Happy New Year friends in blog land. I am enjoying the fresh start to this new year and I hope to have some of my goals for the new year to share soon. My children had a grand ole time celebrating Christmas and visiting with family. This week, however, they needed to return to normal. We are looking for new and better ways to organize (especially their art supplies) as well as get back into our previously scheduled routine.
The past two weeks I have been doing much more reading than knitting. I committed to no Christmas knitting that needed to be delivered before the New Year. I do have two cowls to knit, but I am waiting to hear on color preferences before I cast on.
The first book I read was The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place and the Mysterious Howling. It was a cute start to a young adult series. The book, however, did not have any resolution at the end. I know the story continues in the next book installment, but, I do prefer when a book wraps up the immediate story line within the covers of the book.
I had been meaning to read The Happiness Project for a couple months now. It was a very apropos book to read the week after Christmas while getting ready for the new year to begin. I seem to be very drawn to year long writing project memoirs: including: Eat Pray Love; The Dirty Life; Julie & Julia. I liked and appreciated Rubin’s idea of changing your life without changing your life which seemed to be the driving catalyst for her own happiness project. Her writing was humorous, and she made her own struggles transparent. I think I liked the first half of the book better, but am not sure I could tell you why.
As soon as I finished The Happiness Project, I began reading Wildwood. I am only a couple chapters in, but am enjoying it so far. The books has beautiful illustrations and a few full page color illustrations, making the book a rare treat.
I am reading Little House in the Big Woods aloud to the girls, right now. All three of us are enjoying the story. I first introduced Christmas in the Big Woods to them the week before Christmas. I knew both of them would have a hard time understanding how remotely Laura and her family lived. I was hedging my bets that once they had some framework to begin to understand the story they would like hearing about two girls and their family. (A big thank you to all the reading literacy classes I took in college which helped me understand this very simple yet profound truth: people will love reading a whole lot more if they have some idea of what is going on in the story). I am excited to keep reading the book to them.
Joining ginny for her weekly yarn along
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My daughter got The Incorrigible Children… for Christmas…I’ll have to warn her that it’ll continue in another book! Thanks for the tip! And I have The Dirty Life sitting on my bookshelf…perhaps I’m meant to read that next!
Apart from The Happiness Project, your book list looks very familiar – I’ve read or am reading all of those books. I guess I’ll have to check out The Happiness Project!
How smart of you to avoid Christmas knits – it got a little stressful for me! Have you decided what pattern you’re using for your cowls?