My notion of the ideal day used to be curled up in a warm afghan – perhaps by the fireplace – with a glass of tea, and an amazingly engrossing book. However, as I delved deeper and deeper into the world of knitting, this notion has shifted slightly. The warm afghan, the fireplace, and the tea are all still there, but the book may be a pattern book, and my hands will undoubtedly be holding yarn and needles…
Now that I am finished with school, I have some free time on my hands. Of course, what immediately pops into my head is MORE KNITTING TIME! but I have also been feeling the desire to read more. I have kept up with the book reviews, and I even managed to fit in some great audio books to listen to at work, but I want to actually hold a book in my hands. Flip through the pages. Stay up late to get to the end of the chapter. You know the feeling.
My book "stash" is like my yarn stash. It is large, varied, and beautiful to me. I like to stare at it, touch it, and yes, even smell it, on occasion. When I finish one book, like yarn, it is often replaced by a new book; therefore, the stash never gets any smaller.
And that doesn't even factor in my request list at the library. When I get wind of a new book, I add it to my list at the public library. Often, others had that same idea, and the lists are quite long. Yet, when my turn rolls around, I get a little email notification, and I make my merry way to the library to pick it up.
Such is the case with my newest read:
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Water for Elephants has received several favorable reviews, and the premise sounded intriguing. Plus, Susan liked it, and that is a good sign, since we tend to read and enjoy the same kind of books. I started it last night, and suddenly, I was 70 pages in: loving the story and the style. |
Depression-era traveling circus… sound familiar?** I look forward to reading more tonight and over the weekend. It is quite good so far.
The last two fiction books that I read, Alias Grace, and The Kite Runner, were so moving and I recommend them both highly. I also have a lot of books on the shelf, as you can see in the picture above. In recent years, my reading has turned to non-fiction titles, and my bookshelf reflects that change. Loads of history, cultural studies, and linguistics books… and a smattering of fiction and short stories.
My non-fiction "fix" lately came in the form of an audiobook.
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While I am greatly enjoying The Omnivore's Dilemma it is also unsettling. The thesis of the book is that the modern human is too far removed from their food. We go to the store, buy our food, and rarely think about where it came from – except when problems arise, like the recent E. coli outbreak in the mid-Atlantic over raw scallions… |
Vegetarian or not – organic or not, we are all affected by this globalization of our food sources. It is food for thought – literally.
And lastly, in my knitting "research" reading, I have began reading Sheila McGregor's great work, Traditional Scandinavian Knitting. It is well-researched, and has some great charts too. This book was a birthday gift from Kris, and I am enjoying it so much that I added her Traditional Fair Isle Knitting to my wishlist!
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So, now I am wondering, since my appetite for books and for information is unsatiable:
What books are you reading?
What books have you recently enjoyed?
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**It is reminiscent of one of my favorite television shows – Carnivale on HBO – cancelled before it ever really took on. (You can get the DVDs though, but the story is just left with this awful cliffhanger – and no resolution whatsoever.) I am assuming it will not be picked up again, considering two of the major characters from the show ("Brother Justin" and "Sophie" now have reoccuring roles in other network hit shows – "LOST" and "Heroes", respectively) Sigh.
It is hard to read as much as we’d like because we love needles in our hands, too. (Hmmm, that shounds bad!) LOL
I’ve been listening to books on my iPod and that helps but I am trying to ‘read’ one book a month, too. Enjoy your free time whatever way you go.
Lolly,
First, I’ve really been loving your blog. I’m a big fan!
Second, I read Water for Elephants too (actually, listened to it as an audiobook) and loved it. It was an unusual choice for me, but I picked it up in a bookstore and became hooked. I thought it was very well written and entertaining.
Right now I’m reading “The Known World” by Edward Jones for my book group. I too am conflicted between knitting and reading, and I too have a long list of library requests–it’s always a question of when to stop knitting and start reading!
There’s a good article in the current Vogue Knitting about people who listen to audiobooks while they knit. It certainly is a good way to multitask and fulfill our desires!
