This week’s Top Ten Tuesday at That Artsy Reader Girl asks us to share ten authors I discovered (and liked) in 2020. Easy, since nearly two-thirds of last year’s books were written by authors I’d never read before!
How about you? Any new-to-you authors you loved last year?
As you can see, I’ve made some good progress on the leg of my Holiday Hangover socks, which I’m adoring. I anticipate being at the heel this weekend, but sometimes that’s where I get stuck with stripey socks. I’ll have to start thinking about whether to do a solid heel tomorrow.
I’m about halfway through Bringing Down the Duke, in part because I’ve started listening to Abby Jiminez’s The Happy Ever After Playlist. Although I admit I am getting a little tired of romances where the protagonists are described as being extraordinarily good looking. Where are the romances of people of average facades? Nondescript but supplemented with quirky fashion taste? Mousy hair but kissable lips? Honestly, is this the sort of romance everyone wants to read about? Is it a “if gorgeous people have trouble dating then it’s no surprise that I do, too” kind of thing?
I guess that means it’s probably time to move on to a different genre for a while… I know there’s a detective with “maximum tolerable chins” awaiting me.
Head over to As Kat Knits to see what knitting and reading projects others are carrying into the new administration.
Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic at That Artsy Reader Girl is one near to my heart: books published last year that I was excited about, but didn’t get to for one reason or another. There are dozens of those, but here are ten of the key ones:
The particularly disappointing part about this list is just how many authors on it are ones I love.
How about you? Were there 2020 releases you put on your must-read list that you still have yet to tackle?
I am loving the new stripey socks I am knitting. They are the pleasantly addictive kind with four rows of each color, which means they’re a lot like potato chips or cookies. You swear you’ll just knit/eat this one more and then you’ll stop. And suddenly you’re staring at an empty row of Oreos or a half-gone bag of chips or several inches of project. Except that, of course, knitting is way better for you than eating that much delicious junk food.
I am also enjoying the audio version of a book my dad recommended over the summer, The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jiminez. Apparently it’s the second book in a connected series, the first of which apparently includes a lot of tears, so I’m glad I’ve started with this one.
I have a project that’s very nearly off the needles and a four-and-a-half-hour-long training tomorrow, so I’ve given some thought to what to knit next. This is Havirland Pax Socks in the Holiday Hangover colorway, which feels right for a January knit.
Since the training is a live video discussion about equity and inclusion, I’m not anticipating being able to spend the whole time knitting. But I wanted to have something to work on while I’m doing the listening part of the work, since I feel like the repetitive motion will help keep me focused on the conversation at hand, rather than wandering back to the pile of other work I have.
Rudi is spending one weeknight each week this winter coaching and tomorrow is that night. I’m anticipating having plenty of time to curl up with my current read, Evie Dunmore’s Bringing Down the Duke, a Victorian-era voting rights romance between a nobleman and a bluestocking. I’m about halfway through, and the duke has just asked the female protagonist to be his mistress. She skipped her first ever fireworks show for this conversation, and I think she’s going to rue the decision.
Head to As Kat Knits to see what others are knitting in this new year.
I’m not much for resolutions, but I have lots of hopes for the coming year. A whole lot of them involve the pandemic ending, but some of them are within my control.
Here are ten of the more bookish hopes I have for this year:
Huh. That ended up being easier than I expected. How about you? Do you have bookish hopes or goals for 2021?
Head over to That Artsy Reader Girl to read others’ entries into this week’s Top Ten Tuesday.