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.

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!

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.

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.

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl asks about the top ten characters I’d name a pet after, but I probably wouldn’t do that. Or, rather, I might, but I would have ended up there, rather than starting there, if that makes sense. (I’m totally not judging you if you do. I’d be the first to ask if that was the inspiration, to be honest.)

So, instead, I’ll give you a topic-adjacent list and give you ten of my favorite pets in books in the order in which they occurred to me:

1. Eartha Kitty in The Voting Booth
2. Fang in the Harry Potter series
3. Dog Monday in Rilla of Ingleside
4. Old Lace in the Runaways graphic novel series
5. Winn-Dixie in Because of Winn-Dixie
6. Hound in the Penderwicks series
7. Pickwick in the Thursday Next series
8. Cat Annoyance in The Man Called Ove
9. Ivan in The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
10. Max in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

What are some of your favorite bookish pets?

Also, since you’re here, may I direct you to information on next month’s Virtual Advent Tour?

The good news on the knitting front is that the heel has been turned and I’m on to the foot!

The bad news on the knitting front is that in the midst of last week’s … preoccupation … I temporarily forgot both to count the stitches on my heel needle and how to do do short rows. I mean, it’s fine. It’s fine! There were just two extra stitches on the heel. I temporarily considered ripping it all back and then I decided this is 2020 and that if the sock fits we do not toss things out for imperfection. And the short rows … I somehow decided to wrap about half the stitches the wrong way. Again, not a deal breaker; I just made picking up the wraps more challenging for myself. But as you can see, we’ve moved on. Now, as long as I remember to reorient the stitches to keep the heel centered when I start the toe decreases, we’re golden. (If none of that made sense the translation is: I messed up, I mostly fixed it, I may mess up again before we’re done.)

I started Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore tonight. I’d picked it up to be my waiting for the election results read. Instead it’s waiting to see how a coup is overturned in my own country read. It is not yet distracting enough, but I’m hopeful. About the book and our republic. Mostly.

I’m still listening to Alexandra Petri’s Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why while I wash dishes at night. I tried to keep listening one night after the dishes were done and awoke a couple hours later many essays into the future. This is way more a statement about my level of exhaustion than the writing.

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