Deb
http://www.rather-be.blogspot.com/
I stumbled across “Knitting: A Novel” by Ann Bartlett while in the library yesterday. Usually I’m not a huge fan of novels that focus on knitting as it feels like the knitting is an add on, thrown in simply to cater to the knitter who likes to read. But, this particular book has captured my attention. The writing is relatively simple, almost deceptively so, since it handles the question of how to grieve in a healthy manner in a very insightful manner.
i’m glad you liked Water for Elephants. i was ambivalent about it, but easily sucked into the story by the great writing. i think the elephant was my favorite character. i’ve had omnivore checked out forever but haven’t read it. i’m not reading right now. that’s the problem. too much knitting going on. But Jennifer Egans _The Keep_ was great. So was Julia Glass’s _Whole World Over_.
I’m still in “reading for school” mode, but as I’m studying fiction, that’s not so shabby! Some of my favorite books are Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Everything is Illuminated” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”. I’ve been pondering what to read with my college freshmen next semester, so on Mona’s recommendation, I’ve got “Love in the Time of Cholera” on my nightstand. I don’t think it’s right for my kids, but it is for me! I want to re-read “Jane Eyre” as that’s a contender, and also Roddy Doyle’s “A Star Called Henry.” I took a class on blurred boundaries (fiction/nonfiction) and we read W. Trevor’s “So Long, See you Tomorrow,” which I recommend, too.
i wish i was actually reading something right now! recently, as my pregnancy has progressed, i’ve found it harder to read on the subway because i get motion sickness. this is where i do the majority of my reading sadly
but i just picked “never let me go” by kazuo shigeru off the bookshelf this morning and hope to get started on my lunch break. we’ll see!
I have always loved reading too and I try to keep up, but knitting does cut into the time somewhat. I try to read at least an hour every night. Right now I’m reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and I am totally engrossed. Other great reads this year: Shadow of the Wind by Zafon, The Sparrow by Russell, Jonathon Strange and Dr. Norrell by Clarke. Happy reading!
Sigh, I wish I had more time to read! My library is pretty large, but now that I read for a living (I’m a proofreader), I rarely read for pleasure — my eyes are just too tired. On the weekends my fiance and I will sometimes read in bed before we turn in, and lately it’s been all wedding books (surprised?). I am, however, looking forward to my time off from work later this month, when I’m planning on reading “In Cold Blood” (finally borrowed from my father).
I’ve been bad and reading absolutely squat! I’ve got so many magazine subscriptions, it’s all I can do to keep up with reading those. I’m looking forward to my 12 day Christmas break to get through some of the books that have been piling up (as you probably noticed)!
I didn’t care for Omnivore’s Dilemma. I think it’s the South Dakota corn-land girl in me that just couldn’t accept his premise of corn as the root of a lot of evil in our society. I am now reading “The Darling” by Russell Banks and it’s wonderful. Knitting has definitely cut into my reading time, though. I spend far more time with the needles than with a book.
The amount of time I spend reading is inversely proportional to the amount of time I spend knitting. I find that whenever I have a spare second to sit down and veg out, the needles all but leap into my hands. Maybe that’ll be my New Years Resolution – read more!
Oh the tragedy that was Carnivale. I still get upset thinking about it.
I’m reading Kafka on the Shore and have been for entirely too long, even though it’s such a wonderful story. I hope to finish by the end of the year but I tend to spend all my time knitting! I’ve got about 30 books around the house waiting to be read. Before I started knitting in January I read as often as I could.
Water for Elephants is on my wishlist. Can’t wait to hear your review/final thoughts.
As a grad student most of the books I read are chosen by others, but I have come across a few good ones lately. Yesterday I went through the Tocqueville Reader (Zunz and Kahan, eds.). He’s brilliant and this translation is really good. One history book that I recommend to everybody is 1688: A Global History. Basically the guy spends one chapter talking about what’s going on in 1688 in almost every part of the world, it has just the right amount of background and the writing is really good.
YOu know, I was really upset about the whole Carnivale incident. It was kind of like Skin, which I still believe was cancelled due more to it’s slight risque nature than ratings. *sigh* Such is life.
