NQAC: Biweekly Update #23: Back Home for Christmas Preparations and Crafting

I was off to Montana for the week, but now I'm back to blogging (even though my body thinks it's hibernation time). I didn't take advantage of the Black Friday/Thursday sales- I really didn't see anything worth buying this year, but then I'm buying for specific people who I have rather niche ideas for as far as gifts. Cyber Monday may be more my speed- I'll just have to see what deals will be available then.

Recent Acquisitions (or the Piling of the-Piles):

the-pile Additions:

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
This was popular roughly ten years ago, and I've been wanting to pick it up since then due to its lovely cover.

A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers by John Johnson Craighead

My mom and I like to know all the plants when we go walking, so this will come in handy. I read through it the other day and was able to identify some of the plants I've been wondering about.

Wolfskin (The Light Isles #1) by Juliet Marillier
A fantasy book with wolfhounds/deerhounds on the cover? That's auto-buy bait for me.

In the Walled Gardens by Anahita Firouz
I picked this one up since it was set in Iran. The Travel the World in Books Challenge has increased my book hoarding...

A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve
Anita Shreve is one of my favorite authors, despite having very hit-and-miss books. Hopefully this one will be a hit- it's set in Kenya.

the-invisible-pile Additions:

City of Stairs (The Divine Cities #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

This one has been on my wishlist for some time now and recently went on sale. I can't wait to read it, though I may be trudging through some other books first.

Currently Reading:

The Red Knight (The Traitor Son Cycle #1) by Miles Cameron
I have a theme with my currently reading reads this week: they're both highly adored on Goodreads and they're both going very slowly now that I've gotten 'into' them. The Red Knight is irking me with it's random perspective changes- the author tells you who it is, but all I want to do is smack my head and scream "Not again!". There is such a thing as too many perspectives, and this book may have that issue in my case.

Desert Bound (Cambio Springs #2) by Elizabeth Hunter
I'm not sure why, but this book is getting on my nerves. Maybe it's the focus on shifter politics/dominance which is the sort of thing that usually rubs me the wrong way, or maybe it's too much of a mystery type book. I'll finish this one off, but it's beginning to irk me.

Finished These Books:

Radiance (Wraith Kings #1) by Grace Draven

Not what I expected it to be, but that's okay. This year I've had a lot of trouble with having high expectations- I still have only rated one book this year 5 Stars, and I've read a fair share so far (80+). I wanted to love this one, but it didn't quite hit the mark with me.

Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal by Ben Macintyre

So this began with bang, lagged heavily in the middle, but finished with panache. Definitely a recommendable nonfiction as long as you're willing to trudge through the excess detail.

The Dragon and the Pearl (Tang Dynasty #2) by Jeannie Lin 

A nice change of pace from your average historical romance. A former concubine is kidnapped by a warlord seeking to protect and/or use her for his political ambitions. I love that although some dynamics are the same as a Regency romance, it's still a lot different (as in, more action than your average romance). There were a few things I would've tweaked in this book, but it was pretty great overall.

Clean Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #1) by Ilona Andrews

What an adorable urban fantasy with a touch of sci-fi! I didn't realize how much I'd enjoy it based on the description and cover, but this one was really a gem. I'm looking forward to the next installment! I won't be doubting Ilona Andrews again!

In the Blogosphere:

None this week since I haven't been bookmarking/saving links diligently enough.

In My Life:

Christmas Preparations:

Outdoor/Porch Decorations

When we bought our house, it was covered in Christmas lights. Since the house was built in 1903, I've always felt the Christmas lights were gaudy, so I've always used ribbons instead. Someday I may add some evergreen garland, but for now it's very candy cane-ish. Poor Caucasian babydoll Jesus looks a little out of place, though.

The Tree Sans Decorations

Since we've gotten George, I've been anticipating his shenanigans during the holiday season because cats like Christmas trees a little too much. I haven't put any decorations on the tree yet, but I expect he'll be very interested in the shiny/sparkly ornaments, since he has a tendency to steal jewelry from my mother.

Crafting/Querkles/Desserts:

I began weaving a scarf for my mom with some black, gray, and white yarn. George enjoys trying to eat at my hands while I'm weaving, leading to a few time-outs.

I started my next Querkle, which will be varying shades of black to blue to aqua:

And on the holiday dessert front, my mom and I made our first batch of lefse without help from the lefse guardians (my grandmother and her sister):

For those not in the know, lefse is a Scandinavian dessert specialty that would be somewhat similar to a tortilla made of potatoes, but instead of a savory dish it is a dessert. You butter it then sprinkle it with sugar, roll it up, and eat it. It's the most honest cookie, since you add most of the butter and sugar afterwards, while other cookies disguise their devastating dietary blows.

Did you find any good bookish Black Friday/Thursday sales? Which holiday desserts will you be cooking/baking?

