Mostly about books

There used to be a bumper sticker I'd see around that I liked: "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." I counted myself among the outraged. After 50 pages of Jane Mayer's The Dark Side, though, I realized I haven't been paying attention. It's partisan, of course--undoubtedly biased--but Mayer's arguments are hard to dispute, and I've gotten old enough to realize that there aren't always two sides to every story; that sometimes wrong is wrong, regardless of perspective.

So. This book is going to take me a while to slog through--I read most of that 50 pages sitting (for two freaking hours) in the doctor's waiting room Monday. I read the entirety of The Tales of Beedle the Bard in less time than that, and it had more than 50 pages. I'd been feeling guilty about putting that last one and the super short, super easy I Can Make You Thin! toward my 52 Books in 52 Weeks, but this one will make up for it.

And speaking of books, my book club is doing Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler next. I'm stupidly excited to read them again.

The scarf is coming along; I keep using it instead of picking up stitches for the hood, but it'll get done one day. In the meantime I've started another pair of socks, the Embossed Leaves pattern from Favorite Socks. It's a fun pattern, but the yarn is what I'm loving the most. I got it in a Ravelry swap, and it's amazing. It's got some bamboo in it, which must be what makes it seem so special. The label said it's from Chick Chick Studios, but I can't find any sort of online presence for them. Too bad, 'cause this stuff is addictive.

Forgot one!

I realized after I posted my knitting goals for the year that I'd left one off: I will knit something using brioche stitch this year. Brioche has become what socks were for me--something that intimidates me for absolutely no good reason and I know I'll like once I just buckle down and do it. It's a stitch! How hard can it be?

I also finished A Lion Among Men last night. It was decent, but more of a placeholder for the series than an indispensable volume in it, I think. (Still a good ending, though. Maguire is beginning to figure out how to write endings that don't disappoint--woo hoo!) Two books down, just fifty more to go!

The Pfeiffer Falls scarf is getting there. I expect to finish the second half of the scarf today and graft the two parts together tomorrow. The grafting should be interesting. I'm one of those weird people that not only doesn't mind grafting, but sorta kinda likes it. This, though, is grafting in pattern. Some will be purls, some knits, and I'm ... nervous. Here's hoping Squirt takes a looooong nap tomorrow afternoon!

New year, new goals

Wow, we're more than a week into 2009 already. I'm not making resolutions, just goals. I figure I'll be more likely to keep them that way. ;)

First up, I will complete my Seascape and another lace project. I like lace a lot, but it's very time consuming. So this goal is more about learning how to structure my knitting time.

I also want to complete a sweater that fits the way I intended it to at the cast on. Not one that looks okay if I put it over a shirt like a vest, or one that would fit perfectly if I hadn't gained that weight, or one that I just don't like the arms on it. A sweater that I love, in other words. It will take dedication. It will take measurements. It will take (dear god) swatching. But I will do it.

I also intend to make one charity item a month. I would really like to do one a month and not just churn them all out at the end of the year. I want to sit down once a month and think about how fortunate I am.

And in a goal that I know I won't reach but I want to try for anyway, I've joined the 52 Books in 52 Weeks group on Ravelry. Knitting has all but consumed what I used to use as reading time, but I still manage to cram a few books in now and again. I'll be keeping track of what I've read on a new sidebar. I've already finished the first one--good thing, too, since we're more than a week into the year, as I've already pointed out--Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire, the sequel to Wicked. He's managed to overcome his crappy ending curse with this one! I've read almost all his books, and it seems like he never knows how to end them. Wicked's ending was rushed and out of character, but this one ended well. It was ambiguous, yes, but it felt real. So I'm excited to read the next one about the Cowardly Lion, A Lion Among Men. I've also picked up a non-fiction book about the war in Iraq. (I feel like such a grown-up, buying books about current affairs.) It's called The Dark Side by Jane Mayer. I'm eager to read that one, too. Oh, and there's still The Tales of Beetle the Bard that I got for Christmas, and yet another freaking Jodi Picoult book for book club ...

Oh, crap, I was going to end there, but I forgot about my scarf. I've cast on for the Pfeiffer Falls Hooded Scarf from the winter 2008 IK. I looove it. Malabrigo should make sheets.