Wednesday Round Up 1.15.20

I love Wednesdays because I get to participate in a couple of amazing linkups!

• Kat at As Kat Knits hosts Unraveled Wednesday for readers and knitters;
• Sam at Taking on a World of Words hosts WWW Wednesday, which asks: What are you reading now? What have you recently finished? and What do you think you’ll read next?

And this month the 15th falls on a Wednesday, so I’ll also be joining Anne Bogel at the Modern Mrs. Darcy to share what I’ve been reading lately. It feels like I’m cheating to use this one post for 3 linkups, but they all go together so well!

Reading

It’s been a wonderful week of reading! I’ve basically eschewed everything else because I’ve had so many books calling my name. What a way to start 2020!

Finished This Week:

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I finished Light Changes Everything and loved it! A huge thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy. It was published yesterday so now you or your librarian can scoop up a copy! This is a good place to start if you’re new to westerns. How can you go wrong with a bookish, smart girl who decides to go away to college despite a promising proposal? She even “has to” live in the library a few days before the term starts because she got there too early. This book really finds its momentum in the second half and left me breathless and on the edge of my seat. Mary Pearl is a character that I won’t soon forget!

Remember last week when I was so upset that two of my holds came in on the same day and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get to them? That was a little silly because I finished them both within 3 days!!

Red at the Bone was incredible. What a tale of inherited trauma and the lives of mothers and daughters. And what a reminder that we must love each other for the people we are, not who we expect each other to be. Although the subject is heavy, it’s a very short novel – only about 200 pages. I think its length makes it more approachable and easier to digest.

I was hesitant about The Family Upstairs. I read another book by this author at the end of 2019 and was disappointed, but I had already been on this waiting list for weeks and decided to stay on it. And I loved it! It was such a weird book with a gothic twist. The posh Lamb family home becomes ground zero for a weird cult. With switching POVs and unnamed characters, Jewell created a creepy world and I couldn’t look away!

This Tender Land was a 5-star book for me. Four orphans escape a Native American “re-education” school in Minnesota in 1932. They hop on a canoe and paddle down the river and experience a true quest for the things in their heart that they can’t quite express. This book was incredible. I made so many notes and revisited some quotes during my morning journaling time. I’ll definitely be looking for another book by this author.

Abandoned This Week:

Nothing!!

Currently Reading:

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of The German Heiress. Lately I’ve been so interested in stories about German civilians during WWII – how they justified their complacency and how they were able to support Hitler’s causes. Or not – how they managed to resist in little ways. I’ve only just started this novel and I’m hoping to dig into it in the next couple of days.

Up Next:

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I’ve had holds on The Orphan’s Tale and We Were the Lucky Ones for a long time, so I’m very happy they were went to my kindle on the same day! I’ll be getting started on The Orphan’s Tale right after my current book.

I couldn’t resist the cover of Under Occupation. I see that it’s a part of a series and hope I won’t be too lost by jumping in on number 15!!??!

I read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe with my 6 year old in December. He’s not super interested in continuing in the series, but I think I am. About ten years ago I read through about half of the series. I think I’ll see how many I can get through in 2020. So I’m on to The Horse and His Boy!

Knitting

I started the sweater for my biggest bear. I’m using the pattern from So Faded Pint Sized because it was well-written and easy to follow, but I’m not fading any yarns. The rhythm of the pattern is still fresh in my muscle memory thanks to recently finishing it for Baby Birdie, so my brain doesn’t have to adjust to a new pattern. Here’s to finishing while it’s still cool outside so that he can actually wear it! No picture yet – it’s still in the very beginning stages and I haven’t even joined it in the round.

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I hope your week is going well so far. My children have all fell ill in the last week, so I’ve been spending a lot of time on the couch with them. I’m hoping that the illness doesn’t reach me!