Unraveled, Week 5/2026

It's Wednesday -- or rather only Wednesday, as it feels like it's already been a very long week -- and that means it's time to link up with Kat and the Unravelers.

We have six more weeks of winter, regardless of what Phil or any other groundhog says, but we did have a little bit of a warm-up yesterday and some of the snow has melted. But it's going to get cold again, and there's more snow in the forecast for later this week, so I haven't stopped knitting socks. I'm through the gusset of the first one and am now cruising down the foot.

It might be a little overambitious to try to get the pair done by the end of the weekend, but stranger things have happened!

It's been a slower week of reading for me -- only two books finished. But they were both good reads.

Jews in the Garden: A Holocaust Survivor, the Fate of His Family, and the Secret History of Poland in World War II by Judy Rakowsky

I can't remember exactly where I heard about this book, but it sounded interesting to me given my Polish Jewish ancestry. Though it was published in 2023, my library only recently got it; I was the second one to read the digital copy. The author, a longtime journalist who covered organized crime and other investigative topics, was intrigued by the story told by her father's cousin of family members who had been hiding in Poland only to be discovered and killed by fellow Poles as the Red Army was advancing. The story claimed that while those who were killed were buried in the garden of the house where they were hiding, one of the daughters escaped and was still alive. The author joined her cousin on a number of trips back to his hometown in Poland in search of news of this missing cousin, but no one seemed willing to talk about it, and over the course of several decades, the political climate in Poland contributed to the difficulty of the search by making it against the law to say that Poles contributed to the Holocaust in any way. This was a fascinating (albeit also rather devastating) read and gave me a sense of what might have happened to my grandmother's family had they not left Poland for Canada earlier. It also made me reconsider what I have heard in more recent years about Poles saving Jews; it seems that the right-wing government that took power in 2015 pushed a narrative of Polish victimhood and quashed any mention of collaboration. This wasn't an easy read, but it was well written and extremely informative. I gave it 4 stars.

I've now officially finished reading all eight published volumes of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion and now need to wait for the next one to come out! I can't say enough good things about this series. They're funny, they're touching, and they're highly entertaining and well written. The audiobooks have been a delight, but I decided to treat myself to hard copies so that I can read with my eyes when it comes time for my first reread. I have been recommending these books to everyone, and if you haven't read them yet but need some joy and laughter, please check them out. I've given the whole series 5 stars!

Speaking of series, I'm still finishing up On the Calculation of Volume III (I'll only have to wait until April for number IV), and I'm slowly making my way through Anna Karenina.

What are you making and reading this week?