Still Reading

The New Yorkers by Cathleen Schine. Completely enjoyable, great characters, wonderful writing.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hossein. Good. Tragic and compelling.

The General's Daughter by Nelson DeMille. Bleck. Why do I read stuff like this?

I really need to remember to do a little write up when I finish.

Still knitting, plodding away on Ariann, doing a few Lizard Ridge squares and contemplating a new project...

More books!

I can't believe it but I finished two books in the last four days. One clunker, Body Surfing, by Anita Shreve; and one that was fairly good, not great, but at least tightly written and compelling: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Haid.

I have loved a couple of Anita Shreve's books, particularly Fortune's Rock and even The Pilot's Wife. Given those books, this one just seemed kind of like a cop-out. I couldn't muster up any interest or sympathy for any of the characters. All in all, it was just a kind of blah book.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist was more interesting and quite beautifully written. It was about a Pakistani man who in 2001 graduated from Princeton as a scholarship student. He gets a highly paid job as an analyst for a vaulations firm where he is the most successful of all the new hires. Then comes 9/11. As a Middle Easterner, he increasingly feels like an outsider, and bitter towards America. It was told in the first person during a lunch meeting with an American. It was pretty short, actually, but I didn't get the impression that there were a lot of loose ends.

I started the Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian. Good so far...

Another book...

So I finished The Knitting Circle, by Ann Hood. I really wanted to like this book. In a nutshell, it's about a woman who finds knitting after her only child, a five-year old girl, dies after contracting bacterial meningitis. She joins a knitting circle at the urging of her mother after her daughter's death and is introduced to other women (and a man) who heal despite horrible personal tragedies through the power of knitting. Okay, I get it. Knitting is great that way. My problem with the book are that the dialogue between the characters was completely absurd. I need to find some examples - I should have marked them but I was too busy rolling my eyes. Another issue I had is that a parent losing a child is a relatively rare occurance, thankfully. But somehow everyone in the knitting circle had lost a child or was about to lose a child or was about to die of cancer leaving her four children motherless or whatever. Like I said, I really wanted to love this book because I completely believe in the transformative power of knitting. How restorative and therapeutic it is. And the fact that the author lost her own daughter. I dunno. I wanted to like this book but I just did not find it to be original or, or, or, something. Can't put my finger on it. It was like the plotline was kind of manipulative in some way. Not horrible, but I kind of wish that I had skipped it, especially since there are so many beautiful books stacked up waiting for my attention. Next up is The Reluctant Fundamentalist. We'll see...

Oh, and the new computer has shipped - hurray. Except that the monitor has been backordered. Bleck. And knitting? I've started the 2nd sleeve of Ariann and so of course I started a dishcloth. I just need something kind of mindless right now. What I really need is for the next two or three weeks to just pass me by then hopefully everything will be back on track. Ahem.

Recuperating

Blergh - got some weird stomach bug (and puked in my trashcan AT WORK) on Wednesday so I took Thursday off and slept and knitted a little bit of Ariann's sleeve. Crazy headache, too. I don't get sick like that very often, thankfully. I didn't get that much accomplished (knit-wise) because of the wicked headache. It was almost all I could do to just lie on the couch.

I read Christine Falls by Benjamin Black and was not too impressed. It was quick, though, which was good. And I started on Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris (who wrote Gentlemen and Players, one of my all time favorite reads).

I've been getting tons and tons of books from Paperback Swap - yay. I've gotten about twenty five books. The vast majority are in almost perfect condition, too. I got two Pulitzers (Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson - one of the books whose condition was a little bit disappointing with all the writing and underlining in the margins; and The Known World by Edward Jones) to add to my Pulitzer collection. Right now i have them all stacked up on our desk so I can just admire them. I'm such a library fiend, but I am kind of tired of hauling hardback library books on the bus and the train. And I think it's kind of fun to read a book and then release it into the world again. Such nice connections to be made with people you don't even know all thanks to the internet and a passion for books.

