Robynettely

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...

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...

  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...

  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...

Wind/Water/Salt  Chapters 39-51:   Actually wrote that funeral scene.  Persephone  (probably not its real name):  Vinterlys:  Worked on Chapter 2 some more, but mostly planned and wrote backstory.  Critted  4  Got back  1 Submissions  0  Out there   0   Rejects   0 Knitting Hamilton  (Self). Started the month with just a tiny bit of knitting a hem and then the endless finishing. It's done. I'm so sick of this sweater.  Georgia  (Norah Gaughan). Started the month with one sleeve, one flounce, and the back done, and a front started. Finished that front, attached the sleeve, started the other front. The balls of yarn are like basketballs, so this is not a portable project.  Ankylosaur socks  (knitty). Started the month with half of the first one done. Finished.  Aberlady  (AS Celtic Collection). Started. I took it away for a week to relatives' for Christmas as my only project, and ...

  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  0 as I posted nothing.  Submissions  0  Out there   0   Rejects   0 Knitting Hamilton  (Self). Started the month by picking up the stitches around the neck. I blew myself away by picking up the same number on the left and the right without actually counting. Finished the fair isle portion of this, just a tiny bit of knitting a hem and then it's the endless finishing.  Georgia  (Norah Gaughan). Started the month with one sleeve and one flounce done, and the back started. Finished the back and started a front. It's so fast compared to everything else!  Undertoe socks  (knitty). Started the month on the second sock. Finished!  Ankylosaur socks (knitty). I found this surprisingly unpleasant to work on! Did half of the first sock....

"Katabasis" by R.F. Kuang. Hard copy, gift from the boy. Dark academia, and when I read the first chapter I was like "A walk into hell, how is she going to sustain that for 500+ pages?" but it was fine. Loved it. It seemed like a couple of times a metaphor was reused or a phrase repeated on the same page, not sure if that was intentional? It lost its way for a while, I thought, about 80% in, but it ended really well.  "Finding Me" by Viola Davis.  eBook. For office book club. She sure doesn't like Portuguese people. Reminded me of my dad that way. I didn't expect all the urine. I might not have been the right audience for this as I've never seen anything she's in, but the part where she was complaining about how hard telemarketing is, I was wondering if anyone was the right audience.  LHC #300: "A  Thousand Recipes for Revenge" by Beth Cato.  Hard copy. I sort of wished the story could have worked without having to go all "fa...

"The Moomins and the Great Flood" by Tove Jansson.  eBook. I read this because Marissa Lingen loves them. It was fine? This was the first one in the series and the only one available online; maybe the later ones are better. Maybe they're better if you read them as a child.  "The Relentless Moon" by Mary Robinette Kowal.  Hard copy. Read it because Ed had the whole series out of the library. It took a long time to get going, and sometimes I find MRK exhausting. Her white main characters all seem oddly aware of the Black experience.  "The Martian Contingency" by Mary Robinette Kowal.  Hard copy. Read it because Ed had the whole series out of the library. I don't often read subsequent books in a series in quick succession, and my reaction to this one is a lot of why: I found Alma's voice too similar to Nicole's -- sure, Nicole obsessed about food much more, but they both went on and on about "must support black guy in management" an...

Wind/Water/Salt  Chapters 39-51:   Nothing.  Persephone  (probably not its real name): Nothing.  Vinterlys:  Finished marking chapters, wrote outline, worked on the setting of the first three chapters, found a good doctor character, and wrote notes for some much-needed backstory.  Critted  4  Got back  1 Submissions  0  Out there   0   Rejects   0 Knitting Hamilton  (Self). Started the month with the second sleeve just attached to the body. If I want to finish it this year, I needed to finish the body in October. That meant 7 rows per weekend day. The month started with each row taking about a half hour. This got better, though, as every row has decreases and is shorter than the last. However, on Thanksgiving weekend I only managed to do 7 rows. Nevertheless, I did finish the body.  Athabasca socks  (knitty): Started the month half done the second sock. These are done now.  Georgia  (Nora...

