black_cat_aoife

No I haven't forgotten. I will actually try to go through with this...unless either my head or my desk give in before the last chapter.


( Off to the fun in chapter three )

So, I'll give it a try. I have no idea how this will turn out as so far I have only sporked fanfic which mostly sporked itself.

Anyway. Welcome to the sporking of Irish Winter by John Simpson.

Let's look at the Summary:

Living in Cork, Ireland, a hotbed of resistance to British rule, makes Ian Mulroney's life dangerous despite his peaceful beliefs. But disgusted by the brutality and shootings in the streets, he agrees to join the local IRA brigade to use his skills with medicine and learn the ways of war. There he meets Devlin Walsh. Ian has seen him before, and the impression left upon his body was not easy to ignore. He couldn't know that Devlin felt the same. But because of the war, they are comrades first, despite their silent, budding attraction to one another. As the resistance grows and the violence escalates, Ian and Devlin fight the only way they know how, losing family and friends in their efforts to free their country. Together, they are stronger to face the next day's struggle. Together, they are united in their belief in the hand of God. Together, they will find a way to survive the war.

Gay Irish rebels? What could go wrong? As it turns out just about everything. So let's start.

( Chapter one )

Background information: On Ravelry there is the Ravelympics that always takes place during the Olympics. The 'rules' are easy: cast something on during the Olympic Opening ceremony, cast it off before the Closing Ceremony. You're organised in teams that are usually based on other Ravelry-groups (Team 221B, European Knitters, Atheist Knitters...yeah we have just about everything). If you manage to finish in time you get a nice jpg-badge, no financial gain involved (OK, in some teams you can win some yarn or so...).
So, all is just a fun way to challenge yourself...until yesterday.
When the US Olympic Comitee-lawyers sent Ravelry a letter stating that they weren't allowed to use the term -lympics. Now you can argue about the moral grounds for copyrighting a name that has been around for a few thousand years...but they didn't leave it at that.

The athletes of Team USA have usually spent the better part of their entire lives training for the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games and represent their country in a sport that means everything to them. For many, the Olympics represent the pinnacle of their sporting career. Over more than a century, the Olympic Games have brought athletes around the world together to compete at the Olympic Games and represent their country in a sport that means everything to them.

[…]

We believe using the name "Ravelympics" for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games. In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country's finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work.

Because you know what will really ruin the day of that athlete who just won gold in the 100m-sprint? If you tell him that not all viewers who watched him run today didn't have a Big Mac and Cola while watching but instead challenged themselves to knit their very first cable-project. You totaly understand that, right?
Somebody should have told them that you shouldn't annoy knitters. (You might get away with it if you're Stephen Colbert but only just). Or...you know, any group with access to the Internet. The Ravelry-thread on the topic grew faster than anybody could read it (though admittedly partly because on every page the jokes 'Greece should solve their finance-problems by sueing the USO' and 'If we call them Ravelry Games will The Hunger Games come after us' were repeated), the FB-page of the US-athletes was flooded (the first time I checked the messages were all quite polite and reasonable, the second time all were deleted) and The #Ravelympics-hastag on Twitter is flooding.
Lots of Blog-Posts were written. More fibre-related Olympic stories, that didn't make the Olympic Commitee look good were brought up. Like...you know it always happens in these cases.
People also found out that Knitting used to be Olympic.

Inhalt: Pippa Bolle ist begeistert: Ihre englische Oma macht Urlaub in Berlin und beordert ihre Enkelin als Haushüterin in die Nähe von Stratford-upon-Avon, den Heimatort Shakespeares. Endlich kann sich Pippa sämtliche Stücke ansehen! Durch die Vermittlung ihrer Großmutter übernimmt sie die Betreuung einer internationalen Theatertruppe, die mit dem weltberühmten Theater-Regisseur Hasso von Kestring für ein Festival probt. Ein Schauspiel in mehreren dramatischen, komödiantischen - und tödlichen Akten beginnt, bei dem Pippa bald nur noch eins weiß: Der Mörder ist nicht immer der Gärtner

Seiten: 432

Bewertung:

( Eigentlich sollte ich was anderes tun *sighs* )

Pages: 610
Summary: Inspector Thomas Lynley is mystified when he's sent undercover to investigate the death of Ian Cresswell at the request of the man's uncle, the wealthy and influential Bernard Fairclough. The death has been ruled an accidental drowning. But when Lynley enlists the help of his friends Simon and Deborah St. James, the trio's digging soon reveals that the Fairclough clan is awash in secrets, lies, and motives.
Rating:

( Sorry but that is neccessary )

