Book review: Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

I just realized I forgot to post the review of the February 12-in-2023 book.

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Marco Polo, in Scheherezade fashion, tells Genghis Khan stories about the cities he has visited, each more fabulous than the last. And I mean fabulous in the sense that they don’t exist other than in Marco Polo’s imagination.

Very short book, less than 200 pages. Very short chapters, some less than a full page. Still took me nearly a week to read because I couldn’t settle in.

Three stars because the language is beautiful. Otherwise, I don’t know what the point was. Obviously, I have failed at post-modern literature. I do appreciate the friend who recommended this to me, regardless.

Read as part of the 12-in-2023 Challenge, in which I read 12 books other people selected for me. February’s book was selected by Celina.

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FO FRIDAY: At last, a completed knitting project!

Way back in October 2021, I cast on a Veera Välimäki pattern that I absolutely loved. It took 18 months, but I finally finished it in mid-April 2023.

Pattern: Little Bird by Veera Välimäki, from Interpretations Vol 4.

Yarn: Findley Dappled by Juniper Moon Farm, discontinued colorway “Rost Turkey,” 1437 yards

Needles: Hiya Hiya steel circular interchangeables; US 1 for the ribbing, US 2 for the body

Size: Medium

Satisfaction with end product: Sooooo happy! It fits perfectly. The laceweight yarn is light and feels fabulous against my skin; and has just the right amount of warm due to the wool and cool due to the silk.

A number of things occurred to keep this project on the needles for so long. For one, knitting with laceweight yarn means it takes forever to feel like you’re making progress.

Also, I made the mistake of not trusting the pattern when I got to the shoulder shaping. I thought I had screwed up the front, frogged everything, and started over.

Once I understood the short row instructions for the back shoulder were correct AND that I hadn’t screwed up the front shoulders, I realized this way of shaping shoulders is pure genius. Anyway, from this point forward, I will adapt every pattern I can to use this method. NOTE TO SELF (and others): Veera’s pattern writing skills are excellent. TRUST THE PATTERN.

Then, I retired from the day job at the end of 2021 and pretty much took a months-long leave of absence from everything, including knitting, while I decompressed from 26 years of service to the people of the United States. Spouse and I took a trip to Vegas for our 20th anniversary last April, and then a trip to Arkansas with my parents to visit family. After that, my father’s health declined precipitously and I spent a lot of time on the road between Georgia and Alabama. Daddy passed away in September 2022. I stayed with my mother for a while, and took her to Missouri to see her brother after Thanksgiving. Once the holidays were over, I finally buckled down and started working on this pullover in earnest. In between all of that, I did two plays, had Covid three times (ugh), shot three short films, four industrial training videos, and a couple of commercials.

Yep. It’s been a journey.

My current project is a fingering weight shawl. Fingering weight feels huge in my hands after so long handling the laceweight. And it’s going so much faster! It’s a big shawl, so I don’t expect to finish it especially soon, but maybe by June. We’ll see. I hope to start blogging a little more frequently, so look for a WIP Wednesday post next week.

Book review: The Stand-In by Lily Chu

The Stand-In by Lily Chu

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Gracie Reed has a horrible handsy boss, and takes refuge in lists and planners and organizational apps, plus the occasional mental health day. On one such mental health day, she is ambushed at her favorite coffee shop by a paparazzo who has mistaken her for Wei Fangli, a famous Chinese actress currently performing in a local theatre. Gracie escapes out the back door and makes it back to her apartment, only to lose her job when her horrible handsy boss sees the photo in a gossip rag and fires her for lying about being sick. But wait! Fangli also sees the photo. She tracks Gracie down and offers her a job: impersonate Fangli at most public events for the duration of Fangli’s presence in Toronto. After some dithering, Gracie accepts: the money is just too good and will allow her to put her mother in a better memory care facility, plus give her some cushion while she decides what to do next. Unfortunately, taking the job means she has to spend the majority of her time with Fangli’s insanely attractive co-star and rumored love interest, Sam, who has taken an instant dislike to her. Cue the drama!

Chick lit is not my jam, so admittedly I approached this novel with a somewhat jaundiced eye. But, despite Gracie’s initial wishy-washyness and apparent lack of agency, I grew to love her and cheer for her as things progressed. I appreciated the gentle approach Gracie took toward Fangli’s depression and anxiety — it’s good to see someone who recognizes one can be both kind AND direct when discussing difficult subjects.

Now, to be perfectly frank, some of the characterizations were, um, thin, and some situations not quite fully sketched and/or unbelievably coincidental; I mean, if you’re looking for great classic literature, this is not it. Still, overall it was a delightful read: fast, fun, frothy, and sweet. I especially loved the inter-chapter planning app diagrams. Such an ingenious way to get us inside Gracie’s head at a glance.

Recommended beach read.

Read as part of the 12-in-2023 Challenge, wherein I read 12 books other people selected for me. This was the June book, which I read early because the April selection was not available in April, and neither was May’s selection. My good friend ‘Nathan Burgoine (go read his books!) recommended this sweet fluff.

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Book review: The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life: Before 8AM by Hal Elrod

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hal Elrod has his heart in the right place. He wants people to succeed. Like many self-help gurus, he uses his own admittedly compelling personal story as a starting point for the development of his “miracle morning” program.

