Books and reading are my favorite conversation topics. With yarn and knitting as a very close second. Perhaps because reading has been a passion of mine since childhood, while knitting just came on scene in the past decade… I get a lot of requests for book recommendations, and this is one of my favorite things to do. I usually point people to my Good Reads account because I write pretty detailed reviews there and use their star-rating system (though I wish had .5 stars! or even .25 or .75 stars!).

In these days before 2012, I look back at all the books I’ve read this year (and the one that remains on my nightstand – still time to finish before the new year!)

Notes:  ** Best of 2011 – my recommended favorites for the year.  All links point to my GoodReads reviews.  You can see all the book covers here.

Non-Fiction

The Wordy Shipmates
Kingdom Coming
The Murder of the Century
Fire
The Rights of the Reader **
In the Garden of Beasts
Unfamiliar Fishes
World Without Fish
The Ragged Edge of the World **
Man Ray in Paris
Earth Then and Now
Spilling Ink
Hope for Animals and Their World
The Tree
Lost City of Z
Architecture of Happiness
Emperor of All Maladies **
Medium Raw

Fiction

The Submission **
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
When She Woke
The Lake
Ready Player One **
Robopocalypse
When God Was a Rabbit
I am the Messenger
Centuries of June
Vampire of Ropraz
A Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
The Lover’s Dictionary
Dead Reckoning
Across the Universe
One Day
Matched

Graphic Novels / Sequential Art (Fiction and NF)

Nat Turner
Empire State: A Love Story (or Not)
Dawn Land
The Influencing Machine **
Petrograd **
Anya’s Ghost
The Homeland Directive
American Vampire
People’s History of the American Empire
Embroideries
Aya
AD: New Orleans after the Deluge **
Life with Mr. Dangerous
Postcards: True Stories that Never Happened
Dark Entries
To Timbuktu
A Study in Scarlet
Hound of the Baskervilles
Waltz with Bashir
Stitches
American Born Chinese
Night Fisher

Cookbooks

The Hundred Best Vegan Baking Recipes
The Vegan Slow Cooker
Vegan Soul Kitchen

Miscellany (How-tos, Reference)

Scaling Down: Living Large in a Small Space
Nonfiction Readers’ Advisory
The Compassionate Diet
100 Countries 5000 Ideas
Crazy Sexy Diet

First some background: You may recall that my last two trips to New York City have included stops at Kinokuniya Book Store, the well-stocked Japanese language book store in Manhattan. I don’t know a lick of Japanese, but I do know that their crafting books are phenomenal, and I figured that one day I would have the knitting confidence to take on. the challenge of “winging it” through one of the patterns. Japanese knitting pattern writing is different than American or European styles, but even without a word of English, it is possible to decipher the charts and the schematics and construct the garment.  This is what I am trying to do…

The Japanese gansey pattern from the Let’s Knit Series – Men’s Knits. I talked myself in to the challenge when I saw that it is essentially a box construction: drop shoulders, no shaping in the body.  The stitch pattern is fully charted… simple enough, right?  Luckily, I have a good friend who knows some Japanese and is also a knitter.  She sent over some tips for knitting, and I was able to get a rough idea about gauge and sizing based on swatches.

Kris choose this deep red wool in the stash and I cast on for the sleeve. I decided to start with the sleeve to measure the gauge and make my calculations from there. I am past the elbow now and have started the gansey chart for the sleeve.  I am trying the length and width on Kris’s arm and so far it seems to be working well.  Maybe “cutting my teeth” on this pattern will allow me the confidence to try some of the other beautiful patterns in the books?

