Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Unraveled Wednesday: 4/13/22

I'm joining Kat and fellow Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday today. I'm still working on the Antler cardigan, but to save you from another photo that doesn't look significantly different from the previous one, we're going to revisit the current Hitchhiker. It's also not a lot different from the last time you saw it, but I'm enjoying it as my car and travel knitting and I'm loving the colors.

I've listened to several good books this week, including The Swimmers and Heavy. On its surface, The Swimmers is a story about a diverse group of swimmers that swim their laps in an underground pool. They may be "overeaters, underachievers, dog walkers, cross-dressers, compulsive knitters (Just one more row)," above ground, but "most days, at the pool, we are able to leave our troubles on land behind … And for a brief interlude we are at home in the world. Bad moods lift, tics disappear, memories reawaken, migraines dissolve, and slowly, slowly, the chatter in our minds begins to subside as stroke after stroke, length after length, we swim." No swimmers are named except for Alice, who has dementia. She may not remember the combination to her locker or where she left her towel, but she knows what to do once she gets in the water.

Then one day a crack appears in the pool. Some won't swim over it, some are obsessed with it, some ignore it, and there are "crack-deniers". “Because the truth is, we don’t know what it is. Or what it means. Or if it has any meaning at all.” The pool eventually closes and the rest of the story follows. I enjoyed Julie Otsuka's writing style so much that I've just started The Buddha in the Attic

Heavy is a memoir by Kiese Laymon, unlike any other book I've read before. It's about family, relationships, love, race, addiction, and much more as he makes the journey from Jackson, Mississippi to teaching at Vassar. It's a powerful, difficult book, and one that I will need to read again. 

“I learned you haven't read anything if you've only read something once or twice. Reading things more than twice was the reader version of revision.”
― Kiese Laymon, Heavy

What are you making and reading this week?

11 comments:

  1. I'm almost done with Young Mungo - I've read slowly to savor it and also because it's heavy. And I'm knitting a Musselburgh Hat. Love your hitchhiker!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That HH looks like fun! I don't know what kind of yarn you are using, but it looks endlessly engaging. I have Buddha in the Attic on my list, so I will have to get that from the library soon. I just finished Beautiful World Where Are You by Sally Rooney, and I liked it. Not making anything except a mess as I clear out years and years of accumulated junk. It never ends...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your Hitchhiker is gorgeous! I love the yarn! :)

    My reading is a bit... off kilter... this week. I am finding a hard time to get into anything after reading Cutting for Stone.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love all the bright colors in this Hitchhiker so much!

    I listened to Heavy last year and really enjoyed it, and I keep hearing about The Swimmers. I'm trying not to add any library holds right now, though, because I am focused on finishing The Books of Jacob and then getting back to Young Mungo and the next Louise Erdrich book for discussion.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm reading Young Mungo and am about 2/3 through-I can only read small sections at a time. I just started After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell. I'm knitting some much needed dishcloths and have started working on the Spring Stitchbook workshop by Charlotte Lyons.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't been reading Young Mungo much as I don't want to finish it too early and forget lots of details; it seems like I do that often with RWU books (but it is a tough read). I love your stitchbooks and will be anxiously looking forward to seeing your spring one!

      Delete
  6. Your Hitchhiker is like a rainbow Bonny - very, very pretty and so colorful. The Swimmers looks interesting to me. I'm finishing up Still Life and still knitting on the Hiking Trail socks and the Guernsey Wrap.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Isn't that a cheerful colorway??? I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love your Hitchhiker!! The colors are so happy! I'm knitting my blanket (big surprise)! And reading Young Mungo.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I finished The Swimmers this morning (so good - and I'm curious to know how much of it is memoir) and Heavy was on my 5-star shelf from last month. Curious to see what you think of Otsuka's earlier work - my library has both of those novels...

    ReplyDelete
  10. This Hitchhiker looks like it is full of good cheer and fun. I love the pretty bright colors. I read A Buddha in the Attic quite some time ago but can't remember much except that I enjoyed. The Swimmers sounds intriguing. I love the quote about rereading. I do enjoy rereading but never thought of it in quite that way.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting and taking the time to comment! :-)