I thought I was over it.

Look what showed up in the mail last week.   
After the last book, I had mixed feelings about my continuing obsession with Claire and Jamie.   Not that the obsession had waned one tiny bit.   It’s just that Diana is so ruthless in her treatment of her characters, and after two incredibly harrowing incidents involving Claire in A Breath of [...]

Knitting? (/Looks Around.) What’s That?

My knitting mojo seems to be vacationing.  Most likely it’s sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Paris, sneering at the oafish Americans and smoking.   And wearing a beret — knit by someone else.
No matter.  It will come back when it runs out of Euros, hopefully without the snotty attitude.
Meantime, I read.  Lately, I’ve been through The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray [...]

Nevermind.

The pink KSH has been returned to the ball.  I found two dropped stitches, caused by defective k3tog’s (told you those were my nemeses).  Thought about repairs.  Frogged.  Tucked the yarn out of sight.  (Never happened.)
I then turned, with a clean slate, but not necessarily a clear head, to my Joan-along, the Bleeding Hearts Stole [...]

The Self-Esteem Trap.

A week or so ago I told you I was reading The Self-Esteem Trap by psychiatrist Polly Young-Eisendrath. 
I haven’t been this impressed by something I’ve read in a long time.
My reaction to the book is, in part, the product of exquisite timing.   During the past few years, I have become increasingly – and maybe unreasonably [...]

Friday Fusion.

It has been a week.  Murphy’s Law seems to have been doing its diabolical little business.  Time to wipe it all off the slate and start fresh, I say!  Here’s some this and that to wrap up the week.
Blogging.  My social networking question seems to have struck a chord.  Or hit a nerve.  Or… well, anyway, [...]

Reading.

Bev mentioned Carol Shields in a recent post.   Knowing she has a keen eye for a good read, I trotted off to the library and snagged The Stone Diaries and Unless.
I’m three-fourths through The Stone Diaries.  A friend of mine aptly commented that “it’s about everything and nothing.”  The “everything” lies in Shields’  characterization.  This is a novel about [...]

Most Excellent Meme Theme.

For some reason, Thursdays are days when I often feel blog-challenged.   Much to my delight, I have found a weekly book/reading meme made just for Thursdays!  One of my favorite topics, specially designed for one of my least inspired days of the week.  Sometimes life is good that way.
What was the last book you bought?
Three [...]

Reading Roundup.

I read The Chosen in high school, and Chaim Potok immediately became an all-time favorite author.   I have read all of his novels, most of which feature religious Jews as protagonists.   Don’t let this put you off – I read most of these books before I knew anything much about Judaism, and in any event, [...]

The Race that Knows Joseph

You may have read Joan’s post about her encounter with a small woman with a great manicure in a giant SUV, who took it upon herself to illegally take up not one, but two disabled parking spots at a local event.  And who rolled up her window in Joan’s face when Joan inquired if it [...]

Random Saturday

On the topic of podcasts, a few people mentioned craftlit in the comments, and I’m so glad!  Heather Ordover hosts this podcast, which is a mix of crafty discussion (generally brief – I wish she’d do more with this part) moving into a chapter or three of a classic novel.  I started back at the [...]