For this particular project – geared to photographers and travelers – there is a weekly theme. A few weeks ago, I contributed some photos of DOORS for that week’s theme.  Today’s theme is SKYLINE.  The theme is usually pretty open to interpretation, so you can go the traditional route of cityscapes and twinkly lights or something more natural.  That’s what makes it fun! Here are some of my contributions this week from various travels over the years:

Chicago 2007

San Diego 2009

Juneau, Alaska 2010

Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite 2011

Hashtags are powerful little tools.  They can be quite useful metadata tools, but can be easily manipulated – like so many things on the web – by commercial interests and spambots.  If you do participate in social media circles, however, hashtags are a great way to meet new people with similar interests.  Using #FriFotos are an example again: I share a photograph from this year’s trip to Yosemite National Park.  When I tag it, everyone can see that.  PersonX just got back from Yosemite and has a photo to share that is very similar.  Shared interest and common bond.  Added bonus when I see that PersonX is also into the same kind of music as I am.  New acquaintance and new thread in the web of life – all because of a hashtag.  From there, it can just keep on going.

Another hashtag that I particularly enjoy and participate in each week is the #FridayReads group on Twitter.  While they have been mired in a bit of controversy lately, the fact remains that it is a community of readers who like to talk about books.  Each week, I report which book I am reading and attach the #FridayReads hashtag.  The moderator (@TheBookMaven) calculates how many people participate just for fun, and when you click on the hashtag, you can see what everyone else is reading.  Maybe that book that you have been meaning to pick up? something long forgotten? or an author that you like that has a new piece out?

While the concept sounds so elementary, social media really just comes back to community building and engagement. How do you meet new people? how do you interact? The hashtag for #Socktoberfest on Twitter was really fun this year with several updates and interactions.

As the tweet above suggests, I have been reading up a storm lately… I’m planning a little Reading Year in Review post soon. Stay tuned!

Terra Cardigan :: reverse stockinette with pockets

Pattern: Rebecca 34 magazine – #13 pattern
Yarn: The Fibre Company Terra in “Nettle” colorway
Needles: Size US 8

As I stated on my Ravlery notebook, all Rebecca patterns need some “hand holding” and this one was no different. The problem with this one was the armholes and the sleeve length. The armholes were very deep in the pattern as written, and I ended up doing some extra seaming to fix this in the end. Also, the sleeves were pretty long to begin with, and got even longer after blocking.  This was my 5th Rebecca pattern, so I always go in knowing that I have to rely on common sense and “knitter’s intuition”.

Since I finished this one the week before Thanksgiving, I have worn it nearly everyday.  It is perfect to pull on as I head to the mail box or out on a dog walk.  I have worked with Terra before (I wrote up that pattern for the Sherbrooke Cowl using it back in 2008) and it is a very nice yarn.  It did stretch a lot in blocking, which worked out because I wanted a longer cardigan.  However, if you are going for a more form-fitting garment, it is worth noting that when you use this yarn.

I met up with my friend Isel and we had the best time talking to the farmers and vendors, feeling the yarns, and planning some knits. All the farms represented were Maryland farms, so it was a great way to support these local businesses. We both had a good laugh over the two alpacas with pop culture names: Bad Romance and Hot Toddy. Their owner was telling us that they are just over a year old.  They were communicating with each other with these little hums and grunts.

There are two types of alpacas: the Suri with their silky locks and the Huacaya with the fluffy pillowy hair.  Both are native to the Andrean regions of South America. They are a domesticated camelid, but smaller than the llamas and camels you see – some only about 3-4 feet tall.  Their wild ancestors, the vicunas, still roam in the Andes.  The alpaca was domesticated long ago, with their fiber prized for its silkiness, and hypoallergenic qualities.

Isel dabbles in spinning, so she brought home some roving and some lovely green yarn.  I happened upon some burnt orange yarn that was hard to pass up.  It’ll be perfect for a cardigan…

Making plans for winter sweaters is the highlight of my knitting year. With a million pattern choices (and a growing number of great ones everyday) it takes times to find the ones that you really want.  You match them up with yarns in the stash, or take a trip down to the LYS.  While I reserve the right to add or subtract, I am fairly certain that both of these sweaters are going to be on the needles in the coming weeks.  The Super Soul Cardigan by Mary Jane Mucklestone has been in my queue for a good while – I loved the geometric stranding and the pockets on this cozy cardigan.  Once I cast on, I will be using Berroco Vintage DK in navy for the main color, straw for the contrast, and I may pop it up with one more color – a wine red.  Mmm. Can’t wait. I’ve been dreaming of more colorwork (it never really stops…) and this will fit the bill nicely.

