Review: The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons

I thought I would be good, hold off, make this book #1 of 2012.  And then there came a point of no return, I had to finish it.  So it is book 101 of 2011, and the last book: Paullina Simon's The Bronze Horseman.

(From now on, instead of writing my own synopsis, I'ma copy the one from Goodreads)

Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and avenues speak of a different age, when Leningrad was known as St Petersburg. Two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha, share the same bed, living in one room with their brother and parents. The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander. The family suffers as Hitler's army advances on Leningrad, and the Russian winter closes in. With bombs falling and the city under siege, Tatiana and Alexander are drawn inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast war machine, and on the other by a Soviet system determined to crush the human spirit, Tatiana and Alexander are pitted against the very tide of history, at a turning point in the century that made the modern world.

This book destroyed me, in every way.  I started it on Wednesday, and I was powerless to put it down.  As much as I wanted it to be my first book of 2012, I just couldn't hold out, and here it is.

The love story is true, and harsh, and beautiful.  So many times I got enraged at the forces that were keeping Tatiana and Alexander apart, wondering when they would work things through.  The end of the book killed me; I cried as hard as I did when I was six years old and saw the original Little Mermaid (I didn't realize that in the non-Disneyfied version, she kicks it).  There is hope, though -- I bought the sequel, Tatiana and Alexander, today and I'm starting it tomorrow.

The only -- ONLY -- problem I had with this book was the 70-page break for love scene upon love scene.  It really hindered the plot.  But once you got past that, it was amazing.  Really, I can't recommend this book enough.

Rating **** and 1/2

2011 Wrap-Up Survey

This meme or survey cycles most of the blogosphere every year, and I'm doing it here on Read.Knit.Spin.Blog.  I'm not going to be quite so candid with my answers as I would be in private, because this is a public blog, but I'm going to be pretty honest.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you had never done before?

So many little things.  I filed my taxes jointly as a married couple.  I celebrated Easter with my in-laws for the first time (every other year, David's been working or we've just been with my parents).  In May, I learned how to fire-spin.  In August, I attended my first Wildfire retreat.  In November, we celebrated our first year of marriage.

2. Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't really "do" resolutions, per se.  Most of the things I resolve to do are things I've already been working on.  The only resolution I'm making for this year is the following: love everyone, and be kind.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Three of David's cousin's wives gave birth in April, May, and June.  My friend Heather gave birth (in Germany, where her husband is stationed), and my friend Kim had her baby Lily in August.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No.  *fingers crossed for the last 24 hours*  And I'm hoping it stays that way.

5. What countries did you visit?None.  In all of 2011 I only went to Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island.  But we're going to Mexico the second week of January!

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

Greater security.  A husband who is happy in his career.  David didn't start working as an EMT until after Thanksgiving, so for the majority of the year he was pretty unhappy where he was working.  Hopefully we're going to get pregnant in 2012.  We've talked about it but I don't know when we're going to start TTC.

7. What dates in 2011 will remain etched in your memory?

Happy days?  August 19 - 22 was Wildfire, and that was wonderful.  September 12 was my birthday.  September 19 David found out that he had passed his EMT exams.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Re-applying and being re-accepted into graduate school.  I start on January 18th.

9. What was your biggest failure?

There are things I wish I had said, but didn't, and times I wish I had held my tongue, and spoke.  I wish I could take those back, but I can't.  Any minute that I made anyone upset, or angry, or anxious, or was anything less than kind, I regret.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Besides a fall from my bicycle the first week of April (resulting in a minor concussion, some bruised ribs and some major roadburn on my legs), I was very healthy this year.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

A queen-size bed.  Heaven.

12. Where did most of your money go?

Bills.

13. What did you get really excited about?

Wildfire.  David's job.  Getting back into school.  Moving from our teeny apartment into our much bigger and better one.

14. What song will always remind you of 2011?

"Choices" by the Hoosiers, and "Shattered" by Trading Yesterday

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
Happier or sadder? Wiser.

Thinner or fatter? Thinner, but not by much

Richer or poorer? Poorer, but making more money, if that makes sense

16. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Just enjoying life and my husband and what we have.

17. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Emotional eating.  Worrying about the future.

18. How did you spend Christmas?

David worked, so I spent it with my parents and extended family.

19. What was your favorite TV program?

Dave and I discovered Once Upon a Time.  I still love The Tudors and Law and Order: SVU

20. What were your favorite books of the year?

The Pillars of the Earth was my favorite.  Also The Hunger Games series.

21. What was your favorite music from this year?

Trading Yesterday, The Hoosiers, Florence and the Machine

22. What were your favorite films of the year?

New films that came out this year?  Probably Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.  I was pleasantly surprised by it.  Dave and I don't go to the movies that often, so I can't remember many others that I saw.

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?I turned 28.  I worked from 8 AM - 3 PM, then David took me apple-picking and to dinner at Thai Gardens in Middletown.  Then we went home and watched "The Young Victoria."  It was a very nice birthday.

24. What one thing would have made your year more satisfactory?

Less worrying.  On everyone's part.  More kindness.

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

What fashion concept?  I can't dress myself.  I wear jeans, shirts, and sneakers.  I'm not fashionable.

26. What kept you sane?

Reading.  Knitting.  Good friends.

27. What's a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011?

Sometimes you can't look to tomorrow.  Sometimes you have to live in the moment, and trust that tomorrow is going to come.

100 Books in 2011: A Reflection

When I first made the decision to read 100 books in 365 days, I really didn't think it would be that difficult.  I hadn't done the math -- it meant reading an average of two books a week -- and I had overestimated my reading ability.  Until 2011, I was largely a "re-reader".  I had a bookshelf of books that I knew I liked, that I had read, some of them to tatters, hundreds of times.  I'm fairly certain I could recite To Kill a Mockingbird and most of Gone With the Wind.  Most often, if I felt like reading, I would reach out, grab a book that I was familiar with, open it up to a random passage that I liked, and start reading.  I didn't branch out into new books, I didn't read things from cover-to-cover most of the time.

