wrong, but it was interesting to follow.  There is a quote on the cover of the book that states, "The new Birdsong - only better."  I would have to disagree with that statement.  While I basically enjoyed the book and thought it was fairly well written, it was not as good as Birdsong in my opinion.  I rate it 3 out of 5.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

I like baseball, especially college baseball, but I would not have chosen to read a book about baseball if I hadn't read this review by my son.  Of course, he writes real reviews as opposed to the brief summaries and thoughts I write. I happen to think he's a great writer, but then, he's my son, so what else would I think?

Anyway, this book is about much more than baseball. It is the story of a young college shortstop (Henry Skrimshander) who is about to tie the record set by the greatest shortstop of all time for number of games without an error, when he makes a wild throw and hits his teammate in the face.  This error shakes Henry's confidence and has far reaching effects on several other people as well.  The book is all about hopes, anxieties, secrets, ambition, family, friendship, and love.  That's a pretty wide net for a baseball story.  I found it to be very well written and I rate it 4 out of 5.

Draw & Paint Culinary Herbs - Lesson 2

Val Webb calls this technique a "gentle pencil sketch" because you use the pencil so lightly and build up layers for the darks. I sketched this from a reference photo provided by Val.

Draw & Paint Culinary Herbs - Lesson 1

Basic pencil sketch of mint

Sketchbook Challenge - Artist Date

Theme for Sketchbook Challenge this month is Artist Date. I had lunch at Panera for my Artist Date. I enjoyed sitting by the fireplace and sketching.

2012 Challenge Wrap-up and New Challenges for 2013

I participated in two challenges this year:  War Through the Generations Reading Challenge, which had World War I for the theme, and The Sketchbook Challenge, which had a different theme each month.  I am very pleased that I met both challenges.  My goal for the reading challenge was to read 4-10 books, and I actually read 11 books.  My goal for The Sketchbook Challenge was to complete and post at least one sketchbook page per month, and I did this as well.

I will be participating in the same two challenges in 2013.  The War Through the Generations Reading Challenge theme will be the American Revolution, and The Sketchbook Challenge will continue to have a different theme each month.

I have moved the 2012 challenge pages to the Previous Years' Challenges page and set up new pages for 2013 challenges.

Sketchbook Challenge - Gifts

For December's Sketchbook Challenge theme.

Dragon House by John Shors

This book has been on my shelf since 2010, when the theme for the War Through The Generations Reading Challenge was the Vietnam War.  I had trouble finding books I wanted to read that year (at least, books other than those written by Tim O'Brien, whose books I loved).  I didn't get this one read during the year of the challenge, but I finally decided to read it this month.

Iris travels to Vietnam with Iraq war veteran and childhood friend Noah to finish building a center for street children that Iris's father had begun.  Iris's father had fought in the Vietnam War when Iris was a child, and right before he dies, Iris promises him that she will go to Vietnam to complete his center.  I had read Beneath a Marble Sky by the same author and really liked it, but I was disappointed in this one.  I didn't think it was as well written, the story was a bit too predictable, and the characters were flat.  I rate it 2 out of 5.

Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas

Eighty-six year old Hennie Comfort moved to the rugged mining town of Middle Swan, Colorado, as a young widow, shortly after the end of the Civil War.  It is now 1936, in the midst of the Great Depression, and 17 year old Nit Spindle has just moved here with her husband.  They form an unlikely but close friendship almost immediately.  I found the story, and the writing, to be mediocre.  I rated it 2 out of 5.

Happy Holidays

Our holiday card this year (2012).

The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin

This is the second book by this author that I've read; the first was Mistress of the Art of Death, which I reviewed here.  I really enjoyed the first book, which is why I decided to read this one.  And while I liked this book fairly well, I didn't think it was as good as the first one.  It might have been because I'm not a huge fan of mysteries, and this was more about the mystery and less about the characters than the first book.  Adelia (who is the mistress of the art of death) is commanded by King Henry II to find the murderer of his favorite mistress, Rosamund Clifford.  Henry's estranged wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, is the prime suspect.  I rate this book 2 out of 5.

