I forgot to take photos of the Georgetown Library interior when I was there on this day, so the indoor shots are all from a month later.

Coffeeneuring Ride #2: Georgetown Neighborhood Library (3260 R St., N.W.) and Boulangerie Christophe (1422 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.)

Sunday, Oct. 15; 3.5 miles

Tea, chocolate chip Viennoise

The Georgetown Neighborhood Library has been my regular library for the past couple years, when the West End branch closed for renovations. I usually stop by once a week or so and then often head down to the waterfront to read for a while.

The building was opened in 1935 and used to be a much darker place. (I wrote a paper on Siddhartha there when I was a senior in high school visiting my dad, who was working in D.C. at that time.) But it had a fire in 2007 (coincidentally the same day Eastern Market suffered a similarly devastating fire) and was rebuilt at that time, reopening in 2010.

The building sits atop a crest of Wisconsin Avenue, giving it lovely views of the surrounding area. The park behind the library gives the neighborhood its name, Book Hill, and usually is the first place I see spring bulbs forming. (more…)

No photo today, but I’ve got several things with me in Connecticut for the holiday weekend. The pumpkin socks did not get finished, but I think I can wrap them up while watching the parade in the morning if I don’t doze off too many times. I also brought my purple and green shawl, which just needs the edging applied. And I brought a skein of yarn for socks and one for a hat, depending on what I feel like starting next. I have a skein of yarn for a hat somewhere at home that I remember buying at Sheep & Wool two (three?) years ago that I really want to knit, but I’ve torn apart the stash twice hunting for it without success.

On the reading front, I brought three books north with me: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, The Unbreakable Code, and A Most Extraordinary Pursuit, so I’m set whether I want middle grade, YA, or an adult mystery.

Head over to Kat’s blog to see what else folks are reading and knitting.

There are nine books to write about for June, so I’m going with the easier option of a Coffeeneuring ride, especially since Rudi posted those photos for me.

Coffeeneuring Ride #3: Shop Made in DC (1330 19th St., N.W.) and Shaw (Watha T. Daniels) Library (1630 7th St., N.W.)

Saturday, Oct. 21; 4.7 miles

Hot chocolate, cardamom kouign amann

If you’re going to talk about the revitalization of D.C.’s branch libraries, it’s impossible to have that discussion without highlighting the one in the Shaw neighborhood. This happens to be my current secondary library branch, the one I’m most easily able to get to on my way home from work. (more…)

No, in case you were paying attention, you did not miss posts on rides #2 or #3. Because ride #2 was to my regular library, I didn’t think to take photos inside, so I want to go back and get some to show it off properly. And I had a good portion of the post for ride #3 done when I realized that I wanted to include shots that are on Rudi’s phone (and he’s sleeping).

So, we’re skipping ahead to ride #4:

Coffeeneuring Ride #4: A Baked Joint (440 K St., N.W.) and Rosedale Library (1701 Gales St., N.E.)

Saturday, Oct. 28; 11.63 miles

Hot chocolate, brownie-chocolate chip cookie bar (more…)

I put this off last Saturday (and, you know, for months and months now), because it was too much work. Time to suck it up…

A Study in Scarlet Women, by Sherry Thomas

As you might guess from the title, this is a retelling of Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet, the first Sherlock Holmes story. In this version, Lady Charlotte Holmes, cast out by her family after being caught in flagrante delicto with a married man. Mind you, she was only caught because she was the one to raise the alarm, hoping to free herself both from her troublesome family and the virginity they are so eager to protect. But after her father and sister fall under suspicion for killing the man’s mother, Charlotte must find a way to make the nom de plume, Sherlock, she uses in correspondence with the police work in real life in a society prejudiced against women to clear the family she still loves. I can think of at least four series in which Sherlock has been remained as a woman, and this is probably the strongest of the bunch, so if you’re only looking for one, pick this one (although I recommend them all.)

Pages: 323. Library copy.
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Obviously this is not one of my better shots, but I just don’t feel like pulling everything back out and setting it up again, so it is what it is.

And what it is is every print book I have out from the library that I’ve started. Two are adult books (A Most Extraordinary Pursuit and Exit West), two are YA (Saints and Misfits and The Reader), and three are middle-grade novels (The Lotterys Plus One, Me and Marvin Gardens, and The Unbreakable Code). On my phone, I’m about halfway through the audio of The Secret History of Wonder Woman. I’m in a bit of a reading funk and keep starting new things in the hopes that it will be the one to grab me, but so far no dice. Mind you, this is only about half of what I have out from the library right now. I need a vacation to get through everything.

Sock #2 of Little Pumpkins is into the gusset decreases, so progress should get faster now that I’m only dealing with one set of cables, rather than four, and have a lot more stockinette. I never understand why some people prefer toe-up socks: all the easy stuff is at the beginning and you’re stuck with lots of detail work the further along you get. Maybe only one more week. But I keep saying that, so clearly it’s meaningless.

You can visit Kat’s blog for links to more Unraveled Wednesday posts.