AND, the biggest news is that I ordered us a new computer! Huzzah. I can't wait. This thing is just too small and too slow for us any more. I cannot wait to be able to download some wordy goodness from Audible.com. I have the new Al Gore book in my wishlist but I am also eyeing Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian. And I need (yes, need) to listen to more This American Life. I am completely in love with the podcast. I need to remember to donate to Chicago Public Radio and stop being a freeloader.

On my walk today I re-listened to some of the Ishmael Beah book - I still cannot fully get my head around how that (the war in Sierra Leone and the recruitment of boys to be soldiers) could have happened. It is just so incredibly tragic. I keep wondering if it wouldn't be so heartwrenching for me if I didn't have a son the same age as Beah was when he was recruited (which is the most completely inaccurate word for what they did to those children). I just know that my son would behave in exactly the same way - I think it all kind of boils down to survivor's instinct, and although what he did as a "soldier" was horrific, it was the only way he could have possibly survived. He was just so incredibly charming on The Daily Show.

Speaking of my boy, he is an eighth grader now! Almost as tall as me and as glorious as anything I could ever imagine (so tall! so skinny! so blond and blue-eyed with perfect skin). He made the silver honor roll all three trimesters so he and his dad are out now getting him a little prezzy as an acknowledgement for his work.

Yay - long weekend

Aaaah, nice long weekend, makes me SO HAPPY. I have big plans, to sleep and knit and read and go to dinner and the movies. The weather is lovely, too.

I am reading Through a Glass Darkly, and I am wondering if the damn thing will ever end. I can't remember why I thought I would like it. It's kind of stupid. Yeesh. I guess I don't hate it enough to stop reading it but still.

I broke down and bought yarn for Something Red by Wendy Bernard. It's Blue Sky Alpacas cotton - so soft! If I start it now I'll probably be finished in September (it's short sleeved - more of a spring/summer garment). And yes, I'm still slogging away at Ariann. I have ripped the sleeves out more times than I can remember. I dropped a bunch of stitches off the needle and couldn't figure out how to put them back on so I went to knit night at A Knitted Peace, but I didn't really get it put back together right to I ripped it yet again. and I had made huge progress, too. I kind of feel weird about asking for help with a project when I didn't purchase the yarn at that store.

I also bought some basic felting yarn (Ella Rae) - I want to make another felted bag like my beloved red one. I just love that thing. But I'm telling myself that I need to finish Ariann and the Lizard Ridge before I start on the bag. I might cast on for Something Red sooner. Just so I'll have time to wear it before it gets too cold. It's also knit from the top down in one piece. Yay - hate finishing, I do.

Books, books, books

I've been reading a ton (just started with Paperback Swap, and I really like it - I'd like it a lot more if the people to whom I'm sending books would acknowledge receipt promptly...) so I thought I should update my list.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. Blergh. The one thing I will say about this book is that it held my interest and made me a little weepy at the end. A doctor delivers his twins in a snowstorm in 1964 (two months before I was born, interestingly). Son born healthy and the daughter born with Down Syndrome and dad impulsively gives the baby to a nurse and tells her to deliver the baby to a home for disabled children. Oh, yeah, and he told his wife that the girl was born dead. The nurse ends up taking the baby herself and raises it. The dad's secret slowly tears the family apart. The mom/wife drove me absolutely insane. Hated this character. She was insipid in the beginning, and then of course turned into this hard driving career woman. Honestly, aside from the deception, I had a lot of sympathy for the father and very little for the mother. Not an awful book but just kind of annoying. The prose was lovely at times, but kind of overdone. I got sick of hearing about "Norah's delicate wrists," and "Norah's delicate feet," and let's not forget "Norah's slender neck." It made me almost embarrassed for the author at times. The jacket said that she went to the Iowa Writer's Workshop, and it surprised me. The author is no Ann Patchett (another IWW alumna).

