I haven’t been good about posting my Book Bingo progress, so I thought I’d give you a sense of where I am right now:

My apologies that some of those lower titles are hard to read. I’ll try to fix that in the next version. In the meantime, know that for “Set in a place you’d like to vacation,” it’s Piecing Me Together for Portland, Ore., where I’ve visited before, but not in a long time (and it doesn’t say it has to be a new-to-me place, after all). For “More than 500 pages,” we have The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue (which obliged me by being 513 pages); for “Audiobook narrated by the author,” we have The Princess Diarist, read by Carrie Fisher; and for “Person on the cover,” I’ve put in Amina’s Voice.

I’m trying to decide if Roxane Gay’s Hunger is enough about food for that to qualify for that square, but I’m thinking not. I’ve got two cookbooks out of the library, which I may include instead. I’ve started Tyranny in Petticoats for an author/editor from D.C. I have a copy of Al Franken’s new book, but I’ll have to steal it from Rudi. I took a book by a Chinese author and another set in Kenya & the Congo out of the library and have one published in the 1800s on my bookshelf. I’m thinking I’d like to sit down with the first book of the Harry Potter illustrated editions, so that’ll likely be my re-read.

I think that leaves the month/day of the week and the tv series categories unfulfilled. I have ideas, but welcome any suggestions.

I may or may not read all these categories by summer’s end, and my filled squares certainly don’t represent all the books I’ve read so far this summer. But by and large, I’ve made a good number fit without having to strain anything, which is nice.

Joining Kat’s Unraveled Wednesdays:

I’ll be finishing both these books in the next couple of days. In A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, I’ve got 100 pages left, which means the stupid thing they’re about to do is likely the climax moment, so I will need to finish it all in one chunk of time. In The Book Jumpers, the monster is getting closer to being revealed, which means it’s become more stressful to read that, as well. After this, I’m reading a stress-free book about kittens. Or maybe just petting my kittens.

On Sunday night, I wrapped up the knitting on my fourth finished object of the year. This is the Points of Light Baby Blanket, by Jean Clement (it’s just a smidge bigger than my mom’s sweater drying rack, which is why it looks a little weird in this picture):

I bought the cotton-acrylic blend yarn, Plymouth Yarn’s Jeannee, ages ago, at a yarn shop that no longer exists in Hyattsville one afternoon with Sarah. I bought it as an option for a gift for a baby-to-be who is now 8, but almost immediately ran into trouble with the pattern. I put it down, knit something else, and didn’t give it another thought until my friend Amani informed me she was pregnant last winter. Then I dug it out, picked up where I’d left off, and knit a couple repeats on it.

Something was wrong. My tension had changed over the years. But maybe it was only obvious to me. Enter Rudi, who knows enough to be useful in these situations. Could he see where things went awry. When he pointed to the eight-year gap, I knew it was necessary to rip.

The project re-commenced in May. I used nearly all of both skeins of the turquoise yarn (33), a good chunk (somewhere between half and two-thirds) of the second ball of the mint (the edging color) (28), and only a few dozen yards of the second balls of the yellow (17), spring green (16), and powder blue (21).

Some additional thoughts, were I to knit this again:

1. I made this using the pattern as it was originally written, but would probably have caught on faster to the pattern if I’d looked at the updated version before I began. As it was, I needed to draw myself a chart and color it in to help it stick.
2. I carried the yarn up the side and would do it again. By and large, I was happy with how that turned out, and would know for next time that the side border and edging will help even out any inconsistencies in the tension that results from doing so. Loosening those first few stitches as much as I did every other row definitely slowed me down.
3. The border is written for log cabin style, so each one is done separately. This resulted in way more ends than I would have believed possible for the project (and hours of weaving them in). Were I to make it again, I’d at least look into what’s involved with just knitting the border in the round. I assume the concern is having square corners… But I’d be okay with some rounding if it reduced the ends by 3/4.
4. The single reverse crochet stitch edging is nice, but I’m not a crochet person, so it took a ton of time while I tried to figure out how to do a yarn over on a crochet hook and watched various videos of how to execute the stitch properly. I’m not sure the end result is so much more spectacular than a straight single crochet stitch edging would’ve been that it made it worth that effort and the hours of work that ensued, although, again, maybe the corner thing comes into play.

