My week: It was a pretty quiet week here. I read, knitted, baked cookies, sat outside, cleaned, finished the last bit of unpacking, ran some errands... On Saturday we ate a really late lunch and then, while out shopping, we had an amazing little impromptu dinner of malasadas (one of the best things about Hawaii -- I posted a picture of a haupia-filled malasada on Instagram a few weeks ago, which you can see and drool over here) and Starbucks. Pretty much the world's least-healthy dinner, but soooo good. We had planned to go to the beach yesterday, but Jarrod was on call at work and -- of course -- he got called in around lunchtime. Sigh.
Reading: I finished the dark Southern crime thriller "Redemption Road" by John Hart (review) and found it to be just ok -- too much going on to be realistic, in my opinion. Then I breezed through the fascinating and disturbing memoir "The Sound of Gravel" by Ruth Wariner, about her experience growing up in a polygamist Mormon colony in Mexico.
And now I'm reading a fun fantasy novel called "The Invisible Library" by Genevieve Cogman. It's about Librarians who retrieve certain books from alternate worlds, some of which are magical, some of which have creatures like vampires and Fae, and others that are very technologically advanced (think cyborgs and such). I've never read a steampunk novel before, but I think this would qualify, especially as most of the settings referenced seem to be odd versions of Victorian-era England. I'm enjoying it, but at 100 pages in I'm still grasping around for a handhold in this strange universe and I have a lot of questions that haven't even been broached yet. Hopefully they will be!
And now I'm reading a fun fantasy novel called "The Invisible Library" by Genevieve Cogman. It's about Librarians who retrieve certain books from alternate worlds, some of which are magical, some of which have creatures like vampires and Fae, and others that are very technologically advanced (think cyborgs and such). I've never read a steampunk novel before, but I think this would qualify, especially as most of the settings referenced seem to be odd versions of Victorian-era England. I'm enjoying it, but at 100 pages in I'm still grasping around for a handhold in this strange universe and I have a lot of questions that haven't even been broached yet. Hopefully they will be!
Knitting: I made some great progress on my Earnest cardigan -- which you can see in the photo with Lily above -- and then I ripped the whole damn thing out. In hindsight, I think that was a bit rash and I'm regretting it now, but starting over will give me a chance to fix the little errors that were bugging me (this cardigan has been unusually fraught with problems!). First I need to find a solution to my yarn problem. I didn't have quite enough yarn so I bought some from a fellow Ravelry user, but unfortunately the yarns are from very different dyelots. The two new skeins are MUCH lighter than the yarn I already had and I'm struggling to figure out a way to work it in. I really need to use it -- even with the extra skeins, I might only have enough for 3/4 sleeves.
Watching: I watched the first four episodes of the new BBC "War and Peace" miniseries. I've never read the book, and I don't know if I ever will, but I'm definitely enjoying the show. It stars some actors I love: Rose from "Downton Abbey," Sydney Chambers from "Grantchester" and Professor Slughorn from the Harry Potter movies. The story features three main characters -- all members of the Russian aristocracy -- during the Napoleonic Wars and has a little bit of everything: war, friendship, romance, angst, opulence, inheritance, manipulation... kind of like an early-1800s soap opera (though I suspect that's more the miniseries than the book).
(source)
Listening to: "My Number" by Foals.
Eating: The grocery store had strawberries on sale, so I decided to make strawberry shortcake (with homemade whipped cream, of course). Yum! Honestly, between the coconut cookies, the malasadas and the shortcake we haven't had a very healthy eating week!
Blogging: This week I started a new series on the blog called Book Chat, which will feature book-related discussion posts. I've been meaning to do this forever and I finally sat down and brainstormed some topics recently. My first entry is about favorite genres and why I don't really have one anymore. I'd love for you to read and comment on your favorite genre here!
Looking forward to: My mom is coming to visit in October and last week I reserved a beach cottage for us on Kauai for two nights during her trip! Kauai is our favorite island and my mom hasn't been there yet, so I'm excited to show her why we love it so much. The oceanfront military cottages where we're staying are amazing. There's nothing like falling asleep to the sound of the waves and waking up on a huge, pristine expanse of beach. Now if only we could fast-forward the next six weeks or so... My days are ridiculously boring and repetitive right now, and I could definitely use a little getaway (and a visit from my mom!).