Good thing I had a book that I completely enjoyed after reading that drivel. Avalon, by Anya Seton. I completely enjoyed this book and I liked it more than The Winthrop Woman. I thought it was a little tighter than TWW. Kind of meandering like TWW. I love this author and I'm so happy that I've found a new obsession. Anyway, Avalon was the story of an English girl, Merewyn, in the 900's. She thinks she is a descendant of King Arthur, but actually her mother was raped by a Viking. Her mother confessed to Lord Rumon, who promises not to tell Merewyn. Anyway, long and convoluted - Rumon takes Merewyn to King Edward's court and he falls in love with a scheming evil queen, Merewyn of course loves Rumon. She is taken to Iceland after a Viking raid and is reunited with her father. Okay, so it's completely implausible, but I liked the book enough to overlook this silliness. She marries and has two children and eventually returns to England (after residing in Greenland for many years) and claims to be the heir to King Arthur. Rumon finds her in Greenland, she wants nothing to do with him, he becomes a monk and upon her return she finds him. They don't end up reuniting, but rather Merewyn finds a new husband whom she doesn't really love but who takes good care of her. Finally on Rumon's deathbed, he asks her to stop claiming to be King Arthur's heir and she agrees, and her husband still loves her and she's still accepted... That's kind of a crappy review, but it was very meandering. I liked the era, it is something that I know little about (kind of like the Winthrop Woman in that sense). Just so good. I loved this book.

I'm reading my first PBS book - Through a Glass Darkly, by Karleen Koen. It kind of looks like a romance novel (embarrassing - I wish I could get over that, but I can't). I can't remember where it was recommended, but it's pretty good so far.

I'm kind of on a historical fiction bender right now. Specifically British historical fiction.

Aaah, springtime

A perfect day! The weather was glorious, upper 70's.

I took a nice long walk and listened to my audiobook, A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah. Heartbreaking, but so compelling. I am almost ashamed that these horrible atrocities were taking place in this world and it never crossed my radar. It's all the more poignant because my son is the age that Ishmael is when he was "drafted" (for lack of a better word).

Anyway, I need to take more long walks - it felt so nice.

I came home and read my newest library find, 44 Scotland Street, by Alexander McCall Smith. Wonderful. It was written in installments for a newspaper, a la Armistead Maupin. Completely sweet and enjoyable. A perfect springtime patio read. I'm halfway through and just started today. I told K that I felt like I was on vacation, reading my eyes out on our lovely patio, watching the birds scold my cat and eating way too much chocolate.

I felt unsure of my work on the Ariann sleeve, so I ripped it out and started over - I probably didn't need to do that. It's actually kind of fun, it is knitting up quickly and I've got it all charted out so I feel pretty confident in my progress.

I also hauled out the pink and lime green felted slippers that I started last spring. I don't think mine will make it much longer so I am starting their replacement. I made a ton of progress on the Lizard Ridge too - I am cranking out those squares.

What a lovely day, I couldn't ask for more. I am so lucky to have such a life.

Creativity

I am not a good blogger - so much knitting, so much reading leads to very little blogging. I am realizing that a blog without photos is b.o.r.i.n.g. but since we're running dangerously low on disk space on our home computer I don't want to download many pictures because they take up so much space. We are looking into getting a new computer after that stooooopid HELOC is paid off, which, fortunately, is on the horizon. Yay - debt free (notwithstanding a $120,000 mortgage, ahem). It makes it worth the wait.

Speaking of money, I have been able to save a ton since I've been taking the bus or light rail. Love public transportation! So much reading/napping/knitting time. And I listen to the beloved This American Life on my beloved Ipod. Life is good.

I justified the purchase of a few more skeins of Noro for the Lizard Ridge since I've been so frugal. I really need to take some pictures because I am quite enchanted with my little squares and should be documenting their progress. I've been trying to stay away from the fluorescent pink/yellow colorways, which is kind of limiting, but that would not go in my house a'tall. I really like the No. 185 (orange/purple/green) that I got from Supercrafty, and also No. 178, which is a really lovely blue/grey/green.

