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I thought that this yarn and this stitch pattern would be fitting for a man. It seems I have a lot of yarn for girls, but not so much that suit boys. I guess that’s fitting, seeing as I have two toddler girls.

I used size 15 needles and two strands of worsted weight yarn. I think it took me two-three days. Since I didn’t have to think very much about the stitch pattern, I got to read “Bringing it to the Table” by Wendell Berry. We’re relaxing and reading on the deck. My husband’s reading Chekhov and I’m reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

I’ve had this book read for at least a week now and I found it a little difficult to figure out something to write about it – hence my procrastination. I had some sort of viral sickness that went all around my family last week, so it was a bit difficult to concentrate on anything. I had never read this book before, and it is definitely a classic. It did capture my attention. I knew some of the story probably from sesame street or the muppets or some sort of children’s show, but it was very interesting to read the original. I had no idea how it ended, so it was all a pleasant surprise. I think it’s important for girls to read these books, as it’s probably a book that the average male would read, you know, having to do with adventure, pirates, and treasure. But there are many aspects of it that can appeal to women: camaraderie, loyalty, athleticism, strategic planning, etc. It is so important to be well read.

I went to the library and checked out a bunch of books, of which I read “Ooh La La!: French Woman’s Secrets to feeling beautiful every day” by Jamie Cat Callan. It was a really quick read. There are not necessarily any secrets inside, but the general gist of it is that it’s important to take care of yourself and be your true self.

I also read “How to be a Lady” by Candace Simpson-Giles. It was interesting, though sometimes really not helpful. Like some of the things in the book were like a lady knows how to use a napkin in a restaurant, with no explanation, so I guess if you don’t know it and you’re trying to become a lady, you’re screwed. There was a lot of stuff like that in the book.

I decided to read Candide because I bought it a long time ago and it’s just been sitting on the shelf. Secondly I’ve played the following musical piece so many times that I’ve lost count.

It was an interesting book. Its pace was incredibly fast. There weren’t many times that Voltaire waxed eloquent on the description of the scene or other objects. It was an easy read, a relatively short book. It was a tale of optimism versus everything sucking and there being nothing you can do about it. For my part I think life lies somewhere in between.

I didn’t read this with the intent of writing about it. However, since it’s on the list that I posted, I thought I’d write down my thoughts. I picked this book to read because it has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while and I haven’t read it. I always knew that it was a classic, but really had no idea what it was about. I had the general idea that it was a modern kind of dark book. And now that I have read it, it is a dark book.

At the beginning it reminded me of the movie V for Vendetta. The government can control everything you do, and knows everything that you think mostly by your behavior and even slight minuscule facial expressions. The government alters the past so that no one can find evidence that the government wasn’t right in the first place. I suppose that this interference on the part of the government is supposed to be corollary for the socialist movements in Germany and Russia as the first copyright is in 1949. It may be that if the Axis powers had won that our lives would be much like the ones in this book.

The protagonist in this story first rebels in his mind against the Party (the government) – called thoughtcrime. He is eventually caught and reprogrammed. It is a trying business to put all your thoughts under regulation so that nothing bad occurs to you (what is bad is good in this book, as far as the Party is concerned). In the end, he does succumb to the Party’s propaganda and he is able to control his mind and emotions.

The last paragraph flabbergasted me. I was so hoping for a happy ending with truth, justice, and freedom winning out. As it is of course my being raised as an American that makes those things on such a high pedestal for me.

He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark mustache. O cruel, needless understanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, every thing was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.

He had won the victory over himself… Wow… If for a second the Party had better ideals and did not affront truth or an uncorrupted human nature, then maybe the journey that he went through was more something to be cheered. If he had conquered his passions, his sins, his base desires, I would have looked on his struggle as something holy.




