Wyoming Breezes

July 2020 I've listened to several audio books on OverDrive the past four months. If you like suspense and thrillers, you might enjoy reading/listening to books by B.A. Paris.  Behind Closed Doors was good (I finished it on Friday), but it was also one of the most disturbing books I've read. I forced myself to take long breaks because the narrator and plot were so believable. It deals with spousal abuse, and if you've known someone who has been abused, it can hit pretty close to home.  Can you recommend any authors or books that others might enjoy?

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, and enjoyed listening to it as I knit on another scrappy cowl. My laptop is being finicky, so posts will be shorter than usual.

June 2018 I just started listening to The Break Down by B. A. Paris. I hope that it will be a good book to listen to as I knit the Ombre Eyelet Infinity Scarf . (Ravelry link) It's too early to tell if the book and/or the pattern are keepers. The books I've read since the end of May include:             Loving Eleanor by Susan Wittig Albert  👍👍             Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips  👍👍👍👍👍             Go Ask Fannie by Elisabeth Hyde  👍👍👍             "F" is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton  👍👍👍 Fierce Kingdom is a believable and exciting book: if I read the actual book, I'd say it was a "page turner." The story lingered with me for days after I finished it, which doesn't happen often.

May 2018 Books that I've "read" since March:       Stranger in Paradise by Robert B. Parker   👍       Bear Town by Fredrik Backman   👍 👍       The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman   👍       "E" is for Evidence by Sue Grafton   👍       Death in Paradise by Robert B. Parker   👍       A Fine Summer's Day by Charles Todd   👍       The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah  👍       Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr  👍       Cop Town by Karin Slaughter  👍       The Blue Bedroom and Other Stories by Rosamunde Pilcher 👍       The Empty House  by Rosamunde Pilcher 👍       American Fire by Monica Hesse   👍 👍        Get Your Sh*t Together by Sarah Knight   👎 👎       A Superior Death by Nevada Bar...

reading and knitting March 2018 I can't remember whose blog post recommended Donna Tartt's book, The Goldfinch , but I liked it. It is a compelling and sometimes dark story. The plot gets bogged down in several places with unnecessary explanations: in my opinion, large sections could have been cut without changing the story. Be aware, that this book uses the "F" word liberally. Sewing and knitting are wonderful accompaniments to audio books: another pair of socks will soon be finished. Books that I have recently read and recommend:   (books with ** are highly recommended)   ** The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson     Lie in Wait by Eric Richstad     The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech ** A Man Called Ove  by Fredrik Backman     All is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker ** The Story Keeper by Lisa Wingate     The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman     Split Image by Robert B. Parker     Carneg...

scrap sock yarn baby hat February 2018 I'm only a few chapters into The Bookseller, but I can tell this is going to be a good book. Have you read it? The last couple of weeks, while knitting and/or sewing, I read:     New Mercies by Sandra Dallas     67 Shots by Howard Means     A Turn for the Bad by Sheila Connolly     Kickback by Ace Atkins     "B" is for Burgler by Sue Grafton     Madam President by William Hazelgrove     Kiss the Girls by James Patterson     Damned If You Do by Michael Brandman Two of the books ( 67 Shots and Madam President ) are non-fiction. I had forgotten a lot about the Kent State shooting, and 67 Shots jogged my memory of that turbulent time in our nation's history. I learned details that were not available at the time, details that set the stage for this tragedy. Madam President opened my eyes to another historical event: our nation's first female Pres...

The OverDrive App on my iPad is a great knitting/sewing companion. It is easy to download audio books, and the time I spend knitting and sewing flies by. I'm able to get more done when my mind and my hands are occupied.  OverDrive is associated with my local library, and my library card allows me to check out the books for 14 days.  The App works on my phone and my iPad and the two devices sync to keep my place in the recording. I can checkout ebooks, audio books and videos with the OverDrive App. Recently, I've "read" the following books:     "C" is for Corpse - Sue Grafton     Don't Go - Lisa Scottoline     If I Stay - Gayle Forman     Bullseye - David Baldacci     The Devil Wins - Reed Farrel Coleman     "G" is for Gumshoe - Sue Grafton     Goodbye Things - Fumio Sasaki     The Dead Will Tell - Linda Castillo Does your public library give you access to audio books via an App?