Kris’s anniversary sweater (this will be the 8th year and 8th sweater!) is always a cause for excitement. This Brownstone is my first BrooklynTweed pattern. I have some yummy grey Bartlett Yarn 2-ply in the stash that would work nicely… but I will admit that the Shelter that the pattern calls for is calling me too. Maybe I will just do two? I plan on some light modifications. I see this as a nice sweater to add to the growing repertoire! (See Kris’s other anniversary sweater here on Ravelry).

Winter is coming! (yes, a Game of Thrones reference, and stating the obvious seasonal shift), but I couldn’t be more happy – I do love this season most of all.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is a gem. Something that any reader will hold close to their heart. The essays are translated from the original French work by the educator Daniel Pennac. The book is full of amazing quotes. Some of my favorites:

“Time to read is always time stolen. Stolen from what? From the tyranny of living.”

“By making time to read, like making time to love, we expand our time for living.”

I particularly loved Part 3 – “The Gift of Reading” – where he describes a classroom of high school students – the stereotypes of “the loner”, “the prep”, “the goth”, etc. and how when the teacher [him] decides to read aloud to them for the entire class. It is his experiment to get them hooked. He chooses Süskind’s Perfume with its lively descriptions, and the teens, all of them, instantly become hooked.

The last few essays are also great, where he discusses the “Rights of the Reader” (the book is named after this series of essays). He outlines 10 Rights that each reader inherently possesses. He goes on to write short essays about all of them:

1 – The right not to read.

2 – The right to skip.

3 – The right not to finish a book.

4 – The right to read it again.

5 – The right to read anything.

6 – The right to mistake a book for real life.

7 – The right to read anywhere.

8 – The right to dip in.

9 – The right to read aloud.

10 – The right to be quiet.

A perfect book for a literature class – or a continuing education course. I highly recommend it.

View more of my reviews on GoodReads

++

There is a sense of liberty and empowerment when a teacher writes a list like this.  As an avid reader, I have exercised my *right* to each of these 10 things, and I imagine that you have too.

The right NOT to read?  Well, I guess that could be the few books that I sat out on for my old book club.  Things that just didn’t float my boat, so I opted out. The right to skip? I exercise this one ALL the time.  Of course, once a text comes to me in book form, I have to believe that dozens of eyes have read the same thing I am reading – so why does it often feel like everyone forgot their red editorial marker?  So yeah, I totally skip.  The right to NOT finish a book? I usually give books a 50 page limit.  If it has come highly recommended by a trusted friend, maybe 100 pages… I just abandoned a book the other day.  Got through Part I with relative ease, and then what? Part II was a mess.  Close cover. No more. I have plenty of other things to keep my engaged.  The right to read it again?  I will admit that I don’t exercise this one that much.  I rarely read a book twice (children’s books read aloud to my nieces don’t count!) but I understand why people do it.  I have often contemplated reading a beloved series again (most recently Harry Potter and The Hunger Games), but I haven’t done it yet.

The right to read anything?  I have a long history of reading cereal boxes and shampoo bottles and ingredient lists and technical instructions just because … just this morning I read the how-to instructions on my new can opener.  The right to mistake a book for real life?  I often think that if a fictional character was REAL, we would be great friends.  Or I get that feeling that an author might be speaking to me directly, so I think that counts!  The right to read anywhere?  ha – yeah, I told you I read shampoo bottles, so you can figure out WHERE I was while doing that.  The right to dip in?  Tied to the right to skip… dip in and read one essay, and yep, that’s all the fix I need.  The right to read aloud?  When something has to be shared, you have to read it aloud. I sometimes whisper the words to myself though, as I am reading along. Or reading aloud for emphasis and memorization.  The right to be quiet?  Sometimes you read something so moving that you simply have nothing to say.  That’s okay too.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these – please share your experiences!

