A Time of Three Books (and More)

In my younger days, I could not read more than one book at a time, at least not for pleasure. I would have trouble keeping the plots and characters straight and have a hard time getting through any one of them. As I've gotten older, though, I seem to find that more and more I have multiple books in progress. I think part of it is that I'm more accustomed to multitasking, but it's also a result of the many ways I "read" books these days. There are still the physical books that I read in bed at night, but increasingly there are also ebooks that I can read on my phone or tablet or on the computer and audiobooks that I listen to while I run or while doing things like cleaning or knitting. This past year, it's been quite common for me to have two books going at once, in fact. At the moment, however, I'm finding myself a bit more loaded up on books than usual.

Among the current reads, the one I've been reading the longest is How to Be Less Stupid about Race. I heard Crystal Fleming speak at a conference earlier in the year and was so impressed with her that I ordered her book on the spot. I'm reading it much like a textbook, with a highlighter in hand, so it's going slowly and deliberately. I think I'm something like 90 pages in. This one will probably get put on the back burner for the near future, which is fine with me; I'm reading it as part of my personal growth in my efforts to be more educated about race and racism and how to be a more effective antiracist, and I want to take my time with it.

Earlier in the week I started Just Mercy, which I'm reading as part of the readalong and discussion that Bonny, Carole, and Kym are hosting. I expect this is going to be my main bedtime reading until I finish it. I've only gotten through the introduction and started the first chapter thus far, but I hope to have more reading time this weekend to spend some more time with it.

The third book in the mix is the fourth in the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny, A Rule Against Murder. I started it over the weekend so I'd have something to listen to during the race on Sunday and have been listening during my lunch break as well. I borrowed it through a new app that I'm using called Hoopla, which is similar to Libby or Overdrive in that it's done through the library, but it also offers video. It also does not appear to have the same wait times as the library, though different libraries have different limits on how many borrows you're permitted a month (mine gives me 10, which is more than enough).

Very shortly I will be adding a fourth book to the mix: I got an e-mail from the library this morning that my hold on Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine has finally come up, so I'll likely start reading that today. It never rains but it pours!

Lest you think I'm spending all my time reading (though with all these books to finish, I probably should be!), here is one of the newest projects on my needles.

This is most of the body of a Little Worsted Sock Arms for my nephew and is the result of just a few hours of work. I started it Sunday afternoon and have worked on it a bit each evening since. Tonight I should be able to finish up the body and get started on the sleeves, which will be knit from a self-striping. The yarn I'm using for the body is Fibernymph Dye Works Mountain Tweed DK, which seems to be working just find in a pattern calling for worsted. I love how quickly this is working up and I expect I'll be finished with it before too long. If only kids could stay this tiny for longer!