restingmotion

Books Read 2011

Overall, 2011 was terrible year for me reading-wise.  There were long periods where I read nothing beyond skimming the newspapers and blogs.  There was far more frivolous than serious reading.There were other periods were I was up to only reading a page or two a night.  There is also a fairly long list (for me anyway) of books I feel I must read again, books I feel that I fell got short shrift because I was too distracted to focus on  them and give them the attention they deserved.

 

Still,  I feel the need to make some kind of accounting.  If I reviewed a book on the blog there is a link, although you will notice that my ability to take time for reviews stopped for the most part as I got busy preparing to sell our old house and move.  

 

Books I feel I need to read again are marked in red.  In the case of Hustvedt and Wallace, I just felt that I wasn't paying enough attention.  I loved both of the Atwood novels, and they still hover on the fringes of my thoughts, making me think they deserve further consideration.

 

1.  Freedman, David H. Wrong:  Why Experts Keep Failing Us and How to Know When Not to Trust Them.

2. Lebenthal, Alexandra.  The Recessionistas.

3. Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveler's Wife.

4. McMurtry, Larry.  Books.

5. Ripley, Amanda.  The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes -- And Why.

6.  Akroyd, Peter. The Trial of Elizabeth Cree.

7.  Kingsolver, Barbara.  The Bean Trees.

8.  Kozol, Maggie.  The Color of Atmosphere.

9.  Patterson, James.  The Postcard Killers.

10. Woods, Stuart. Lucid Intervals.

11. Chabon, Michael.  The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

12.  Cahill, Thomas.  How the Irish Saved Civilization.

13.  Dineson, Isaak.  Out of Africa.

14. Hirigoyen, Gerard.  Pintxos.

15.  Hoeg, Peter.  The Woman and the Ape.

16. Lewis, Michael.  The Big Short.

17. Martin, Charles.  Chasing Fireflies.

18. Doland, Erin.  Unclutterer:  Unclutter Your Life In One Week

19. Chabris, Christopher.  The Invisible Gorilla.

20.  Chabon, Michael.  Summerland.

21.  Child, Lee.  Worth Dying For.

22.  Child, Lee.  61 Hours.

23.  Winter, Kathleen.  Annabel.

24. McLain, Paula.  The Paris Wife.

25.  Franzen, Jonathan.  The Discomfort Zone.

26.  Woods, Stuart.  Fresh Disasters.

27.  Wallace, David Foster.  The Pale King.

28.  Hamill, Pete.  Tabloid City.

29.  Woods, Stuart.  Hot Mahogany.

30.  Taubes, Gary.  Why We Get Fat

31.  Watts, Duncan.  Everything is Obvious:  Once You Know the Answer.

32.  Brooks, Geraldine.  Caleb's Crossing.

33.  Howe, Ben Ryder.  My Korean Deli.

34.  Lovell, Mary S.  The Churchills: In Love and War.

35.  Child, Julia.  My Life in France.

36.  Reich, Christopher.  Rules of Betrayal.

37. Gordon, Mary.  The Love of My Youth.

38. Staniszewski, Mary Ann.  Believing is Seeing: Creating the Culture of Art.

39.  Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games.

40.  Collins, Suzanne.  Catching Fire.

41.  Collins, Suzanne.  Mockingjay.

42.  Jansson, Tove.  Fair Play.

43.  Neville, Stuart. Collusion.

44.  Atwood, Margaret.  The Year of the Flood.

45.  Stockett, Kathryn.  The Help.

46.  Hustvedt, Siri.  The Summer Without Men.

47.  Atwood, Margaret.  Oryx and Crake.

48.  McPhee, Stephanie Pearl.  Knitting Rules!

49. McPhee, Stephanie Pearl.  All Wound Up:  The Yarn Harlot Writes for a Spin.

50.  McPhee, Stephanie Pearl. Free Range Knitter.

51.  Child, Lee.  The Affair.

52. Peacock, Nancy.  A Broom of One's Own.

 

There was very little reading after September aside from the Stephanie Pearl McPhee books which were very light and could be read a few pages at a time.   The last two books were read my first few days in Knoxville.

 

Current Reading:

 Azar Nafisi --  Things I've Been Silent About

Andrea Eames --  The Cry of the Go Away Bird.  

 

Transitional Space

This transitional part of my life has not quite been what I expected.  Not that I truly know what I expected anyway, as I wavered between thinking I would be twiddling my thumbs in a hotel room with nothing to do and worrying that there would not be enough time.  Neither is quite true.  We have been busy but not too busy, and this transitional period is proving to be a good introduction to our new home before we get down to the serious work of settling in.

(photo courtesy of www.knoxville.com)

We went to a fabulous Christmas party at this house where we met some very interesting people, and perhaps a few future friends, but all the faces are mostly blurred together in my mind at this point.  It was very generous of our hostess to invite us to her home at the last minute, and it was a wonderful welcome to our new city.

 

I have begun reading again, and knitting, although it looks likely that I shipped far too many books and knitting projects to myself in that pre-arrival fear of having nothing to do.