The LR is nice to work on at lunch, and while commuting in that it's so portable. I've been saving Ariann for the evenings. Last night I progressed to the part where I did the armhole bindoffs. I also started one sleeve (I chose the long sleeved version, but am considering frogging it and making the 3/4 sleeve version - it seems a little dressier, and hello! faster). I'm not understanding how the body and the sleeves connect, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. The Ariann is at the Slog Phase right now, but I don't want to stop. I've been making pretty good time on it.

I titled this post "Creativity" because I've been thinking how I'm lacking in this arena. I can't fathom writing a knitting pattern, or even really altering an existing one very much. What's the point when there are so many lovely patterns out there. And, I've been following Cara's progress on her miters and have become increasingly interested in trying out a mitered blanket. Coming up with the color combinations is more than a little bit intimidating, though. It's funny because as much as I love Mason-Dixon Knitting, the mitered blanket is not one that caught my eye until Cara posted about it (mostly for the seaming - that might kill me dead). Hers are amazing - I especially love the Chocolate one, #20. I'm kind of plotting out my next project - I should use the Brown Sheep cotton fleece I bought for the Cutaway, and maybe use it for Wendy's Sizzle (what was I thinking buying that pattern - I'm far too modest to wear something that low cut). Alas, part of my obsession with knitting lies in the acquisition of new yarn.

The mitered blanket project is one that I could buy the yarn incrementally, though, like the Lizard Ridge. That has been a great feature of the project.

I've been doing lots of reading, currently The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton. I just love her work and for some reason it's very surprising to me that these books were written in the '40's and '50's. She has a way of just making the era come alive. I've never been particularly intrigued by the Puritans and America in the 1600's, but this book changed all that. I also have her earlier novel Avalon on the nightstand. The King Arthur legend business has kind of skeeved me so I'll be interested to see what Seton does with it.

Spring is here - we had a lovely weekend and the first of the week was nice, but it's sunny but cold and windy out today. Wind sucks. I think I'll stay in and knit at lunch today. What a surprise!

No photos, no links - I am a sad sack of a blogger.

Merry Easter

It's a cold and snowy Easter - perfect for knitting, which I intend to do after our Easter dinner at Mom and Dad's (where we'll see my adorable little tiny nephew, Thad).

I have some catching up to do - Hawaii was all that I expected and more. Loved it. I read an entire book - Innocent Traitor, by Alison Weir, that was fab, and I knit three Lizard Ridge afghan squares. I've got the pattern down pat and so it's going pretty quickly. I'm running out of yarn so I bought three more skeins from Supercrafty that I'm anxiously awaiting. Good price, too. I'll put up a picture of the six squares - they look pretty good if I do say so myself. I tend to like the more earthy ones, but Kureyon's colors are pretty bright, shall we say. It's a good, portable project.

Still working on Ariann, too -# (*&^% buttonhole and all. I kind of screwed it up, but I'm not about to go back. I can't imagine wearing it buttoned anyway. I used the technique in The Knitters Book of Finishing Techniques, and I screwed up somewhere along the way. Oh well. I'm still enjoying the process - it's a very enjoyable knit. I haven't figured out why it looks the way it does - gnomes as Crazy Aunt Purl would say.

I have more books from the library: The Winthrop Woman, by Anya Seton, Avalon also by Anya Seton and Mistress of the Art of Death, by Ariana Franklin. I think I'll read the Franklin book since there's a wait for it at the library, but I'm anxious to read The Winthrop Woman - Seton's book Katherine is one of my all time favorites.

I just couldn't take anymore...

