Unraveled, Week 38/2024

Happy mid-week, friends! That big project that I've been waiting for finally showed up yesterday afternoon -- though thankfully it was much smaller than the first iteration, especially because it has to go to print by Friday. That will be my top priority today, but I can't miss out on a week joining in with Kat and the Unravelers!

I did indeed manage to skein and wash that finished handspun on Monday (thanks to a Teams meeting in which no one turns on their camera). I left it outside for about an hour and it was dry much faster than it would have been if it had been hanging in my shower, so I guess there is some benefit to the warm weather continuing! Because I spun this long draw, it's not as consistent as my yarn usually is, and it ranges from laceweight to probably DK or worsted, but I'd say overall it's in the fingering to sport neighborhood. I have approximately 345 yards -- just don't ask me what I'm going to do with it! The goal was just to spin it, so for now, it goes back into the stash.

My main focus the last several days has been the lace baby blanket. I'm officially onto the edging and have joined in my second skein of yarn, but it's getting really unwieldy! It's on a 40-inch circular needle, and I suppose I could use a second needle, but that seems more fiddly to me than just shoving it along the needle.

Once this is done, I'll be pinning it out and steaming the heck out of it in the hopes that I can kill the acrylic content in the yarn and it will hold the block permanently.

Reading has continued to be very good. I finished two more books this past week.

My Friends was on the Booker Prize longlist (I'm sad it didn't make the shortlist!), and I'd been wanting to read it for several months. I gave up on waiting for the library to get it and just bought it on Kindle. This novel reads very much like a memoir, and certainly it is grounded in real events. The narrator tells the story of events that happened when he was much younger and brings us back to the present. First, as a child in Qaddafi's Libya, he hears a short story by a mysterious Libyan author read on the BBC that so moves him that he decides to study literature. Then, as a student in the UK, he is convinced to attend a protest at the Libyan embassy in London by a fellow student at which they are both gravely injured and, as a result of being there, are both forced to become exiles because of the risks they would face in returning home. Years later, he meets the author of that short story completely by chance, and the two become friends. These three men share a common background and a common fear of their native country's oppressive regime, and they all find different ways of navigating their exile and separation from their families. Then comes the Arab Spring and difficult decisions to be made. I thought this book was really well written and that it speaks to many aspects of the human condition that aren't unique to these individuals. I gave it 4 stars. 

When I am caught up on podcasts and am waiting for library holds, I generally scroll through Libby and Hoopla to see what audiobooks are available that I've been interested in reading, and that is how I happened to pick up Weyward over the weekend. I know a number of you have already read and enjoyed this one. I thought it worked really well on audio because there's a different reader for each of the three female characters: Altha in 1619, who is accused of witchcraft; Violet in 1942, who has been kept sheltered at home by a domineering father; and Kate in 2019, who has run away from her abusive partner and sought shelter in an old cottage left to her by a great-aunt she barely knew. All three women are fighting to claim their place in a world dictated and controlled by men, and all have an unusual bond with nature. There's a strong element of magical realism and a bit of a predictable outcome to their storylines, but it's a highly enjoyable and atmospheric journey. This would be a great one if you're looking for something just a little creepy heading into spooky season! I gave it 4 stars as well.

I am still (very slowly) reading September, and on Monday, after the announcement of the Booker Prize shortlist, I started Creation Lake. I was hoping that all the books on the shortlist would be ones I already read or at least ones I already had, but there are two titles I have not yet read. I'm not sure if I'll be able to read Stone Yard Devotional before the winner is announced, as my library apparently has only one (physical) copy that's checked out and isn't at a branch near me. There are two other titles from the longlist that I plan to read in any case -- one I already have in my Kindle library and one I preordered (it doesn't come out until next month). I will say that I'm more enthusiastic about this year's shortlist than I was about last years! Are you following the Booker Prize? If so, I'd love to know what you think about the shortlist and what you think might win!

Okay, friends, I've got to get to my editing work this morning so I can get back to my reading for pleasure ASAP. Have a good one!