This is my 3rd or 4th sweater from the German pattern magazine, Rebecca.  For several years, the magazine was also published in English, but when some harder times hit, they went back to their German-only format with a English insert pamphlet. It is nice to have a bare-bones translation, but knitting with a Rebecca pattern is an exercise in trust – and common sense.  You just have to have a feeling that it is going to work out, and if it looks weird, well, maybe you should just “do your own thing” for awhile.  This little philosophy has worked for me so far.  Hope it continues through this cardigan!

This pattern (while hard to see on the model because of the fashion styling with the big belt and the scarf) seemed like a cute stylish piece for the wardrobe.  I was especially drawn to the pockets. It took awhile to wrap my head around the whole idea of how this pocket was going to work, but once I knit it, and used that “knitter’s intuition”, it worked out well!  Still have to do the finishing details to add on, but this here is my first pocket. I am chuffed!

I am using The Fibre Company’s Terra yarn in the Nettles colorway.  This “nubby” yarn is working well with the reverse stockinette.  The fiber has some alpaca in it too, so it will be a cardigan to wear this winter.  I am waiting to see if I will have enough yarn to complete… I don’t want to cut corners, so one or two more skeins might be necessary.  In the meantime, I am knitting what I’ve got and hoping it will suffice.  If not, I should have enough time to order a bit more to finish by the end of the month!

What are you knitting on now?

There are several different methods of preparing (just Google and you will find several) but the one that worked for me last time was to roast them in the oven. I poked holes in each shell for ventilation, and put them on a baking sheet. Set the oven for 425 degrees, and roast for about 25 minutes. Remove the HOT chestnuts from the baking sheet, and put them in a cotton dishtowel to cool for a few minutes. After they cool to the touch, wrap the towel into a ball with the chestnuts inside, and begin to crack the shells. When you open the towel, you can crack the shells more to extract the nut, but it should be easier to contain all the mess.

When you buy the chestnuts, it is inevitable that there will be some nuts that just don’t pass the test. You want them to be pliable; about the consistency of a dried apricot or a prune. Any harder and you could damage your teeth. There will be slight discolorations, but if the consistency is right, they nut should be perfectly edible. They make a great snack! However, if you have a recipe planned, you might want to save some for that…

I made a casserole-style baked dish from Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz – it paired the chestnuts with caramelized onion, butternut squash, and white beans. Kris said it was amazingly delicious, and I really liked it too.  Only things that I did differently from the recipe (posted here) was add 1 tsp of Herbs de Provence and 1 tsp of nutritional yeast to the crumb topping.  I also used gluten-free breadcrumbs which I prefer to the “real” thing.  This is not a recipe for the faint hearted. With the chestnut roasting time, it is definitely a “slow food” – it took me over 2 hours from start to finish – but worth the time. Added bonus that your kitchen will smell of roasted chestnuts afterward!

I spent some time breaking it in yesterday while I worked on this cowl that I started last week.  It makes for a pretty great knitting chair.  The only thing that would make it better?  A handknit colorwork pillow, of course!  I have some ideas in mind for that, but I probably won’t be casting on until the new year…

The call of the new Madelinetosh Merino Light was strong – and this unique slipped stitch patternreeled me right in.  This is the Brick Road Cowl by Madelinetosh (Rav link), and it looks much more complicated than it is.  I am closing in on the halfway point, and then I will reverse the colors for yellow bricks with the green/grey background.  I chose the Candlewick and Terra Verde colorways for this one – picked them up while visiting my parents in Pennsylvania.  It’ll be a stylish reversible neckwarmer for the coming winter.