And then I set out to read 100 books in a year, and I realized that my old methods weren't going to cut it.  First off, I didn't own 100 books.  Second, most of the books I did have?  Nonfiction history, and all over 300 pages long.  There was no way that I was going to read 100 of those books in a year without some serious warping of the space-time continuum.  Such a vast quantity of books meant fiction, or at least, shorter nonfiction, and I was going to have to branch out a bit.

I started dipping into genres I hadn't read in years.  I realized that my previous prejudice for Young Adult literature was keeping me from some really enjoyable books.  I re-read some old favorites from my youth, and discovered that I didn't like them quite so much at almost-30 as I did as a teenager.  I discovered books that absolutely made my spirit soar.  I realized how much I truly love reading.  I realized how difficult it was, reading 100 books in a year.

But how incredibly rewarding it has been.

Goal: 100 books.

Achievement: 100 books.

Pages Read: 35,573 (holy crap)

Best Book of 2011: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

I'm not going to lie and say that this decision was easy.  I read SO MANY amazing books this year.  But of all of these, Pillars stands out, head and shoulders above the rest.  This is the book to read.  It is phenomenal.

Most Disappointing Book of 2011: Abandon by Meg Cabot

I wanted to like this book.  Meg Cabot was one of my favorite authors when I was younger -- I loved her "Princess Diaries" series.  But Abandon was awful from the get-go.  Trite plot, simpering Bella Swan-esque female character, brooding and unrelateable male character, zero story arch, boring cliffhanger ending.  There was nothing good about this book except the cover.  It did have a good cover.

Most Surprising (in a good way!) Book of 2011: The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

I had all but given up on Philippa Gregory's "historical fiction" after reading The Other Boleyn Girl and its abysmal "sequel", The Boleyn Inheritance.  But The White Queen was really good!  I enjoyed it more than I ever expected, although I was once again brought back to earth with its boring sequel, The Red Queen.  Oh well.  Can't win 'em all.

Book You Recommended Most To People in 2011: The Pillars of the Earth and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

This is a toss-up.  Depending on if the person liked long books and historical fiction, I would recommend Pillars.  I would recommend Hunger Games to anyone (my husband, a non-reader, is reading it right now!).

Best Series You Discovered in 2011: The Hunger Games 

Close second (thus far): Divergent by Veronica Roth.  I'm reading The Bronze Horseman right now though, which will probably qualify as a discovery in 2011, and it's definitely giving Divergent a run for the money.

Favorite New Authors You Discovered in 2011: John Krakauer, Antonia Frasier, Suzanne Collins.

Best Book That Was Out Of Your Comfort Zone or Genre: Divergent

After the debacle that was Twilight, I swore off YA lit.  I'm glad I re-thought that.

Most Thrilling, Can't-Put-It-Down Book of 2011: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Such a sad book, but so amazing.  I read it in one day.

Book You Most Anticipated in 2011: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Everyone talked this book up to me.  Once I read it, I understood why.  It was awesome.

Favorite Cover of a Book: Shine by Lauren Myracle.

Most Memorable Character(s): Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, Jack Jackson from The Pillars of the Earth.

I divided it into male and female.  Those were by far my two favorite.

Most Beautifully-Written Book of 2011: Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

This book reads like poetry.  It is just beautiful.

Book That Had the Greatest Impact On You In 2011: Into Thin Air by John Krakauer

This book haunted me long after I put it down.  It was just amazing.

Book You Can't Believe You Waited Until 2011 To Read: The Pillars of the Earth

My parents have had this book knocking about their house for as long as I can remember.

Favorite Passage/Quote From a Book in 2011: The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

"The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself, and die singing.  At the very instant the thorn enters, there is no awareness of the dying to come: it simply sings and sings until there is not the life left to utter another note.  But we, when we put the thorns in our breast, we know.  We understand.  And still we do it.  Still, we do it." 

Book Read in 2011 That You're Likely to Read in 2012: The Hunger Games, The Pillars of the Earth, Sarah's Key, The Help

All of the above. 

Book Scene That Left You Reeling and Wanting to Talk About It: To nobody's surprise, The Pillars of the Earth

The end is astounding.  Especially to someone who is into English history.  I saw the ending coming as I reached the last few pages and it blew. My. Mind.  Absolutely amazing.  Can't recommend it enough.

...So where does this leave me?

I won't be setting a goal of 100 books in 2012.  For one thing, I'm going back to school in January, and I'm not going to have as much free time to read.  My goal for 2012 is to read 50 "new-to-me" books, and however many others I can do after that.  I have a lot of re-reading that I want to do...so we'll see.

Review: Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie

Ready?  Because this is momentous.

I DID IT!

With this book, I've completed 100 books in 2011.  Robert K. Massie's Nicholas and Alexandra was THE final book.  I am done, and for about five minutes, I was exhausted.  And then I went to the library and picked out another book.  Review on this page, wrap-up in the next entry.

At the turn of the 20th century, Russia was one of the few remaining autocratic nations in the world.  Its vast dominions had been governed for 300 years by the Romanov family.  The current tsar, or Emperor, was Nicholas II, a young, handsome, quiet man who feared confrontation and lived to make people happy.  His bride was the German princess Alix of Hesse, who later changed her name to Alexandra Fedorovna.  Theirs was a love match, not an arranged marriage, and together they had five children -- four elder daughters, and one young son and heir to the throne, Alexei.  Unbeknown to her, Alexandra carried in her the mutant gene that plagued the ruling houses of Europe -- her son Alexei was born with hemophilia, at the time a dangerous blood disease that constantly threatened his life.  In time, the silence surrounding Alexei's affliction, coupled with the unrest in their society, lead Russia full-tilt into revolution, and the Romanov family into tragedy.

