Unraveled | Week 4 of 2025

Well, hello! I’m finishing up this post on a very cold Tuesday night. How is the weather where you are? It was -10ºF when I woke up this morning and -15º when I went upstairs for the kids. We are expecting similar temps tonight so I have the space heater blasting in my little book nook in the basement while I write and read a bit more before bed. I hope you’re staying warm enough and are able to enjoy this winter weather.

I’m back with Kat and the Unravelers to share what I’ve been reading and knitting over the last week. I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed with the books I’ve read recently – nothing has felt quite right lately. I don’t know if it’s my mood in general or what. Either way, I’m still reading and stitching. Here’s what has been keeping me busy lately:

---

Knitting:

I shared on Monday that I was trying to knit a pair of socks using only 40g of fingering weight yarn that was leftover from my first pair of socks of the year. I divided the leftovers into two 20 gram balls just to see how much sock that would yield. It seems like there’s going to be enough for a decent pair of shorties and I’m delighted.

I have been tempted to try for a second pair of socks with my leftovers for years but have been too nervous to “waste” my time on it. But I’m waiting for some yarn to arrive for my next sweater and have nothing else planned, so I decided this was the time to experiment. Now I have a better idea about what’s possible for future leftovers.

---

Reading:

Playground by Richard Powers
This was an immersive story about friendship, conservation, and the perils of AI. I adored the friendship between two of our main characters, Rafi and Todd, two boys at an elite prep school from two seemingly different backgrounds. The scenes of them playing board games to avoid going home were my favorites of this novel and was only the beginning of their perilous relationship.

I’d love to discuss the ending with people. I understand what happened but am still unsure about my feelings. Have you read this one? What did you think about it? I gave it 4.5 stars, mostly due to how much I loved the early days of Rafi and Todd’s friendship. I reserve the right to change that rating as my opinions on the ending crystalize!

---

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak
This was the Fiction Matters group read this month. It’s the story of Leila, a woman living a difficult life in Turkey. She is dying in the opening pages – and the first half of the book details the thoughts she has in the last 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in which her brain was still alive. I loved the flashbacks she had that described her childhood and how she met the most important people in her life.

The second half of the book describes how her friends reacted to her death and their actions following it. While this part was fairly entertaining and somewhat comical, I struggled to get through it. I’ve seen that some Fiction Matters members felt the opposite – they enjoyed the second half more than the first, so your opinion may be totally different than mine! This book earned 3.75 stars from me.

---

The Road to the Salt Sea by Samuel Kolawole
(Added to my TBR because it’s on the Aspen Prize 2025 Longlist.)

This is the story of a man named Able God who escaped from Nigeria after a terrible event and made his way to Italy. It was a dangerous trip that included run-ins with human traffickers, starvation, and torture. The journey that Able God took was fascinating and he traveled through a part of the world that I’ve read so little about, so I wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to connect with him and found this book difficult to return to each day and not just because of the painful subject matter. I struggled with the writing and failed to immerse myself into this story. I gave it 3.75 stars.

---

After Me Comes the Flood by Sarah Perry
After reading her debut novel, I am now a Sarah Perry completist!

In this novel, John Cole’s car breaks down while trying to visit his brother and he comes upon a mysterious house in which its strange habitants are seemingly expecting him. Confused, embarrassed, and somewhat intrigued, John decides to continue the ruse and stays awhile. During these few days he learns more about their history together and who they think he is.

Full of atmosphere and biblical allusions that I didn’t really understand, Perry created a setting that will make you sweat with the heat of summer. I found the second half of the novel much more intriguing than the first and ended up giving this novel 3.75 stars. However, I think this novel deserves a reread from me to truly understand what she’s done.

---

I thought I was going to be reading Onyx Storm today, but I got a message from my local Indie that an entire box of Onyx Storms arrived damaged. They didn’t even have enough copies to put out on their shelves today! So I’ll be waiting a little while until I can catch up with Violet and Xaden and am feeling super bummed about that. I needed them to get me through this week and I might have done more than a little bit of whining about it today. So now I’m reading Headshot and Devil in the White City while (not so) patiently waiting for an email inviting me to pick up my preorder.

How about you? How is your reading going? Or stitching? Did we read any of the same books this week? Are you reading Onyx Storm? How am I going to avoid spoilers??!

Regardless – I hope the rest of your week goes well. Take good care.