In a nutshell, Elrod wants everyone to get up at least an hour earlier than usual, and spend that hour on personal development, in ten minute increments as follows:

S for Silence — meditation / prayer / reflection
A for Affirmation — just what it sounds like: reading affirmations and saying them out loud
V for Vision — envision your goals: review your vision board, add to it, curate it, create it
E for Exercise — yep, ten minutes on the treadmill or elliptical, in yoga practice, jumping jacks, whatever works for you
R for Reading — spend some time with a self-help book (not necessarily Miracle Morning, because you’re already using that)
S for Scribing — write a quick journal entry: goals for the day, yesterday’s accomplishments, ordinary everyday observances. Just write. (This one is a little contrived; as Elrod says in the book, “writing” just didn’t work with the acronym he had created.)

Try as I might, I can’t find much on Elrod’s background and family of origin. He was born in California and, according to him, was extraordinarily successful at the age of 20 when his life was derailed by a horrific car accident in 1999. He recovered from his catastrophic injuries and was back on top of the world until the real estate meltdown of 2008 that took the rest of the economy with it. He lost everything. By 2012, when this book was published, he had recovered from financial ruin and was once more ultra-successful.

That story smells like Mom and Dad had money. Lots of it. And no problems providing their boy Hal with financial assistance. Multiple times.

In fact, the whole book reads like it comes from a place of incredible privilege.

There’s also a whole lot of woo* in it. This book is less than 200 pages long. It still took me three days to read it because I kept having to put it down and walk away when the woo became too much. I have an aversion to woo.

Still, I’m not going to say that getting up a little early and starting your day with meditation and exercise is bullshit. Lots of people, including me, do or have done that. My issue is with this whole “guaranteed to transform your life” declaration. It isn’t. Guaranteed, that is. While it might transform one’s life in the sense that getting up an hour early means one will not be rushed while doing morning meditation and exercise, thus enabling one to start the day with a positive mindset, such a practice is not going to make one wealthy or bring career success to all practitioners, which is what Elrod is promising.

Seriously, think about the single parent who works two or more jobs. Will they even have the energy to get up an extra hour early? Or the person who lacks education and/or is stuck in a low-wage unskilled labor position. How is creative visualization going to improve their financial picture? Poverty and hardship are often generational, and no self-help book in the world will break that cycle. (What usually breaks it is mentorship and education, combined with sheer dumb luck, but that’s a whole other story.)

I mean, try it. It can’t hurt anything. And it might help you start your day in a good mental place. Just don’t expect miracles. Really.

Full disclosure: I downloaded his free 30-day starter program out of curiosity. Now I have to unsubscribe from the constant emails.

*woo = new age-y touchy-feely “adjust your energy, adjust your life” navel-gazing

Read as part of the 12-in-2023 Challenge, in which I read books selected for me by other people. This March book was recommended by Jamie Belt (no Goodreads link available).

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Life Is Good, Day 10

Day 10 (and last) of the 10-day “my life is good” challenge. I am to post a picture that brings me joy. I’m not supposed to provide an explanation but I will anyway because how else will you know why it brings me joy?

My parents again in March 2022. My husband and I drove with them to Arkansas because my nephew would be home on leave from the Navy briefly and they wanted to see him and his family. I snapped this pic during a stop for lunch on the drive. My father passed away about six months later. I’m joyful he was well and able enough to see his son, his grandson, and his great-grandson one last time before his final illness.

Life Is Good, Day 9

Day 9 of the 10-day “my life is good” challenge. I am to post a picture that brings me joy. I’m not supposed to provide an explanation but I will anyway because how else will you know why it brings me joy?

On our way home from Missouri, Mom and I stopped in Arkansas for a few days to visit my brother and his family. We went to Garvan Woodland Gardens to see the Christmas lights. A kind stranger snapped this pic of our group.

Life Is Good, Day 8

Day 8 of the 10-day “my life is good” challenge. I am to post a picture that brings me joy. I’m not supposed to provide an explanation but I will anyway because how else will you know why it brings me joy?

This is my mother with her only remaining sibling, Johnny. Right after Thanksgiving 2022, Mom and I drove to Missouri so they could visit. They hadn’t seen each other in years. Uncle Johnny is over 90 now, so a visit was important. And they were so happy! They’re going to get together again soon for a family reunion in Louisiana.

Life Is Good, Day 7

Day 7 of the 10-day “my life is good” challenge, one day late! I am to post a picture that brings me joy. I’m not supposed to provide an explanation but I will anyway because how else will you know why it brings me joy?

One Halloween a few years ago I dressed up as The Cat In The Hat. I had the best Halloween ever that year. I still have the hat.

Life Is Good, Day 6

Day 6 of the 10-day “my life is good” challenge. I am to post a picture that brings me joy. I’m not supposed to provide an explanation but I will anyway because how else will you know why it brings me joy?

Here are my parents with my youngest niece at her Sweetheart Banquet in February 2019. This was one of the last trips they made to see my brother and his family before Daddy got too ill to travel. I love seeing him all spiffed up. My mom and my niece are beautiful as always.

Life Is Good, Day 5

Day 5 of the 10-day “my life is good” challenge. I am to post a picture that brings me joy. I’m not supposed to provide an explanation but I will anyway because how else will you know why it brings me joy?

This joy is pretty obvious, though. My baby girl Chloe, fresh from the groomer. She actually sat still and posed for me, which is rare. ❤️