While I haven’t made a ton of progress on the shawl since last week, I did drop down about a dozen stitches and fixed some edge knitting I clearly did while drunk (actually it was while I was waiting for pizza). There are seventeen rows left of this ribbing section. I will never be done. I will be stuck doing ribbing until I die. It could be worse: it could be twisted ribbing.

While I am uninspired by my print book choices this week (the graphic novel is nearly done and the historical romance is a third done; the two hardcovers are overdue to the library and I’m trying to get a sense of whether to keep them for a week and finish them or just to return them unread), I am enjoying The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett, a delightful cozy in which the Queen of England, with the assistance of her assistant private secretary, solves mysteries. The second book is due out in November, and I, at least, am glad to hear it.

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

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl asks us to share the top ten books we wish we could read again for the very first time:

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 
2. The Night Circus
3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
4. A Wrinkle in Time
5. The Polar Express
6. The Color Purple
7. The Eyre Affair
8. A Man Called Ove
9. Landline
10. A Study in Scarlet Women

For some titles on the list, it’s to recapture the pure joy I had reading it for the first time. For others, it’s because I adore the characters and would love to have another quarter century back to get to know them again. And for still others, not knowing the ending brings some magic.

But at least I can reunite with them any time I choose.

What books do you wish you could rediscover for the first time?

Bout of Books has wrapped up for 2021. I missed both Twitter chats, but I did finish the 500-page book I was reading, which was my main goal for the readathon.

I also listened to some of the Queen Elizabeth cozy I have out on audiobook and tackled a chapter of a graphic novel (The Runaway Princess by Johan Troïanowski) that’s due back to the library this week.

Last week, I showed you that I’d gone astray with my knitting. Now you can see that I fixed it and am back on track. If I didn’t hate this slipped-stitch ribbing (I’m struggling with tension), I’d be further along, but we’ll take three rows of progress at a time over none.

I’m three quarters of the way through Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s Aurora Burning, the middle book of their second snarky YA space trilogy, but fell asleep tonight instead of reading the final 150 pages. But I did listen to some of SJ Bennett’s The Windsor Knot, a mystery starring HRH Queen Elizabeth as a sleuth solving a murder at Windsor Castle, while I was out and about earlier, so all is not lost.

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl asks us to share our ten favorite places to read:

1. At the beach.
2. Under the covers when it’s raining.
3. Next to a fire during a snowstorm.
4. In my rocking chair.
5. At the park.
6. By the pool.
7. On the couch.
8. In bed.
9. On the metro/a train.
10. Anywhere and everywhere.

How about you? Where do you like to read?

I plowed through the first third of Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s Aurora Burning yesterday, as I do every chunkster the pair of them combine to write. I’ve had the middle book of their second series out of the library for months now, so it’s good to finally tackle it.

It’s time for the final Bout of Books readathon for 2021.

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01 a.m. Monday, August 16, and runs through Sunday, August 22, in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 32 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I’d like to finish one of the two print books I’m actively reading this week and read a majority of the days this week. But if that doesn’t happen, I know not to stress about it. There is no failing at Bout of Books, after all!