This week’s check-in of books and knitting is without a photo because my phone is charging and I am too lazy to go unplug it and to pull out my knitting, which is currently sitting beneath an avalanche-ready pile of laundry on the couch.

So instead, I’ll just tell you. Last weekend I got a row knit on my shawl. That would seem unimpressive (and it is), but since I haven’t done anything besides use its presence as an implement of guilt since September, I’m deeming that success. There is a possibility that I could knit the final row and then bind it off this coming weekend, but let’s not get carried away with things.

On the reading front, I’m listening to Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia. I didn’t finish it on Overdrive, so I took it out on cd, which means I’m way less good about actually listening to it. But I’m enjoying this quest-read about a hospital development researcher (and her friends) who gets caught up in a scavenger hunt/quest game in the wake of a Boston billionaire’s death. I’m more than halfway through and would love to spend some time this weekend listening to it.

On paper, I’ve got two books in progress. Jennifer Chiaverini’s Christmas Bells tells the parallel stories of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow during the Civil War and a contemporary Boston-area music teacher/choirmaster and the organist who is in love with her. It’s fine, but a bit slow-going since chapters alternate between eras and points of view. My other book, We Met in December, is a cute contemporary rom-com, but it, too, is going to shift perspectives. Three books on the go with this literary device is really too many, so maybe I’ll put one on hold and pick up something that can commit to telling a story from a single character’s perspective. I’ve picked up a bunch of the Cybils finalists from the library, so there’s probably at least one of those that doesn’t shift perspective by chapter.

What are you reading and/or crafting these days? (If you want to see what others are working through, head to As Kat Knits for her weekly roundup.)

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl is bookish discoveries of the past year. I’m choosing to interpret that new-to-me authors I particularly enjoyed:

1. Comic illustrator Debbie Tung
2. Author and illustrator Ngozi Ukazu
3. Fantasy and science fiction novelist Nnedi Okorafor
4. Author and illustrator Katie O’Neill
5. Jasmine Guillory, who writes contemporary romance starring African Americans
6. Linda Holmes, author and NPR host
7. Author and illustrator Nick Hayes
8. Writer Jessica Townsend
9. Author Sonali Dev
10. Writer Mary H.K. Choi

How about you? What were your bookish discoveries of 2019?

Sitting outside in a tshirt, reading and knitting, as one does when climate change is a reality…

I suddenly realized that I owe an embarrassingly overdue public thank you to Helen at Helen’s Book Blog for a delightful package of goodies she sent me back in November.

Helen was my #TBTBSanta this year. She sent me an amazing box filled with a wonderful assortment of delightfully shaped gifts.

I opened them over a period of three weeks, squeezing a whole lot of joy out of the mystery.

There were little packages that I immediately knew were nail polish — a cheery red and a lovely blue-green. Mum and I both benefitted from that gift.

There were colorful pens.

Helen even sent Corey a present. This is the least blurry shot I have of him playing with his new toy.

And there were books! Three of them! Jasmine Guillory’s Royal Holiday (which I’d been on the wait list at the library for and which I devoured after Christmas), Cath Crowley’s Words in Deep Blue (which matches the nail polish and which has been on my TBR list since it came out in 2016), and Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare (which got such good reviews this fall and which I saw on several people’s best-of lists for the year).

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Helen, for such a great package. I loved every bit of it, and opening all the packages (and then reading Royal Holiday) brought such light into my Christmas season. I look forward to many more hours of reading this winter.

And thank you, too, to Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl for hosting #TBTBSanta this year. I really enjoy taking part every year, and I appreciate how much work must go into organizing such a massive endeavor.

A two-for-one bookish meme post in which I announce I’m signing up for
Bout of Books 27 (goal this time: read on a majority of days this week).

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, Twitter chats, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 27 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I managed a chapter or two of Jennifer Chiaverini’s Christmas Bells on the train amidst my dozing and am continuing to listen to the audiobook of Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia.

The Day 2 challenge is to share my bookish resolutions for the new year.

I’ve set a challenge of reading 52 books for the year, which should be perfectly manageable. I’d like to continue working to make my reading more diverse — both in terms of authors and in terms of topics. The former seems far more likely than the latter, since I just have a hard time forcing myself to sit down and spend time reading things I don’t want to read about.

I’m also sharing the top ten dozen new books I’m looking forward to in the first six months of the year (thanks to That Artsy Reader Girl for hosting yet another great topic for Top Ten Tuesday):

1. Libby Page’s The 24-Hour Café (I really enjoyed her debut novel, The Lido, last year.)
2. The Night Country by Melissa Albert (It’s the sequel to The Hazel Wood!)
3. Kate Milford’s The Thief Knot (This is the next story in The Greenglass House world.)
4. Yes, No, Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed (Two great YA authors? I mean, obviously!)
5. Sarah-Jane Stratford’s Red Letter Days (I loved Radio Girls and look forward to another historical fiction from her.)
6. A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn (This is the latest in the Veronica Speedwell series.)
7. Stamped by Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi (I can’t wait to see how this nonfiction adaptation & collaboration turns out!)
8. Check, Please! Book 2 by Ngozi Ukazu (I’m hoping this graphic novel includes some recipes in the back material, since the first book concentrated on talking hockey.)
9. Rebecca Stead’s The List of Things That Will Not Change (I love her middle-grade novels.)
10. Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (I’ve loved every sci fi book they’ve collaborated on, even if this series isn’t as good as The Illuminae Files.)
11. Elizabeth Acevedo’s Clap When You Land (Everything she’s written has been great, and this looks like it will be too.)
12. Shuri by Nic Stone (I mean, Nic Stone and the most kick-ass African princess and scientist? Yes, please!)

How about you? Are you joining in the fun of the Bout of Books this time? And what books are you looking forward to being published between now and summertime?

I approached my first read of 2020 — the first book I’d read from in the new year — with seriousness. I hoped it would set a good tone for continuing to read on a daily basis, which meant it needed to hold my interest even when my brain was tired. I struggled to find the mental space for recreational reading in the first few months of my new job; I’ve learned a lot since starting, but it took a toll on what my brain wanted to do when I came home each night.

So, the book needed to be interesting, but not overly challenging. I got several new books for Christmas and considered cozying up with one of them. But new relationships can be a lot of work. For every kindred spirit we encounter at first meeting, there are dozens of awkward conversations about the weather and what we do for a living. Ultimately, I decided, in keeping with the season, an “auld acquaintance” was the right choice.

Charlotte Holmes, who solves mysteries while contemplating whether another slice of cake will bring her too close for comfort to her maximum tolerable chins, was just the ticket. Charlotte would take no pity on my slower mental agility, but she would tolerate it as long as I made an effort to keep up. After all, she has genuine affection for her dear friend, Mrs. Watson, and for her sisters, Bernadine and Livia.

Plus, The Art of Theft, the fourth book in the Sherry Thomas series, is set at Christmastime, so it’s even seasonally appropriate to read it now. And I’d bought it back in the fall, when Sherry Thomas came to town, so it was just waiting on the shelf for me to have the time to spend with its cast.

I did not read much, but I did get through the first couple scenes of the book. And I think it will be the right choice. I look forward to spending more time with Charlotte as she leaves England behind for France.

What was your first read of the new year?