Sappy Music

Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste by Carl Wilson


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I can't say that this book turned me into a Celine Dion fan, but it did affirm my guilty love for other sentimental love songs. Yes, that is a confession. I secretly get a little excited when I hear songs like "You don't Bring me Flowers Anymore" or "When I Need You". I sang along for hours to those big, sappy, melodic songs on rainy days when I was a kid. My poor parents... Of course as a teen, I denied, denied, denied. Liking those songs was as dangerous to my social standing as high-water pants and a peck on the cheek by my mom in public. Now as an adult and after reading this book, I understand a little more why these songs are appealing. Really they are the musical version of soap operas and sappy movies, they allow us to feel big emotions through someone else's experience. Wilson explores in this well written and well thought out memoir the psychology and philosophy behind our musical tastes and guilty pleasures. He doesn't defend Celine or tell you really you're wrong for not liking her, he turns her into a real person and confirms that she is bad but that bad isn't always unbearable. Again, I am not going to fill my ipod full of Celine but I am going to reserve my judgement and stifle my chortle when someone says they like Brittany Spears or Adam Lambert.

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Where's the Fiction?

I subscribe to several book related podcasts specifically to learn about interesting new fiction and to keep myself abreast on the current trends in publishing. Unfortunately, lately there has been little fiction interesting or otherwise to learn about. All the book podcasts are featuring these days it seems are biographies of ancient leaders, investigations of gruesome crimes, and memoirs about being tall. This time last year it seemed like I couldn't turn on a book related podcast without hearing about Netherland or White Tiger. I know it isn't a great mystery that non-fiction sells a lot better than fiction but couldn't they at least promote one fiction book a segment. I would even argue that fiction would sell better during a recession than the publishing company thinks. People crave escape and I don't think they can find escape in learning about intimitae lifestyles of rich and tall. Hopefully as the economy improves the publishing industry will give us our fiction back.

Returning to Blogging and Circles to Squares Project

My birthday is fast approaching so I have decided to make a birthday resolution. In my upcoming "new year" I resolve to blog more. I always like it when I do blog it's just like everything else it's the carving out the time to make it happen that is the hard part. Since I last blogged, I completed two lacy scarves. One in a bright pink yarn that was left over from the first baby blanket I made at the beginning of the year and the other in a tan I had originally bought to make some beanies for boys. I started the tan scarf as a way to get rid of some spare yarn and make my Mom a mother's day present. I didn't get the scarf done in time for the holiday and I am going to have to buy another skein to finish the fringe. Now I'll have to do is go to the yarn store and get another skein to finish the fringe. I should have it done in time to give it to her when I see her later this month.
For a long time now I have wanted to make Lion Brand's free Circles to Squares afghan pattern. I have either been in the midst of another project or hadn't firmly decided what colors to use. This weekend I decided was the weekend to put down all other projects and start that afghan. I had decided on making it in a green and aqua blue combination colors. As the case always seems to be the available yarn colors were not quite what I had in mind. The yarns I did pick out looked nice when I held them next to each other put when I worked them together I thought they looked too dark. So after two trips to the yarn store I have decided to make the blanket in three shades of green. The squares really look best if there is a light color contrasting with the dark. An all green blanket wasn't exactly what I wanted but I think it will look nice. And if it isn't too hard to sew all the squares together, I can always make another blanket in brighter more vibrant colors. So far the squares have been easy to work up. I think once I get the pattern down in my head they will be pretty fast too. I am going to follow one crocheter's advice from ravelry and weave in the ends as I finish each square. I can see how leaving those till all the squares were done would be really tedious.

Baby Blanket #2

Yesterday, I finished my second, granny-square baby blanket. This time I actually followed the color sequence suggested in the pattern. I think the three rows of the same color followed by a single row of the contrasting colors is a lot prettier than a single color of each row on my last blanket. Speaking of the last blanket; the recipeint of that blanket, a healthy 6lb baby girl, was born yesterday. I hope she likes the blanket as much as her Mom seemed to. The recipient of blanket number 2 is due in July but the shower is next Saturday and I am done one week early. Gives me enough time to hopefully work up a couple of wash cloths and a hat. I am thinking I'll do a couple wash cloths in dark green with light green borders. I went a little cheaper on the yarn for this project. I don't think it showed in the final product though and I think it might even be a little softer. Another benefit to the cheaper yarn is I have a plenty left for the extra gifts I want to get done. Unfortunately, this blanket is also not perfectly square but after some pulling and stretching it looks a little straighter on the sides. I am still irrationally afraid of blocking gifts. I need to block a project for myself and mayke sure I know what I am doing. I am sure experienced crocheters would be shocked to hear me say I don't block. I will learn, I promise.