Sketchbook Challenge - Spice of Life

Pumpkin pie is one of my favorites - especially using my mother-in-law's recipe. It seems the perfect entry for November's Sketchbook Challenge theme of Spice of Life.

Strange Meeting by Susan Hill

I've read several good WWI books for my reading challenge this year (The Light Between Oceans, The Summer of Katya (WWI was a small part of each of these books), and Birdsong to name a few), but this ranks right up there near the top.

John Hilliard has been wounded and spends some time recuperating at home.  He finds that he can not bear to be at home where no one understands what it is like at the front.  When he returns to the front, he knows very few of the officers left in his unit; most have been killed or disabled in the fighting.  He must share space with a newly arrived officer, David Barton.  At first Hilliard is angry about this; he wants to be alone.  But Barton and Hilliard become very close friends, even though they are very different.  Hilliard is very proper and straight laced and has never had a close friend, while Barton is very friendly and outgoing and everyone likes him.  There are scenes of life in the trenches and of fighting and even of the boredom in between the action.  But mostly it is about the friendship between these two men.  I enjoyed the writing style very much; it was easy to read and lyrical without being overdone.  I rate it 4 out of 5.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

I like books that start with a historical event, change something about it, and then build a story from it.  This book is based on the premise that Jewish refugees created a temporary safe haven in the Federal District of Sitka, Alaska, after the Holocaust and the collapse of Israel in 1948.  Now, 60 years later, the District will be reverting to Alaskan control.

Meyer Landsman is a homicide detective whose life is a mess. He and his partner, Berko Shemets, have quite a few unsolved cases they are trying to wrap up before Reversion.  And to make matters worse, a murder occurred in the fleabag hotel in which Landsman currently lives.  The story was interesting and enjoyable enough, but it was overwritten.  There is a review on Goodreads that puts it very succinctly:

"You know that fashion rule where, before you leave the house, you're supposed to quickly turn to a mirror and then take off the first accessory that catches your eye? Well, I feel like Chabon should have done that with his prose, which is sometimes so ridiculously overwritten and boastful that it ruined an otherwise pretty interesting story."  Edan Lepucki

Overall, I rated it 3 out of 5.

Quilting Retreat

This small pumpkin was part of the table decorations for our retreat.

Taking a Break

Journaling reads, ". . . from shopping. Since I was at Food Pyramid, I could get a mocha from Starbucks and sketch this pepper, which is for the chili we're having for dinner. Oh, and cornbread. Yum!" Sketched straight to pen.

Sketchbook Challenge - Cabinet of Curiosities

I don't have an actual cabinet in which to store my curiosities, so I use a wooden box (which I guess I need to sketch too). Sketchbook Challenge October 2012 theme.

Our Big Adventure

I didn't even know what this piece of equipment was as I was sketching it. It was much more rusted than it looks in my sketch, but I didn't have a lot of time - I was just glad to get as much of it done as I did.

Devils Den Trees

So pleasant sitting outside to sketch.

Devils Den Fireplace Cabin 9

Sketching fireplaces and floorplans is becoming a habit. :)

Devils Den Door Cabin 2

After a long day, I wanted to sketch something - anything. I started with the door handle, not intending to fill the page with the door, but that's what happened.

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

When Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia after World War I, he takes a job as a lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, an isolated island off the western coast.  He hopes the isolation will help him to heal from the war.  While on leave back to the mainland, he meets Isabel Graysmark.  The two fall in love and marry.  One day, very shortly after Isabel has had a stillbirth (following two earlier miscarriages), a boat washes to shore with a dead man and a live baby.  Isabel convinces Tom, against his better judgement, to keep the baby and claim her as their own.  This lie has devastating effects on everyone involved.  The book is a reminder that there are many shades of gray between right and wrong and there are no easy answers in life.  It was very well written and I rate it 4 out of 5.  The moral dilemma reminded me of The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards.

Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold

The subtitle of this book is A Novel Inspired by the Life & Marriage of Charles Dickens.  I've actually never read any Charles Dickens, although I've seen several movies based on his novels.  I really enjoyed the book, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed it even more if I had.  There were many references to his writings with names changed.  This made it a bit of a guessing game for me, but the story was strong enough even without knowing all of the references.  The book is narrated by Dorothea Gibson, estranged wife of Alfred Gibson, and begins with Alfred's death.  Dorothea looks back over her life, both with and without Alfred.  It was this author's first book, and I thought it was very well written.  I rate it 4 out of 5.

Pemberley Ranch by Jack Caldwell

Another book I chose to read after reading several reviews of it on War Through The Generations blog.  I didn't like the book as much as the other reviewers did.  It was a re-imagining of Pride and Prejudice, set in Texas right after the end of the US Civil War.  This is the first retelling of Pride and Prejudice that I've read (there are a LOT of them), and it's been 4 years since I read Pride and Prejudice (which I've only read once and really liked).  I wanted to like this book, but I didn't think it was very well written.  There were cliches and colloquialisms and the dialogue didn't ring true with me. The story was all right, but not great.  Overall, I rate it 2 out of 5.

The Summer of Katya by Trevanian

I decided to read this book because of a review posted by Semicolon at War Through the Generations blog.  It is set in France in 1914, right before the start of World War I.  Dr. Jean-Marc Montjean, a recent graduate of medical school, works for the only doctor in the small village of Salies.  He falls in love with Katya Treville, a beautiful young woman, after treating her twin brother's injured arm.  Katya's brother warns Montjean to stay away from Katya, but Montjean is convinced that Katya returns his affections.  He soon realizes that the Treville family has been running from an old secret.  It was a well written story that was part mystery, part love story, and part psychological drama.  I didn't think that World War I was either a primary or secondary theme of the novel, but since a review was posted on the War Through the Generations blog, I'm counting it for my reading challenge.  I rate it 4 out of 5.

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

I finished this a couple of weeks ago and am just now getting around to writing about it. It was the story of four Englishwomen who spend a month's holiday together in a beautiful Italian villa. They didn't know each other before their holiday. This could have been a recipe for disaster, but instead it was a sweet story; a little too sweet for my taste actually. It was too much like a fairy tale with everyone living happily ever after.  I rate it 2 out of 5.

Sketchbook Challenge - Pattern

My DH brought me this pine cone to sketch so I had to sketch it - I want to encourage that behavior! It is also the perfect subject for the current month's sketchbook challenge theme of pattern. This is the first page in a new sketchbook I made a couple of weeks ago, so I'm also trying out a new (to me) paper - Arches En-Tout-Cas. It is cold pressed on one side and hot pressed on the other side. This is the cold pressed side. So far so good.

Round and Round I Go

I finished all of my decorative stitching on the little quilt I started in Jane Sassaman's class. Now I just have to quilt and bind it.

Reflections on Sunflowers

I used fabric from Jane Sassaman's line and a pattern from her newest book, Patchwork Sassaman Style. I hurried to finish it because I'm taking classes from her in a few days at the Oklahoma Quilters State Organization's Fall Retreat.

The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey

I decided to read this book after reading reviews of it on the War Through The Generations blog.  In order to count towards the reading challenge, WWI should be a primary or secondary theme.  While parts of the book occurred during WWI, it really didn't seem like either a primary or a secondary theme to me.  But since both hostesses of the challenge (Anna Horner and Serena Agusto-Cox) counted it, I guess I can count it too.

The book is a historical novel set in early 20th century Northern Ireland.  I didn't know much (or any) Irish history, so I learned a lot about Ireland's struggle for independence from Great Britain, the formation of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and the partitioning of Ireland into Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.  The main character, Eileen O'Neill, was a very strong, opinionated, and defiant young woman.  I sometimes got tired of how angry she was much of the time, although much of her anger was justified.  The love story portion was a bit too predictable for me, but otherwise I enjoyed the book.  I rate it 3 out of 5.