Unraveled, Week 33/2023

Good morning, friends! Despite the two cups of coffee I just downed (too quickly, as I can tell from the bit of acid reflux I'm now experiencing), I am still moving slowly this morning and could use a little more sleep, but that will have to wait. It's Wednesday, which means it's time to link up with Kat and the Unravelers for our weekly check-in.

Last Friday morning I found myself without anything to do with my hands for my daily team meeting, so I quickly wound a skein of yarn and cast on a new sock. (I ended up having to rip it out and redo it after the meeting because I apparently can't count, but that's neither here nor there.) These are going to be for my sister-in-law, either for her birthday next month or for Christmas, depending on how quickly I get them done.

The yarn is from Fibernymph Dye Works, but somewhat unusually for me, it's in Lisa's sparkle base. The colorway is called Wheel of the Trees and was a prize for participating in in one of Lisa's yearlong make-alongs. I believe the colors are meant to be reminiscent of the colors that trees/leaves produce throughout the year. I haven't worked on these really since Friday, but I'll be taking them with me tomorrow morning, when Mo has an orthodontist appointment.

My main focus thus far this week has been my spinning, and today I've got three bobbins of singles ready to be plied:

Work has been a bit quieter this week, so I've been able to get in lots of time at my wheel, and I'm hoping that remains the case for the rest of the week.

Reading has been very good this past week, thanks in large part to that big work project getting wrapped up. I finished three books (though one was a reread).

I first read The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida last year when it was up for the Booker Prize (it eventually won), but I wanted to reread it now because it's the next Read With Us selection. I recently found that it was available on audio on Hoopla (where the selection is more limited but anything that is available can be borrowed without a wait), and I thought listening would be a good way to read it this time. I did get a lot out of hearing the different accents and voices, and certainly the narrator did a much better job of pronouncing names and terms than I ever did in my head. (He did mispronounce the name of a very minor Israeli character, but I'll give him a pass for that.) I was just as impressed with this book on a second read as I was on the first, and I think I understood more of the political situation this time around. This should make for a very interesting discussion. I gave it 4 stars.

I had made it about halfway through The Covenant of Water when that big work project hit, and it was a bit difficult to get back into the groove of reading it when I was able to pick it up again. I very much enjoyed that first half, but the second half was a bit disappointing to me --  though I do have to wonder if the big break in the middle and the disruption in my momentum had anything to do with it. I will say that this is a really well written story of several generations of a family and their challenges, but at times the religious overtones got to be a bit much for me. I think if it had ended where I paused, it would have been a 5-star read for me; I think it just went on too long and tried to cover too much. But I did enjoy it and would recommend it, as long as you're not intimidated by the length. I gave it 4 stars.

 

Finally, I read my second title of the Booker Prize longlist. If I Survive You is a collection of linked short stories. I don't know this for sure, but I suspect that they are at least party autobiographical. These stories deal a lot with difficulties within a family, with identity (racial and otherwise), with poverty, and with trying to make a life in the United States. I found it to be a fast but not easy read; there's a lot in these stories that's disheartening. But I thought the writing was good. Whether it deserves to be on the Booker list remains to be seen -- I still have a lot left to read. I gave this one 4 stars as well.

Just before bed last night, I finally started Tom Lake. I am only a very few pages into it and am looking forward to reading more.

What are you making and reading this week?