Of this book, that is. I have a hard time not finishing a book once I've started, and this one was intriguing in certain aspects but I started to feel that there was some stupid gimmick that would be revealed in the end. Hated the characters. I don't really know why I picked it out from the library because the other book I read by the author Jennifer Egan, Look at Me, was pretty awful as well. I think I gave myself permission to quit because I didn't want to haul the thing to Hawaii. I need to stop thinking I have to finish reading what I start (it's not like I'm that way in other aspects of my life, sadly). Anyway, I picked out Blowing My Cover, My Life as a C.I.A. Spy, by Lindsay Moran and started it on the bus this morning and it looks light and fluffy, just what I need right now.

I ripped out my work on Ariann - I did the first buttonhole too soon. I could have fixed it by just spacing the other buttons differently, but I really don't want to have to figure out how to do that. I love the pattern and I love the yarn. I'm a little unsure how the sleeves will attach but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I want to bring it with me on the plane - the TSA guidelines recommend bamboo circular needles, but it's still up to the screener. I hope I don't look too threatening with my little knitting project. I'm actually quite annoyed about it. I'll bring the envelope to mail the needles back if need be. Sheesh.

I cannot wait for Hawaii! Four more days... Not that I'm counting or anything.

Progress

I finished all the blocking for the Princess pulli - the fabric is so incredibly soft and wonderful. I'll definitely be using the yarn again. And I am almost finished with the zipper for Ribby. Now that it's spring I have two nice new winter sweaters. I did not plan this well at all. At least my Ariann will probably be finished in time for fall '08.

I broke down and got a subscription to Interweave Knits. I'm looking forward to it. I barely read the Self magazine that I subscribe to and I end up buying IK at the grocery store anyway.

I am loving the book that I'm reading, it's Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh. She wrote Mrs. Kimble which I read a few years ago and really enjoyed. I could actually concentrate on it while I was on the train this morning, which is rare.

Tonight is the last Lizard Ridge class. I finished a square and it looks pretty good. It's weird how the colors come together. There are mistakes - a couple of wraps that I didn't hide, and the night before last when I was working on it I got off track when I was counting, but it isn't apparent. I don't think I'll re-knit it. Hopefully I'll get better at recognizing the wrapped stitches when I'm on a purl side. Julie re-wrote the pattern to show exactly where to hide the wrapped stitches - I got a little careless towards the end.

Woo hoo

Lizard Ridge was making me c.r.a.z.y this morning - the yarn was a snarled mess and I could not figure out how to hide the short rows. I checked my books (The Knitting Answer Book had a terrible explanation unfortunately, but is otherwise a terrific little book; KnittingHelp.com was useful) and was finally able to remember what the instructor had said to best do them. Anyway, once I figured it out I was able to cruise. I love it when I finally figure something out.

Went to the library and got a bunch of books on Hawaii, and One Mississippi by Mark Childress and A Whistling Woman by A.S. Byatt. Add those to the ever-expanding queue. Crazy in Alabama is one of my favorite books so I was happy to find a new book by Childress.

It was a nice and cool, end-of-winter, rainy day. Everything is greening up and the bulbs in our yard are popping up. I can't wait for spring to get here.

Book list

I clicked on a link to a blog that listed 100 books, with instructions to bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole, put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of. I took a preliminary stab at it but I want to come back and add some commentary. Why so many Harry Potters?

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) - quick read, I enjoyed it.

2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) + Good!

3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee) + Love love love. Everything about this book is good.

4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell) Love love love. Haven't read it in a loooong time

5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)

6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)

7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)

8. Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)

9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon). + Good, read three from the series before I got a little tired of it.

10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry) No likey.

11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling). + Eh. Can't remember which one this is - I read the first three before I got bored.

12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)

13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)

14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)

15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden). + Beautiful

16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)

17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald). Blech

18. The Stand (Stephen King). Read in high school. I think he's a really good writer. Don't know what that says about me.

19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)

20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte). + Just recently finished and loved it.

21. The Hobbit (Tolkien). I read it in high school and couldn't keep track of the characters or what they were doing. Obviously, I'm not cut out for fantasy/sci fi.

22. The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger). I read it a couple of times in high school.

23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott). Read to me in childhood. I should re-read it.

