Carole Knits

october zinnia
october zinnia
martinis with a view
martinis with a view
gettysburg fence for
gettysburg fence for
germinate shawl on rocks
germinate shawl on rocks
field of flags 2
field of flags 2
color affection with edge
color affection with edge
cedar leaf shawlette 2
cedar leaf shawlette 2
3_27_2014
3_27_2014
3_18_13
3_18_13
2_24_2014
2_24_2014
1_11_13
1_11_13
peony-bouquet-for-carole-knits
peony-bouquet-for-carole-knits
dale-and-jackie-for-carole-knits
dale-and-jackie-for-carole-knits
nightshift-progress-for-carole-knits
nightshift-progress-for-carole-knits

Year In Books, 2021

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Can you bear to talk about books for a second day in a row? I hope so because today I am looking back at everything I read in 2021. Thanks to GoodReads, this is a very easy thing to do. Allow me to show you the wonderful year of reading I had . . .

As for 2022, I’ve set a goal of reading 75 books again, mostly because that seems to be the number I can read comfortably. And I will continue to track them on GoodReads because it helps me to remember each book and that’s important to me, not just for my own recollection but also as part of my job as I am frequently asked to recommend a book to someone. I’ve read a few things lately on social media about cutting back or not tracking the books that you read, implying perhaps that reading a lot somehow means you aren’t savoring and ingesting the books you are reading. That couldn’t be further from the case for me! Yes, I do read quickly, but no, I don’t think it’s a race . . . I’m just always reading something. I’ve also seen a few posts about encouraging people to re-read books that they have enjoyed. That’s something I do very rarely. In fact, the only two books I think I have re-read (and I’ve read them several times each) are To Kill a Mockingbird and Pride and Prejudice. For me, there are so many books I want to read (some new and some backlist) that re-reading doesn’t really appeal to me.

As I’ve said many times, though, I am a big proponent of you-do-you. In terms of reading that means I want you to read. I don’t care what you are reading how much you are reading, if you are re-reading an old favorite or any of the above . . . so long as you are reading!

Read With Us: The Matrix Discussion

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It’s time to discuss our fall selection, Matrix by Lauren Groff. As we’ve been doing for the last little while, Kym and Bonny and I will each post a question (or two) on our blog today and we welcome your thoughts in the comments. In conjunction with this, we will also host a Zoom discussion tonight at 7pm EST. These discussions are lively and fun with absolutely no pressure from us to do anything but be present. If you’ve hesitated to participate I heartily encourage you to let that go and join us. Just let me know in the comments if you’d like a link to the Zoom meeting.

Okay, let’s talk about Matrix . . .

I’ll say, first and foremost, that I did not love this book. I found it to be dry and rather tedious and I had a hard time connecting with the characters and setting. The writing, however, is exceptional and that (along with the commitment to this group) is what kept me going. My question for all of you is this:

What did you think of Groff’s descriptive writing style. Were there some particular passages that really stuck with you?

Here’s a passage that I think really shows how gorgeous Groff’s writing is:

The light through the windows is watery and angled so that it shines through the breath of the nuns as they read aloud, the rising breath silvering, the streams of word made visible, word transformed to ghost as it rises from these mouths. The noise in the room is a low sweet hum without pause, the voices mixing so beautifully that the impression is not a tapestry of individual threads but a solid sheet like pounded gold. With their heads bent over their books like this, their words palely shining, she understands that the abbey is a beehive, all her good bees working together in humility and devotion. This life is beautiful. 

I await your responses! And do please join us tonight if you are able.

For the Love of Reading: December 2021

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Many of you wrapped up 2021 last week. I, however, took the week off and I will be using the first week or so of 2022 to wrap up the things I read, knit, listened to, and more. Today it’s the things I read last month. I’ll post about the things I read all year in a future post.

Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The overall theme of this book is wonderful – life is about love and choices and second chances and it continues when we die, just in a different form – but it could have used stronger editing as it’s just too long. I almost gave up more than once but I knew T.J Klune would come through in the end, and he did, it just shouldn’t have taken 2/3 of the book to get to the good stuff.

