yarn along

After a whirlwind trip to the Seattle area this weekend we are home and working on our third-to-last week of school.  I am starting to wonder whether I can line up a few books on our kindles for the girls to read this summer or another way to keep them reading interesting things; not an easy task when one has a pretty lame book selection through one's library.

I've been knitting like crazy on Lyddie's Suzanne sweater and am nearing the finish line.  If you don't mind picking up a ton of stitches, it's a great pattern!  I don't really mind that and I like the look it achieves.  It's a pretty knit and I'm happy to be working stockinette now.

I finished In the Woods and cannot recommend it at all.  It was a complete disappointment!  I don't want to give away too many spoilers but I will just say that the last 1/3 of the book was terribly unsatisfying but it had held enough promise early on that I hoped it would resolve with some closure.  Nope.  I don't think I'll read any more of Tana French's books but it's too bad because I'd heard many positive reviews of the book which caused me to pick it up and she does have an interesting style that kept me engaged.

I'm now reading Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard and it's a breath of fresh air after that last 400-page disappointment. I'm also reading a bit of Flannery O'Connor and seeing it with new eyes.  Listening to Wuthering Heights which is so-so... I haven't really found myself enjoying it either, per se, but I'm sticking it out because it's ... Wuthering Heights and I've always wanted to read it and know the characters because they are cultural references often enough.  And I'm listening to The Count of Monte Cristo (still) along with Heather at the CraftLit podcast and I'm enjoying it a lot the past several chapters.  Usually I ditch books I'm not that into but I am pressing through a lot of these in part because I don't have the energy to switch and find another book to read that I think I'll like better.  I could probably stand to have some book suggestions made in the comments here; I am looking for more past or modern classics - something that will stand the test of time (like Dillard, or Austen, or maybe Willa Cather or...?) or really excellently written mystery novels... or juvenile fiction is often a home run for me.  Anyone want to throw out a few books I should definitely look into that I might put on hold through the library that would help me feel excited to read again?