LHC #295: "The Last to Leave the Room" by Caitlin Starling. Audiobook. Workplace horror? Loved it.  "Careless People" by Sarah Wynn-Williams. Hard copy, for office Data Ethics book club. The stories about Sheryl Sandberg really made me like my boss better.  LHC #296: "The Fated Sky" by Mary Robinette Kowal. Hard copy. This got moved up the list because Ed had read book 1 in the series and got the rest out of the library. Loved it. He's got the next one in the series upstairs, I suppose I'll read it when he's done.  LHC #297: "Bluegrass: A History" by Neil V. Rosenberg. Hard copy. No idea why it was on my list, I don't care that much about bluegrass. Nevertheless, the second half was interesting. I guess the first half was necessary, as it described in great length the way people came and went in Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys band, and also how technology and social pressures affect how music is made and performed.   LHC #298: ...

Wind/Water/Salt  Chapters 39-51:   Nothing.  Persephone  (probably not its real name):  Nothing. Vinterlys:  Almost to the end with marking chapters so I can fix the outline.  Critted  4  Got back  1 Submissions  0  Out there   0   Rejects   0 Knitting Hamilton  (Self). Started the month with 27 rows to go on the second sleeve. I finished that sleeve and attached it to the body.  Color block sock . Started the month with all the finishing on both socks to do. That's done now.  Arundel sock  (Knitty). Started the month needing just the heels and finishing on both socks. That's done now.  Athabasca socks (knitty): Started the first, did the heel, decided I'd made a bad choice, ripped out the heel. Finished that sock, started the second. Most of the leg is done now, soon to do another heel.  Georgia (Norah Gaughan). I really needed something that wasn't a sock and that didn't need to b...

Wind/Water/Salt Chapters 39-51:   Nothing. Persephone  (probably not its real name): Nothing Vinterlys:  Continued marking the rest of the chapters so I can have an outline and then fix the outline.  Critted  4  Got back  1 Submissions  0  Out there   0   Rejects   0 Knitting Hamilton  (Self). Started the month with about 60 rows to go on the second sleeve. This is down to 27 now.  Color block sock . Started the month mostly done with the first (didn't tie in the danglers yet) and half the leg of the second. Finished all the knitting, just have to do the finishing.  Arundel sock  (Knitty). Started the month with the foot and ankle done on the first one, just the heel and cuff to go. Finished everything but the heels and danglers on both socks.  Sashiko project:  Nothing.  Ruffle skirt:   Nothing. Purple Romper:   Nothing. Nikka pants: Why yes, rather than finishing anything I've...

LHC #291: "Under the Pendulum Sun: A novel of the fae" by Jeannette Ng.  Hard copy. The Yellow Wallpaper with fairies and inappropriate lusts. Not sure I'd call it fun, but it was definitely engrossing.  LHC #292: "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" by Michael Chabon.  Audio book. Very fun. The reader was great. I wonder if I might have benefitted from a written glossary of yiddish terms though.  LHC #293: "Fabric: The hidden history of the material world" by Victoria Finlay. eBook. A lot of this book is about economics and the evolution of work. A s a professional writer at the advent of ChatGPT, it's somewhat distressing to read about spinners and weavers during the industrial revolution .  "The Travelling Cat Chronicles" by Hiro Arikawa. eBook. For office book club. When I started the voice was annoying and twee, but I was on an airplane so I just went with it, and it was a good book to read on a plane because it wasn't too taxin...

Wind/Water/Salt  Chapters 39-51 :    Nothing.   Persephone  (probably not its real name):    Nothing.  Vinterlys:  Combined chapters 2, 3, and 4, did not finish.   Critted  4  Got back  2 Submissions  0  Out there   0   Rejects   0 Knitting Hamilton  (Self). Started the month with one row of the main portion of the second sleeve done. I did about 60 rows, and have about 60 to go.  Color block sock . Started the month mostly done with the first (didn't tie in the danglers yet) and half the leg of the second.   Arundel sock  (Knitty). Foot and ankle done on the first one, just the heel and cuff to go.  Sashiko project: Nothing.  Ruffle skirt:     Nothing.  Purple Romper:     Nothing. 

  LHC #287: "Walking to Aldebaran" by Adrian Tchaikovsky.  Hard copy. As usual I had no idea why I'd chosen this for myself, and little idea what it was about, so the whole Grendel thing caught me by surprise.  LHC #288: "The Librarianist" by Patrick DeWitt. eBook. I found the writing style a little simple. Also my idea of librarians is maybe different than the author's--I feel like they get out and connect with people, and Bill doesn't do that. I had the sense that maybe it was all meant to be funny?  LHC #289: "Spear" by Nicola Griffith. Hard copy. Maybe if I knew the legend of Percival better I would have felt like it was going somewhere.  LHC #289: Motherless Brooklyn" by Jonathan Lethem. Audio book. Really glad I listened to this one, the reader was excellent.  LHC #290: "The Creative Lives of Animals" by Carol Gigliotti. Audio Book. I guess I have a sort of humanist idea of creativity, but this was a good read.  "Foul...

