On Wednesdays I link up with Kat at As Kat Knits to share what I’ve been reading and knitting lately. Check out her blog for more inspiration!
Knitting
I’m still plugging away at my Old Romance sweater (ravelry link). The picture above is the same one I posted a few weeks ago because I didn’t manage to traipse out in the snow and rain yesterday to snap anything new! I have about 2 inches left on the body until I can start the ribbed hem. I’m getting there!
Reading
Last week I shared that I was struggling with The Water Dancer. On Wednesday night, I decided to abandon it. I felt bad because I wanted to support this author and love the things he has to say, but this novel wasn’t working for me. Life is short and there are too many books!
I immediately picked up The Dutch House and flew through it. (Bonus: I’m seeing now that the audiobook is narrated by Tom Hanks. Sweet!) This book wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was amazing. The characters are compelling, their stories are fascinating, and humans are just so complicated. I saw a lot of my own dysfunctional characteristics on display, which drew me even closer. Now I want an entire book from Maeve’s perspective. Ann Patchett, are you there? Are you reading this??
Right now I’m reading One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow by Olivia Hawker. I’m sort of in the same situation as I was last week: I want to finish it but I’m having a hard time getting excited about it. It’s a western that features two families who have unexpectedly found themselves without husbands and fathers as winter approaches. It has outstanding ratings on both Amazon and Goodreads with several reviews saying that they had a hard time getting going but really enjoyed it in the end. I’m about 150 pages into it and don’t know where to draw the line. I think I’ll try again tonight after the kids go to bed – if I’m not more excited, then I’m moving on to Plainsong!
That’s been my knitting and reading life this week! As always, I love making friends on Goodreads and Ravelry, so please feel free to visit me there!
What has kept your mind occupied lately?
The Cozy Burrow 
How do you do it? I’m still listening to Blowout and reading Jayber Crow. Loving both, but will I be finished before spring? Stay tuned…
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I stopped watching the news at night and it’s made a world of difference. I still watch a bit of news when the baby is napping and when the boys are away at school, but that’s usually it. Except for today – I’ve been glued to the impeachment coverage since I put Colty on the bus!
I’m glad to hear you’re loving Jayber Crow. I haven’t heard of the other – I will check it out!
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I am tucked quite nicely into Eventide and savoring the words and loving the characters! My mind often drifts back during the day though to The Dutch House – what a compelling story. Truly my favorite book of the year – hands down!
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I can’t wait to dig into the Haruf novels! I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the series. And yes – The Dutch House was SO GREAT! It was my first fiction work by Patchett and I was captivated. ❤️
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I say if you aren’t enjoying a book, let it go. As you say there are too many books in this world. I enjoyed the Haruf novels but I live on the Great Plains and it is home to me. Sounds like you are making progress on the sweater. Knit on.
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Thanks Jane! I usually have such an easy time abandoning books, but it’s been harder for me lately. Hard to say why. Thanks for the encouragement on my knitting – row by row, it’s getting there!
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I’m on hold for both The Water Dancer and The Dutch House but it’ll be next year before I get to them. Who knows, maybe you can try The Water Dancer another time and it will click? Sometimes I am just not in the mood for something that I know is a good book. Or maybe it’s just not for you and that’s okay! Don’t feel guilty.
I loved Plainsong. I keep meaning to finish his books but you know how that goes.
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I hope you love both of them and the wait is shorter than expected! I can’t wait to dig into Plainsong a bit more. I started it over the weekend but only got to read about 30 pages. I hope we have good reading weeks!
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