... should be the name of this blog. I saved a draft of this post two months ago but only got to rewriting it properly now. What have I been up to? Overcome by the mundane realities of making a living is probably a good summary. There has been a little bit of knitting, which I will show you presently, but first things first.
There's always interesting stuff going on at Anna's blog, especially when it comes to books. When she posted about this interview meme, I thought it'd be fun to join in. Anna very gamely sent me some book-related questions, while I, quite lamely, took 3 months to answer them. Anyway, here we go:
Q1: Out of all the books you've read, which one affected you the most and why?
A1: A tough one! Scores of books with heavy, depressing content come to mind, but I'm going to go with something a little more upbeat here: Possession by A S Byatt. The sheer talent and heart that went into this book is so vast, I feel walloped every single time I read it. Which is many, many times.
Q2. Everyone always asks for book recommendations, but what is one book you think people should avoid at all costs?
A2: To many good folks, including at least one member of my immediate family, this answer is going to be mortally offensive. Or immortally offensive, come to think of it. My vote goes to Breaking Dawn, Book 4 of the Twilight saga. I enjoyed the first 3 greatly, but book 4 just felt like tawdry fan fiction. My apologies to the millions who feel otherwise.
Q3. What is the first book you remember reading?
A3: Pictures book don't count, right? English was my second language, and the first "real" book I read was probably a Nancy Drew mystery when I was eight or nine, loaned to me by a classmate who was way more advanced in the language than I was. I remember being baffled by words like "attorney" (Nancy's dad's job), "meringue" (Nancy ate that a lot for dessert) and yes, "sleuth". But I loved the books anyway. I should also add that for first-time readers, it helped greatly that almost every pseudo-scary plot twist was printed in italics, as in "Nancy raced into the room and saw that the trapdoor was open!"
Q4. When I'm browsing books, sometimes I come across a title that hits me. I don't always read the book, but the title amuses me or gets to me in some way. What's your favorite book title? Have you read the book? (Ex.: "The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things" I probably won't ever read this book, but I chuckle every time I see the title.)
A4. Try this: The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Field Identification Guide. I must read it one day.
Q5. What's the one book you love and wish you'd written?
A5: Everything by Stieg Larsson. I love dark, brooding Scandinavian thrillers but his books are truly exceptional.
And now, for the miniscule bit of knitting I've done. Here's is the Eh's birthday vest, adapted from the Skipper pullover from Louisa Harding's The Magical World According to Miss Millie. Since my little guy doesn't approve of cables, I went for this zigzag pattern made from reverse st st and seed stitch. It's quite simple, but effective; and it's fun to knit. All I did was leave out the sleeves, and size down a little to make the fit more snug. The yarn, once again, is Laines du Nord Royal Cashmere - the last of my stash in off-white. The Eh was most pleased and wore it to school a lot.
And since it has been two and a half months since I completed the FO, I can report that it wears well, with a tolerable amount of pilling. I've just hand-washed and re-blocked it, and I'm happy to say that the fabric is easily de-pilled by hand when damp, while various preschooler garment stains (watercolour paints, I think) came out quite easily in the wash. Now the little vest is pristine again. A definite thumbs-up for the yarn.
Next post: a recent stash-enhancement!






