Magic Yarn?

This week has felt simultaneously long and short. It's been busy, so you'd think it would be flying by, but instead I've woken up almost every morning wondering why it isn't yet Friday. I have a long weekend ahead (I'm taking Monday off to stay home with Rainbow), and it's a holiday weekend, with Passover starting tomorrow night, so chances are I've just been looking forward to the chance to rest.

I have not being doing a ton of knitting, mainly just working on my current socks, because I spent Monday and Tuesday night plying some of my combo spin singles (there's still quite a bit to do). I think these socks, or perhaps this new-to-me yarn, must have some kind of magic in them, though, because amazingly I've already finished the first sock save the afterthought heel despite the fact that I cast them on less than a week ago.

Last night the Mister and I went to an event for our local PBS station that featured a preview of Ken Burns's next documentary. It's on country music, which isn't really my taste, but it was something fun to do (and the Mister is on the board of the station, so it was a good excuse to go and show support). Before the preview, we got to enjoy a short set performed live by Kathy Mattea, who is featured in the film and also, coincidentally, happens to be the cousin of the station's president and CEO. I'd heard of her, though I'm not familiar with her music, so it wasn't as exciting for me as for some members of the audience, but it was still a nice evening -- and of course a perfect excuse to get some sock knitting done. By the time we left, I was already halfway through the toe!

In the absence of much other knitting content, I thought I'd do a quick recap of some of my reading lately. These aren't all the books I've read since my last reading update (you can go visit my Goodreads profile if you want to see everything), but these are the ones that I felt were good enough to share.

• All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung: I'd heard about this memoir some time ago and been patiently (and then not so patiently) waiting for my hold to come through from the library. It's a beautifully written and at times heartbreaking story about a Korean American woman adopted by a white couple as a baby struggling with her racial identity as she grows up and struggling the reasons she was given up as an adult. It's a powerful story that really makes you think a lot about nature vs. nurture, how you form your own identity, and what makes a family. I gave it 5 stars.
• Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan: This is based on a true story, written after the author conducted in-depth interviews with the main character and extensive research in Italy. It looks at the experience of WWII for Italians, especially those Italians who were opposed to Hitler and Mussolini and actively worked against them. Though I found it a bit longer than I felt it needed to be, it was a very good read. I gave it 4 stars.
• Becoming by Michelle Obama: What can I say about this phenomenal autobiography that hasn't already been said? I knew that Michelle Obama was a smart woman, but I never realized just how accomplished and intelligent she was until I read her book. My admiration for her has grown exponentially. I gave it 5 very enthusiastic stars!
• The Forgotten Hours by Katrin Schumann: This book was one of several I got for free through Amazon First Reads, and I read it mainly because I had a backlog of titles I'd gotten through the program that I wanted to get through. I've learned not to have high expectations for these books (you get what you pay for, right?), but this one surprised me. It was not an easy book to read, as it deals with an accusation of rape of a teenage girl by the father of the main character, but it's done in a thoughtful, sensitive way. It made me think a lot. I gave it 4 stars.
• A Lily in the Light by Kristin Fields: This was another Amazon First Reads book, but I had actually heard about it before because a friend of mine from high school is a literary agent and represents this author. This book is another one dealing with a difficult subject -- in this case, the disappearance of a young girl and the subsequent effect on her family, all against the backdrop of the main character's burgeoning career in ballet. Though I've thankfully never gone through such an experience, the conflict between the family members and the ways they dealt with their grief felt very real to me. It was a quick read, and the ending wrapped things up nicely (something I always appreciate). I gave it 4 stars.

If you are celebrating a holiday this weekend, I hope it's a good one! Expect to see at least some finished combo spin yarn here on Sunday!