Massie's book reads more like a novel than a non-fiction history, in most parts.  His chapters about politics, war, and Lenin are rather dry; those are difficult to get through at times.  But his writing is never better than when he is describing the day-to-day life and relationships of the Romanovs.  Like Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the Romanovs are often lambasted in history as being antiquated, pretentious, spoiled and undisciplined, rulers who deserved the terrible ends that befell them because they did not heed the cries of their subjects, letting them starve instead.  But Massie illustrates the backgrounds that lead them to be this way, including the murder of Tsar Nicholas II's grandfather after he freed the serfs and instituted a Duma (parliament) and Nicholas' tutelage under Podobenostov, the student of autocracy.  You can't help but feel for the Romanovs during their plight.

Massie's "inspiration" (if you can call it that) for writing this book was the birth of his own son, who, like Alexei, was born with hemophilia.  His thesis in writing Nicholas and Alexandra was this: that although the country was already pre-inclined towards revolution and the death of the autocracy, the fate of the nation was sealed when Alexei was born with that small but critical gene mutation.  I won't explain his reasons for thinking so; you'll have to read the book yourself, I can't recommend it enough.  Anyone who is interested in Russian history or the lives of the Romanovs should read this book.  It is amazing.

Rating: *****

 

Yarn Along! (Last of 2011)

It's Wednesday again, and I'm participating in the weekly Yarn Along over with Ginny at Small Things.  It's getting close to the end of the year, and I'm pouring on the burn with my last book.

Nicholas and Alexandra is an amazing book; I've read it before but not this year.  Continuing with my "Russian winter", I'm reading the biography of the last Tsar of Russia and his wife, who were deposed when the country moved over to communism and became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.  I started reading it on Sunday and I am on page 310 right now, of 532.  Two hundred and twenty-two pages to go, and three days.  I can do it.

The socks are Jaywalkers by Grumperina, a sock that pretty much everyone in the knitting community tries.  It is a quicker work than I am giving it credit for; I knit much slower when I knit in pattern.  It's one round of pattern, then one round of plain stockinette, and I'm sure a speedier knitter would be a lot further along than I.  I'm also really not as crazy about the yarn as I thought I was when I bought it -- it's Noro Kureyon Sock, and it's thinner and coarser than Silk Garden Sock.  Beautiful colors though.

What are you reading or knitting?

Christmas book haul

I'm not usually a huge fan of "haul" posts, but since this is a blog about reading and knitting, I thought I'd do a post on my Christmas book gifts, what I will be reading over the next few months.

(One of my relatives asked, "Why do you need so many books?  You have a Kindle, don't you?"  And it's true, but I love having hard copies, particularly of history books.  As I told my sister, as a History Master's Degree student, I'm building a library here!)

My Christmas book haul included:

Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie.
This book was one of my favorites growing up.  My father had an interest in Russian history, particularly the fall of the Romanov dynasty, and I read his copy to tatters (sorry, Dad).  I'm so excited to have my own copy.

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie

Loving Nicholas and Alexandra as I do, I was excited to hear that Massie's latest book on Catherine the Great was almost universally praised.  I can't wait to read it.

Henry VIII: The King and His Court by Alison Weir

Alison Weir!  My goal to amass an entire collection of her books continues.  I've read her Six Wives of Henry VIII, but I've never read a book strictly on the life and reign of Henry himself.  I'm looking forward to this one.

Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot by Antonia Fraser

Thus far, my only experience with Antonia Fraser involved her biography of Marie Antoinette, but this intrigued me.  Also, David and I were married on Guy Fawkes Day, November 5th, so the date and events pique my interest.

World Without End by Ken Follett

The Pillars of the Earth was quite possibly my favorite book that I read in 2011.  I am so excited to read the sequel!

In addition to the histories/historical fiction, I also received two knitting books:

The Knitter's Life List by Gwen Steege
This isn't a book that I had heard of before; my father read a review of it in the paper and thought it would be good for me.  I've only leafed through it thus far, but it's pretty amazing -- sort of a knitter's checklist of things to learn, places to go, people to meet.  

Knitting Vintage Socks: New Twists on Classic Patterns by Nancy Bush
This is one of those "inspiration" books of patterns that I'm scared to death to try.  But the pictures are so beautiful, and I'm going to force myself to knit some of these beauties!


So there are four days left until the new year.  Four days, and I have one book to read.  What did I pick?


Nicholas and Alexandra.  My mom thinks I'm crazy, but I've read it before, I love it, and as of this morning I am on...page 74 of 527.  No sweat.  I can do it!
 

Merry Christmas :)

From the B house to you and yours...Merry Christmas.

Review: The Princes In the Tower by Alison Weir

The penultimate book!  With only nine days left to read my last book (which as yet remains unselected), I come to you with what will most likely be my final historical non-fiction book of the year, and book #99: Alison Weir's The Princes In the Tower.

Reading like a historical thesis, Alison Weir tells the dramatic and tragic story of the child-King Edward V, who ought to have ascended the throne upon the death of his father, and his younger brother, Richard, Duke of York.  Only 12 and 10 years old, respectively, when their father died in 1483, the boys were apprehended by their uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who had the boys removed to the infamous Tower of London for their supposed protection, only to embark on a smear campaign to disinherit them as illegitimate.  His campaign successful, Richard of Gloucester was crowned King Richard III of England, and the "Princes in the Tower" were never seen nor heard from again.  Taking the traditional myth of their end as fact, Weir illustrates the story in the hopes of solving the mystery for once and for all: who was the murderer of the Princes in the Tower?

In the centuries since the death of Richard III and the meteoric rise of the Tudor dynasty that followed, the tide of public opinion has turned back in favor of Richard III not murdering the Princes, as is commonly suggested.  Weir opens up the book to debate, taking each and every individual who may have benefited from the deaths of the Princes -- including Richard's successor, Henry Tudor (later King Henry VII).  Weir takes all of the evidence that she can unearth with thorough research, and tries to remain objective while pointing out whom she feels to be the Princes' obvious murderer.