24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold). Blech. Totally stupid.

25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)

26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)

27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)

28. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis). + Eh.

29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck). Read in high school. Should re-read.

30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom).

31. Dune (Frank Herbert)

32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)

33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)

34. 1984 (Orwell)

35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley). Kind of Sci-Fi - but I still enjoyed it.

36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett). I read this right after I finished up a monumentally busy time at work and it was the perfect read to decompress. It was like a big drink of water when you're hiking in the desert.

37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)*

38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb). Everything was tidied up too nicely.

39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant). 'Eh. Someone well versed (no pun intended) in the Bible would enjoy this more.

40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) +

41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel). Read in high school and liked. I don't think I would like it so much now.

42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini). Excellent! One of my favorites.

43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)

44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)

45. Bible

46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy) +

47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)

48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt). Good, too sad. The mother made me crazy. A character whom I absolutely loathed and hated and despised.

49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck). + One of my all time favorite novels.

50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb). Same criticism as the other book by the same author.

51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver). Blech. Don't like BK. Her characters are either all good or all bad - very little depth.

52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)

53. Ender’s Game * (Orson Scott Card)

54. Great Expectations (Dickens)

55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)

56. The Stone Angel * (Margaret Laurence)

57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)

58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough). High school. I just noticed a bunch of her books on the shelf at the library.

59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood). Read right out of college. Just thinking puts me back in the yard at 2029 Columbine St.

60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger) Loved! Yummy book love. Time travelling and all.

61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)

63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)

64. Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice). I was maybe...compelled by this book. I read it a long time ago and remember feeling like she really made vampires seem real. I don't think I would have the patience for it now.

65. Fifth Business * (Robertson Davis)

66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)

68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)

69. Les Miserables (Hugo)

70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) Should re-read

71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding). Cute at the time. I have no desire to read any more of this kind of book.

72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez

73. Shogun (James Clavell)

74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)

75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett). Need to re-read.

76. The Summer Tree * (Guy Gavriel Kay)

77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith). Loved.

78. The World According To Garp (John Irving) Good. I wish the Cider House Rules was on this list - excellent book. A fave.

79. The Diviners * (Margaret Laurence)

80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)

81. Not Wanted On the Voyage *(Timothy Findley)

82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)

83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)

84. Wizard’s First Rule * (Terry Goodkind)

85. Emma (Jane Austen) +

86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)

87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)

88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields). + Was just not all that impressed

89. Blindness * (Jose Saramago)

90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer). Read in high school and it prompted a big Jeffrey Archer kick.

91. In The Skin Of A Lion * (Ondaatje) Creepy title

92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)

93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck) +

94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd) (yeesh. Hated this book.)

95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum) I liked RL very much for a while.

96. The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton) (oh, yeah, baby. About a thousand times in high school)

97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch). Good.

98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford). Read in high school and enjoyed. Don't think it's my cup of tea anymore, though.

99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)

100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

I think I'm getting it...

Ariann, that is. I worked on her last night and I tell you, she is addictive. I'm at the eyelet rounds and the thing is just spectacular. I can't wait to get a little further. How can I be so tired at the end of the work day but when I get home and start knitting or reading I have this burst of energy and can't even think of sleeping. Okay, well, burst of energy doesn't describe it accurately. I get in a zone. Or something.

I think I finished the Princess sleeve on the bus this morning. I say "I think" because I started the last bindoff row on a purl side, and then realized that I should be on the knit side, but when I tinked back, I ended up with an extra stitch. So I ended up compensating, but unfortunately it looks like it. I really don't want to rip it back, but I will if I have to. The sleeves are making me a little nervous - I think they may be way too long. Good thing I have long arms, but they're loose sleeves, not the kind that you can push up. When I get home I'll set the sleeves out on top of each other and see how they match up. (I have so learned my lesson and will forevermore count stupid rows.) Then hopefully it'll be on to blocking and seaming.

