Category: Books

Books

Review of Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

cherylcan

content

Dutch author Heuvelt’s English-language debut novel is called Hex. It is about a town haunted by a 17th-century witch, Katheryn van Wyler. Townsfolk uncover the true face of evil—and it’s not supernatural.

I loved this book. It was recommended to me by a friend and I am so glad. I had kind of gotten away from this type of book but a great read like this one really got me back into it. Although it is scary, the worst part of the story is the social implications of the terror people feel not how scary the witch is. Heuvelt is so good at getting into people’s heads to  how they would react and cope with the supernatural curse on their town. These psychological impacts are so well written and feel true. People are at their most scared here, so there are dizzying arrays of reactions.

The story is a slow burn set in present day. Give it a chance.  Thomas sets the stage by slowly revealing the fate of Katheryn, and why she cursed this town. The elders of the present day have a web lockdown on the town to keep track of their witch as well as to contain the curse. As is human nature, the young adults of the town are chafing against the strict protocols designed to keep the town and all its people safe. Their normal exploration of boundaries leads the entire town down a dark and dangerous path.

Some of the first people we meet are the Grant family. They moved into Black Spring not realizing that once there they could never move out. We get to explore their experience and eventual decision to have children. Tyler, one of their children, is my favourite character in the book. It may be because reminds me of my middle son. He is not a bad kid but has been raised to think for himself, so is now pushing his own agenda as only an idealistic young adult will. I really could see how the situations in the book could happen. The characters rang true to me. Especially, the scenes where parents who knew the rules, still protected their offspring from the consequences of their rash decisions.

If you like a psychological thrill laced with a bit of the supernatural and lots of social commentary, then this book is for you. I hope you enjoy it.

 

 

 

Books, CAWcreations Pattern, CAWcreationsPodcast, CBC, knitting

June 7, 2017 CAWcreations E5: Cheryl’s Song

cherylcan

DreamingoftheSea

Podcast about knitting and the books I am reading.

You can find me on:
Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/people/Cherylcan
Ravelry Group: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/cawcrea…
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cherylcan/?…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cwartman

0:32 Fleece & Harmony mentioned me in their recent blog post,

WIPs
2:00 Opal vanilla sock using 3mm double pointed needles not sure of color,
3:23 Vicky’s Lionheart Quick Knit Afghan for graduation using Premier Yarns Sweet Roll in Frosty Swirl,Ice pop, Grape Swirl, and Raspberry Swirl  and a 15mm circular needles,
5:05 Ironheart by Tin Can Knits from Heart on My Sleeve Collection using Knit Picks Gloss DK and 3.5 mm circular needles,
6:40 Gingerbread by Libby Jonson using Madelinetosh Tosh DK in Coal seam and Bayview Fiber Arts Swing Bridge DK in Barn board, and 4 mm circular needles,
7:30 Gavin’s Blanket (Throw) by CAWcreations using Knit Picks Dishie Solids in Clementine and 4.5 mm circular needles.

8:35 Book: Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt is a spooky read. It focuses on a town, Black Spring, that is haunted by a witch. The curse means that residents cannot take prolonged vacations and are tied to the town. They also have high tech surviellance tracking the witch. I really enjoyed the contrast of how the adults versus the high school children felt about their restrictions. As with any great book, the focus is on the characters reactions to their environment which push the plot forward. It is a great book so far but I will add full review on this site when I finish the book.

What’s Happening:
9:26 Lucy the Duck moves her duckings story
10:20 Cheryl’s Song by Tim Wartman or check it out at: https://youtu.be/DmrpCvObsNc

Books, CAWcreations Pattern, CAWcreationsPodcast, knitting

2017 April 23 CAWcreations Episode 3

cherylcan

It is snowing on PEI this morning April 23, 2017, so I recorded CAWcreations Episode 3. This week along with knitting, I talk about:

  • My First KAL (Knit Along) including my “I like your sweater” fan girl moment,
  • Fleece & Harmony yarn,
  • PEI Burger Love,
  • Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,
  • Jonah Days / Projects, and
  • PEI Burger Love.

2017_CAWcreationsPic

I had to start and end the video with clips of Molly, my dog, and I out in the snow on Sunday morning. It did warm up later so the snow did not last.

2:25 FOs (Finished Objects)

  • Perfect socks
    • Ian’s socks to go with his overalls using My Colour Wheelhouse in their walking after midnight colour. It is a merino/silk blend so soft and the colours are perfect. I used 2.0 mm (US 0) needles to knit the socks with 44 sts in a K2 P2 rib and a heel flap heel. After completion, I used 3D fabric paint to put his name on the sole so that he would not slide around on his floors.
  • My Jonah Project:
    • Unfortunately, Ian’s overalls do not fit. The pants are perfect but the top not so much. I am going to have to get back the project and convert them to pants. I think that will work well.
    • In honour of  my reread of Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery, I am calling this my “Jonah Project”. A “Jonah day” is a reference to the prophet Jonah from the Old Testament of the Bible and is used by Anne to describe a day where everything has gone wrong. Jonah, in incurring the wrath of God for not carrying out his mission, was thrown overboard at sea and swallowed by a whale.

4:22 WIPS (Works in Progress):

7:55 Projects to Cast on:

14:17 Sweater KAL: I Like Your Sweater

  • To qualify you must :
    • Knit an adult sized sweater (must have sleeves and be made in an adult size other than that I am very fluid in my definition of a sweater)
    • Finish it between April 20th, and October 20th, 2017
    • Must be a member of the CAWcreations Ravelry group to be eligible for prizes (Prizes will be announced at a later date).
  • Discussed my “I like your sweater.” fan girl moment with the Yarn Harlot.

16:04 CAWcreations Pattern: Gavin’s Blanket Progress

16:15 Books: Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

18:22 PEI Burger Love: PEI Brewing Company Red Eye Burger

Have a wonderful couple of weeks, and remember as Anne says:

"Every morn is a fresh beginning,
Every morn is the world made new,"

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Books, CAWcreations Pattern, CBC, knitting, PEI

CAWcreations Podcast Episode 1

cherylcan

Welcome to CAWcreations Podcast Episode 1!

2017_CAWcreationsPic

Cherylcan on Instagram and Ravelry, and

CAWcreations for published patterns.

FO (Finished Object starts at 1:15 of video)

WIPs (Works In Progress starts at 2:18 of video)

Atlantic Canadian Yarn Company – Turtlepurl (starts at 10:44 of video)

  • Amazing colours of self-striping yarns. Colours are hand painted.
  • Comes in two skeins for those of you who do two at a time socks. It makes a perfectly matched pair.
  • The wool comes in a hank of 4 ply 75% superwash merino 25% nylon sock yarn. It knits up quite soft but is durable for everyday wear.
  • I love this yarn and have multiple colours in my stash at all times.

CAWcreations Pattern – Gavin’s Blanket (starts at 14:44 of video)

  • Baby blanket is linked above. The full size I need to correct a bit.
  • Made with Knit Picks Dishie yarn. It is a great durable cotton.

Books I have read (starts at 17:36 of video)

  • 2084 by Boualem Sansal
    • Opens with the main character in a sanatorium up in the mountains. Even in this secluded spot the reader becomes aware of how grim the world is.
    • I do not want to give too much of the plot away, but with all the hype from the French edition of the book, I expected much more. I was disappointed and found that 2084 did not add as much to the genre of distopian novels as I expected it would. I really wanted to love this book.
  • Next podcast I will be looking at Quantum Night by Robert Sawyer. One of my favourite authors. I am really excited about this book.

Blather (starts at 19:20 of video)