October Reading Review

1. What was my favorite book? I read three five star books in September. Two of them were a re-reads: Visions in Death by J.D. Robb and A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas. I also gave five stars to Abby Jimenez's book, Say You'll Remember Me.
2. What was my least favorite book?  My least favorite book was The Tea Dragon Society by K. O"Neill. I think one of the reasons I rated it 2.5 stars is that I may not like graphic novels at all. The story was OK, but I was not engaged.
3. Any surprises? I'm working my way through the Magic and Mystery novellas from Amazon. Each one is written by a famous author; the one I read this month was by Scott Lynch. It is called The Wizard Who Kept Himself Suspicious. I was surprised how engaging I found this little story - 4.5 stars.
4. Of Note: I read the new book by Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Splintered Harmony. I gave it 4 stars. I liked it, and I look forward to reading the next one, but one of the characteristics I really like about the other books is the relationships among the main characters - the found family. This book is called Splintered Harmony, and I get it. Some of those relationships were somewhat splintered in this book - not broken permanently, I'm sure, but not in great shape. SPOILER - I did not like the way that Rhysand treated Azriel. They are "brothers" and if anyone knows what Az has gone through, it is Rhys - Rhys should have shown more empathy, and the lack of it seemed out of character for him.
5. How am I coming with my reading goals?  I read 17 books, 71% of which were new to me. I'm up to 116 for the year so far.

 

Book Bingo, Part 1

 

In my reading journal, I create a Book Bingo spread.  My goal isn't to get Bingo - it's to fill all of the squares.  And to do it twice during the year with the same prompts

Below is my first round of Book Bingo and the books or dates that filled the square. Stay tuned for the second half of the year with the same prompts:

1. Physical Book - The Box-Car Children
2. Book by an author new to me - The Hexologists
3. Read a book in one day - The River has Roots
4. Book club book - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
5. 7500 pages - 3-20-26
6. Novella or short story - The Situationship
7. Book of "Interested list" - Remarkably Bright Creatures
8. New Release - Wolf Worm
9. Fantasy / Sci Fi - Project Hail Mary
10. Book with dog - Key Trilogy
11. Book with cat - Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter
12. Spiritual Development book - Between a Rock and a Holy Place
13. Free square
14. Four Challenge books - 4-2-26
15. Biography / memoir - Greenlights
16. Seasonally appropriate book - An Unlikely Lent
17. Comfort read - Inheritance
18. 25 books - 3-20-26
19. A re-read - Crocodile on the Sandbank
20. Mystery - Muzzled
21. 500+ page book - Wild Reverence
22. Romance - Yours Truly
23. Book set outside of US - What the River Knows
24. Part of a series - A Murderous Relation
25. Published earlier than the 21st century - Time Was

September Reading Review

1.  What was my favorite book? I read two five star books in September. The first was a new release by J.D. Robb, Fury in Death. I also reread Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas. Both excellent, and not surprisingly so. 
2. What was my least favorite book?  My least favorite book was The Good Ancestor by Roman Krznaric. One star. It beat out a Tail as Old As Time by Elle Hay at 2.5 stars.
3. Any surprises? I reread The Obsession by Nora Roberts and gave it 4.5 stars. It's been so long since I read it, it was almost like reading it for the first time.
4. Trends? I read by second Throne of Glass book, Crown of Midnight, which I rated 3.5 stars. I'm having in there because I've heard that by book 4 it really picks up. That seems like a lot of books to read before it improves. Crossing my fingers.
5. How am I coming with my reading goals?  I read 12 books, 75% of which were new to me. I'm up to 99 for the year so far.

Columbus Yarn Store and Yarn Purchase

 

In Columbus, we went searching for a yarn store. We found one called Yarn it and Haberdashery  I really enjoyed the store and the neighborhood it is in.  Very helpful staff.

While there, I purchased a set of small skeins of yarn from Wonderland Yarns. It is Mary Ann yarn, a sock/fingering weight yarn of 85% fine superwash merino and 15% nylon, 118 yarns per skein x 5. The color way is "Cause Everyone Likes it."

I picked this yarn because a sample had been knit using it. It is a pattern for a cowl with five stripes of different lace patterns called Crooked Ladders by Heather M. Brown. It is available from Ravelry to purchase.

I recommend the store, and hope to recommend the pattern, too!

Finished Object: Dupont Circle Scarf

 

Let's have a little blog party - I have a finished knitting project to post about!

I finally finished the DuPont Circle Scarf. 

Yarn: Neighborhood Fiber Company, Studio Worsted in the colorway DuPont Circle. I used less than two skeins, but more than one.  This is the post when the yarn appeared in my stash.

Pattern:  Farrow Rib, which isn't really a pattern, just a stitch.  It's K-K-P knit over 42 stitches.

Needles: Knitpicks wood circular (exchangeable) size 7 needles.

I started this scarf at the United Methodist General Conference in May of 2024. So that's two years to complete.  I really do knit faster than that, but I haven't picked up my knitting very often.  I've posted about this scarf two times before: here and here.

August Reading Review

1. What was my favorite book? I read four five star books in August. The first was a book of poetry by a member of our church, Poetry by Martha Casey.  I read Genesis: The Beginners Guide to the Beginning.  I also re-read of a Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas and The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez. 
2. What was my least favorite book?  None of the books I read were bad, per se, but I did have two three star books this month. I read Buried Deep by Naomi Novak.  This is an anthology of short stories. I liked the stories, but the movement from one story to the next was jarring. Just as I would get settled in the world of the story, we would move on to another story, requiring that "stepping into a new world" challenge.  I read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. it was fine, but I've always heard that it takes a few books for this series to "take off;" I think they are correct.  Hoping the next few books are better.
3. Any surprises? The Egg and Other Stories by Andy Weir had several surprises in it! 
4. Trends? Out of 13 books, I read 5 of them as a combination of types of books, such as audiobook and print, or audiobook and kindle.  I do that sometimes, but I seem to be doing it more often lately.
5. How am I coming with my reading goals?  I read 13 books, 85% of which were new to me. I'm up to 87 for the year so far.

Photos from Lakeside Chautauqua Ohio

Last week, Steve and I attended a conference at Lakeside Chautauqua in Ohio.  It's a beautiful place; here are some images from our walk on Monday - all taken with my iPhone: