I thought I would share some of my holiday reading with you... First up is Red Bones by Ann Cleeves.
What could be more perfect for a knitter on holiday in Shetland, than a murder mystery set in Whalsay (one of the Shetland Islands)? This is the book that this autumn's BBC drama Shetland is based on. Knitters of the world - this 2-part series is one not to miss!
The book was perfect holiday reading. It's not high literature, and I was surprised at the lack of even common Shetland words until quite late in the book. I didn't find the dialogue to be that believable in places - mostly as a result of the use of "little" rather than "peerie" etc... But having said that, I enjoyed it, and have added Cleeves' other Shetland novels to my reservation list at the library.
The other book I read was Bowling Avenue by Ann Shayne.
What a pleasure this was! I have long been a fan of the Mason-Dixon Knitting blog. Kay and Ann's repartee has made me coffee-snort into my keyboard more times that I care to mention. So when Ann first mentioned that she was finishing writing a novel, my ears pricked up.
The story is set against the backdrop of Nashville, Tennessee during the floods of 2010, and centres around the house belonging to Delia's (the central character) sister Ginna (who is dead). I was really charmed by the personalities in the book, and willed them to find ways to reconnect with each other. I hope it's not taken the wrong way if I say that I bought the book out of solidarity and wanting to support someone whose work I admire. However, I'm reviewing the book here and encouraging you to buy it because I fell a bit in love with it. There is knitting content, but it forms part of the backdrop to the story rather than the contrived basis that is sometimes the case in knitting novels. Fans of the M-D blog will recognise the knitting scenario. The memory made me giggle at first, but this was soon forgotten as I got more engrossed. I was sad to reach the last page and I do hope that Ann will write another book soon. It was a pleasure to read.
That's all for now. There may be another FO (finished object) at some point this week, as I'm speeding through my Oh Deer mittens. Progress is a little slower now that I don't have the encouragement of the Olympics, but I should make it. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Red Bones by Ann Cleeves; published by Pan books; ISBN 978-0-330-44826-0; £7.99; purchased from Hunting Raven books in Frome
Bowling Avenue by Ann Shayne; published by Chenille Press; ISBN 9780985210007; I paid £10.48 at Amazon.co.uk (as my local bookshop weren't able to order it for me)
