Unraveled, Week 41/2023

It has not been an especially busy week here, and yet this morning I woke up and thought, "Is it really already Wednesday?!" That means it's time to link up with Kat and the Unravelers.

It's been all sock knitting so far this week. I've been wanting to start a new spinning project, but I knew if I did I would end up only spinning and would neglect the socks, so if I want to get the socks done, it's best to hold off. Yesterday I managed to get through the heel turn and the first round of the gusset on the colorwork sock, and I added a bit to my sister-in-law's sock during my morning meeting (I had to be on camera, so I figured it was best to do something I didn't have to look at). My goal is to get through the gusset of that sock by Saturday, when we have plans to see the Taylor Swift concert movie and I'll want some stockinette in the round to work on.

I've had another productive week of reading, with four books finished.

I've been wanting to read A Ghost in the Throat since last year, I think, and was waiting for it to be available from the library on audio -- I knew there was a lot in it in Irish Gaelic that I would never be able to pronounce but wanted to hear it. This is a really beautiful book but one that is difficult to categorize. On the one hand, it's a memoir of those years of motherhood that feel like an endless cycle of nursing, laundry, and not enough sleep (it felt very familiar!). But it's also a work of translation of a poem from the 1700s, a work of literary criticism, and a piece that asks questions about whose voices and lives are remembered. It's a really beautiful work, no matter how you classify it. 5 stars!

There was a lot of buzz around Wellness in the past several weeks, so I put it on "notify me" on Libby and was able to put it on hold immediately when my library got it, which meant I waited only a day or two. This is a long (600+ pages!) book that's about a marriage but also about many other things -- so many other things! It's clear that writing this book required extensive research (there's even a chapter with actual citations to articles in psychological journals, including one written by my Intro to Psychology professor from college) and it tackles so many big topics beyond the relationship at the center. There's a whole section, for instance, on the algorithms used by Facebook and how they might lead someone to getting involved in conspiracy theories, which was a lot more interesting than I would have thought. This is not an easy read because of its scope, but it's masterfully done and I really enjoyed it. It also got 5 stars from me.

Even though two people panned it at our last Read With Us Zoom, I still wanted to read Lauren Groff's latest, The Vaster Wilds, and make my mind up for myself. I was also lucky to be able to put this on hold at the library as soon as it became available, so I waited less and a week to get it, and it took me about two days to read. I didn't love it, but I also didn't hate it. This is a survival story of a young woman who escapes from an early American colony to make her own way in the wilderness. As you can imagine, that is not at all an easy task, and her story is sometimes harrowing. But I think Groff has some important things to say about colonization and the use/misuse of natural resources. I don't think it's her best by any means, but I'm not sorry I read it. I gave it 3 stars.

Finally, in need of an audiobook to keep me company on my workouts and missing my old standby of the Maisie Dobbs series, I borrowed Jacqueline Winspear's latest, The White Lady. The world of Elinor White felt familiar, though she's definitely a departure from Maisie. Rather than an investigator, this protagonist is a full-on spy who was involved in efforts in both World Wars. She's what I imagined Maisie would become if her story had kept going. There was no mystery to unravel per se in this book but rather a character's reckoning with her past and a truth to be uncovered. I'm not sure if this is meant to be the start of a new series or a standalone novel, but I enjoyed it either way! I gave it 4 stars.

At the moment, I'm reading an ARC of Day by Michael Cunningham and hope to finish it in the next day (ha!) or two as work allows. And perhaps then I will get back to the books that I've been in the middle of for too long!