Unraveled Wednesday on a Tuesday

I usually look forward to joining Kat and fellow Unravelers mid-week for Unraveled Wednesday. This week, because of a scheduling change, we're posting our Read With Us discussion questions on Wednesday. I don't want to miss Unraveled Wednesday, so welcome to my Unraveled Wednesday on a Tuesday. 

Unraveled Wednesday helps me make sure I'm making some knitting progress every week and aids me in keeping track of reading (along with what others are making and reading). So I'm very grateful to Kat for hosting. Unraveled Wednesday truly feels like the anchor in my blogging week. 

And I have a (small) FO this week - Half an 1898 (ravelry link). For only half a hat, it took me longer than I expected. 

The best part may be the mad crochet skills (just kidding) I used to crochet the two halves together. But it is knit with lovely soft alpaca yarn in a color I like, so I'm looking forward to wearing it in chilly weather. My Musselburgh is still my favorite head covering, but I'll give this headband some love, too (or maybe it will become a gift if it sits in the hat and mitten box for too long).

In reading I finished three books - one was awful, one was average, and one was great. The awful one was Thursdays at Eight, and I really should have known better. I initially decided to read the book because the characters each chose a word to guide them, and this is something I was considering (and still am). But once they chose their words there was no mention of them ever again. The story is told in disjointed chapters and I thought the ending was terrible. This will be my yearly reminder to myself that chick lit is really not for me.

We All Want Impossible Things was three stars for me. Edi has ovarian cancer, and after three years of treatment, the hospital social worker basically kicks Edi out by giving the “make the most of her remaining days talk — while simultaneously clarifying that this most-making would need to happen not there.” Inpatient hospice care is recommended so her seven-year-old won't have to watch her die at home, but all the local facilities have waiting lists. Although Edi has a husband and young son in Brooklyn, Edi's best friend, Ash, ends up moving her to a hospice near her in Massachusetts, and the rest of the book is about Edi and Ash (along with Ash's slightly chaotic family). I suppose hospices could have waiting lists, but I found that a little difficult to swallow. The rest of the book has plenty of actually funny moments, along with an emphasis on female friendship. It's not overly cute, and there are some of the realities of dying of cancer.

And then there is Remote Sympathy. It is a powerful book about WWII, but it is different from anything I had read before. It's the story of a Jewish physician, an SS officer, and his wife at Buchenwald, told through the letters Dr. Weber writes to his daughter, SS officer Dietrich Hahn gives taped interviews, and his wife Greta speaks through an "imaginary diary". The lives of these three characters intersect when Greta is diagnosed with cancer, with a fourth perspective provided by the "1,000 citizens of Weimar". Each character must keep up multiple lies and self-deceit. Dietrich insists that he was "merely in supplies", Greta is shocked that her domestic servant is actually a prisoner, and Dr. Weber has to continue to treat Greta as her survival is closely linked to his own.

Chidgey's writing is beautiful despite the ugliness of the setting, and I found it a compelling story. It's a forceful book that makes you keep reading, even when it's difficult, and showcases how all humans possess the ability to look the other way and the evils of our obliviousness.

I've started an advance reading copy of Isabel Allende's newest book, The Wind Knows My Name thanks to Kat's recommendation. It's a story about war and immigration in 1938 Vienna and 2019 Arizona and is very good so far. 

What are you making and reading this week?