It’s been an exciting week in the You Think Too Much household. Last week, hours away from the kick-off of the Bengals/Steelers game, our flat screen television was fried by random electrical surges. The good folks at the power company came and fixed us all up, but not after a surge protector got fried and sparks came flying out of one of our lamps. Our television was salvageable, and has now been fully restored thanks to the good folks at Greves, our downtown appliance store. But we were lucky, and are now heavily invested in high quality surge protectors. This Sunday, it appears one of the 100 year old cast iron pipes in the basement has cracked and is leaking onto the basement floor. Alas, life in a very old house (or maybe just in any house). At least this week I’ll be able to watch the Bengals from the comfort of my couch, and hopefully they’ll win.
Here’s what I’ve been listening to in my car:
American Uprising: The Untold Story of America’s Largest Slave Revolt, by Daniel Rasmussen. I’m always fascinated by the vast number of things I don’t know about American history…like about this 1811 slave revolt in New Orleans. This book is interesting for the general background it gives on slavery in the deep, deep, deep South and for illuminating one of those murky, generally skimmed over periods of American history.
Here’s what I’ve been reading:
The House on Fortune Street, by Margot Livesey. I want to read The Flight of Gemma Hardy, because Emily at As the Crowe Flies (and Reads!) has raved about it, but this is what my library had right now. This was a good read. I’ve been contemplating a review, but I’m not sure exactly what to say about this book.
After Dark, by Haruki Murakami. This is for a book group and I’m about three-fourths of the way through. I like it very much, but right now, I can’t really say why. And it’s one of those books that makes you kind of scared to review it, because, what exactly is happening here?
Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard to Think About Animals, by Hal Herzog. Another recommendation from Emily. There’s so much interesting stuff in this book, and it’s very well-written. I especially like the conversational style Herzog uses and the way he sort of includes himself as a character.
Here’s what’s next:
Lying: A Metaphorical Memoir, by Lauren Slater. A recommendation from a friend. I’m not a huge memoir fan, but this sounded interesting, in that it’s partly a reflection on the nature of memoir.
The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson. I read a review of this somewhere online and it sounded interesting..ghosts, a Southerner transplanted to London, Jack the Ripper. It’s on hold at the local library, and so should be on its way.
Here’s what I’ve been knitting:
Dragon legs, a Critter Knit Kit from Morehouse Farm. These are leg warmers for my stepdaughter for Christmas. They have a great selection of kits to choose from….cat hats, skunk scarves, hedgehog mittens. And an adorable little mushroom hat kit that might be next on my list.
Hats, hats and more hats. The other day I was at knitting loose ends. I’d finished a big sweater, and wasn’t sure what to do next. So I went back to a nice simple hat pattern, adding some color variations and cute ear flaps. So I’ve been knitting cute little hats in various colors. They’re so fast and so very satisfying.
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