Skip to main content

Unravelling Wednesday - Week 26

Our numbers go down, and our freedoms very gradually go up. We are now allowed to meet with small numbers of people, outside, in public places. Shops, restaurants and all that are still shut, so I've still got a lot of time at home for the knitting and the reading.

And I read a  very good book this week, Why Birds Sing by Nina Berkout.


I got a review copy from NetGalley, but it is unreservedly one of the best books I've read recently. Focussing on an opera singer who is having career problems, it brings together a band of misfits, who help each other see what they need. It reminded me of Bennett Sawyer's The Hard Truth About Sunshine, but was less contrived. Nina Berkout handles her material well, never mawkish or overdone. I don't know a lot about opera, and that didn't detract from the book. And now I knit more than I ever thought I would about domesticated parrots. All in all, a thoughtful, at times sad, sometimes uplifting and overall very satisfying book.

I'm not enjoying  my audiobook that much, Queenie  by Candice Carty-Williams. I am still loving the cover though!

 The main character is a frustrating mess. It's an "own voices" book, which is great, but there is a whole chapter where she basically explains Black Lives Matter to the reader. And there is one jewish character, who is  a rich, spoiled princess. Diversity is good, but seeing my people stereotyped is  just as off putting as seeing stereotypes of other people. Anyway, I'm going to finish it because I kind of want to know if Queenie sorts herself out and I have a whole bunch of boring electronic filing to do for work.

In knitting I am very, very close to finishing Leon's jumper. I think it will be ok, but I won't be knitting large projects in dull colours until we are in a more lively situation here. Bring on the Westknits MKAL!

I tried to take a more artistic photo, but it doesn't really show anything.

As usual on a Wednesday I'm joining in with Kat from As Kat Knits and the rest of the crew for Unravelled Wednesday. I hope your crafting and reading has been treating you well this week.    


Labels:

Comments

  1. AsKatKnits02 October, 2020

    Okay, I am off to find your book recommendation! And, lovely sweater! Westknits things are just so vibrant! :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Linky Wednesday - 3/2024

  It's been a bit of a week. Because of my hand , I can't really knit, so I'm doing some charity crocheting:  It's quite fun, but also I'm halfway through a shrug for myself, and I'd rather be knitting. Oh well, we can't always get what we want! In reading, I'm reading Stargazy Pie , the next Victoria Goddard. This is a comedy of manners and  lots of things happen. I can't say I feel deeply  about any of them, but that's not the point. It's fun.   I'm listening to Elin Hilderbrand's The Five-Star Weekend . It's got a lot of characters, and it took me while to get into it, but now I'm invested. Women's fiction at it's finest. Next up is a review book Tidelines by Sarah Sasson. Great cover. It's Australian, and you know how I love a local book (although I think it's set, or at least starts in Sydney). It's described as a coming of age  novel, and I love those too, so it sounds like a winner.  I just re-read t...
16 comments
Read more

Geogradiant MKAL Part 1 - that was unexpected (spoilers)

Stephen West released the first MKAL clue on Thursday night. I started knitting it without looking at spoilers. When I got up on Friday he had sent through an "alternative" clue one. I then went and had a look at the spoiler thread to try to work out what was going on. Which was that some people thought the pattern looked like a "German hate symbol". I knit on anyway, since I was half-way through. Then he took down the original clue, replacing it with a mitred square in garter stitch. The Ravelry forums and Instagram are a complete shit-show, even though Rav is being moderated. It's been a bit disheartening, having something that is usually quite light and fun weighed down with all this. I admire Stephen's quick and sensitive response to this drama. I also feel that anything can look like anything if you squint. To me this looks like a Celtic knot. I think mine is pretty, and I'll knit on through all crises. 
7 comments
Read more

Linky Wednesday - the one with the pause

In meditation it's said that the pause between the in breath and the out breath is a gap, a space to rest. Well, I'm in that in-between space for reading, listening and knitting. This is a random photo of a highlight of my week - I filled up my lolly jar. These are just supermarket party mix. During the lockdowns, we sources a great pick-and-mix delivery service, but at some point they started sending from the UK, which is a bit silly. Rachey messaged me a new one she found, and I impulsed purchased a kilo of mixed lollies, and then she sent me a link to the biggest lolly shop in Melbourne, which also delivers sweets by the kilogram, so i think I'm sorted for the rest of the year!  In reading I've just finished  The Beckoning Lady   by Margery Allingham . It's the second last book in the Summer of Mystery, and I have to admit, having now read nine Margery Allingham books, that they are OK. I wouldn't have read them if they were not connected to this club, but on...
5 comments
Read more