Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Unraveled Wednesday: 6/14/23

I'm joining Kat and fellow Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday. If it's Wednesday, it must be time for yet another picture of the Hitchhiker (which might look a lot like the previous one). 

The other Wollmeise rolls that I knit with had a distinctive gradient - green to yellow and blue to purple. (I'm including photos of them here so I don't have to subject you endlessly to the same Hitchhiker!)


The one I'm knitting with now is called Vergißmeinnicht, which translates to Forget-Me-Not. So maybe there isn't going to be a distinctive gradient, but more of a tonal blue. That's what it's looking like so far. 

The books I read this week were all three stars for me. Two were pre-publication copies from Netgalley, Terrace Story and North Woods. The premise of books often sounds better to me than the actual book turns out to be, but you can click on the links to see if they might be books you would enjoy. The third book was How High We Go In the Dark. Kat recommended this one and I'm glad I read it, but I still can't figure out why it was such compelling reading. It is set in 2030 as archaeologists are excavating in Siberia when they unwittingly release a deadly virus. Yes, we've all gone through a multi-year pandemic, but this one is much worse and death becomes almost a way of life, and class and financial resources matter. The book is written as a series of interconnected chapters about the ways society finds to deal with death on a scale that has never been seen before. These include euthanasia theme parks, elegy hotels for the dead, a father trying to be a parent to a laboratory pig who has developed human speech, and lost lives and voices preserved in robo-dogs. Some of these are downright creepy and it will probably be a while before I read another dark science fiction novel, but I will be thinking about this unsettling book for a long time.

But I'm now reading a pre-publication copy of Claire Keegan's newest, So Late in the Day. It's three short stories but because Claire Keegan is one of my very favorite authors, I want to make these exquisite stories last as long as possible. 

What are you making and reading this week?

11 comments:

  1. Wollmeise is so distinctive in their colors but I really like the gradual deepening blue of your current Hitchhiker! I have raced off to request Keegan's new book!

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  2. I love that shade of blue and it really does look like forget me nots! Glad you've had some good galley reads lately, too.

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  3. I've got Keegan's new book in my pre-pub line-up, too. Can't wait to dive in (soon). I read How High We Go In the Dark last year when it first came out. It's . . . interesting. But super creepy in an intriguing sort of way. Definitely not my usual kind of book. (I am not good with dystopian fiction, generally, although I do dip my toe in now and again.) I love seeing all your Hitchhikers, Bonny!

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  4. That sure is a gorgeous blue Bonny and, as Carole says, it really does look like Forget Me Nots. I will skip "How High" but I'm glad to hear there is a new Claire Keegan book coming out!

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  5. This gradient might be less dramatic, but it's no less beautiful! I am not surprised that a creepy dystopian book was not your cup of tea. But I want you to know that based on your raving about it, I requested Happiness Falls from NetGalley and have it waiting for me!

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  6. well I see the color changes now and I like them. Very subtle but striking!!

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  7. Your Hitchhikers are all so beautiful! I like the subtle way the blue tones are changing in the one you are currently working on.
    I've added Happiness Falls to my TBR and I'm glad to hear that Claire Keegan has a new book coming out!

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    1. Thank you, Debbie! I really enjoyed Happiness Falls and am trying to slowly read and savor the new Claire Keegan. I wish she would write more and faster!

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  8. The gradient is starting to show in your current Hitchhiker. It is a beautiful blue. I read How High We Go In The Dark a year or two ago. Strange book.

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  9. I guess I need to read Foster so I'll be ready for Keegan's new book?! (it's been on my shelf since Christmas.)

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  10. Maybe this gradient will be more subtle but it sure is beautiful. Keegan's new book will be on my list. Isn't it wonderful to have a book that you want to read slowly and savor?

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