LHC #284: "Ink Blood Sister Scribe" by Emma Torzs. eBook. I found it a little "all in" on the everyone is keeping information from each other plot, but at least there was Nicholas. I thought it was going to be some kind of a slog until Nicholas showed up.  "Written on the Night" by Guy Gavriel Kay. There might be two books by him that I haven't read? We own them all anyway. I could count on Ed reading it too, so it's worth buying. He didn't seem that excited when I brought it out (granted, he was tired from having just been on a very stressful flight where he thought his bow had been left behind by the airline when he took off) but a week later he'd finished whatever he was reading and came to me and said "Where's that GGK book? I've run out of things to read." And I showed it to him, it was in my hand as I was reading chapter 3.  LHC #285: "King Rat" by China Mieville. Hard copy. One of my favorite authors; d...

Wind/Water/Salt  Chapters 39-51:   Nothing. Persephone  (probably not its real name): Wrote a scene in the last third, not the ending.  Vinterlys: Posted chapter 1, started reading ahead and marking the rest of the chapters, working on an outline of the rest, started editing chapter 2.  Critted  4  Got back  5 Submissions  0  Out there   0   Rejects   0 Knitting Hamilton  (Self). Started the month with about six rows of the colorwork on the second sleeve. My goal for the month was to finish the edging band which is 22 rows. I had to set myself a quota to get myself to do it, because it was so unpleasant, but I got it done.  Sulaire  (Alice Starmore). Finished. There was a lot of finishing! Can't wait for September to wear it.  1x1 stripe socks. Knit from a picture. I had started the first one last month, this month I finished the pair.  Color block sock . Knit from a picture. Started the first....

LHC #278: "Semiosis" by Sue Burke. eBook. More like linked short stories than a novel really. Some of the characters and voices were distasteful but the aliens and worldbuilding were amazing. And the one about first contact with the glassmakers was laugh out loud funny.  LHC #279: "Carry On" by Rainbow Rowell. Hard copy because there was a 6-month waitlist for the eBook but I could have the hard copy within the week. Harry Potter fanfic? I found it kind of tedious until Baz showed up, and then it was great. If there are teams, I'm definitely team Baz.  LHC #280: "Lunch: A history" by Megan Elias.  Hard copy. I didn't expect to ever read this one actually. The library had got down to one copy of it, and it was listed as lost, and I'd left this on my list in Active status for like five months, when one day it started winging its way towards me. I found it strangely organized and mostly comprising of many, many menus. There didn't seem to be ...

Wind/Water/Salt  Chapters 39-51:   Nothing. Persephone  (probably not its real name): Nothing.  Short Stories:  Eventually abandoned that thing from the backlog. Also wrote a short thing from scratch on scrap paper, but I don't think it's good.  Vinterlys:  I'm going to finish Chapter 1 and post it, then mark all the chapters, make an outline, and I hope I can post a chapter every two weeks until it's done.  Critted  4  Got back  1 Submissions  0  Out there   0   Rejects   0 Knitting Hamilton  (Self). Started the month with about six rows of the colorwork on the second sleeve. Did not work on it. Sulaire  (Alice Starmore). Did one side of button bands. So close to done! So not wearable until September!  Ruffled sock  (self). Started the month with just the ruffle done on the second sock. Finished it. Viking hat (Self). I needed something for a costume, so I found some silver yarn in a tr...

In the order I finished them, rather than the order I started:  LHC #274: The Blighted Stars by Megan O'Keefe.  Hard copy. Read it mostly on the plane to and from Vancouver. I liked it more than I thought I would and put book 2 on my list. As usual I have no idea why it was on my list, and I found the characters a bit stock, but the plot moved right along and the science and worldbuilding were cool.  LHC #275: "Wings once cursed and bound" by Piper J. Drake. ebook. I found the writing kind of simplistic maybe? Once again, really predictable characters, and it seemed a little bit like it was introducing a new species of supernatural creature whenever the plot flagged, but whatever.  LHC #276: "The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell. Hard copy. After the last book, this one was a delight from page one, though it got quite depressing later on. I can see why it's a classic. I did not find these characters predictable, but maybe that's because I know nothing ab...