Some critics on Goodreads say that Princes reads more like a textbook; in truth I'd say it reads more like a graduate thesis, a good one.  Being someone who always wondered who did kill the unfortunate Princes, Weir's book is interesting, and very thorough, and as an added bonus, it's way more interesting than Paul Murray Kendall's Richard the Third, which I read at the beginning of the year.  I loved it.

So now comes the big question...what is number 100 going to be?  I started The Bronze Horseman, but 832 pages in nine days (during the holidays) seems like suicide.  So I'll have to find something shorter.  Making it count!  I'm almost there!

Rating: ****

Review: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

With six days until Christmas, I'm definitely feeling in the spirit, besides the fact that my shopping isn't done, and my house is a mess, and I've been sick all morning (ugh).  I decided to read one of my holiday favorites this past weekend.  Number 98 for the year is A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.

Ebenezer Scrooge is an old man who has lead an unhappy life, seeing everything in terms of black and white, and shunning his fellow man for the comforts loneliness and solitude afford him.  His contempt for poverty and compassion even cause him to neglect his poor clerk, struggling family man Robert "Bob" Cratchit.  But one Christmas Eve, Scrooge is haunted by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, who informs him that unless he changes his miserly, contemptible ways, he is doomed to a miserable eternity.  His one salvation lies in the mercy of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, who arrive to show Scrooge what he has missed, what he continues to ignore, and what his future will become if he goes unredeemed.

This is one of my favorite Christmas stories, if not my absolute favorite.  A lot of people on Goodreads complain about Dickens' heavy-handed prose, and I will admit, the beginning of Stave (rather than "Chapter") One can really be off-putting.  But it is also very beautiful, and no Christmas for me is complete without reading the book and seeing the 1984 made-for-TV version starring George C. Scott.  I love them both.

Rating: *****

Review: Mastering Color Knitting by Melissa Leapman

Every knitter has a knitting book library.  Since I'm still relatively new to extensive knitting (I knitted a million garter stitch scarves before finally branching out into new stuff), my library is still relatively small.  But I received the gift of another new knitting book last Saturday (thanks Drea!) and I just read it and want to review it today.  Book 97 for the year 2011 is Mastering Color Knitting by Melissa Leapman.

Color knitting -- Fair Isle, intarsia, or double-knitting, can be a daunting prospect.  In her book, Leapman breaks down the fundamentals of each of these techniques, making them slightly more approachable and somewhat less scary.  Fair Isle, the kind of knitting you think of when you picture fancy Scandinavian sweaters, is the art of color knitting in patterns over many rows, carrying the unused colors on the other side of the knitting in floats.  Intarsia, or "picture-knitting", is just what it sounds like -- knitting pictures into your knitting without carrying the unused yarn.  Double-knitting is a technique where the knitter works both sides of the knitting at the same time, but in contrasting colors and patterns.  All of these are more intermediate skills, but Leapman breaks them down so as to make the knitter more comfortable.

There are loads of pictures and charts, most of them colored, and even a handy graph in the back that Leapman encourages the reader to photocopy and use in designing his or her own color knitting.  The book boasts 12 original patterns ranging from easy -- a throw pillow, a hat -- to challenging -- a full fair isle sweater with steeking.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and it's definitely pushing my itch to try some color knitting of my own.  Perhaps the Selbu hat pattern that I mentioned before?  Gotta wait until after Christmas when my knitting is done!

Rating: ****

Review: Knit Two by Kate Jacobs

As obsessed as I am with reading and knitting, all too often, knitting fiction piques my interest.  I read The Friday Night Knitting Club last year, and was gifted with a copy of the sequel this Christmas.  WARNING: If you have not yet read Friday Night Knitting Club, this review will contain spoilers.

Knit Two takes place five years after the end of Friday Night, and the members of the Club are still struggling to put the pieces of their lives back together after losing their beloved Georgia Walker.  Dakota Walker, Georgia's daughter, is 18 now, brooding, restless, and hoping for a future where she isn't tied down to her mother's knitting store and legacy.  Peri, the co-owner of the store following Georgia's death, struggles between her loyalty to the store and her desire to branch out with her own line of pocketbooks.  Lucie discovers that her hasty decision to enter single-motherdom isn't as simple now, with a five-year-old terror and a booming career that takes her to Italy.  Catherine, having left her vile husband, tries desperately to understand what is missing from her life as a wealthy divorcee.  Elderly widower Anita has recently accepted a proposal from her boyfriend Marty, and must confront the naysaying of her angry sons while battling her own secrets.  And ultra-feminist Darwin, a new mother to twins, attempts to balance life as a professor and as a mom.

The book is a page-turner, the characters lively, making you wonder what is going to happen next.  But Knit Two lacks the story arc that made Friday Night the bestseller that it was.  For the first 150 or so pages, there's plenty of build-up.  And then, all of a sudden, half of the characters (Anita, Lucie, Dakota, and Catherine) are in Italy for various reasons, and the other three (I neglected to mention KC above, mainly because her main story arc, her battles with smoking and menopause, are the most forgettable of the book) are left behind and shunted to the side.  Here is where I felt both Knit Two and Friday Night lost their appeal -- when the gang goes to a foreign country.  The idea of a European trip in order to find oneself has been done to death, and going to Rome really doesn't bring any sort of spin to the book -- Jacobs could just as well have sent them all to Napa for the cultural differences that they experience in Rome.

The overwhelming grief over Georgia's loss -- five years later -- is also unbelievable.  Dakota, of course, as Georgia's daughter, who was only 13 when she lost her mother, is the only one whose grief is understandable.  She is still working through it, and at 18 still figuring out who she is.  But the overwhelming apathy of James (Dakota's father) and Catherine was ridiculous.  The part about them going out to dinner frequently and setting a place at the table for Georgia made me roll my eyes.  And the entire community being obsessed with Georgia reminded me how skeptical I was of the obsession everyone had with Lorelei and Rory on "Gilmore Girls" -- does the entire world revolve around young, unfortunate, single mothers and their offspring?