Is it About a Bicycle?

The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Probably one of the most surreal, thought provoking, and weird (in a good way) books I have read. It is a shame O'Brien is so under-appreciated. He deserves a lot more attention for his vivid descriptions and brilliant plotting. The writers on Lost only wish they could reveal information as adeptly as this. The descriptions of landscape and characters reminded me of the animation of Terry Gilliam and I kept imagining that giant hand sitting outside the police station. Anyway, I cannot recommend this book enough and anyone reads it and wants to talk about bicycles I would love to discuss it with you.


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Spiny on the Outside Cuddly in the Middle

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have not been surprised by a book in a long time. I usually get a feeling by a 1/3 a way through how I am going to like the book but Elegance slowly charmed it's way into my heart and moved from a 3 star to a solid 4, 4 and 1/2 star by the end. The first couple of chapters were slow, a little "precious", and the characters were not entirely likable. If it hadn't been a book club selection, I am not sure I would have kept reading but I am so glad I did. The story takes place in a posh apartment building in Paris and is told from alternating points of view of a the widowed concierge,Rene and a thirteen year old resident, Paloma. Paloma's sense of superiority and suicidal teen angst was what turned me off from the book initially. However, like all good characters Paloma changes as the book progresses and she becomes humbler and more appreciative of life. Through the voices of both Paloma and Rene, Barbery is exploring the idea that all people are free of determinism and you don't have to be what other people expect you to be. In other words, just because you always been a concierge in Paris and everyone expects you to behave like an uneducated working class person you don't have to really be that person. Rene applies this thought to her own life and through her connection with others in the apartment begins to realize she can be free to be who she really is. Sounds a little hokey, I know but I think the book is successful because she uses subtle transitions in character and becomes more plot driven and less "preachy" towards the climax. The book is also surprising in that a translated, philosophical treatise could become a national bestseller. I found it amusing that one publisher thought hedgehog wouldn't do well in America because it is a class-less society and we wouldn't get it. Ha wouldn't that be nice.


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French Fiction

Exteriors by Annie Ernaux

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Lately, I have been fascinated with America's preoccupation with "Truth". In my opinion, this spate of successful memoirs that turn out to be fakes and "betray" the American public says something (although I am not entirely sure what yet) about how we value stories as a culture. Apparently, other countries are less concerned veracity and Annie Ernaux's popularity is evidence of this. Her books often blur what is real. In the case of Exteriors, the entire book is a series of observations of ordinary life which could be completely fabricated from Ernaux's imagination or actual scenes she has personally observed. The reader has no absolute way of knowing. My guess is it's a mix of both. Ernaux explains at the beginning of the book that she decided to write this book when her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimers. She explained that her mother's world was quickly becoming populated with strangers and she believed that to better understand her mother's experience she needed to explore the strangers in her own world. This is a beautiful reason to write a book and it is no less powerful to me if some of the observations are less than "true."


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Granny Square Blanket

It's official , my first successful baby blanket is packaged up, addressed and ready to go. Earlier this year, I tried a baby blanket that didn't quite "shape" up correctly. Parallelograms are a nice shape but not great for blankets. The Lion Brand Bright Baby Blanket was a giant granny square that while still not entirely square was a lot closer. In fact, if I had dared to block it might have perfectly square. However, when it comes to hand made isn't perfect a little overrated. I know, I know, it probably would be better and more polished to block the piece before giving it to my friend but I was so nervous things would go badly. I have never blocked before so I didn't want to try on a gift. One of my next projects is a blanket I want to make for myself so I will practice blocking on that.

Anyway, I am hoping that my friend won't lay the blanket on the floor a lot or scrutinize the back stitches. (I wove those threads in like crazy but you never know). I did use the machine washable Cascade Yarns 100% Superwash wool in magenta, pink, apple green, and white. The yarn was a good quality that split very little and worked up nicely. I am also now a big fan of this pattern too. It only took me about a month and half to finish and that was with some breaks due to some busy nights where I couldn't watch TV and therefore crochet. The color changes kept the pattern from getting boring and I am now inspired to make more in an array of different color combinations. Although, next time I do it I think I will follow the pattern a little more carefully. I didn't realize until I was almost done that I was suppose to work three rows of the light pink color (the color I chose as my main color) each time. Instead I just did one row of light pink in the sequence. I think this design choice looked fine but I did end up almost running out of the other colors and having a lot of light pink left. To use up some of that pink I did four rows and the end as a border. I liked the border but the more I looked at that pink the more it resembled Pepto-Bismol to me. Hopefully my friend won't think so.

Now that the blanket is finished I am moving on to the PDQ hat from the Happy Hooker book. After finishing a long project like a blanket it is always fun to start something small that I can finish quickly.

Chain of Events

When my mom is asked how she learned to crochet she loves to tell the story of how her mother only taught her the chain stitch. My grandmother likes things done well and she didn't want to teach her anything else until she made a perfect chain. After weeks of chain stitches, my mom became impatient and taught herself how to single crochet, double crochet and pretty much every other crochet stitch except for maybe the popcorn stitch. When I expressed an interest in crochet, she taught me how to chain and then quickly taught me the simple stitches. I am grateful that I didn't have to make yards and yards of crocheted chains but for some reason I had a hard time figuring out where to put my stitches. In my childhood I had made a few crocheted things but mostly round doilies that rippled instead of laying flat. My mom is a truly amazing crocheter who rarely follows a pattern, I think I always worried I wouldn't be able to make anything as beautiful as her pieces. Some of her crocheted table cloths and doilies are the most beautiful pieces of crochet I have ever seen.

As I got older, though, I started to feel bad that my mom's amazing talent and knowledge would not have a legacy. Maybe it's a bit melo-dramatic but I think it is a tragic thing if this yarn crafting skill dies out with my mom. So, during several trips home I asked her to teach me to crochet again. I would like to say that it went well and I never got frustrated or yelled at her and became an accomplished crocheter after a couple lessons from Mom. Well I would like to say that. I did learn how to single and double crochet and she did teach how to read a pattern. The problem was when I would come home I had no one to ask questions to or to look over my work to confirm I was doing things right. After a few years of trying to teach myself in a vacuum and trying to get the motivation to actually do a whole project I was invited to my first Stitch & Bitch. All the other ladies in the group are knitters so I didn't have feedback but what I did have was motivation to get better. I wanted to hang out with ladies every other Sunday but I didn't want them to see that I didn't know what I was doing. So, I bought several books, looked at videos on line, and crocheted while watching TV. I watch a lot of TV so I was able to whip out projects like hats and wash cloths by each Stitch & Bitch. The book that really gave me the confidence to crochet in front of people and to even give some of my work as gifts was Debbie Stoller's Happy Hooker. There isn't a book out there. in my opinion that better explains how to work into a chain, decrease, and work in the round. The writing is so clear and engaging, so I am actually reading through the instructions and not skimming them for the main points like I have been known to do with instructional books. After the Happy Hooker and a year of the Stitch and Bitches I am now a fairly confident, competent and helplessly addicted crocheter. Now it is hard for me to believe there was a time I watched TV and didn't do anything. That just doesn't sound fun anymore:).

For anyone learning to crochet I cannot recommend both the Happy Hooker and a Stitch and Bitch group enough. Even if no one in the group crochet's, like my case, just having a time set aside every month that you dedicate to crochet is a great way to improve and the girl time is just as relaxing or maybe more so than the craft itself.

Intro to Hooks and Books

I am a technical writer, avid reader, and beginning crocheter from Austin Texas. This blog is dedicated to all things books and yarn. I know it is not exactly the most traditional combination of topics. I have noticed although that many of my knitting/crocheting friends are also readers. I do think a blog with a solid focus is better than a "I found this cute puppy pic on the web and I had a tuna sandwich for lunch blog" so I want to focus on topics I know I will have a lot to write about. That being said I am giving myself permission to stray on occasion when the topic is interesting enough. So, expect lots of afghans, scarves, fiction, and the occasional reaction to a Lost episode.

February Book Club Book

In the Woods by Tana French

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
An thoroughly entertaining and well crafted mystery novel. Unlike most mystery/thrillers I have read, I was fully invested in the characters and never thrown out of the world by clunky, agonizing sentences. One or two characters are a little too broadly drawn but overall French's world is populated with believable, complicated, and unreliable players. A great read for a cold winter weekend.


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First Audio Book of the Year

The Last Town on Earth: A Novel by Thomas Mullen

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
A historical novel set during the flu epidemic of the early 20th century, the Last Town on Earth was a compelling first novel and made a great audio book. At times the writing was a little over wrought but not so much so that I was distracted from the characters and the plot. Overall this is a plot driven novel, it was obvious the author did considerable research and he adeptly used that research to add depth to the world he created. This novel left me feeling so much more educated about early 20th century America; giving me an insight into the labor relations, medical practices, and general political climate of the time. As I was listening to the novel I kept asking myself how we as modern Americans would react to an outbreak of these proportions. The descriptions of the disease are graphic and horrifying. I don't know how we would react to something that fast and that devastating. The decision to quarantine may not have been the wisest but you cannot blame the characters for trying to protect what they had worked so hard to build. Overall, I would recommend this book and warn that for a few days after reading it you will look at everyone who coughs around you a little cautiously.


