The week of selfish knitting has begun and my heart is singing with the joy of it! I have cast on a new sock in a new way of knitting for me…toe up. And so far so good. I am not yet to the heel, but I am in no rush. I am savoring each selfish stitch!
I finished those darling dinosaurs! And I can’t wait to see Winston playing with them! (FaceTime for now, but hopefully I will see him in person before they become passé!)
I also finished some very late (but extremely large) socks. I have enough left over yarn though to make a pair of Han Solo Socks for Winston! (Smart me to knit the heels and toes in a complimentary color!)
The reading this week though… I could have lingered longer with Obama’s book, but it was due back to the library and the waitlist is exceedingly long, so getting back quickly was not an option. Mary asked what speed I listened at… I listened at 1.25 and laughed hilariously at some of the daughter comments about how he speaks slowly. Yes, yes he does!
The House by the Lake: One House, Five Families, and a Hundred Years of German History by Thomas Harding
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
One house…almost. One piece of land, for sure. What a fascinating story, excellently woven together. The connections, the “wait, what?” moments kept me engaged. The only thing that keeps me from giving this 5-stars is that it needed some editing, I think. It had parts that just dragged a bit, but still, this is a great story. If you like history… read this book. If you like stories about complex families…read this book. I recommend it highly!
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This might be the best memoir I have ever listened to. Read by President Obama, he shares incredible detail from his campaign, election, and his first four years. I laughed, I cried, and I was just enthralled listening to Obama. No drama Obama? Perhaps, but boy is this book is full of rich, smart, engaging stories. It made me long for the days of then… badly. I highly recommend the audio version of this book. Hearing Obama read makes this book.
Light of the World: A Beginner’s Guide to Advent by Amy-Jill Levine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Sometimes, the thing you need most is a new voice talking about a very familiar time. Amy-Jill Levine is that voice, and her thoughts and input are most welcome. She brought new light to my Advent and for that I am deeply appreciative. If you are looking for a new voice, I highly suggest AJ Levine.
Next week, I will be sharing my best books of the year and I might even do a bit of a review of my year of making.
As always – if you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below! And thank you!
I also finished Obama’s book this week and I totally agree with you – the audio version is a must-listen! I’ve never heard of The House by the Lake, but it sounds fascinating. Thanks for the rec!
Those dinosaurs are so cute! And YAY FOR SELFISH KNITTING! What a great feeling. (But I’ll be honest: I stopped knitting for others about a decade ago and it’s delightful to be so selfish all of the time.)
(to clarify: I do sometimes knit sweaters and hats for my children, but I do that more because I love the patterns and want to see my children wear them, so I still define that as selfish. I do not knit for other adults anymore because my family doesn’t care and my in-laws always made fun of my gifts when I wasn’t around. So they are definitely off of the list!)
Love those cute dinosaurs! I just requested “The House by the Lake” from my library – it looks great. Thanks as always for the reviews.
The dinosaurs are so precious — Winston is going to love them!
You and Katie have convinced me that I need to bite the bullet and wait for the audio version of Obama’s book from the library. I was going to use a newly discovered B&N gift card to order a hard copy (and I still might), but I think I will enjoy him reading it to me so much more.
selfish knitting is the best. I pray that you will see W soon!! Merry Christmas!
I am not a knitter (altho, I do know the basic knit and purl) but I always end up wanting to knit more after I look at some of the lovely things you have knitted! I love the colors in that sock at the top of your blog!
Merry Christmas!
I love the dinosaurs! They are so adorable. It must be so nice to cast on a project for yourself now after knitting those gifts. Love the sock so far. Glad to hear you enjoyed A Promised Land. I think it would be great to listen to it to hear Obama read it. Merry Christmas!
Those dinosaurs are adorable and I hope you get to see Winston playing with them in person, sooner rather than later. And hooray for large completed socks and your cheerful colorful ones! I’ve placed a hold for The House on the Lake; what an interesting book. Thanks, Kat!
Selfish knitting for the win! 😀
Thanks for the book recommendations. I want to begin my vacation with a nice visit from Obama.
Those dinos are the cutest!!!!! I’m thinking I might need to knit a couple to have on hand as baby gifts!!!
Merry Christmas, Kat! Looking forward to your book recommendations list…you never ever steer me wrong.
Loads of good stuff here! I’m going to share your House by the Lake rec with a friend here who’s German AND has a complicated family. Love the colorful socks, too 🙂
Look at all your lovely knitting. The dinosaurs are darling. I bet Winston will love them. Beautiful sock yarns. Thank you for all the book reviews. They sound intriguing.
Those dinosaurs are adorable! And the socks are fantastic, I love those colors and the contrasting heels and toes really make them pop. I almost always listen to audiobooks at 1.25, otherwise it seems sooooooo slow.
Love the dinosaurs and the sock yarn is so colorful.
Oh.my.goodness.those.DINOS!!! <3