Books on Wednesdays

So, I missed Monday and Tuesday, but I'm here now, and it's Wednesday, so that means I'll talk about books. And type in run-on sentences, apparently. And fragments. It makes up for the run-on sentences.

Anyway. Books. I'm still reading Dracula. And The Lost Continent. I've made progress, but haven't finished. We'll talk more about those when I'm done with them.

So, I'm going to talk about what I want to read next. I'd thought about going with Frankenstein next, but it's written in epistolary form (the story is told via letters), and I'm not sure I want to read two books in a row in that style. So, maybe I'll go with one of the Bronte books. Or Stevenson. Treasure Island sounds like fun. Any suggestions? Any books I should read that aren't on my list of Victorian Literature (they don't have to be Victorian)? What about you guys - reading any good books?

Late Again

So, I'm late in my self-imposed Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule once again. Not a great track record given that it's only the first week of this. Ah, well...things happen. It's still three times this week. But, yesterday was fairly busy. It included practicing, cooking, teaching, driving, knitting, and hanging out with some friends. We went to their house last night and played games and generally had a good time.

I also finished one of the sweaters that has been languishing for a while. I need to wash/block it before I get proper photos taken of it. I took a few pictures of myself with it on, but that is not the easiest thing to do. Here are a couple of the better ones. I have couple ends that need to be woven in, but otherwise it's finished.



The pattern is Sophia from French Girl Knits and was knit in Knit Picks Swish DK in white. I started this little sweater a few months ago, and got pretty much done with it before I stalled out. It's been a fairly frustrating sweater from the beginning. It starts with the sleeves, and I decided that I would just go ahead and start it with the recommended needle size, and if I didn't get the gauge called for it wouldn't be that big of a deal to rip it out and start over. Now, it's common for me to have to go up a needle size from that recommended in a pattern, but I had to go up three sizes for this one. That means I knit one of the sleeves four times before it finally worked. There are only so many times a person can knit the same sleeve before beginning to lose a grip on her sanity. Anyway, from there it wasn't too bad. I knit the two halves, grafted them together, and realized that I didn't have another size 8 circular needle long enough to knit the collar. The collar had to be knit separately and then attached to the rest of the sweater. It was at that point that it got put down and didn't get picked up again until this week. I borrowed the necessary needle from my mom and finally got back to it. Knitting the collar was fine. No problems there. Attaching it was an exercise in frustration. I didn't read all of the directions and things weren't matching up, so I had to undo a lot of what I'd done. Then I read all the directions, but misunderstood a crucial part, and so had to undo a bunch of it again. Then, it was still all screwed up, so I completely detached the collar, counted all the stitches, and realized my stitch count was a little bit off on the body. Not enough to make a difference in fit, but enough to make attaching the collar not work out quite right, combined with my inability to follow the instructions. Anyway, I finally got it all put together, and now it's done. I gave my mom her needles back today.

Books, Take 2

Here we are for another installment of Books on Wednesdays. Last week I discussed Dracula and my feelings about the vampire genre and over hyped novels. I'm still reading Dracula and enjoying it. The story is told entirely through letters and journal entries. For me, it's an interesting device that allows the story to be told from multiple points of view without being confusing.

I'm also reading The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson. I haven't picked it up in a few days, but that's largely due to the fact that I was out of town over the weekend and have been fairly busy since I've been back. I haven't been reading much of either of my books. Anyway, The Lost Continent is the story of Bill Bryson's quest for the perfect American small town. You know, the kind of town you see in movies and TV shows from the 50s. He's snarky and somewhat caustic, but of you've ever spent time in small towns (or in the specific regions he visits) you know how true some of his observations are. He's making the trip as an adult, but comparing his current trip with his memories of family road trip vacations as a child. It's a funny and entertaining read. If you're looking for something light that will make you laugh, this book will fit the bill.

What about you? Any good book recommendations?

Happy New Year

Okay, so I'm a bit late with my Happy New Year post, but, better late than never, right?

So, here it is. I've decided to make New Year's goals this year. They're just like resolutions, but they're called something different, and it makes me feel like if I don't do them perfectly it's okay. The point of setting a goal is to get closer to an ideal, not to achieve perfection. Resolutions feel like enforced perfectionism. So, there's my rationalization. Take it for what it's worth.

Here are my goals for this year:

1. Blog more often. I've been pretty good about it lately, what with NaBloPoMo in November and all, but I'd like to keep it more regular. It's fun for me to look back at old posts and remember what life was like at that time. I'm planning on at least three times a week, with a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. As you can see, it's Tuesday and I'm just now doing this, but like I said, it's a goal. I'm moving toward and ideal. Pretend this is Monday for the purposes of this post if it makes you feel better.
2. Get back into a good practicing schedule. I've been a terrible slacker about this for the past several months. Since October, really. I need to get back on track.
3. Stop eating out so much. This means cooking more at home. This will help on two fronts: budgetary and health. I feel better when I eat home cooked food rather than fast food (shocking, I know), so it makes sense to do that more. This also means I need to do better about grocery shopping. Lately I haven't been doing very well with that. So, that will have to change.
4. Finish my current knitting works in progress. I'm planning on not casting on another item for myself until all the current ones are finished. We'll see how long that lasts. Currently the count sits at five: three sweaters, a pair of slippers, and a pair of socks. I will be knitting things for others that are not included in this.
   

So, that's what I have so far. I'll probably come up with more as the year progresses, but for now I think this is good. I hope your new year is starting off well, and that you achieve all your goals for yourself.