sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

December 15, 2020


top ten books on my winter tbr list
posted by soe 1:09 am

A new season is coming up on us quickly, and planning the reads to accompany it (particularly one set to be as emotionally and physically dark as the coming one), is a joy. (I wrote “job” there first, which maybe gives you a sense of how tired my brain is.)

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl asks a favorite question: What are ten books you’re planning to read this winter?

  1. A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey (How can you not love this title? It’s waiting for me at the library.)
  2. One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite (Romance and I are getting along well this year.)
  3. Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev (I’ve been wanting to read the second book her Austen re-tellings since it came out back in the spring.)
  4. The Meet-Cute Project by Rhiannon Richardson (More romance.)
  5. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (People seem to be loving this historical fiction sci fi story)
  6. The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde (Karen suggested Fforde’s world was a little too close to our current dysopia, so I put off starting it.)
  7. Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin (A Pride & Prejudice retelling.)
  8. Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (I’ve been on the holds list for the second in this space trilogy since the library added it.)
  9. The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jiminez (On the audiobook holds list after Dad recommended it this summer.)
  10. One Life by Megan Rapinhoe (Megan and Sue Bird are my celebrity couple crush.)

How about you? What’s on your winter TBR pile? And while you’re waiting to start your winter reading, why don’t you stop by our Virtual Advent Tour and share in our holiday joy?

Category: books. There is/are 4 Comments.

December 8, 2020


top ten christmassy books on my tbr list
posted by soe 1:42 am

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl is a seasonal freebie, so I’ve decided to plumb my Goodreads to-read list and give you ten holiday titles that appear on my list. (In case you were wondering, I have more than 60 books that fall into that category I’ve yet to read.)

  1. Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva
  2. Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan
  3. Don’t Call Me Christina Kringle by Chris Grabenstein
  4. The Santa Claus Man: The Rise and Fall of a Jazz Age Con Man and the Invention of Christmas in New York by Alex Palmer
  5. The Great Christmas Knit Off by Alexandra Brown
  6. On Strike for Christmas by Sheila Roberts
  7. A Killer’s Christmas in Wales by Elizabeth J. Duncan
  8. Sing We Now of Christmas, compiled by Michael Young
  9. A Stubborn Sweetness and Other Stories for the Christmas Season by Katherine Paterson
  10. An Idiot Girl’s Christmas: True Tales from the Top of the Naughty List by Laurie Notaro

How about you? Are there seasonal titles you’re hoping to read?

If you’re stopping by from the Top Ten Tuesday list, please make sure you check out our Virtual Advent Tour!

Category: books,christmas/holiday season. There is/are 5 Comments.

December 3, 2020


not yet raveled
posted by soe 1:37 am

Not Yet Raveled

I’m so unraveled these days that I don’t actually have any progress to show you, on either this book, nor this project. But, rest assured, they will be a cozy Christmas mystery solved and a pair of self-striping socks sometime soon! (For those curious about yarns, it’s West Yorkshire Spinners’ Signature 4 play in Holly Berry, which contains 35% Blue-Faced Leicester wool. I bought it this summer as part of a Christmas in July sale at Simply Socks Yarn Company. And to make some of you horrified and some of you feel like we could be friends IRL, the plastic bag containing the yarn has been sitting on my coffee table this entire time.)

Head over to As Kat Knits, where I’m certain everyone is more together than I am.

Category: books,knitting. There is/are 1 Comment.

December 2, 2020


top ten books i want to read again
posted by soe 1:44 am

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl asks us to share ten books we want to reread. I love rereading books (why own them, otherwise?), so this is a lovely and easy topic:

  1. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling — every few years.
  2. The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde — ditto. Both Rowling and Fforde are very imaginative and I appreciate their world-building and their snark.
  3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows — I’m a sucker for rereading letters.
  4. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern — I admit I’ve never reread this one, in part because the first reading was so perfect I fear repeat viewings will suffer in comparison.
  5. Landline by Rainbow Rowell — I haven’t read this one since it first came out, but maybe it’s time again this month.
  6. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott — I don’t reread these one constantly the way I did growing up, but I enjoy dipping back in again from time to time.
  7. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery — I mean, sure, I maybe appreciate Marilla’s POV a little more than I did when I first read this book, but it still inspires raptures when Anne first comes through the White Way of Delight with Matthew.
  8. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill — I enjoyed this so much I bought myself a copy for purposes of rereading.
  9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen — I like her other books, but I love Elizabeth.
  10. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas — I just wish it would stop being so relevant.

How about you? Are there books you want to reread?

Don’t forget to stop by the Virtual Advent Tour if you haven’t yet!

Category: books. There is/are 1 Comment.

November 26, 2020


thanksgiving eve unraveling
posted by soe 1:47 am

Thanksgiving Socks

May I present a finished pair of Thanksgiving socks? And a book I picked up Monday that I’m really excited to read?

Head to As Kat Knits for more loquacious crafters and readers.

Category: books,knitting. There is/are 2 Comments.

November 19, 2020


mid-november unraveling
posted by soe 2:00 am

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I have reached the last stripe of my sock’s foot before I start the toe decreases. By this time next week, I will have a finished pair of fall socks!

I also hope to have returned this book to the library by then, with all my field hockey girls and guy ready to head into the 1990s with a better sense of their future. I’ve left them in Salem after a night at Papa Gino’s on Halloween for a couple of weeks now, and it’s probably best to propel them the rest of the way through their senior year season.

On audio, I’ve started Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert. I don’t usually bunch books in a series, so it’s a testament to the fact that I enjoyed the first book in the Brown sisters series that I’m listening to this in 2020.

Head to As Kat Knits to see what others are reading and knitting.

Category: books,knitting. There is/are 2 Comments.