I purchased The Knitters Book of Finishing Techniques from an Amazon affiliate - it hasn't come yet, though. There's a lot more to finishing than what was covered in the finishing class, so I think it will be useful. I need to train myself to finish my projects before I start new ones and I'm hopeful that if I'm more confident about my finishing abilities this will happen.

It's Friday and I'm so very happy about that. The bus ride was nice and quick, and I listened to Lucy Kaplansky's Every Single Day, since I finished the Lemon Tree. I do love her music, and am pleased to see that she has a new album coming out. I'll have to add it to my IPod (how did I survive without it, anyway? People don't talk to you when you've got earphones in, thankfully).

It's nice and springy outside and my people are all in a good mood.

More Lizard Ridge

I had to rip back the little bit of Lizard Ridge I had knitted. Waaah. I'm just not seeing how I have to knit the wrapped stitches and it's making me crazy. I might work on it tonight or I might do a little bit of Ariann. I took A to the mall last night so I didn't get much knitting in - just enough to screw up my LR.

On the Princess front, I ran out of yarn on the bus and my sleeve is so close to being finished. I think I'll use one of the gauge swatches I knit up to finish and return the extra ball of Classic Elite Princess, which was a pure delight to knit with, soft and knit up into such a lovely fabric. I wonder why I've never heard anyone rave about this yarn. Hopefully the Recycled Lamb will let me exchange it for some more Kureyon for my Lizard Ridge, which I am determined to get off the ground.

Speaking of Kureyon, I must be the only person in the knit world who does not love this yarn. I'll freely admit that I'm making the LR because I'm a follower, not because I like the yarn. I think the colors are garish and it's scratchy. I am intrigued with it, though, and I like the Noro Shrug that I saw at the Lamb Shoppe and I would most definitely put that in the knitting queue.

I have not started a new book, but I'm finishing up the Lemon Tree audio book and it is completely knocking my socks off. Love love love it. It's making me think in a whole new way. I think I should have a new This American Life podcast to listen to. I loves me some Ira Glass and TAL.

I bought four tops at Ann Taylor - I need new shirts in a big way! Very cute, if I do say so myself. And on sale, too. I will add some pics later.

It is a lovely spring-like day, I can just barely see the ground starting to green up. I didn't even wear a coat today. Yay! Maybe spring is going to come after all...

Lizard Ridge

I started Lizard Ridge last night - I'm taking another class at Lamb Shoppe on Tuesday nights. I found that after taking the sweater finishing class that I wanted to have a standing date with my knitting. I like the social aspects of it. And I would never attempt this pattern on my own. It doesn't seem to be too clearly written.

Anyhow, I thought the project might be good bus knitting, but I think I'll have to become very familiar with the pattern first. Lots of short rows and counting. I'll learn a lot. I might attempt a cute little stuffed bear with Blue Sky Alpacas.

I also clarified with Julie, the instructor, the meaning of Ariann's instructions to SSK in the front of the stitch. I think I've always been doing it that way (wrong? Hopefully not). I'm starting to feel like maybe I should not have chosen a fall/winter project. Oh well. I prefer to knit with wool anyway. I will probably bring the linen Louet Sales handtowel to Hawaii. Yay! Hawaii!

I also got a chunk of Princess sleeve finished on the bus. I want to have it blocked by Saturday morning then maybe I can seam it on Sunday if it's dry. It looks good.

Audiobooks of 2007

One of the benefits of a long commute:

Don't Get Too Comfortable, by David Rakoff. Very entertaining. The author narrates, which I like. The segment about the Log Cabin Republicans is not to be missed.

The Funny Thing Is, by Ellen Degeneres. I love Ellen Degeneres, but I thought this was only so-so. My first Audible.com purchase.

My Invented Country, by Isabel Allende. Excellent. About Chile. Explained the relationship between Isabel Allende and her uncle, Salvadore Allende (of which I was aware, but I didn't understand it entirely). So very good. I wish Allende had narrated, the narrator was kind of gravelly-voiced, but not distractingly so.