State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What do you get when two women, one a bestselling crime fiction writer and one a powerhouse politician, collaborate on a book? A political thriller that is engaging and exciting with a plot that’s ripped from the headlines. The characters are real and flawed, the story is fast paced and exciting, and the writing is terrific. Highly recommended.


The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
If you love books and libraries, you will probably enjoy this book. It’s heartwarming and engaging, with characters who feel like people you’d want to have as friends. I’m a firm believer in reading books to help us cope with the things going on in our lives and this book embraces that notion fully

Murder at the Lobstah Shack by Maddie Day
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another entertaining and fun cozy mystery from this series which is set on Cape Cod. The characters are developing nicely and the author has managed to keep things fresh even though this is the 3rd book in the series. Highly recommended for those who enjoy the genre, particularly if you want the added bonus of recipes at the end.

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Times like this, people become more human, anyway. Mostly, that’s a good thing.
I think this is my new favorite of Louise Erdrich’s books. It’s extremely timely and painfully relevant. It’s a love story, a ghost story, a pandemic story and so much more. Erdrich ties it all together with beautiful language, richly drawn characters, and a love for reading, books and bookstores that warms my librarian’s heart. Highly recommended

Did you read something in December that you loved? Tell me about it!

Three On Thursday

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Today I’m sharing 3 random things about my reading life.

  1. I recently met my GoodReads challenge of reading 75 books this year. Since there are still 7 more days left in the year, and since I am done working for the year, I anticipate surpassing my goal by about 5. Time will tell.
  2. Even though I work in a library, where I have access to brand new books on a daily basis, I get most of my reading recommendations from my friends on GoodReads. So many of you read really great books and I find myself adding many to my own to-read list. I also like to read things on prize lists and end-of-year lists from news sources. I think having a variety of things to consider is the key to continuously reading.
  3. Despite my carefully curated list of books to read, sometimes I am at a loss. When that happens, I turn to cozy mysteries. They are light and fast and usually include recipes and they serve as the perfect palate cleanser for my overworked and overtired brain. One series I’ve been enjoying lately is Cozy Capers Book Group mysteries, mostly because they are set on Cape Cod.

And that’s it for me this Thursday. I hope perhaps you learned something more about my reading habits and maybe even found an idea or two to incorporate into your reading life. As always, if you wrote a post for this week, please share it below.

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For the Love of Reading: November 2021

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Let’s take a look back on what I read in November 2021 . . .

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Louise Penny has brought us back to Three Pines and it feels like coming home. I truly enjoyed the plot, the characters are like old friends, and the setting is idyllic and makes me long to sip hot chocolate by a roaring fire while it snows outside. Highly recommend for fans of the series.

Bewilderment by Richard Powers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a touching and heartbreaking story of a grieving father and his autistic son. I connected with the parts that focused on the relationship between Theo and Robin, Theo’s commitment to dealing with Robin’s challenges without medication, and the backstory of Theo and Aly. I struggled with the imaginary trips to planets and some of the more science-y sections but overall I found it to be a lovely, if heartbreaking, book.


The Attic on Queen Street by Karen White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Overall, I enjoyed this series but I’m not sad this is the last installment. The plot felt repetitive and hearing the same characters say the same things and seeing them make the same mistakes is just not very exciting. Nonetheless, the ending is satisfying, everything is wrapped up nicely, and I am satisfied picturing life on Tradd Street continuing in a pleasant fashion.

The Weekend by Charlotte Wood
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
While I appreciated this story about the friendship of 3 aging women, I did not actually connect with any of them and that made the book feel rather lifeless to me. Some of the backstory was interesting but I did not feel like any of it really explained how these women became (and stayed) friends for such a long time when they are all vastly different. Truthfully, I found it sad and bleak and I had to push myself to finish it.

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book explores what happens when best friends are forced to deal with racism. While it generally felt very authentic to me, in a truly ripped-from-the-headlines sort of way, I think the authors could have dug a little deeper and had the main characters have more conversations about the issues they were dealing with and the differences in their lives. The ending was a little too convenient for me but overall I enjoyed the book and I recommend it.

I’ve read 73 books so far this year, only 2 to go to meet my goal of 75.

What have you read lately?