On my nightstand I have Forever Odd by Dean Koontz, I loved Odd Thomas and I’m extremely delighted to be continuing the saga. Odd Thomas is such a well developed and lovable character. Then, I picked up Killer on the Road (formerly Silent Terror) by James Ellroy at the library. Originally, I had intended to pick it up for my husband (he loves L.A. Confidential) and then started reading it myself! lol
Hmm, I recently read Joan Didion’s Year of Magical Thinking, which is a meditation on her experience with her husband’s death. It was certainly sobering, but I loved her writing and now I want to explore her other works. I’ve also got The Last King of Scotland on the list (book and movie).
Love Traditional Fair Isle Knitting, I’ll have to look for the Scandinavian one!
I just started The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fford. Very fun, literary and surreal. But now I have to reread Jane Eyre, it’s been a very long time and I don’t remember much of anything about it.
Lolly,
I also read “Knitting: A Novel” by Ann Bartlett and it was simple but quite beautiful in its way. My latest read was “Friends, Lovers, Chocolate” by Alexander McCall Smith (of “The First Ladies Detective Agency and Mma Ramotswe fame). Again, an easy read but I love his style. Lastly, ” Five Quarters of the Orange” by Joanne Harris and “Atonement” by Ian McEwan. AND YES, I STILL HAVE TIME TO KNIT!! It just takes me a lot longer to get through these books than it used to!
Hey Lolly – love the library shot. As someone who works in publishing, I love to read about what other people are reading! I recently read Special Topics in Calamity Physics and loved it. Right now I have Susanne Clarke’s The Ladies of Grace Adieu, the short-story follow up to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Can’t wait to get into it! I just wish that I could knit and read at the same time!!
I finished ‘The Thirteenth Tale’ by Diane Setterfield, and I LOVED it. A fantastic book–I couldn’t believe it was her first novel! Now I have to wait until she writes another one! Pitter patter, Diane. If anyone knows of a book that is similar to this in style (you know, the ol’ “if you liked this, you’ll LOVE this” song and dance), please let me know.
The last book I read was ‘The Pearl Diver’ by Sujata Massey. It was a mystery set in the DC/VA area. It was an enjoyable read.
I have been reading your blog for quite some time now but didn’t get a chance to comment. I just wanted to say that I love reading your blog and learning about your knitting experiences.
The most recent book I’ve read is A Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin. It is a series with this book about the Civil War and the person’s perspective on each side and the slave’s side too. I read each book in 2 days. It’s definitely worth reading. As for knitting, I’m a new beginner and I knit when I feel like it and I read when I feel like it.
Happy knitting and reading to you.
I, too, have been reading less since the knitting obsession took over my brain, but I’m still definitely a bibliophile. I’m currently reading The Agony and the Ecstasy; next up is The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. I started The Omnivore’s Dilemma this summer but put it aside for awhile – I need to pick it up again. Books I recently enjoyed include: The Woman at the Washington Zoo (a collection of essays by the late Marjorie Williams) and Long Life (a collection of essays by poet Mary Oliver).
Hey Lolly!
What a great topic! I just finished listening to “The Thirteenth Tale,” (which was delicious) and “Red Rabbit” by Tom Clancy (which was suspenseful in all the right areas), I’m listening to “Water for Elephants” right now and am engrossed after cry before the end of the first chapter. I’ve gotten DH hooked on “A Wrinkle in Time” while we listened to that in the car. I’m actually reading “Omnivore’s Delimma” and agree with you that our unawareness of our food sources is disturbing. I’m also reading “Lolitta” right now as well. Oh, I almost forgot! I’m listening to “Turn of the Screw” on Craftlit right now, one of my favorite podcasts. I must admit, audiobooks are a fabulous way to enjoy my two loves of “reading” and knitting.
I’m re-reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and my 12 year old daughter is going to read it next. She’s in 6th grade and is reading 12 books for her language arts class this semester, each from a different genre!
I have the hardest time making time for reading! I sift through magazines now and then, and I have the latest in the Series of Unfortunate Events sitting in my bathroom, then there’s the Search for the Giant Squid as my gym book and a fantasy series – the Dragonlance Chronicles – at work for my lunch hour. I’ve got a huge pile I hope to get to as my life settles down more. We’ll see how that goes…
Hi Lolly – although I love your knitting posts, its great to hear about your love of books! I am also very jealous of your library – all of my beautiful books are in my parents shed in Australia, miserable that no one is reading them! But I am currently re-reading Cormac McCarthy – Blood Meridian right now – but if you were going to read something by him (and I really recommend it!) No Country for Old Men is an easier read than some of his others, and All The Pretty Horses is a good place to start for a more typical McCarthy read (if you saw the movie – try to forget it!). But i have to say that my favourite read this year has been Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Jaw dropping. Makes you realise how gifted the people who write books are. If you are interested, I just posted a review (in the very broadest sense!) of Blood Meridian (and there is an earlier post about Arthur & George, by Juilian Barnes, which is also worth a read). Read on!!
It’s so great to find out a fellow knitter is also a reader–though it seems that all of our knitting is getting in the way of our reading. My top books of the year would be:
1. “His Dark Materials Trilogy” by Philip Pullman
2. “The Historian” by Elizabeth Kustova
3. “Special Topics in Calamity Physics” by Marisha Pessl
all 3 of which were SO good, I could barely put them down to knit!
I am closing in on the end of “The Thorn Birds”. I don’t want it to end, I’ve enjoyed it SOOOO much!! I know it’s one of those books that everyone has read, but in case you haven’t, you totally should!
It is the first book I’ve read in a while that really hooked me. Part of the reason I dread finishing is because I’m afraid I won’t find another that will do the same for me. Perhaps “Water for Elephants” can fill the hole.
Oh, I LOVED Water for Elephants. It was our book club selection a few months ago and it got the highest rating we’d seen in a while.
I’m doing the 50 Book Challenge again this year. I managed to pass 50 even with school, knitting and work and I only need 21 more to pass 100 for the year. School is a good as over for the term…think I can make it?
Oh yeah, I almost forgot “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini and “Snow” by Orhan Pamuk (he just won the Nobel for lit.)
Congrats on more knitting time! I look forward to that day.
Looks like you have a great library, with a lot of variety. I don’t get to read too much for fun these days, it seems I’m always reading books about stochastic processes and random variables. Although I have been know to enjoy those subjects
Hi Lolly! Congrats on your official librarian status. So book recommendations are a fitting topic! Anyway, I recently read Metropolis by Elizabeth Gaffney. It is historical fiction, set in New York City in the late 1800s. This book is as beautifully written as it is historical. It’s got drama and intrigue, a love story…I didn’t want it to end. Anyway, you might like it too.
I loved Water for Elephants… It was definitely a great story and definitely something different than what is out there.
No matter what our other interests are, I think there’s nothing quite like getting engrossed in a good book. It’s one of life’s great pleasures.
I’m pretty sure I told you that I just finished “The Kid” by Dan Savage, and I was so drawn into the story. It’s how he and his boyfriend decided to adopt a child. I laughed, I cried, and I couldn’t put it down. A great quick read. I jsut started “The Known World” and I’m very interested to see where it goes.
for more of that weird side show like wierdness in life try > it’s a strange tale, but i enjoyed it.
I know you probably covered this already, but how do you organize them?
Great post!! I can recognize two books we have in common on your shelves!!
I have been reading Ann Waldron Princeton Murders as light reading, and next is going to The Dogs of Bedlam farm. But the best book I’ve read so far this year was definitely The Kite Runner!
I’ve been enjoying “Marcella’s Italian Kitchen”. An oldie but it’s just been such fun to read her thoughts on Italian cooking.
If you like the new Michael Pollan book, you might like Second Nature too. I read it a few years ago, and it really made me rethink how we care for our lawns and gardens. I haven’t read any of his other books yet, but would like to. He also did a series for Modern Library, where they reprinted gardening classics. I’ve read a few of them and they’re very warm and engaging.
I’d like to recommend Persephone Books to you too. They’re in London; they reprint out of print books, using vintage textile patterns as the endpapers. Most of the books are fiction titles by women, but there are a few by men, and a few nonfiction books that give a glimpse into housekeeping and gardening and other early 20th century pursuits. My favorite is Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, a sweet and funny book, but there are lots of the more serious, pro-women titles too if you prefer those.
I am definately checking out Elephant now. I absolutely loved Carnivale and was very upset to find that the show had been dropped despite the cliffhanger. I love the setting of the show, and the concept, so I’m sure I’d love anything even slightly reminiscent.
Currently, I’m reading The Kite Runner (finally). I just just picked it up. Before that, I finished some fluff reading with the most recent book in the Outlander series, Snow and Ashes. Nothing like time travel, a hunky scotsman and a sassy british doctor to make winter a little more exciting
I could have written that very opening to your post! I know that I need to get some balance back and actually read again as all it has been lately is knit, knit, knit, oh so little time to do the things you want to in life! I used to be at least a book a week girl but now… gulp…. nothing for two months!
I think that I will pick up an Adriana Trigiani book shortly as they are always lovely – Lucia, Lucia is my favourite – or maybe La Cucina by Lily Prior will make it to the top of the pile – sounds like the same kind of feel. I think I need an easy read to get me back in the swing!
One book I read this year that I would recommend if you haven’t read it would be ‘Rebecca’s Tale’ by Sally Beaumain, based on the characters from the Du Maurier book. I really enjoyed that one.
I devoured Ominvore’s Dilemma – pun intended. I’ll admit that it was some preaching to the choir for this reader, but it armed me with lots of facts, and scared me with more information of how the big picture of industrial/agricultural fits together. Michael Pollan is not the first person to say these things, but he did a great job of integrating them.
Every winter, after the first really cold day, I get the urge to re-read “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt. It’s a murder mystery, but you know who was killed and by whom at the beginning – the suspense is “did they get away with it?” It takes place on a college campus in the northeast during the winter which is why I think of it this time of year, I guess. When I’d turned the last page I was unable to read anything else for 2 weeks. I thought it was that good.
Unfortunately, I read for a living (and will for the rest of my natural life), so reading isn’t really what I want to do to relax. Which is sad, because the reason I wanted a Phd in the first place is because I love to read. The books I’ve read for pleasure were Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair and (last Christmas, yikes!) and Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian.
I’m constantly reading. As much as I enjoy the knitting (and, of course, I DO), books are my first addictio . . . I mean . . . first LOVE, and I almost always have one with me, several going at once, and the size of my Library? I’m closing in on 3000 books. Books are GOOD!
Oh, and the best fiction I’ve read recently? Diane Setterman’s “The Thirteenth Tale.”
I think I am about 6 years old at heart. In order to balance this with my adult intellect, I read juvenile fantasy A LOT. Almost exclusively in fact. I don’t remember the last time I read a “grown up” book. Right now I am getting ready to start the third book in T. A. Barron’s The Great Tree of Avalon series. It is called The Eternal Flame. I couldn’t put the first two down, so I imagine it will be another late night for me tonight!
My list at the public library is usually very long too. I am embarrassed to say that there is nothing on it right now.
I’ve been re-reading some of my library lately because most of it is packed up to move. And the other reason being I can’t buy myself new books right before xmas because that’s what most of my family gets for me. So what I’ve been re-reading are short story collections (that’s all my library consists of) like Acid Plaid and French Canadian Short Stories. And of course a pile of knitting mags I just bought on sale!
I have a list of my top ten favorites, but there are so many more than just those that I love. Here are a few that I’d recommend, which you might have read already, but hey, just putting them out there.
Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff by Christopher Moore
Mary, Called Magdalene by Margaret George
The knitting has definitely cut into my reading this past year. I keep taking books out of the library and returning them unread. I’ve gotten into a few and listened to a few as well. I had heard good things about The Kite Runner and didn’t want to read it. I’m so tired of Iraq and Afghanistan….I send books and packages and music to the troops, I can support the men and women but do I want to add this to my “leisure” time? So when I saw the book on CD I finally went for it and I’m glad I did. My family listened with me during our long Thanksgiving drive and it became a family book. Very moving.
I recently read Special Topics in Calamity Physics….wish I had written it! But one of my favorites this year that nobody’s mentioned has been Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. This book really stuck in my head for a while. Thanks for all of the recs, my list grows longer….
Don’t even get my started on my irritation about Carnivale being cancelled. I’m still bitter.
I love reading too, but have such precious little time to do it.