 

We have also been driving around a bit, exploring neighborhoods, looking into stores, eating out occasionally.  We even took a drive to Nashville once, a one day driving extravaganza, which we found very refreshing way to clear our heads when we were overwhelmed with the abundance of overly-traditional over-stuffed furniture we keep finding in showrooms.   It was a beautiful drive and although I love driving, I have occasionally wished that I was once again in the passenger seat if only so that I could snap photos en route.

 

This temporary abode and transitional life is quite satisfying and all that I feel is missing is time to myself, time for considered thought, time to allow the mind to roam freely, time for blogging.  I do have a computer and internet access, and although it can difficult to share computer time from other distractions, I do manage the occasional bit of cyber-wandering.  

 

Overall,  this interlude is proving both beneficial and thought-provoking in ways I had not anticipated, the results of which are sure to be revealed in time.

 

 

 

Settling In

Already I have been in Knoxville a week.  It seems like it has been a busy week but in truth the busy-ness has been tempered with ample amounts of sleep.  I didn't realize how thoroughly I had been running on adrenaline and worry, and how much sleep I would need once I arrived.

 

We have been out to the new house a few times now.  It is progressing nicely and I am very happy with how it is shaping up.  I am eager to move in, although I am also happy for this bit of respite, this time to rest and regroup and explore our new town just a little bit.

 

I had been told that Knoxville is a very casual town, and in some senses it is, and as a small city it would certainly be considered very casual compared to a city such as New York, but overall, I would say it is not more casual than my previous suburban/country abode.  

 

Already I am enjoying dressing again in the morning.  Admittedly however this may be more dependent on the items of clothing I brought with me and the fact that the shape of my days have changed than on any aspect of my current location.

 

I do wish I had brought another dress.  I wondered, when I was in Hyde Park, if I would continue to wear dresses more after I moved, but I only brought two in my suitcase to the temporary abode. The dress in is photo, taken at our house in Hyde Park, is one of the two that came with me.  But I wish I had more options.

 

While I am on the subject of style, I have noted a much wider variety in skirt-lengths here than I ever did in the Hudson Valley.   This trend seems to encompass all age and size groups, with a wide range of skirt lenghts represented, from above the knee to the floor.   I have seen older women nicely turned out in low calf and even ankle grazing skirts as well as fashionably trendy young women in maxi dresses and coats with sky-high heels.  Although I have no idea about what was seen in NYC, in the section of the Hudson Valley where I lived, once you ventured past the summer season when you would see chic young things up for the weekend wearing floaty summer dresses, mainstream skirt lengths generally hovered around the knee with the longer skirts wearers generally falling into the fringe groups of "earth mother", "artsy", or "Sicilian widow". Of course there are always exceptions to every rule.  I often wore whatever I wanted despite what might be considered mainstream, and I am sure there will be some things I consider normal that may be viewed as odd in my new locale.  I'm sure I  don't yet have my finger on the pulse of Knoxville style, but I certainly don't mind that my long black coat might fit in a bit better here.  

 

Minor points:

I wish I had brought a camera tripod to the hotel instead of packing them all for the house.  Not that it matters at the moment as I have misplaced the USB cable for my camera although I was certain I had packed it.  If there is to be blogging and photos, I may have to rely on my iPhone.  

 

I have not knitted a single stitch since I left Hyde Park despite having mailed myself 4 boxes of projects to "tide me over".  That may change soon now that I am feeling a bit more settled.

 

I am very happy with our temporary abode.  Of the two choices that would accommodate our needs and our cats, this was the best fit for many reasons: It is spacious, the bed is comfortable, it is convenient to our new house and family, and the staff are universally helpful and kind.   However, if you had told me two months ago that I would ever find myself living between Cracker Barrel and Hooters, I would have said "Not on your life".  And yet it has come to pass.  All one can do is laugh.  

 

 

 

A couple of simple projects

It all feels like confusion and chaos here, although I do realize that objectively speaking it is not quite that bad.  G might say otherwise, but I expected his confusion to deepen as we got closer to an actual moving date.  I pray now that my patience will hold, although I think that with an occasional chocolate fix I shall remain steady.

 

I have finally managed to photograph a finished project.

 

This is the Milanese Loop by Tante Ehm, a free pattern download from Ravelry.

 

It was knit using around 1 1/2 skeins of Aslan Trends Royal Alpaca in a lovely rich royal blue.  I think it is just lovely worn long like this but it would also be lusciously warm and cozy wrapped two or three times around the neck on a cold winter's day.

 

I really like the simple lace pattern.  But when I was done with this it was time for something simpler.  

 

The bulky cowl below was inspired by Marian, also a free Ravelry download,  although I didn't download the pattern.  It was a spur-of-the-moment purchase and knit after seeing it knit in this same gray yarn, Ella Rae's super bulky yarn Mega.  Even though I was intrigued, and everyone in my knitting group was purchasing the yarn that night, it wasn't until I tried it on over Creep that I was completely sold.  Luckily this one is a really fast knit.

 

As I mentioned above I didn't check the pattern, just cast on what seemed like an appropriate number of stitches on what I hoped was an appropriate needle and went ahead.  I like the result even though my cowl is narrower and firmer than the original.  Perhaps it will stretch and drape over time, but I really don't care.  I am perfectly happy with it now.

 

I'm now down to simple stockinette projects and very limited knitting time and attention span.  I expect things to be crazy busy around here so expect erratic postings.  In two weeks I will be in Knoxville.