Overall, I’m pleased with the blanket, as were Amani and Marcus when I presented it to them on Monday. I hope Ayinde, who’s now a month old, sleeps well beneath it.

March was a slow reading month, with only three books finished, so I thought I’d get the books reviewed before any more time had elapsed:

The Harlem Charade, by Natasha Tarpley

As Jin is trying to figure out an aspect of the Harlem Renaissance to cover for her Harlem-themed class project, a local kid digs up a painting believed to be by an artist of that time period in a community garden and then an old man is attacked in the same vicinity. Teaming up with her philanthropic, but mysterious, classmate Alex and Elvin, who’s been living on the streets for a few days since his grandfather was attacked (and with help from BFF fashionista Rose), Jin feels she must unravel a mystery that seems to be at the heart of her neighborhood, even as her community is threatened by gentrification in the form of a developer who wants to build a Harlem World theme park in the very blocks where Jin’s grandparents’ bodega now sits.

This had the same feel as Chris Grabenstein’s Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, Jennifer Chambliss Bertman’s The Book Scavenger, and Trenton Lee Stewart’s The Mysterious Benedict Society, as well as older books like The Westing Game and The Egypt Game, but with a historical twist to the urban mystery and considering bigger questions about gentrification, voice, art, and community. If your middle-grade reader enjoys mysteries, I definitely recommend this one.

Pages: 320. Library copy.

The Job, by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

After master thief Nicolas Fox is framed for some art thefts, his partner and FBI handler Kate O’Hare must help figure out who’s behind them, which leads to the need to take down the world’s biggest drug kingpin. The only problem? No one knows what he looks like after he had major plastic surgery. But Nick knows his favorite brand of rare chocolates, so it’s just a matter of following the trail back to a mystery man and his murderous henchwoman. Oh, and then taking them down, which involves getting the gang of Kate’s retired black-ops dad, actor Boyd, and driver Willie (among others) back together to procure a boat and mock up a sunken treasure. Ridiculous? Certainly! A fun romp? Most definitely!

Pages: 289. Library audiobook copy, borrowed via Overdrive.

Lowriders to the Center of the Earth, by Cathy Camper, with artwork by Raúl Gonzalez III

Lupe Impala (a wolf), Elirio Malaria (a mosquito), and El Chavo Octopus (obviously) must leave their garage in search of their cat, Genie, being held in the center of the earth by the Aztec god Mictlantecuhtli himself. There’s a tricked out ride, a luchador match, a whole lot of animated skeletons, and a run-in with La Llorona, a Latinx ghost mother, who mistakes El Chavo for one of her drowned children. This Cybils-winning graphic novel for middle-graders sprinkles Spanish generously throughout, as well as providing information on folklore, and a little bit of geology for good measure. I could see it being an excellent fit with upper elementary and middle school reluctant readers, the sort of kids at whom the Wimpy Kid books are aimed at. It offers a lot of action and humor, but has some substance to back it up.

Pages: 128. Library copy.

Book stats:
3 books
737 pages
2 print, 1 audiobook
3 library copies, 1 owned
All fiction
Diverse main character(s): 2
Audience: 1 adult, 2 MG

Author stats:
3 women, 1 man (+1 male artist)
Own voices: 2 (including the artist of the graphic novel)
Country of residence: All American

Instead of telling you what I’m still reading and knitting now (Book: finished tonight; excellent. Knitting: just past the halfway done point before the borders; baby arrived last week) for Kat’s Unraveled Wednesday, I’ll show you a photo and move on to reviews of the four books I read way back in February: (more…)

I don’t usually do a mid-year ranking, but in the interest of sharing (particularly since Top Ten Tuesday is going on maternity leave), let me tell you the three books I’ve given 5-star ratings to on Goodreads so far this year:

• The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. Let’s just say this story of star-crossed NYC teens falling in love has the best final chapter I’ve read in a long time. I read this so long ago, I actually wrote a review for it, which you can read here (Scroll down; it’s the last review of the three).




• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. This was perhaps the most talked about book in YA this spring, and for good reason. A Black teen witnesses her childhood best friend being shot by a white cop in Everytown, USA. The reverberations touch every aspect of her life: school, friends, community, and family. There are no easy answers here, except that one person taking that scary first step can lead to others taking their own, which can lead — eventually, to change. I don’t care if you don’t normally read YA; read this book.
• Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper. Admittedly, a five-star nonfiction review is different from one given to fiction. In fiction, it means I should probably buy it and will most certainly be reading it again. In non-fiction, it more means that I was fascinated by the subject as written and even read the foot-/endnotes. I don’t know that I’d re-read this book on the various aspects that go into making a dictionary again, but I wouldn’t rule it out. A truly interesting topic, tackled with knowledge and humor by one of the Merriam Webster folks.

I’ve read a bunch of four-star books, but am not sure it’s worth ranking them at this point.

Also, I wanted to share 10 of the books I’m hoping to tackle this summer, since we’re now officially into the season:

1. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albartelli: Yes, this was on my spring list, but the library only got print copies last week. It’s set in D.C.
2. The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher: I’ve been on the wait list for her books since her death, and listening to her Star Wars journals/commentary seem like a summery thing to do.
3. Eggshells by Catriona Lally: My BFF, Karen, gave me this book back in the spring as a belated birthday gift, and I’m looking forward to starting it finally. A quirky woman places an ad seeking a friend named Penelope.
4. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon: Indian-American YA rom-com. Need I say more?
5. The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti: I started this title from a woman I went to college with in the spring, but only got as far as the first chapter before my other books and the due date got in the way.
6. Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo: Due out in August, this title combines the mythology of Diana of the Amazons with Helen of Troy.
7. All Grown Up by Jami Attenburg: Short. And one of those popular authors I never seem to get
8. The Book Jumper by Mechthild Gläser: The cover is really pretty. And it reminds me of Thursday Next.
9. Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterley: My coworker lent me her copy of the book back at the start of the year and it’s time to give it back.
10. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi: Because I’ve had that the same amount of time and the library wants it back.

How about you? What have been your favorite reads of the first half of the year? And what are you looking forward to reading this summer?

Before we get going on today’s topic, I wanted to share my unraveled photo for yesterday, because book and project coordinate so well today:

The knitting is the baby blanket, which is noticeably longer than last week (although still a substantial ways from being large enough to cover a baby). The book is Julie Murphy’s Ramona Blue, which I’m just a couple chapters into. I’m also a little ways into The Princess Diarist, Carrie Fisher’s final book, on audio. So far, so funny.

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. The library hosted Roxane Gay for a sold-out, rock-star event of an evening. I’d procured two tickets, so Julia was able to go with me. Because I wasn’t attending alone, I’d made sure to get moving early, which was crucial, since they’d overbooked the venue and later line-goers were turned away. Roxane was as thoughtful, brutal, and funny as her work would lead you to expect.

2. Knitters especially will want to click over to Flickr to look at the original-sized photo of this bike, which does not, in fact, have an ombré-colored frame, but a ombré-covered frame, in one of the most impressive DIY bike fancifying I’ve ever seen.

3. I had to work last Sunday at Awesome Con, a fan-going convention in the tradition of Comic Con. We had a very specific dress code, which ruled out costumes, but I really enjoyed the work and unabashed enthusiasm that others put into theirs. We had a photo booth area set up and two ’40s-inspired cosplayers stopped by. “He’s Captain America, so does that make you Agent Carter?” “In the flesh, ma’am.” We bantered for a bit, before she broke character to thank me for recognizing her. “I’d worked out a whole back story and then no one asked, so thanks for letting me use it.” Later on, a boy of eight or so gently put his costumed hand on my arm to ask about our (family-friendly) props of “f” words: “What does ‘foxy’ mean?” I paused to come up with an age-appropriate answer: “It means cute.” “Oh.”

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world recently?