I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
I've never read steampunk either but I may give it a try with Invisible Library. It sounds quite interesting!
ReplyDeleteHere's my It's Monday. Consider yourself happiness-tagged. Or not. As you so wish.
I finished "The Invisible Library" and I really liked it! I'm excited to read the next book in the series. I'm honestly not sure if it's really "steampunk"(I hardly know anything about that genre) -- but it definitely had a fun mishmash of strange technology and magical stuff with a pseudo-Victorian setting.
DeleteThe Invisible Library is on my TBR. I hope that the world comes together for you soon but I'm glad to hear you are enjoying it.
ReplyDeleteHere's my weekly round up :#IMWAYR
I did end up enjoying it! I was still left with some confusion and questions at the end, but I'm assuming book 2 will have much more information.
DeleteOh, I read The Invisible Library in July (maybe June, I don't remember). I really loved it and now have an ARC of the second one to read in September. It was such a fun read. I enjoyed the main character and can't wait to learn more about Kai.
ReplyDeleteI loved Kai too! I'm so anxious to learn more about his big secret. It was a really fun read and I'm looking forward to the next two books (I saw book three is out in December)!
DeleteThe Invisible Library does sound interesting. I'll have to add it to my list. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteIt was a fun read! And it had plenty of bookish references to keep all us bibliophiles happy. :) Even after I finished I still felt slightly confused about everything, but I'm assuming the next book (which comes out in September) will have more information about this mysterious Invisible Library and the alternate worlds.
DeleteThe Sound of Gravel looks tempting to me. Enjoy your reads, and thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHere are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
It was a pretty gripping memoir and a super-fast read!
DeleteIt's so disheartening to have to rip out a project and start again. I definitely feel your pain. As for the differing dye lots, you could alternate rows between skeins of the different lots to integrate them in. It's sort of a pain knitting that way, but you'll be able to use the yarns together.
ReplyDeleteI just watched the War and Peace series too! I don't remember enough details from the book to make an accurate comparison, but one thing I do remember is that there was no sex in the book. It may have been vaguely implied in a way I probably wouldn't pick up on, but it definitely didn't actually happen. It mostly seemed quite consistent with the book though.
I actually did try alternating the skeins -- that's what a Google search suggested I do -- and it was a disaster (sob)! I didn't realize just how different the yarns are until I started knitting them next to each other, but it made very obvious stripes! I think the problem may partly be that my yarn is fairly new and the yarn I bought from Ravelry is really old -- just judging by the dyelot numbers. I'm thinking it may have faded with age. I'm still not quite sure what I'm going to do... I'm tempted to just forget the new yarn altogether and knit as much as I can with the yarn I already had, even if it means short sleeves. I'm so bummed about it! :(
DeleteHow interesting that there's no sex in the book! I was wondering about that, especially when it comes to that incestuous relationship with the brother and sister! I wasn't sure that seemed like something that would've been in an 1800s novel. So did they just throw that in for some strange added drama?!
So I watched two more episodes yesterday, and now I'm not so sure that was her brother after all! I have a hard time keeping track of a few of the minor characters. :/
DeleteIt is HARD to keep track of the characters. But I *also* thought there was implied incest and my husband was like "What? When?" so we are apparently all quite confused. Too many of those guys look alike! Also, in the show they never seem to use anyone's name so it's even harder to keep track of who's who.
DeleteI've been eyeing The Sound of Gravel...possibly for Nonfiction November! Glad you liked it.
ReplyDeleteI haven't participated in Nonfiction November in the past but I'm planning to this year! I've added SO MANY nonfiction books to my to-read list in the past couple years, but I have a hard time actually picking them up over novels (though I have definitely been reading more nonfiction than ever before). "The Sound of Gravel" would be a great pick -- it's a super-fast read so it'll leave you plenty of time for other books!
DeleteOoo, I don't think I've heard of The Sound of Gravel - sounds good! I'm with you on probably never getting to War and Peace, but I've heard good things about this adaptation :)
ReplyDeleteI definitely recommend "The Sound of Gravel" -- and it was a super-fast read, so that's extra points in its favor. I'm excited to watch the second half of "War and Peace" this week! Watching the miniseries kind of makes me WANT to read the novel, but I think that's the wrong order. I fear the book would seem totally dull after watching a 21st century iteration.
Delete