SFF: The 5 Characters from Books You're Grateful For

The Sunday Fun Five #41

Sunday Fun 5:

#35: The 5 Reasons You Choose Not to Read a Book
#36: The 5 Types of Reading Slumps Every Reader Suffers From
#37: The 5 Foods You've Read About in Books, But Want to Try In Real Life

#38: The 5 Scary-Sounding Books You Want to Read
#39: The 5 Scary Movies You Want to Read the Book Version Of
#40: The 5 Books You Want to Read Before 2015 Ends
#41: The 5 Characters from Books You're Grateful For
For the 6th of December: #42: The 5 Bookish Charities Santa Claus Approves Of

A Countdown of

 The 5 Characters from Books You're Grateful For

(With short and sweet explanations.)

Image from Fanpop

5. Harry Potter of The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
The Boy Who Lived represents the hero in all of us, whether we happen to be kids or adults.

4. Meg Corbyn from The Others Series by Anne Bishop
Because not all heroines are fearless and physically 'bulletproof'.

3. Aerin of The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
A dragon-slaying independent heroine who taught me girls can do whatever they choose to, on their own.

From the movie version

2. Odd Thomas of The Odd Thomas Series by Dean Koontz
Sometimes the best heroes start out flipping pancakes.

1. Lisbeth Salander of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
We can't all be perfect, and Lisbeth is perfectly imperfect.

Which characters are you thankful for? What traits do you love most about them?

Querkles: A Fun Spin on Adult Coloring!

As a fan of adult coloring, I've been searching for more fun novelty books to color, so when I began thinking of what I wanted for Christmas, I scoured the online stores for a new coloring book. This one caught my eye, since I am a lover of old films and pop art. My mother bought it as an early Christmas gift (since I am generally a hard-to-buy-for person), and I quickly started my own Querkle Icon portrait.

Front and Back of Cover

Querkles is basically a 'paint by numbers' but more whimsical, since the sections to color in are made of circles. And instead of having to wait for paint to dry (impossible for me), you can use pencils or markers to color these in. Since I've already acquired a hoard of colored pencils, I chose to use those, though the nice thing about Querkles is each portrait gets it's own page (the page on the other side of the portrait is blank), and it is easy to tear out if you don't wish to color it in the book, making it easier for those of you who like markers to not have collateral damage AKA bleed through.

Another thing that makes this coloring book unique is you only need 5 shades/colors to do an entire page in this book (there are twenty portraits in my Icons book). For those of you color lovers out there, that may seem restrictive, but you have a lot of fun finding the right shades. It took me a couple tries- I even made another color chart with darkest to lightest in each color group before choosing my colors.

Marilyn Monroe Portrait, prior to coloring:

I chose to start with Amy Winehouse for my first Querkle Icons portrait. Since I am a perfectionist, I chose to take the mystery away by looking at the index of portraits in the back of the book, though some portraits, despite their befuddling beginning patterns, I could tell who the portraits depicted. I chose my colors around Amy's penchant for wearing red and yellow. I began with the darkest shade (1) and went to the lightest (5). Here is some of that transformation:

Tips:

-Choose your colors beforehand, even if you choose to not know which portrait you are coloring.

-I went from darkest to lightest, doing one section/color at a time- I highly recommend that approach. Otherwise you may get confused or even a bit overwhelmed.

-Like any puzzle, it's easier to start at the edges- trace the inner outline of the area you wish to color (like the 1 section, 2 section, etc.) and then fill it in. It gives you a barrier just in case you have a penchant to get outside the lines.

-Know your pencils/markers before you choose them. For example, my darkest shade I chose was a pain to work with- I'd rated the brand lowest in my Color Me Happy guide due to its belligerence. And yet, I still chose it to do the largest swathe of color in the portrait. I struggled with it needlessly, when I should've chosen another pencil from the start to work with.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys adult coloring with a healthy dose of pop culture portraits that remind one of Sixties style pop art. There is another Querkles book out there if you don't like portraits: Querkles Masterpieces, which I am coveting as I write this. I was impressed with the variety of people portrayed in this book- it is pretty diverse for even a regular book, though the cover/back and my initial portrait choice doesn't do credit to that. For a full list of people portrayed in this coloring book, highlight below (they are in no particular order, so the mystery/puzzle is preserved slightly):

Amy Winehouse, Marilyn Monroe, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, James Dean, Che Guevara, Jimi Hendrix, Groucho Marx, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Nelson Mandela, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frida Kahlo, Janis Joplin, Princess Diana, Audrey Hepburn, Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Taylor

P.S. Although this seems like a sponsored post, I'm just completely obsessed over this book right now and had to share how much I adore it. If you wish to see the complete page of completed Querkles portraits as seen in the back of this coloring book, PM me on Twitter or email me.

Happy Coloring!