The final chapter reminded me way too much of the "Sex and the City" films.  Not everything is perfect -- but enough is.  It was an enjoyable read, if one can get past the few eye-rolly chapters.  I wish there had been more about Darwin.  She was definitely my favorite character from the first book, and not enough was fleshed out about her in book two.

Rating: ***

A "Russian" state of mind

Ten days left until Christmas.  Sixteen days left until the new year.  So 10 knitting days left, 16 reading days left.  Help.

I noticed something over the last few weeks.  A bunch of my hobbies, or what I do in my spare time, seem to be following a similar path.

My reading:

(From left to right: The Romanov Bride, Alexander: The Last Empress, and The Kitchen Boy)

I've been spending some time on this website in an attempt to learn conversation Russian.  (So far, I can say about six words.  Not that great, but I'm still learning!).

I've been working diligently on David's Christmas present (or one of them): a One-Row Handspun Scarf in some yarn that he picked out on our honeymoon in Vieux Montreal last year.  The yarn is Malabrigo Rios (100% merino) in the Pearl Ten colorway...

...which almost perfectly matches my nail lacquer, ironically, OPI's Russian Navy.

The librarian who checked out my books said "That's a good winter theme".  I guess he was right.

Five books to go.  Five.

One knit to go.  One.

Time's a tickin'...

Review: The Romanov Bride by Robert Alexander

While I won't take back my negative points on the review of Robert Alexander's The Kitchen Boy, I have to say, with this second of his books, he has absolutely, totally and completely redeemed himself in my eyes.  THIS book is everything I wanted in a historical fiction, and more.  Number #95 for the year (five left!  Five left in 17 days!  I have hope!) is The Romanov Bride.

Alexander tells the story of the beautiful Elizabeth Romanov, called "Ella" by her family and friends, a minor German princess who marries Sergei Romanov, the uncle of Tsar Nicholas II.  Born and raised by her mother to have a special care for the poor and ill, Ella is unable to shake her compassionate feelings, even managing to feel pity and love for her tyrranical husband as he rules her and the people of Moscow with an iron fist.  But when Sergei is assassinated by a revolutionary's bomb, Ella's life is transformed.  Juxtaposed with Ella's story is that of Pavel, a poor Russian worker whose revolutionary ideas are fueled by his hatred and grief over the senseless murder of his young wife on Bloody Sunday.  Pavel is determined to bring down the House of Romanov, no matter what the cost.  But his interaction will Ella will, unwillingly, change his life.

This book is splendid, exactly what I love about historical fiction.  There's a fascinating historical figure -- Ella -- and an original character invented by the author to cause a counterpoint -- Pavel.  I'm not usually a fan of multiple points of view in a novel, but the two characters are so strikingly different, and both really contribute so much to the tale.  Here we see the Russian Revolution from both sides -- the monarchist (Ella) and the communist (Pavel).

Ella is a lovely character -- there is nothing to hate about her, in fiction or in truth.  There is a reason why she was later canonized as a saint in the Russian-Orthodox Church, yet for all her saintliness and humility Alexander still manages to make her human.  Pavel is definitely relate-able -- his heartbreak, followed by rage and lust for revenge are all too well understood in this day and age.

This book is wonderful.  My only regret -- that one of the children that Ella and Sergei "adopts", Dmitri, is never fully explained.  This book contains many references to Grigori Rasputin and his part in the fall of the Russian Empire, and Dmitri was one of his murderers.  Alexander never fleshes out this little tidbit of information, which mystifies me, for I'm sure he discovered it during his thorough research.  Still, nonetheless, amazing work.

Rating: **** and 1/2

Setting the bar

I learned how to knit in 2004.  Well, "learned to knit" as in learned how to execute the knit stitch and not much else.  I learned to purl, decrease, increase, knit socks, etc. in 2009 -- five years later.  I knitted my first lace in 2011.  I think it is time to start setting the bar a little higher for myself.  It seems like, when I stop being afraid to make mistakes (and pull my head out of my ass), I actually manage to accomplish things!  Well whaddya know?  *facepalm*

So I'm setting the bar.  These are the knitting goals I have for the upcoming 2012 year.

1. Learn the fair isle technique.

I have no intention of jumping in and doing a whole fair isle sweater (steeking will probably not happen this year).  But fair isle has been calling my name for the past two years!  And I want so badly to learn this technique!  My friend Drea gave me the book Mastering Color Knitting for Christmas, and the pictures are luscious. This will be the year!

The project?  I've had the Selbu Modern by Kate Gagnon Osborn in my Ravelry favorites for the past year.  Look how pretty it is!

Whether Selbu or something else...my first fair isle project will be a hat.

2. Patterned socks

Although I've knitted about 10 pairs of socks, all but one pair have been just regular stockinette socks.  The only pattern I've done to date is the Sunday Swing pattern from Knitty.  Fun pattern, but I'm ready to branch out a little more and try some new things.

I bought a beautiful skein of Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn, which promises to make a wild and beautiful pair of socks!  And for my first trick, I'm attempting Grumperina's Jaywalker pattern.  I've been eying this pattern for a long time.  It doesn't look like much yet (I'm trying to focus on finishing David's scarf, before moving on to projects that are, sadly, more fun for me), but I'm hoping they shape up into pretty Jaywalkers!

What other patterns?  I'd like to do at least three.  I've thus far had poor luck in attempting the Spring Forward socks, but maybe third time is the charm?  And my history-major soul is loving the Aquitaine Sock, named for Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of my favorite characters in history!

(Botched attempt to line these pictures up side-by-side...curse you, Blogger interface.)

3. A lace shawl.

I look at beautiful pictures of lace shawls online and I ache to do a beautiful one!  Right or wrong, I will feel like a more complete knitter when I have a lace shawl under my belt.  To date, my only completed lace project is Saroyan, which remains sadly unblocked (I have yet to block her and give her a full FO post!).  The project was so much fun, and left me itching for more lace.  Also, since Saroyan is more of a scarf, I don't consider it a lace shawl.  Better luck next time!