The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East, by Sandy Tolan. Wildly, incredibly good. So informative about the creation of Israel. I think he does a great job of telling both sides of the story - we don't often hear the Palestinian side. I want to purchase the book to give as a gift to my dad. I would listen to this again - I feel like there are parts of the beginning that slipped by. The author narrates. Successfully, I think. Wow.

Books of 2007

Books of 2007

Paradise Park, by Alllegra Goodman. I loved Kaaterskill Falls, by the same author, but this was a disappointment. It dragged on and the main character irritated me.

Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro. Hmmm. Not sure what to think. Too science-fiction-y for my taste. Couldn't really love the characters because they weren't "real." About people who were cloned to be "donors." Creepy.

The Whole World Over, by Julia Glass. LOVED. What great characters. Five stars. It came to life for me. A great great book. Oddly, because I did not like Three Junes nearly as much.

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. I can't believe I'd never read this (or did I? I have a vague recollection of reading it in high school.) Excellent. You don't see characters like Jane in modern fiction. The imperfections of the characters was endearing. I think I liked it better than Pride & Prejudice.

The Boleyn Interitance, by Phillipa Gregory. Good, fluffy, but I felt like I was reading something that was well researched. I'm a sucker for novels about Henry VIII. This book drove home what a complete nutcase Henry VIII was, notwithstanding the era in which he ruled. Boggles the mind. Reminds me to pursue books by Alison Wier.

What Came Before He Shot Her, by Elizabeth George. Not a Linley/Havers book. More a psychological drama about the life of the boy who shot one of the main characters in the Linley series, Lady Helen, (who bugged the crap out of me, now that she's dead, I can go back to reading Elizabeth George again. Now if only she would kill off the irritating Deborah.) The British colloquialisms are a little thick, but it does add to the overall atmosphere. A little bit manipulative, but I am enjoying it.

Baker Towers, by Jennifer Haigh. Very good - by the same author as Mrs. Kimble. I like the characters very much, especially Joyce, and I see too much of myself in her. Interesting to see the family dynamics.

Innocent Traitor, Alison Weir. I loved this book - started it and finished it in Hawaii. About Lady Jane Grey, a cousin of Elizabeth and Mary. Her conniving parents put her on the throne after Edward dies and is ultimately beheaded by Mary.

The Winthrop Woman, Anya Seton. I am on a historical fiction streak. This one is about Elizabeth Winthrop, the niece and daughter in law of John Winthrop, one of the first governors of the colonies. This is not a period in history that I have found particularly interesting until this book came along. Elizabeth is a Puritan in name only, and I enjoy seeing that people have been conflicted by religious fundamentalism for centuries. The Puritans were pretty much crazy and horrible and the English were happy to see them gone from their country. It continues to amaze me that this book was written in 1958.

The beginning...

I started this blog to keep track of my obsessions: knitting projects and books I've read. I have no expectations that anyone else will read this, so it's mainly a chance for me to document my thoughts and progress. Big important thoughts and musings.

Hopefully I can figure out the formatting of this so my posts won't look so stupid. I also have to take some pictures of my knitting and figure out how to add them to the blog.

I am inspired by The Bookish Girl, Mason-Dixon Knitting, Crazy Aunt Purl, January One (whose lovely post inspired me to undertake my own Ariann), and too many others to list. I am constant amazed at how many gifted writers are in blogland.

Like the rest of the knitterly world, I started Ariann last night in my beautiful Plymouth Galway Heather from Kpixie. I'm not quite finished with three other projects:

Ribby Cardi is just awaiting her zipper; Classic Elite Princess Pullover is awaiting her last sleeve (which is thisclose), blocking and sewing; and Third Eye Chullo from the fab Knit Wit is awaiting his eye. This is my sweet and patient husband's Valentine's Day gift. I'm nervous about the embroidery, but am very pleased at how it turned out.