The Silkworm

"Someone bloody famous," said the hoarse voice on the end of the line, "better've died, Strike."

The large unshaven man tramping through the darkness of predawn, with his telephone clamped to his ear, grinned.

"It's in that ballpark."

"It's six o'clock in the (expletive) morning!"

"It's half past, but if you want what I've got, you'll need to come and get it," said Cormoran Strike. "I'm not far away from your place. There's a —"

"How'd you know where I live?" demanded the voice.

"You told me," said Strike, stifling a yawn. "You're selling your flat."

"Oh," said the other, mollified. "Good memory."

"There's a twenty-four-hour caff—"

"(Expletive) that. Come into the office later—"

"Culpepper, I've got another client this morning, he pays better than you do and I've been up all night. You need this now if you're going to use it."

A groan. Strike could hear the rustling of sheets.

"It had better be (expletive)-hot."

"Smithfield Café on Long Lane," said Strike and rang off.
― Robert Galbraith, The Silkworm

I haven't read Harry Potter, but I certainly enjoy J. K. Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith. The Cuckoo's Calling is the first in this series, a book that completely absorbed me. The reviews about this second book in the series are even more glowing. Books to enjoy!

 

“Hard to remember these days that there was a time you had to wait for the ink and paper reviews to see your work excoriated. With the invention of the internet, any subliterate cretin can be Michiko Kakutani.”
― Robert Galbraith, The Silkworm

 



Color Help!

 

 

 

 

 

 These squares are my "off the grid" knitting project. I knit these when I want a break from another project, when I'm at Coors Field watching the Rockies, when I'm at the lake and relaxing on the boat.  They are for this afghan which I plan to make as a smaller throw.

 

 True to form, I wandered off from the pattern and am using various designs for the squares including, of course, some from the pattern. This color of light brown-gray is truer than in the first picture, although it is still a bit too dark.

 

This is as far as I've gotten with color selections for this neutral palette--cream and beigey-ness. I'm thinking of adding one or two more colors, but can't settle on anything. Tried a couple of shades of gray--nope, nope, nope. Tried a rich burgundy--also, nope. Not sure about green. Muted? Medium? Rich? Uh...help?

 

**What colors would you add for this throw? I really am interested in any suggestions you offer!**

 



 

I am reading This Town by Mark Leibovich, which I blogged about here. I am skimming sections of the extended gossip in some parts. However, it is interesting and disconcerting to read about the many barnacles attached to the ship of state.

The Vacationers

The Vacationers by Emma Straub
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"She’d read all of Jane Austen that year—Austen was good, but when you told people you liked Pride and Prejudice, they expected you to be all sunshine and wedding veils, and Sylvia preferred the rainy moors. The Brontës weren’t afraid to let someone die of consumption, which Sylvia respected."

Despite the topics of adultery, unsettled young adult children, and relationship woes, this book is charming, witty, and engaging. I chuckled. I laughed out loud and think the story is clever and delightful.

Family and friends load up their baggage, in various forms, and fly off to Majorca for a two-week vacation. It's all about people sorting things out in their lives. From the teen heading off to college to the gay couple who are madly, deeply in love--the characters are fully drawn and supply a wealth of angst as well as amusement.

This quick read will bring a smile to your face. The title tells you---perfect summer read! Enjoy!

View all my reviews



This Town by Mark Leibovich

 "Prologue

June 2008

Tim Russert is dead. But the room was alive.

You can't work it too hard at a memorial service, obviously. It's the kind of thing people notice. But the big-ticket Washington departure rite can be such a great networking opportunity. You can almost feel the ardor behind the solemn faces: lucky stampedes of power mourners, about two thousand of them, wearing out the red-carpeted aisles of the Kennedy Center."

::: It's an ugly truth, isn't it? :::

Would you read this book? 

 

 

 

http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/

http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/

                                   

http://www.rosecityreader.com/

Lydia Prayer Shawl



 My sister, who lives way across the country to the southeast of me, requested a prayer shawl for a lady who is receiving chemo for lung cancer. I feel so honored to be asked to make a shawl to bless and comfort her. The pattern is the "Lydia Shawl", simple and fast yet very pretty.

 To the stash! This is S. Charles Collezione Mosaic in red tweed, a discontinued yarn. It is 83% wool with polymide and acrylic. Note the very thin black threads running through the red. That thread has the colorful bits that make the tweedy part of this yarn which waited in stash since 2002 for just this project of blessing.

 I am using a size H hook to make it open with a gentle drape. It gets very hot and humid where she lives, so nix to anything too bulky.

The teardrop shape of the center open work line is very eye-appealing made a with sc and dc pattern. It looks large in the picture, but I have quite a bit more to crochet. It's repetitive and moves along fairly quickly.

 



http://tamisamis.blogspot.com/



 :: What are you making?? ::