Wendy Johnson's Lady Bertram Shawlette is in my arsenal, has been since April when I bought it at the CT Sheep and Wool Festival, as part of a kit.  The yarn I bought with it is Super Sock 416  in black cherry -- so juicy!  I cast on this project in May, got daunted, and left it alone for the past few months.  It will get a revival this winter!

 I recently acquired (as a very late Christmas present from last year), two skeins of beautiful deep green yarn that I plan to use to make a lace shawl as well.  The shawl I dream of knitting is Damask -- look how beautiful it is! -- but I sadly fear that this is out of my league for now.  Damask includes the ever-popular nupps of Estonian knitting, and I don't think I'm quite up to the task of the p5tog.  The Calais shawl is a frontrunner -- and I think it will be far easier than Damask.  Plus it has the added benefit of being free.

From paperbirch on Flickr

Those are my three goals for the upcoming year.  I reserve the right to add projects to this list as I go...but I'm hoping to not delete any.

Review: Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

I'm on a roll.  Six left to go.

In John Grisham's Skipping Christmas, middle-class parents Luther and Nora Krank have had enough of the commercialism of Christmas -- at least for this year.  Their daughter, Blair, is in Peru with the Peace Corps, and Nora is unable to face the holiday routine in an empty house.  Luther, for his part, is sick of what he deems wasted money and the commercialism of the holiday.  So the Kranks make a vow -- they will not celebrate Christmas (including no decorating, no cards, no Christmas parties) -- and they will spend their money on a Caribbean cruise instead.  Word travels fast, and their friends and neighbors are outraged by the Kranks' perceived absence of holiday cheer.  Luther and Nora press on grimly, set in their opinion that they have the right to "skip Christmas" if they so choose.  But when an unforeseen holiday guest shows up on Christmas Eve, the Kranks realize that their brilliant plan may not have been so brilliant after all.

This is the time of year when you're really in the mood to read Christmas stories, and this one is a doozy.  Christmas in the Kranks' neighborhood is ridiculous, devoid of privacy and any perceived sanity.  The entire neighborhood bans together to decorate their street for the Christmas with identical plastic Frosty the Snowmen up on their roofs (you can see it in the picture above and to the right).  Nora and Luther (traditionally) spend $600 on their personalized Christmas cards (what?), and everyone they know turns out for their annual Christmas bash, to the point where they're all furious and irate that it's been canceled for the year (does nobody in this town have family?).  It seems that the Christmas cheer and well-being of the entire neighborhood, the local businesses, the entire little world of the book, is focused and dependent upon the Kranks' traditional Christmas cheer.  And when it vanishes, the backlash is astounding.

I don't know about John Grisham, but I know plenty of people who don't decorate their houses for Christmas, who don't send Christmas cards, who don't participate in the overwhelming commercialism of the season.  And nobody photographs their dark houses and puts the picture on the front page of the evening paper.  The overwhelming backlash to Luther and Nora's decision to abstain from Christmas is ridiculous and way far-fetched.  Although Luther is a grumpy curmudgeon and Nora a spineless parrot, the idiocy of their neighbors and coworkers practically forced me to cheer for them and champion their right to do as they pleased.

The scrapes and exploits that the Kranks get into during their month of living Christmas-less are humorous, but the humor mounts when Luther and Nora are reluctantly thrown into the chaos of trying to throw together Christmas with only six hours to spare.  When you come to the end of the book, it is apparent that both Luther and Nora have learned something, as have a couple of their neighbors.  Some of the nosier ones, though...apparently not.

Rating: *** and 1/2

Review: The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Annd we're pulling away.  I'm up to 93 books and I'm hoping against hope to finish by the end of the year.  I've put aside my thick biographies and historical fictions in favor of shorter, snappier, lighter fare.  Seven more to go.  As David says, I'm "so close!"  But not quite there yet.  Book #93 is The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot.

Fourteen-year-old Mia Thermopolis is in search of self-actualization.  She's the combat-boot wearing, strict vegetarian daughter of a free-spirited New York artist mother and a father who works in some sort of politics in the far-off principality of Genovia (think Monaco).  Mia's life is fraught with concerns -- how to increase her bustline, passing algebra (no mean fete, even if the algebra teacher is dating her mom), and getting the cutest boy in school to notice her.  Then her father drops a bomb -- he's not a politician, he's the Prince of Genovia.  And because of his recent bout with cancer, he can no longer provide Genovia with an heir.  Which means Mia is a princess, and heiress to the throne.  And she's not happy about it.

I first read Meg Cabot's tale of the reluctant princess back in college, at age 20.  I love the Disney film version starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews.  Be forewarned -- the book is very different from the film.  Julie Andrew's kindly Dowager Princess Grandma is the French-speaking, chain-smoking, borderline alcoholic Grandmere, making Mia's life a living nightmare with a constant stream of French insults and deportment classes she calls "princess lessons."  While at 20 it was very easy for me to drum up sympathy for Mia, it is harder now at age 28, when I guess I'm that much more removed from teenage angst.  And that I can only summarize by saying this:

For someone who is a vegetarian because she is so concerned about the well-being of the planet and its creatures, Mia has absolutely zero grasp on perspective.  Everything is drama.  EVERYTHING IS A VERY BIG DEAL, whether she's being bullied into cutting and dying her hair blonde, or considering cheating on her algebra quiz, or discovering her teacher at her kitchen table in the morning in his boxer shorts.  Everything is a calamity to Mia.  It is hard to take her genuine problems seriously, because she can't differentiate them from minor catastrophes.  Again, maybe it's because I'm old and jaded now, but I wonder if the average teen girl is as flighty and overdramatic as Mia, and if so, how the hell do they ever grow out of it?

