Unraveled Wednesday | Momentum

Does today feel like Wednesday to you? I’m not sure what the day feels like; I spend the first few seconds of every morning trying to determine what day of the week it is and if I really need to get up (the answer is always yes regardless of the day). This morning was no different and I had to assure myself from several different sources that it was actually Wednesday. So I’m guessing it doesn’t feel like one to me? But here I am, linking up with Kat and the other Unravelers to share my reading and knitting for the week. I’m happy to have some lovely things to share in both categories!

KNITTING THIS WEEK:

If you read my post on Friday, then you know that quite a bit more unraveling was done on my DRK Everyday Sweater (Ravelry pattern page) last week. TL;DR? The kitten took off with my sweater, pulled it all around the house, and ripped out a bunch of stitches on Thursday after I’d had to rip back on this sweater 3 times already. So on Friday night, I pulled the needles out of this project again and was happy to only have to rip back three rows. So friends, FOURTH time’s the charm here (I hope!). I’ve finally found some forward momentum and finished the third yoke increase yesterday. Goodness gracious.

READING THIS WEEK:

A Ghost in the Throat is a beautiful book. It’s about a young Irish mother who becomes obsessed with an 18th century Irish poet. She spends her day making to-do lists to take care of her home and giving of herself constantly. But she steals away from everything while she’s nursing and pumping and enters into the world of Eibhlín Dubh, “sipping [her] own dark sustenance from ink.” She translates Dubh’s poem and meticulously researches her family lineage. She visits the known places that Dubh visited and lived. “What’s all this for?”, asks a visiting nurse after the birth of her third child, as she boldly flips through the folders she’s collected on Dubh. It’s because, surprisingly, Eibhlín Dubh’s poem is famous and studied in Irish schools yet there is almost no academic work done on her life. That’s because Dubh is a woman and so much of women’s lives is erased, day after day.

I saw so much of my own daily life in these pages. This is a female text, the book states from the beginning. Maybe you’ll see some of your own life captured here?

It’s been a long time since I read a book nonstop in one day, but I read Sea of Tranquility in one breathless gulp. ESJM fans: I think this is the book we’ve been waiting for! It spans centuries: from settlers in British Columbia in 1912 until the time traveling moon colonies of the 2400s. We revisit Vincent from Mandel’s earlier novel, The Glass Hotel, as we travel through time to understand a space/time glitch that the Time Institute discovered.

This book is about so much. What stood out the most to me was Mandel’s focus on Olive Llewellyn, a pandemic author from the 2200s. Even in the future, Olive still gets questions like, who’s watching your kid while you’re here? Why would you choose to be away from your family to do this work?, etc. It made me wonder if the sections on Olive were semi-autobiographical, given that ESJM was doing promotional tours as her 2014 pandemic novel, Station Eleven, was made into an HBO Max series.

After I finished this book, I realized I only need to read one more book to become a Mandel completist. I’m anxiously awaiting that book through Libby right now!

Bryce and I are still on a roll with Captain Underpants books. I swear we’re reading other stuff too, but we can read one of these in about a week and the other books are a lot meatier. These make for good books to read before bed. The writer is clever – he creates short, propulsive chapters that make it hard to know when to stop. This one is Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers. Honestly, I can’t tell you much about the plot. I know they went back to the stone age at one point while their school was shrank and frozen in time? I tend to tune these things out when I’m reading them aloud. We started yet another last night, this one is: The Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Nerds. It’s a mouthful.

I’ve been spending a lot of time with The Books of Jacob and Coming Home, but no finishes yet. I’m dedicating my listening time to The Books of Jacob (which I’m still very confused by) and my reading time has been focused on Coming Home (I’ve found a good rhythm with this one and am starting to really enjoy it), which has helped my brain stay organized. I’ve decided to focus on those two and then turn to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell at the end of the month because juggling three books with over 900 pages is not easy!

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I hope to be back on Friday with a few pictures of flowers and a quick update on things around here. I hope you find ways to take care of yourself. Until then – please stay cozy!