Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Off the Needles: Countess Mitts

I finished off a few things this winter that I haven't shared with you yet! This pattern was one of the samples I got paid to knit for my LYS. It comes as a cute little kit from Blue Sky Alpacas that includes yarn and the pattern.

Ohhhhh my the yarn! When I win the lottery I'm definitely going to buy an alpaca farm. And then just roll around in alpaca. It's so soft! SO soft. This was amazing to work with!

I should note that I knitted this to gauge. I have fairly small wrists, and these were snug on me. I would suggest going up a needle size if you have larger wrists.




Pattern: Countess Mitts, from Blue Sky Alpaca
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Royal (100% alpaca)
Modifications: None
Ravelry Post: here



Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Book List 2012 Part IV: Non-fiction

This list is pretty short. Like, 3 books short. Does this mean I should be reading more non-fiction books?

Non-fiction Books That I Read in 2012:

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, by Rhoda Janzen
A memoir about how the author coped with a divorce and a devastating car accident. It was interesting, but didn't grab me as much as other memoirs.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), by Mindy Kaling
I wasn't sure what to expect out of this book. I knew Mindy was an annoying character on The Office, but nothing else about her. I was really impressed to learn about her career. She did a great job of connecting anecdotes to form a cohesive book (as opposed to Tina Fey's book, which you could tell was written by a sketch writer). As yes, as a twentysomething girl, I could relate to it.

Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them, by Donovan Hohn
I found this while I was browsing the NYTimes best sellers lists. Or maybe their Top 100 Books of 2011? Either way, it sounded interesting. And it is! The author explores everything that could have happened to the duck bath toys that fell overboard while crossing the ocean. EVERYTHING. From where they could have ended up, to the impact of disintegrating plastic in our oceans. This one is definitely worth checking out.





Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Book List 2012 Part III: The Classics

In high school we had to define what a "classic" book meant. I think we decided it was a book with a message that could speak to many generations blah blah blah... To be honest, most of the time classics = old. This isn't to say that they're boring! I guess the first definition still applies. If they weren't great books, people wouldn't be reading them 100+ years later. Or maybe people just read them because they are free on the Kindle... Anyway, here are the classics, in the order I read them:

Classic Books I Read in 2012:

Emma, by Jane Austen
Goodness, these books make me laugh. The women decide in the blink of an eye that they are madly in love with Mr. Soandso, and then spend days swooning over them. It seems a little unrealistic, but I guess there wasn't much else to do back then. It's a cute love story though.

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
More drama! I was familiar with this plot line from the Bollywood movie Bride and Prejudice. The book doesn't have nearly as much dancing :(

Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen
Yes, I went on a free Kindle book Jane Austen kick... Apparently this book is also a movie, which I don't understand. Because nothing happens. Nothing. It's a bunch of rich people living in the country, hanging out. They act out plays and walk around. Pretty boring. Oh, and people fall in love.

The Complete Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I had read one or two Sherlock mysteries in high school. But I loved reading all of them! Doyle must have been ridiculously clever. Reading this gave me a new appreciation for the British tv show about Sherlock!


The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde
This book goes back to my goal of reading all the books that have characters in A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It's a little terrifying. Dorian is quite terrible. So, don't ever wish that you can be forever young, okay?

The Invisible Man, by H. G. Wells
This book also fits my League of Extraordinary Gentlemen goal. It's a short read, and you actually feel sympathetic towards the invisible man. Sometimes.

King Solomon's Mines, by Sir H. Rider Haggard
Another book from my League of Extraordinary Gentlemen quest. This turned out to be really interesting. Once you get past all the old African slang, it's a great adventure (and only a tiny bit racist for how old it is).


Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
I don't know how I missed this one growing up! It's a wonderful adventure. Seriously, if you haven't read it yet, GO. Now.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne
Somehow I always thought the 20,000 leagues referred to a depth. Once I got over that, this was a really fun adventure. I think part of why these old adventure books are so great is that there was a lot of unknowns back then. It allowed writers to create their own places and creatures, which is exciting!

A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Jules Verne
I really like Jules Verne.

The Mysterious Island, by Jules Verne
I realllllly like Jules Verne. This may actually be my favorite of his novels. Think Lost, but less confusing. And with no chicks (sorry dudes).



The Child of the Cavern (or The Underground City), by Jules Verne
This one actually wasn't as good. But still good.

Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen, by Jules Verne
Okay, I may have gone overboard downloading free Jules Verne stories. But this was a cute coming of age/ adventure story.

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, by J.R.R. Tolkien
I wanted to reread this before I saw the movie. It brought back a lot of memories (and made me want to reread the LOTR series!)


Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Book List 2012 Part II: Young Adult

I think part of why I enjoyed these young adult books so much was that they provided a nice break between the heavier books that I read. There's something really satisfying about finishing a book in a few hours! I should also point out that in no way am I trying to give serious book reviews. I don't feel qualified, and it's been a loooong time since I had to analyze my reading! I just want to give you a quick idea of what it was like, and hope that if you're interested you will follow up on your own.

Young Adult Books I Read in 2012:

The Hunger Game Series
(The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay)
Yes, these are for young adults. Yes, the main character gets annoying as the series progresses. But you should read at least the first book! The concept is really interesting, and it's a quick read. I love anything with a depressing, post-apocalyptic future, so this series won me over!

The Dark Is Rising Series
(Over Sea, Under Stone; The Dark is Rising; Greenwitch; The Grey King; Silver on the Tree)
I read these on the recommendation of a friend. It was one of her favorite series growing up, and I can see why! There are mysteries, good battling evil, and some fantasy. I enjoyed them at my present age, and I would have loooooved them as a child.

His Dark Materials Series
(The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass)
I honestly don't know how I missed reading these as a kid. My brother read them. A ton of my friends read them. At least I finally got around to it? I can see how inspiring they would be to a child, and I enjoyed the series (although the ending is pretty cheesy when you're 24). I have been told to NEVER watch the movie.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
KenyonCollegeKenyonCollegeKenyonCollege. I love my alma mater! Last year, two YA authors from Kenyon made the NYTimes best seller list at the same time. One of the books was this one. It's based on these old photographs that the author found, and I love the concept. Plus, KENYON.


Thursday, January 3, 2013

Book List: Part I

It all started with a tweet.
So it's my brother's fault, really. The tweet inspired me (and my dad) to keep track of how many books we read in 2012. Umm. I sort of had a lot of free time in 2012. My job in the beginning of year had some free periods, and I was unemployed from June through September! All in all, I read over 80 books. I'm going to break them down into categories:
• Classics
• Mysteries (quick reads)
• Fiction (should I call it modern fiction? Yes, I know all of the above categories fall under fiction too)
• Graphic Novels
• Young Adult (just because I'm 24 doesn't mean I don't enjoy these!)
• Nonfiction

Today we will start with the graphic novels. Why? Because it's one of the shortest groups!

Graphic Novels I Read in 2012

Maus Vol. I and Maus Vol. II
A beautiful graphic novel about the author's father's experiences leading into (and including) World War II. Different types of characters are represented as different animals (Jews are mice, Nazis as cats, etc.).

Black Hole
My sister is really into graphic novels, and this is one that she owns. It follows teenagers as an STD spreads. The STD manifests itself different ways in different people - all of them weird. One girl starts shedding her skin, one grows a tail, and one boy develops a second mouth. Gross but intriguing!