Unraveled, Week 34/2022

Happy hump day, all! It's Wednesday again, and as usual I'm linking up with Kat and the Unravelers, but first I have to thank all of you who left such lovely comments on Monday's post. I shared all of them with Rainbow, who is feeling very gratified and encouraged to continue her crafting. I'm sure I'll be sharing more of her work in the future.

So, back to my crafting. These days, it's all about my Quotidian Tee:

I know it doesn't look like a ton of progress, but you have to keep in mind that I'm knitting this on size 3/3.25 mm needles, so it's bound to grow slowly. Knitting with this yarn is an interesting experience. It's a linen/cotton blend but feels cool and silky to the touch. It's a chainette construction, which makes joining a new skein a little tricky, but Mary (who has knit with this yarn a lot) was able to give me some good tips, and I think I did a decent job on my first join:

On Monday Rainbow and I were back at the orthodontist (and we'll be leaving in a little bit for our third visit in the past week). I thought the sweater was a bit large to take with me, so I cast on a new pair of socks, which will be for my sister-in-law for her birthday next month. I'm using some Fibernymph Dye Works Bounce from stash from several years ago. Monday's visit was relatively short, so I was only able to cast on and complete part of the cuff, but today the lower braces are going on and we'll be there longer. I'll be interested to see how much of this sock I get knit today.

There's been a lot of reading here the past week! Remember how last week I said I probably wouldn't read much more Elizabeth Strout? Well, you can go ahead and laugh at me -- because I read two more of her books this week!

On Friday, I found myself all caught up on podcasts, so I went in search of available audiobooks on Libby and found, to my surprise, that Oh William! was available with no wait. It took me two workouts and a bit of housecleaning to finish it, and I think I've discovered that audio works much better for me with Strout's books because they are so very conversational and having someone read to me is more like listening to someone tell me a story. I liked this one much better that the two books of hers I'd read previously, and even though I got a bit annoyed with how many times the phrase in the title was uttered, I enjoyed getting to know these characters a bit better. I gave this one 4 stars.

Then, because I wanted to know more about the characters, I borrowed the book that technically comes in between My Name Is Lucy Barton and Oh William! Anything Is Possible is a series of interconnected short stories set in Amgash, Illinois, Lucy's hometown, and though she does make an appearance toward the end, she is not really a main figure. I found a number of these stories to be rather disturbing and didn't like the book as much, but it certainly gave me more insight into Lucy's background and enabled me to understand her (and her book) better. I gave it 3 stars.

My next read was the last of Maggie O'Farrell's back catalog that I had not yet read, The Distance Between Us. This book is what I've come to think of as classic O'Farrell: stories of characters who seem unrelated at the beginning and whose lives come together as more is revealed about them as the plot plays out. The writing is, as usual, quite excellent, and I was kept guessing about a key plot point that isn't uncovered until almost the end. I gave it 4 stars, and I'm really looking forward to her new book, which comes out next month!

Finally, just yesterday afternoon, I finished another book off the Booker Prize long list, Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies. I will start out by saying that this is a somewhat unconventional book in its structure, and it's likely to be one you'll either love or hate. It tells the story of a woman, a wife and mother, whose breast cancer has recurred some years after her first bout with it, and interspersed with the stories of this character and her life, the cancer actually cuts in. Over time, the cancer's voice becomes more and more prominent until eventually it has taken over so much of her that it becomes "we" rather than "I."  I found myself a bit confused early on but kept with it, and when I finished it yesterday, I was in tears. I think what's most impressive about this book is that the author is only 26 years old -- such a talent! I found myself emotionally worn out by this book, but in a good way. I gave it 5 stars.

I've just started rereading Sorrow and Bliss for the next Read With Us discussion, and I'll be interested to see how the experience of reading it with my eyes compares to reading it with my ears.

What are you making and reading this week?