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A lady with a love for literature and shiny things discusses books & bling.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin.

This book is: A gritty crime novel set in a rural town.
Other elements: Class issues, race issues, nature of friendship.
Read it: If you like crime shows, don’t mind dialect, and aren’t easily depressed.
Overall rating: 6/10

I thought it was about time I got to the library part of this blog. Goodreads recommended Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter to me, although I’m not sure why. Maybe it can sense I like to watch crime shows.

I liked this book. I wasn’t sure at first, but it had me by about 2/3 of the way through. I thought the plot could have been a bit tighter or smoother or more fleshed out…but the characters were great. Everyone in the book is fully formed and very much themselves.
My main complaints: the dramatic reveal felt a liiiiiiittle forced. The main character is keeping a seriously important secret, and he doesn’t even hint at it until right before he reveals. It felt like the author was mostly interested in the people he’d created, and it showed in how intricate and interesting they were. But I didn’t think the plot wasn’t quite as well crafted.
Also: this book contains a their/there typo. I can’t let that pass without mentioning it. Still a good book, though.

 

 

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White gold, green tourmaline and diamond earrings.

These earrings leave me almost speechless. Hot damn. If I was a boy earring, I’d want to take these earrings out for drinks and invite them back to my place after. Two huge, gorgeously colored tourmaline drops, each surrounded by diamonds. This is a sexy very pair of earrings.

I dare you not to look at them.

White gold, green tourmaline and diamond pendant-earrings. Via Diamonds in the Library.

I bet your jaw’s on the floor like mine is. Oh man. They’re a knockout. The color!

These beauties are going to be part of Sotheby’s Important Jewels Sale in New York on 20 September 2012 – click here for the listing. All information and photos of this piece are thanks to Sotheby’s.

Sotheby’s description:

Pair of 18 Karat White Gold, and Diamond Pendant-Earrings

Estimate: 18,000 – 22,000 USD

Set with two pear-shaped green tourmalines weighing approximately 31.70 carats, framed and surmounted by numerous round diamonds weighing approximately 2.85 carats and four oval-shaped diamonds weighing approximately 2.95 carats.

Lovely lavaliere.

This is a diamond and emerald lavaliere from 1930 (a wonderful year for jewelry).

I love a lavaliere necklace – so elegant and delicate. This one is particularly pretty, I think, with the way the emerald is framed. The chain is also very intricate and beautiful, and the clasp detail is stunning. The stones are also no joke, despite how delicate it is: the emerald is 6 carats and the diamonds total 10.5 carats.

You could dress this up or down. I can see it going out to dinner with a silk blouse and nice jeans or down a red carpet above a cobalt blue sweetheart neckline. Really, I’d be perfectly happy to wear it around my house with my bathrobe. It’s beautiful.

This piece is going to be part of Sotheby’s Important Jewels Sale in New York on 20 September 2012 – click here for the listing. All information and photos of this piece are thanks to Sotheby’s.

A platinum, emerald and diamond lavallière, circa 1930. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Sotheby’s description:

Platinum, Emerald and Diamond Lavallière, Circa 1930.

Estimate: 20,000 – 30,000 USD

Set with an emerald-cut emerald weighing approximately 6.00 carats, the floral drops, openwork chain and clasp set with numerous old European-cut diamonds and one baguette diamond, together weighing approximately 10.25 carats, further accented by numerous single-cut diamonds, length 16 inches, one diamond missing.

 Clasp detail; a platinum, emerald and diamond lavallière, circa 1930. Via Diamonds in the Library. Detail; a platinum, emerald and diamond lavallière, circa 1930. Via Diamonds in the Library.

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