{read: romp through history} Centuries of June by Keith Donohue

A man gets up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom but falls and hits his head. As he tries to figure out what happened, he is interrupted by seven different women from different centuries, all with a story to tell -- and all with murder in their hearts. I am often impatient with the story-within-a-story structure (think of I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb) but in this case, the stories were so well-written and the characters so engaging that I found myself looking forward to the next one. Donohue made the connections between the stories flow so that it all came together naturally. After reading several books that seem to be no more than very loosely linked short stories billed as novels, I was glad that this romp through American history read like one cohesive story.

I had read Donohue's first book (The Stolen Child) several years ago, and I remember thinking that it was dark and sad. This is neither - an enjoyable read.

Centuries of June by Keith Donohue (Crown Publishers, 2011)
My rating: 4 stars

{crafts} Yoga Mat Bag

Over the weekend I pulled out some batik material that I had made a while back. It got me inspired to do it again. I love the way a finished piece of batik fabric looks, but I never know what to do with it. Then I found this Yoga Mat bag tutorial. I think the batik fabric would work great with a project like this one:

http://www.craftbits.com/project/yoga-mat-bag

This project shows you how to make a basic yoga mat bag. It's a great way to keep your bag clean and rolled up in between classes. Before you begin you will need to measure your yoga mat. Roll up your Yoga mat and measure the length of it and the circumference and add 3 inches (7.5cm)for the seams and add an additional 3 inches (7.5cm) to the length for the drawstring top. Fabric 1: My mat is 21 inch (53cm)in length and has a circumference of 20 inches(50cm). My fabric needs to be : 27 inches (68cm) by 23 inches(58.5cm). Strap: Your strap needs to be the same length as your yoga mat bag which is 27inches (68cm). You can use wide ribbon, binding, string or make a strap using the same fabric bu cutting a 27inch(68cm) by 4 inch (20cm) piece out and sewing it into a tube to form the strap. Fabric 2: You will need a circle for the base of the bag. This should measure the circumference of your mat 20 inches (50cm)and allow a 2 inch (5cm) seam. Cut a 22inch (56cm)Circle out of fabric. Hem C line first. Sew A & B together to form a tube remembering to leave the hem line open. Sew strap ends to E & F. Pin the bottom of the tube to G then sew together. Thread your cord through the C hem. Turn your bag the right way out and you are finished.

{a thought for Thursday} Spaghetti and writing

"Writing a novel is like carrying around armfuls of spaghetti and meatballs without a bowl." -- Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

{wordless wednesday} Wedding flowers

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

These beautiful wedding flowers were grown by my sister-in-law! What a fun day it was!

{read: snippets from a debut novel} Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman

I've just started this, but it's so good so far that I wanted to share a few snippets in hopes of enticing some of you to read it before my review comes along.

Harri has recently emigrated from Ghana to London lives with his mother and sister in its housing projects. He's in Year 7. As the story opens, one of his classmates has been murdered.

Here are the snippets:

"I pretended like if I kept looking hard enough I could make the blood move and go back in the shape of a boy. I could bring him back alive that way."

"In England there's a hell of different words for everything. If's for if you forget one, there's always another one left over. It's very helpful."

"An orange lady got hit by a tro-tro, nobody even saw it coming. I pretended like all the oranges rolling everywhere were her happy memories and they were looking for a new person to stick to so they didn't get wasted."

{His friend Manik's father shows him how to tie a tie and how to take it off without untying it.}
"Now I'll never have to tie my tie my whole life. I beat the tie at his own game!"

If you liked Incendiary by Chris Cleave or Room by Emma Donoghue, this will be one you'll enjoy. I can't wait to read more.

{crafts} What we are Lovin'

Cat Stuff- Catnip Bone

Plush Dachshund MIMI the Wiener Dog

Black Cat Primitive Doll - Halloween Folk Art Doll - Made to Order

{a thought for Thursday} Travel on the couch

“Life is limited, but by writing, and reading, we can live in different worlds, get inside the skins and minds of other people, and, in this way, push out the boundaries of our own lifes.” — Joan Lingard