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Books the Change You

I recently heard an interview on the Washington Post Book review podcast with the author the author Jay Parini about his recent book Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America. The books he selected were by no means great books but I would agree that they did have a profound impact on American culture in general. Parini argued in the interview that these 13 books represent the soul of America and shaped America's morals and character. After this interview, I started to think about the books that have changed me, shaped my morals and character. At first my list included all my favorite books but then it occurred to me there is a difference between loving a book and being influenced by a book. I didn't necessarily love Blink but I was highly influenced by the arguments Malcolm Gladwell makes about how perceptions shape my reality. There are many sentences or scenes from specific books that are with me forever and that I routinely return to shape the way I approach everyday situations. Some of those influences are obvious, such as Fast Food Nation compelling to eat only organic beef and to frequent Fast Food restaurants only on rare occassions. Where as books like Lolita and Anna Karenina had more subtle and profound impacts on the way I see the world and my relationships. To this day when I think of the frustrations of relationships, I think of Levin and Kitty mushroom hunting in the forest. No scene in fiction better captures the awkwardness of relating to someone. Having read that I feel I better understand my own shortcomings and insecurities when trying to communicate with someone I love.
For me, there are few thrills more exhilerated than comming across a passage or an idea in a book that shifts the world for me- a little like peering into a kaleidoscope. To be changed is actually one of the key reasons why I read and why I am so compelled to read.

So what are those thirteen books for me? I will list them below and I think in future posts highlight one book and explain why it is on the list. I will warn you it is fairly predictable list.

* The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
* The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
* The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
* The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
* Love Medicine - Louise Erdrich
* Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
* Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
* Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
* Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
* The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
* Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
* Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (honorable mention for The Tipping Point)
* The Wind-up Bird Chronicle Haruki Murakami
*

You Love the Collection

Self-Help by Lorrie Moore

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
After reading this collection of Lorrie Moore stories, you can see why so many writers frequently copy her style. For one thing she makes it look so easy. Her prose is so perfectly paced and all those tough things like character development, plot, and setting just seem to flow effortlessly and logically out of the story. "Look" you say to yourself, "if she can create a beautiful story peppered with puns and thieving wives, why can't I?" And then you try and then you see why you can't. And then you are in a deep despair because you realize it is always the best writing that looks so deceptively easy. You could spend years trying to perfect this style but you know it would never be as good. Just when you are at the brink you read "When Robert MacNeil talks about mounting inflation, you imagine him checking into a motel room with a life-size, blow-up tall." and you giggle and you forgive Lorrie Moore for being such a great writer and you love the collection.


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Reading Visually

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was our book club selection for January. This is definitely not the girly, let's-have-a-good-cry, Oprah-esque book club and that's why I love it. We started the bc with the Watchmen and decided to see what the other seminal graphic novel was like. In fact, I am really glad I could talk about this book with a group of mutual comic novices because there were a lot of plot points and even characters that I was clueless about and in this group I felt more than free to admit my ignorance. On a story level it is fairly well written and I can see that at the time the ambiguously moral batman was fresh and exciting take on the classic story. Now of course, we are used to this ambivalent batman and I got a little tired of the story beating over my head whether or not he was good guy or a bad guy. I did like the comments Miller was making about the media and their influence on public opinion. Twenty years later it is still relevant. In fact, I feel the media he depicted as an exageration is very close to our own reality now. One thing that became clear for me in this book is that I am not very good at reading visually. Often I would find my self skipping panels if they did not include text. I would miss important pieces of the story because of this oversight. It is interesting to me that there is almost a skill in being able to read these. I have a feeling that in the future my book club will give me a few more opportunities to practice.


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Read the Right One

As part of my obsession with reading books before I see the movie, I picked up the swedish vampire novel Let the Right One In just before christmas and while the movie was in theatres. In fact, I missed seeing the movie in the theatre because I decided to read the book and didn't have it done in time. Large book + indie movie with short run = see movie on dvd. I just started a couple of days ago because I figured I should get my sustenance from Netherland before I get my little treat of genre. So far I am not disappointed. The writing is snappy, engaging, and quite creepy. The perspective and shifts of point of view are very cinematic and I wouldn't be surprised if the story translates pretty well on film. My only worry is that reading the book before bed each night might give me creepy dreams. I might have to pick a different book for the night stand and keep this one for Saturday afternoons.