1. Terry Pratchett - I shall wear Midnight | semi-review-ish thoughts on Goodreads
[Felix Huby - Schmianski Zweierlei Blut - Graphic Novel]
2. Robyn Harding - Verliebt, Verlobt, Verstrickt | Review on Goodreads
3. Carola Dunn - Rattle His Bones
4. Carola Dunn - To Davy Jones Below | Review
5. Richard Morgan - The Cold Comands
[William Horwood - Hyddenworld. Der Frühling - given up] | Review
6. Friedrich Ani - Süden und das Lächeln des Windes | Review
7. Josh Lanyon - All She Wrote | Review
8. Josh Lanyon - Somebody Killed His Editor | Review
9. Elizabeth George - Believing the Lie | Review
10. Josh Lanyon - Fatal Shadows (Adrien English #1) | Review-ish thoghts
11. Carola Dunn - The Case of the Murdered Muckracker
12. Josh Lanyon - A Dangerous Thing (Adrien English #2) | Review
[Josh Lanyon - Dangerous Grounds - Novella] | Review-ish thoghts
13. Dirk Kruse - Requiem | Review
14. Michael Kuriand - Ten Little Wizards | Review
15. Friedrich Ani - Die Idylle der Hyanen | Review-ish thoughts
16. Friedrich Ani - Süden und das grüne Haar des Todes | Review-ish
17. Auerbach & Keller - Dinner for One, Murder for two | Review
18. Josh Lanyon - The Hell you say (Adrien English #3)
19. Andrzej Sapkowski - Der letzte Wunsch | Review
20. Kirby Crow - Scarlet and the White Wolf
21. John Boyne - Das späte Geständnis des Tristan Sadler
22. Wilkie Collins - The Moonstone
23. Josh Lanyon - Death of a Pirate King (Adrien English #4)
24. Josh Lanyon - The Dark Tide (Adrien English #5)
25. Kaje Harper - Life Lessons
26. Kaje Harper - Breaking Cover
27. Carola Dunn - Mistletoe and Murder
28. Kaje Harper - Lies and Consequences
29. Anne Chaplet - Erleuchtung
30. Hermann Bauer - Verschwörungsmelange
31. Rex Stout - Das Plagiat
32. Kai Meyer - Arkadien Erwacht
32. Various - British Flash
33. Carola Dunn - Die Laughing
34. Various - A Study in Lavender
35. Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep
36. Hary Nykanen - Tod der Spinnenfrau
37. Dorothy Sawyers - Whoose Body?
38. Dorothy Sawyers - Clouds of Whitnesses
39. Peter Abrahams - Down the Rabbit Hole
40. Friedrich Ani - Süden und der Luftgittarist
41. Anthony Horrowitz - Das geheimnis des weißen Bandes
42. Peter Freudenberger - Stiller und die Tote im Bus
43. Carola Dunn - A Mourning Wedding
44. Helene Hanff - 84, Charing Cross Road
45. Federica de Cesco - Ananda und die Rache der Götter [re-read]
46. Maxim Jakubowski - The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper
47. Kerry Greenwood - Cocaine Blues
48. EL. James - 50 Shades of Gray (did not read the last 40 pages or so, but I'll count it as read anyway...the pain must have been worth something)
49. Mark Whitehead - Jack the Ripper
50. Christian Springer - Wo gehts hier nach Arabien
51. Marie Belloc Lowdes - The Lodger
52. John Mitchinson - The Book of General Ignorance
53. Jen Campell - Weird Things Customers say in Bookshops
54. Jon Richardson - It's not me it's you
55. Wendy Northcutt - The Darwin Awards - Countdown to Extinction
56. Victoria Schlederer - Fortunas Flug

Pages: 544
Summary:Mankind has ceded the night to the corelings, demons that rise up out of the ground each day at dusk, killing and destroying at will until dawn, when the sun banishes them back to the Core. As darkness falls, the world’s few surviving humans hide behind magical wards, praying the magic can see them through another night. As years pass, the distances between each tiny village seem longer and longer. It seems nothing can harm the corelings, or bring humanity back together.

Born into these isolated hamlets are three children. A Messenger teaches young Arlen that fear, more than the demons, has crippled humanity. Leesha finds her perfect life destroyed by a simple lie, and is reduced to gathering herbs for an old woman more fearsome than the demons at night. And Rojer’s life is changed forever when a traveling minstrel comes to his town and plays his fiddle.

But these three children all have something in common. They are all stubborn, and know that there is more to the world than what they’ve been told, if only they can risk leaving their safe wards to find it
Rating: (jup)

I am breaking several rules for a serious review here. This contains far too many spoilers. But spoilers should only annoy you if you want to read this book. If you do, let me just say: No please don't. You will never get back the livetime you spent on this book.


( Just in case you thought I was getting soft after some good reviews )

Fandom: Tatort: Hamburg
Charaktere: Cenk, Uwe
Warnungen: I cannot write slash. Also so überhauptnicht. Deswegen müsst ihr euch wieder alles selber Denken.

Auf speziellen Wunsch von nessaniel. Du wolltest es so.


( Da der überraschende Besuch zu Weihnachten das letzte mal so gut ankam ;) )

Seiten: 512
Inhalt: Manche Großeltern lesen ihren Enkeln Märchen vor. Was Jacob von seinem Opa hörte, war etwas ganz, ganz anderes: Abraham erzählte ihm von einer Insel, auf der abenteuerlustige Kinder mit besonderen Fähigkeiten leben, und von Monstern, die auf der Suche nach ihnen sind … Inzwischen ist Jacob 15 Jahre alt und kann sich kaum noch an die wunderbaren Schauergeschichten erinnern – bis zu dem Tag, als sein Großvater unter mysteriösen Umständen stirbt und Jacob Hinweise darauf findet, dass es die Insel aus seinen Geschichten wirklich gibt. Der Teenager macht sich auf die Suche nach ihr und findet sich in einer Welt wieder, in der die Zeit stillsteht und er die ungewöhnlichsten Freunde findet, die man sich vorstellen kann. Doch auch die Monster sind höchst real – und sie sind ihm gefolgt…
Bewertung:
( Endlich mal was gutes von Vorablesen )
Ich hab tatsächlich noch Chancen die 20 in diesem Jahr zu schaffen...wenn ich mich sehr beeile ^^