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What I read -- March 2026

  LHC #315: "The Brides of High Hill" by Nghi Vo. eBook. Sequel. Nice and short. This one took a turn I did not expect.  "The Grifters" by Jim Thompson.  Hard copy. Got it for Christmas, my sister said it was amazing, just got better and better. She was absolutely right.  "The Listeners" by Maggie Stiefvater.  Hard copy. I got it for my birthday last year. I never really bonded with the main character, and for vast tracts it felt like nothing happened, and I kept wanting more from the water, but it had a satisfying conclusion.  LHC #316: "History of medicine: A scandalously short introduction" by Jacalyn Duffin. Hard copy. So, funny story. I swear I bought this book like 10 years ago and it disappeared somewhere in my house never to be seen again. I periodically search for it.  Anyway, the main character of the novel I'm working on (Vinterlys) is a young woman in 1888 Providence RI who wants to be a physician. This book was always intended t...
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In progress: March 2026

Wind/Water/Salt Chapters 39-51 :   Nothing.  Persephone  (probably not its real name): Nothing.  Vinterlys:  Working on Chapter 3 still, though this one seems more stable. I did work on it quite a bit during Chapter 2. 1-3 are in the same locale so it made sense to work on them together. Maybe I'll continue in this vein, doing the next locale all together too.  Critted  4  Got back  3 Submissions  0  Out there   0   Rejects   0 Knitting Aberlady  (AS Celtic Collection). I added markers at each pattern repeat. Hopefully that will make it easier to work on.   Summer in Tokyo  (Isager):Started the month with eleven rows left on the second sleeve, the yoke, and the finishing to go. And as I wanted, I finished this and now I can wear it for a little while before sweater weather is over until fall. I could not follow the yoke short row instructions as written so I did my best to make it look like th...
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What I read: February 2026

  LHC #312: "The Children of God" by Mary Doria Russell.  eBook. This one is a sequel and is also a book with only 2 copies in the TPL system, kills two birds with one stone! This was a satisfying conclusion.  LHC #313:  "History of the Present" by Timothy Garton Ash. Hard copy; 3 copies at the TPL. It's about central Europe from 1990 to 2000, so pretty dark. I had no idea that being a woodcutter was a viable profession in actual Europe like 26 years ago! I thought they were a fairytale thing. Though they don't tend to have good ends there, or here either. It was interesting, but hard to read because I don't have an intimate familiarity with all the names and acronyms, and because portions were rather horrifying.  "Monstrous nights" by Ginoveva Dimova. Sequel, hard copy. I own it, so it's good for carrying around since if I lose it I don't owe anyone anything. Fun read. Liked the main character.  LHC #314: "The Burning God" b...
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In progress -- February 2026

Wind/Water/Salt  Chapters 39-51:   Nothing.  Persephone  (probably not its real name): Nothing.  Vinterlys:  Decided it's time to move on from Chapter 2, posted it and now I guess I'll work on Chapter 3 for 6 months.   Critted  4  Got back  3 Submissions  0  Out there   0   Rejects   0 Knitting Aberlady  (AS Celtic Collection). Did a few rows while listening to podcasts.  Summer in Tokyo  (Isager):Started the month maybe 14 rows from the armholes. I finished the body and a sleeve. It would be nice to be able to wear this in March. So, eleven rows of a sleeve, the yoke, and the finishing to go. Ankylosaur  (Knitty). Ed shrank his, so I guess they're mine now? I started another pair for him because he was so sad, and also because socks are portable so it's always good to have one going.  Sashiko project:   Nothing.  Ruffle skirt:  Did the waistband and I'm calling i...
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What I read - January 2026

Explanation: I have a very long Holds list at the library, so I'm trying to whittle that down. It's an impossible task, as I keep adding things. However, Two years ago my library was hacked and the website was down for like 4 or 5 months. So, I've got some breathing room because I couldn't place holds between October 2023 and March 2024, and books expire off the holds list after 2 years (by default. So, I don't have any holds that are expiring between now and March, and I'm using this "free" time to read all the things that have very few copies available in the system (having been burned before by there only being one copy, and it going missing). And, when that's done, I'm trying to read the sequels that are on the list, before I've forgotten what I liked about the series.  "The God of the Woods" by Liz Moore.  Hard copy. Office book club selection. I was #455 on the waitlist and yet got the book within a week. And it didn't t...
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In progress - January 2026

  Wind/Water/Salt  Chapters 39-51:   Nothing  Persephone  (probably not its real name): NOthing Vinterlys:  Worked on Chapter 2 some more.  Critted  4  Got back  1 Submissions  0  Out there   0   Rejects   0 Knitting Georgia  (Norah Gaughan). Started the month with one sleeve and half a front to go. Finished. Love this sweater.  Aberlady  (AS Celtic Collection). Did a few rows while listening to podcasts.  Summer in Tokyo  (Isager): Started. I was looking at the pictures and the charts, and the pattern as written is not what is in the pictures! So odd. I am going to finish up two cones of yarn with this project! Pretty exciting. I hope I don't run out of light blue.  I was working along on it, and if you go and look at the sweater, it's knit bottom-up, and I was at the part where I only had two colors, about 5" maybe. And I was thinking, "wow, this is pretty ugly! Maybe I should stop...
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What I read: December 2025

  Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil by VE Schwab.  Another book the boy gave me for my birthday. I found it a little hard to believe that a vampire would take 15 years to notice that when she drank the blood of a drunk person that made her drunk also. There was a moment when I was afraid she was going to forget all about finishing Catty's story, but she didn't let me down.  LHC #304:  Mammoths at the Gates by Ngi Vo.  Audiobook. Sequel! It had a 4-week hold and then it was available. Weird. I liked it, and put the next sequel on my list. It had a slow burn, at least in the audio version.  LHC #305: The Manticore by Robertson Davies. eBook. Catching up on sequels! I had no expectations and had to read the wikipedia page for Fifth Business to remember what was going on, but it was no trouble to read.  LHC #306:  Galveston by Sean Stewart.  Hard copy. The last of the "1 copy" books in Toronto Public Library! I had no expectations going in. Gr...
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