I used to love The Princess Diaries series -- I read all the way until Book 5, Princess in Pink, when I started to get bored of both Mia's dramatics and the unbelievable idiocy of the majority of her school friends.  I picked up #8, Princess On the Brink, and read about three chapters before realizing that no, it doesn't get any better (spoiler alert: Mia freaks out because her boyfriend happened to have had sex before he was dating her, with someone else, and dumps him).  

After the travesty that was Abandon (and omg, what a mess that was), I was hoping that rereading some old Meg Cabot, that I used to love, would be a palate cleanser.  Unfortunately, this is one of those books that's better left in your childhood memories, if you liked it when you were young.

Rating: ***

Review: The Kitchen Boy -- A Novel of the Last Tsar, by Robert Alexander

Book #92 is the third book of the year involving the Russian Revolution, and the second of pure fiction -- but the first that I really was getting into.  

The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar, by Robert Alexander, is a historical fiction novel written in 2003, four years before the ultimate fate of the Romanov family was revealed.  An elderly Russian emigre named Mischa records the tale of his escape from Russia following the Revolution, when he was a young kitchen boy named Leonka, serving the deposed Tsar and his family during their last days at the Ipatiev House in Ekatrinburg.  As the youngest person in the little "family" made up of royals and their servants, Leonka comes and goes as he pleases, without raising suspicion amongst the Red Army guards or their leader, the cunning and heartless Yakov Yurovsky.  But when one of Leonka's missions goes awry and the guards take action, Leonka is left with an incredible sense of guilt -- and a secret that even eighty years later he can't bear to reveal.

SPOILER ALERT.

I really liked this book, until the last two chapters.  Mischa's story about his life in Ekatrinberg as the kitchen boy Leonka was riveting, and my favorite kind of historical fiction -- the kind that you know isn't true, but the kind where there's no evidence to prove it wrong.  There really was a kitchen boy to the family of Tsar Nicholas II in captivity, and his name was Leonka -- he was around the same age as the Tsar's son, Alexei, and he was the only one of the servants who was not taken to the basement and shot to death.  I thought that the story was absolutely riveting, as well as how neatly Alexander ties up the fates of the two missing bodies, those of Alexei and the Princess Marie Nicholaevna, the Tsar's third daughter.

And then came the final chapter, about Mischa's granddaughter Katia going to Russia after hearing his story, and discovering that Mischa's whole tale was a lie -- he was not the kitchen boy, Leonka, but a soldier in the Red Army who was in the basement that night, carrying out the execution.  Instead of watching the horror from outside the Ipatiev House, he was the soldier assigned the task of executing the Princess Marie.  Wracked with guilt following the brutal murders, he saw two bodies bounce out of the lorry traveling to the burial spot -- those of Alexei and Marie -- and realized that Marie was still alive.  Given one chance to redeem himself, Mischa saved Marie, took her to America, and made her his wife.

I hate to say it, because so many people loved it, but this ruined the book for me.  It's a wonderful story, but that's just the point -- it's a story, and was so far-fetched it didn't even seem plausible.  That a Red Army soldier at the time of the Revolution would risk his life to save a dying Romanov grand duchess is romantic and interesting, yes, but impossible to conceive, and impossible to imagine him getting away with it.  My disappointment primarily stems from the fact that I thought this was going to be a plausible historical fiction book, and went along with believing Mischa's story (as Leonka) the whole time.  I'm not a fan of the deus ex machina tool in writing, where the reader can't figure out the story by him/herself, and that's probably where my feelings of negativity come from.  Still it's well written, and I'll be picking up some more of Alexander's books.

Rating: ***

Day Zero Task Accomplished -- Support an Independent Artist!

I started my Day Zero list on November 1st, like everyone else.  I have two things down so far, but it's going to take me until next weekend to update the first one, because I've forgotten the name of the wine that I found I liked.  Today I'm going to talk about my second thing crossed off the list:

Support an Independent Artist

I'd like to think that this counts, even if it's only a small purchase, but this is an artist whose progress I've been following for several years, and even though it's been a while since I made a purchase from her, I looked on her Etsy page the other day and saw something I just could not resist -- it's going to make a fabulous Christmas present for someone on my list. 

Joy H. created Fabulosity Yarn (Facebook link) as a company to sell her handspun and hand-dyed yarn, as well as other pretty hand-made goodies (such as crocheted and knitted items, hand-painted silk scarves, and felted bags, among other things).  The quality of her items is supreme, and she has since, quite deservedly, taken off in the local market in her home state of Montana.  Here are some pictures of some of the beautiful items that Joy makes.

Copyrighted Fabulosity

Copyrighted Fabulosity

Copyrighted Fabulosity

 

 

And what is the item that I purchased?  This beautiful hand-painted 100% silk scarf, which I think will make a special someone on my Christmas list very happy.

Happy Friday!

Back to basics; and little December joys

I changed my original blog title and url a few months ago (it was Read.Knit.Blog), when I realized I was writing a lot about my adventures in fire-spinning.  But it's back to basics today.  I decided to amend my original blog name.

So this is now Read. Knit. Spin. Blog.  *confetti*

Sorry.  I like change.

Sometimes.

The last few months have been a little difficult (up and down as much as a roller-coaster at times), and I'm trying to find some simple, little joyful moments in each day to perk me up, keep my spirits raised.

1. David loves his new job -- even if he is quite overworked lately.  Working 68 hours a week is no joke, but he anticipates that paycheck so much that it might be worth it in the end.

2. Our first married Christmas tree is up.  We didn't have a tree last year because our apartment was too small.

3. I'm looking forward to an afternoon of baking and knitting.  Right after I'm done cleaning the house, but hopefully that won't take long.

4. The week is almost over, and I have two amazing parties that I'm attending this weekend with my husband. 

5. The sky outside my office is particularly beautiful today.

Review: Alexandra, The Last Tsarina by Carolly Erickson

Confession here.  I don't  know if it's the winter, the going back to school in the spring, or what, but I'm definitely on a Russian history kick right now.  Don't seem to know how to stop, don't want to.  Even after the grim awfulness that was The House of Special Purpose, I still want more, more, more.  Book 91 of the year is Alexandra: The Last Tsarina by Carolly Erickson.