Last week, four Quilts of Valor ( Wild and Free , Old Glory , American Valor , and Uncommon Valor ) were returned by two volunteer machine quilters and needed to be bound. While I worked, I listened to audio books ( The 9th Girl by Tami Hoag and Gray Mountain by John Grisham). What do you like to listen to or watch while crafting?

Audio books make reading and knitting simultaneous activities, and I discovered a new option at the library: Play Away books. The books are preloaded on small mp3 players. I just needed to plug in my own headphones or portable speakers. I listened to Bleeding Hearts while working on the cropped cardigan and a baby blanket. I liked the convenience of the preloaded book, but I prefer to use my iPod Shuffle. The Play Away can be paused but turns itself off if left unattended. It did not resume where I left off when I turned it back on; thus, forcing me to search for the proper chapter. When its battery gets low, but not dead, the Play Away will suddenly stop. Despite the frustrations, these Play Away players would be great for someone who does not own their own mp3 player, or someone who does not have the capability to download their own books.

March's reading list was not as impressive as January and February, and as usual, I enjoyed some more than others. I highly recommend the books with four or five stars: they offer more than mere entertainment. The book I enjoyed the most during March was The Gingerbread Girl by Stephen King. This novella, published in 2008, was so unlike all of the other Stephen King books that I've read (nothing other worldly in the pages of this book). It is a good thriller. The bomb of the month was a "mystery" by Carol Higgins Clark , titled Zapped . When I picked up the book, I mistook the author for Mary Higgins Clark, which I later discovered is Carol's mother. Even though this is the eleventh book she has authored (it was published in 2008), she has a lot to learn to match her mother's skills. Carol Higgins Clark has co-authored four novels with her mother, Mary Higgins Clark. Five Stars Sundays at Tiffanys by James Patterson The Gingerbread Girl by Stephen King Fo...

January and February were productive months for reading and listening to books, and as usual, I enjoyed some more than others. I highly recommend the books with four or five stars: they offer more than mere entertainment. Most of the books with three stars or less are considered classics and give a unique perspective of history or other cultures. I enjoyed the stories, but the writing style clearly reflects another era. The worst book I read was 1984 . I found it tedious and felt that Orwell nearly bludgeoned his readers with his message. I understand why the novel is considered a classic, but I would never want to read it again. Here if You Need Me: A True Story was by far the best book I read. By the time I finished, I was sad to leave Kate Braestrup's company and would gladly spend time with this book again. Five Stars Here If You Need Me: A True Story by Kate Braestrup Four Stars World Without End by Ken Follett Three Stars The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne The Alibi Ma...

I am not sure what I expected when I grabbed Here If You Need Me: A True Story off of the library audio shelf, but the book is quite good. The audio version of this book was read by the author, and Kate Braestrup's voice and her words are nearly hypnotic. The reader (listener) is shown several sides of Kate - a loving wife and mother, a grieving widow, a compassionate friend and pastor, and a story teller. After her husband, a Maine state trooper, is killed in an automobile accident, she enters the seminary and becomes a Unitarian chaplain for the Maine Game and Fish Department. She counsels families of individuals who become lost or injured in the Maine wilderness and the wardens, themselves, as they deal with death nearly every day. The message of Here If You Need Me lingers with the readers/listeners and forces them to examine the times in their own lives when others have reached out in love. Watch a short interview with Kate Braestrup

New carpeting is being installed in the local public library, and it has been closed since January 10th. I thought I had checked out enough audio books to see me through the closure. I didn't calculate very well. I searched online for some free audio books and found a few good sites. I downloaded Alice in Wonderland from this site just to see if it would work with my iPod Shuffle. Each chapter is read by a different volunteer. Some are really good readers with expressive voices, and some are almost painful to endure. The good readers do make the tedious ones more bearable, though. The readers are from all over the world: Tokyo, New York City, Longmont, CO, Long Beach, CA, and other locations. One woman's accent was definitely British and made Alice's tale more fun. I have since downloaded Orwell's 1984 from this site , but I haven't started it yet. I hope its reader(s) are consistently enthusiastic and talented. I haven't tried this site yet, but it appears...