Books and My knitting story

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One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
So I wasn’t thrilled with the book. Absolutely well written but not my favourite storyline. I really wanted to like it and I did like the first 50 pages or so, but got exhausted by the amount of characters with similar names and the strange parentage of them all. I felt like I should take notes so I could keep up.

Anyway, I’m on page 67 of The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler and I’m hooked.

My “on-the-go” book is Knitting Yarns:Writers on Knitting edited by Ann Hood. I love this compilation of knitting stories. I understand all the ups and downs of the knitters or non-knitters writing the stories. My own knitting story began when I was a child, my grandmother taught me to knit. At the time I wasn’t interested but wanted to learn because she was knitting. All of us had received a hand knit sweater, knit with her loving hands. I loved mine, I think it was red. But when I became a teenager I had forgotten how to knit. My Mom ended up teaching me the knitting technique I use now, when I was 13. My first project was a scarf of course and it was full of holes. My mom would sit and knit for hours making me little doll clothes for all of my Barbies and dolls. So I started making my own gifts, I remember late night knitting trying to finish hand knit Christmas presents later in my teens and early 20’s. Now, Since I’ve joined a local knitting group about 4 years ago, I knit almost everyday. Because of all of the support and inspiration coming from people in my group I’ve knit more challenging projects. I’ve learned to be a better loser because when you have to undo 3 hours of work you learn about failure. I definitely have more patience and it’s calming. You can work through major dilemmas while knitting, the mind is soothed and free to focus more on problem solving. I’m looking forward to my next meeting which is tonight, I’ll bring my colourful socks along. I never know how much knitting will get done but for sure there will be interesting conversation.
Dawn

The Year of The Flood by Margaret Atwood

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Yesterday I finished The Year of The Flood by Margaret Atwood. The story is about a futuristic society invented by Atwood. Oryx and Crake is the companion to this book, which I haven’t read, but I didn’t feel lost reading this book, without knowing the story line. The first time I started to read this book a couple years ago, I stopped because it didn’t pull me in. This time I finished it, I found the imagined society hit really close to home sometimes and it made you think about how our world is self-destructing in many ways. I liked the strong female characters, who were the main characters in this book but I didn’t feel emotionally connected to them in this story like I did when I read about Snowfalls and Bird in the The Orenda or Wayne in Annabel, but it certainly is a well written book and Atwood is the queen of story telling.

This is the last Canada Reads book, all five were very well written and my favourites were The Orenda by Joseph Boyden and Annabel by Kathleen Winter. I’ll have to wait until March to see the showdown.

I’m reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez now. So far so good at page 50, but I’m always put off when they start the book with a Family Tree. We will see.

Dawn

Annabel by Kathleen Winter

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I just finished Annabel by Kathleen Winter.  One of the five CBC Canada Reads contenders.  This story was about a kid with an identity crisis living in a small Canadian rural town.  It was heartbreaking and powerful.  It was well written, all the character’s story-lines were weaved together seamlessly.  You know it’s a good story when you start to care about the characters.  It will be a tough one to beat.  

 

Now I’m beginning the last book, The Year of The Flood by Margaret Atwood.  One I have started to read before but put it down after chapter one, worth another try.

 

Dawn

Cockroach by Rawi Hage

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I just finished reading Cockroach by Rawi Hage. One of the five books chosen in this years CBC Canada Reads competition. Well I couldn’t put this one down. There is no wasted moment in this book, the story is compelling and every word has effect. I felt inside the story and inside the head of the troubled main character. In a very different way than Half-Blood Blues and Orenda, it shows the effects that war and human suffering can have on the soul.