Much in the style of Antonia Fraser, author Erickson chronicles the life of the unfortunate Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, later the Tsarina-Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Romanov of Russia.  Alix is a minor German princess and the daughter of the formidable Queen Victoria of Great Britain, who defies her family's wishes and becomes engaged to Nicholas II, the gentle, quiet heir to the throne of Russia.  Nicholas believes he has many, many years to educate himself in the duties of being the Tsar-Emperor of Imperial Russia, when his father dies suddenly and he and Alix are thrown haphazardly into their roles of leading an immense empire.  Nicholas is inept and vacillating, Alix constantly ill and, after birthing four daughters, obsessed with the production of an heir.  When her son Alexei is finally born, Alix feels intense relief, until she discovers that Alexei is a hemophiliac, and it was her genes that passed it on to him.  Her obsession with Alexei's health drives her to search for help in the divine intercession of the starets Gregory Efimovich, known as Rasputin, and as the country races toward revolution, Alix grimly tries to hold on to her throne, her husband, her son, and her land.

It's unfortunate that I read this book after reading Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert Massie, in my opinion the greatest biography of the Romanov family ever written.  Erickson tries to paint a vivid portrait of Alix's life, but compared to Massie's, her writing comes up short.  She also fails to elicit sympathy for Alix, choosing to highlight her less-than-favorable characteristics, a good reason why she was so hated by the Russian people, and making much of her poor relationship with Nicholas' mother, the Dowager Empress Marie.  Reading about Alix's mocking caricatures of the members of the Russian court, it is difficult to feel sorry for her when she was maligned and reviled.  Instead of making Alix seem like the sad, somewhat fatalistic, yet very much in love woman that Massie portrays, Erickson draws her as emotional, depressive, an Eeyore of a queen that was highly insufferable.

Two stars because it was well-researched, clearly Erickson did her homework, but it wasn't enough to captivate my interest.

Rating: **

Review: White Oleander by Janet Fitch

And we're finally to the Final 10 Books!  I'm starting to despair of finishing, with only 24 days left to the end of the year and still 10 (or 9.5) books to go.  But I'm getting there.  And at least if I fail, I won't fail miserably.  Book #90 for the year is Janet Fitch's White Oleander.

Twelve-year-old Astrid has lived her entire life in the shadow of her mother, the beautiful, talented, and mysterious poet Ingrid Magnussen.  She lives in a sheltered world where her mother rules with an iron fist, raising Astrid according to her own rules and standards.  But when Ingrid is found guilty of a terrible crime and imprisoned for life, Astrid is swept away into the California foster care system, moving from one home and family to another, each with its own fear and pain, joy and tragedy.  As the years pass, Astrid struggles to find her true identity, understand who she is and what she believes in, as the voices of her foster parents and her mother, who writes her from prison, resonate in her head.

This is a book I did not fully appreciate the first time I read it, during the summer of 2002.  It requires second, third, maybe even fourth reads (I've probably gone through it a dozen times), to really sort through the nuances and symbolism.  Fitch's writing is awash with similes (which critics on Goodreads seem to intermittently love and hate), and while this makes complete sense in the letters written by Ingrid, the poetess, it makes less sense when it comes from Astrid, who claims she has zero writing ability (her talent is in art).  It is beautifully done, but it comes across as a bit heavy-handed at times.

Years ago, my best friend said that the film American Beauty, while very well-written and gorgeously filmed, is completely unbelievable, because "families have some of those problems, but not all of them."  White Oleander is the same way.  Thrown unceremoniously into the foster care system at age 12, Astrid runs the whole gamut of extreme situations, from starvation to physical abuse to statutory rape to racism to suicidal depression to theft, and that's just the beginning.  While the foster care system is bleak, it is highly improbable that Astrid would be forced to suffer so much from so many different foster families.

Nevertheless, I do enjoy this book, and the writing style, for all its unbelievability.  

Rating: ****

Butterflied, Stuffed Pork Roast

I'm attending a Christmas party this upcoming Saturday, and traditionally for this party, I make a pork roast (or two, depending on the number of people coming).  My usual pork roast M.O. is to roll it in spices, sear it, then let it simmer in a crock pot for 2.5 hours with apple cider until it's tender.  I decided this year to try butterflying and stuffing the pork roasts, and did the trial run this week to see if I could do it.

Ingredients

- pork roast (I used a shoulder for this experiment, but I intend on using a pork roast or loin for the actual meal)

- 1 box or bag of stuffing

- rosemary

- thyme

- salt

- ground peppercorns

- sage

- onion salt

- basil

- oregano

- kitchen twine

Optional: If you acquire the roast far enough in advance, you may wish to freeze it.  I always season the roast, then wrap it well in clear plastic cling wrap.  It's a good idea to at least chill the roast well before you butterfly it, so it slices easier.

Lay the roast out on a carving board.  You want to use a very sharp, strong carving knife for butterflying.

Make a long cut to the side of the roast, slicing it all the way down, and pulling the top free from the bottom, like you're opening a book.

While you're doing the butterflying, you can make the stuffing on the stove.  For the trial run, I made Stove Top, which was saltier than I like a stuffing to be, so I'll be using a different brand next time.

When the stuffing is done, spread it out on the open roast.  Pat it down so it's spread relatively thinly.  

Carefully roll up the roast like a jelly roll.  Secure with kitchen twine.

(Mistakes made: I definitely spread the stuffing out too close to the edges.  You should leave at least half an inch space between the stuffing and the edges of the roast, to avoid spillage like this.)

 Place roast in a shallow baking pan and bake in the oven for about 1 hr, 10 minutes.  

Slice and enjoy.  Gratuitous slicing shot:

I made baked potatoes and corn with the meal, but you can do almost any sides you want.