Unraveled, Week 34/2021

It is the last full week of August (how did that happen already?) and feels like the last week of summer because at this time next week, Rainbow will be back at school. It's going to be a busy day for me, but it's Wednesday, and that means it's time to link up with Kat and the Unravelers to talk about crafting and reading.

I'm still working on the charity hat, and I've also added a bit to my sister-in-law's socks (well, the first sock, anyway). I have about an inch more to knit before I start the toe -- I'm very grateful that my big-footed brother married a woman with tiny feet!

Reading has been very good this past week. I am getting very close to completing a second bingo card, and I am determined to try my hardest to get that second cover-all by the end of Labor Day weekend. Since this time last week, I've finished five books!

I listened to the audiobook of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, a very buzzy recent release that's been on a lot of summer book lists this year. Even though I generally prefer to read with my eyes, this is one that I really wanted to listen to and really enjoyed in an audio format. (The primary narrator is Bahni Turpin, who I know some of you love.) The book reads like a nonfiction documentary about a 1970s band and a violent, racist incident that broke it apart. It was compelling and well written, and I definitely recommend it. I gave it 4 stars.

Bingo square: Audiobook with multiple narrators

Plenty was an Amazon First Reads selection for August; the book actually doesn't come out until September 1 (and if you're interested, there's currently a Goodreads giveaway for it). Given my experience with previous selections, I went in with low expectations, but I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this memoir. The author is a freelance food writer, but she's also someone who is in recovery from an eating disorder and thus has a complicated relationship with food. This book gave me Ruth Reichl Save Me the Plums vibes, and I enjoyed it so much that I even bought Howard's first memoir when I got an email from Amazon with a deal on it. I gave this one 4 stars.

Bingo square: About food

I'd had The Illness Lesson on my TBR list since hearing about it (a couple of times!) on the Novel Pairings podcast, and I got really lucky last month when I found a copy of it in the Little Free Library in our neighborhood. I got even more excited to read it when I looked at the author's bio and realized she's local! This book has pretty mixed reviews on Goodreads, and I can understand why. I think it's one that really would benefit from discussion or study, because there's a lot about this book that's just not written on the page but that you have to intuit. I enjoyed it but feel like I might have to reread it to get more out of it, and I'd love to talk about it with someone else! I gave it 4 stars.

Bingo square: That you want to read because of the cover

I listened to the audio of Saturday mainly at Kat's recommendation and because it filled a square on my card. This is the third novel by Ian McEwan that I have read and not my favorite, although I will say I liked how this one ended a lot more than Atonement! I found it to be pushing my suspension of disbelief just a bit that all of the drama in this book could have happened over the course of one day -- not that it's impossible, just highly unlikely. But the narration was good and kept me company on three walks and while cleaning the bathrooms, so that's saying something. I gave it 3 stars.

Bingo square: Month or day of the week in the title

 
I finally caught up on the Inspector Gamache series on the day that the 17th book was released (that would be yesterday). All the Devils Are Here, like pretty much any Gamache book for me, was pure pleasure reading. I enjoy seeing where the mystery will take me -- and more often than not being surprised by the ending -- as well as the humorous and touching moments. Reading one set in Paris was also a delightful change of scenery and was even more enjoyable because I've been brushing up on my French via Duolingo this summer. I gave it 4 stars.

Bingo square: Any book (free square)

I have four squares left to fill to get my second cover-all, and I'm pretty sure I have books to cover all of them, two of them hard copies in my possession. On Monday I started All Who Go Do Not Return, which I've had on my TBR list for several years, and yesterday I started The Summer Book -- I know several of you have read it, and I expect that it'll be a quick read. I may get a couple of large-ish projects for work this week, but there are 13 days left in Summer Book Bingo, and I plan to use them all if I have to in order to finish these last four books!