Knitlandia or I Read a Book

I know I am trying to get credit for something I should do anyway, but I read a book this week.  I rarely read anymore, if I can't get it on audio I normally just don't read a book.  This week I made an exception, I purchased and read Knitlandia: A Knitter Sees the World by Clara Parkes.  I had heard she had a new book out by the fine knitters over on the Mason/Dixon Knitting blog (http://www.masondixonknitting.com/things-we-love/books-we-love/rule-knitlandia/).  Ann and Kay have never steered me wrong, so I made it a point to buy the book, as in a real open the cover and turn the pages kind of book.  Parkes already has some of my bookshelf real estate with her The Knitter's Book of Yarn  and The Knitter's Book of Socks, surely I could make room for another book by her.  Both of her other books made me think about the technical side of yarn taking me a step beyond my usual questions about yarn, is it green and is it soft.  I appreciated the education and still utilize the yarn book from time to time.  Intrigued by her travelogue in the world of knitters I dragged out the debit card and as soon as I got the book home I started reading. 

Parkes does not write with the marathon prose of Stephen King or Tolstoy.  In fact her prose is compact and direct which made for a quick read, which I appreciated.  Yet, her stories of festivals, conferences, and sock summits abound with kniterati and sparking dream locations.  I mean of course I want to see Edinburgh, Paris, and Iceland, but now I want to see those places from a yarny perspective.  Parkes allowed me to enjoy her adventures while safely sitting on my futon drinking hot tea.  I devoured the book and immediately went to the internet to check on prices to flights to Iceland.  If only I had the time and the money, I would be on the next available flight to Reykjavik.   Okay, maybe I would wait for spring.

One of the things I took away from Knitlandia was how amazing it is to read about a woman who has in fact as she says, "I was simply following my heart .  Which as it turns out, is the best way to do it."  How inspiring and wonderful, women can find success in the world of fiber.  I can only recommend the book to my knitting friends and wish Parkes continued success living her dream.

Knit one, pule two

I am not a fast reader, in fact I read very slow. I plod along at my snail pace just trying to get through. It is still hard for me to imagine that once upon a time I was an English/History major and that I read all the time. It was usual in graduate school to have a British Victorian novel, an American Victoria novel, a Shakespearean Play, and a ton of criticism to go with each that I was suppose to read. Thank the Divine for Monarch Notes. Is it any wonder that I never finished my masters.

Currently, I have a pile of books next to my bed of books that friends have sent home with me, saying, "You really must read this!" Sigh, reading takes time. A lot of time for me. I have never read any of the Harry Potter books, not because they don't look interesting, but because that is a huge commitment for me. Over the years I have come to love books on CD because they allow me to at least attempt to be on the same literary page as everyone else.

Suffice it is to say that when I do decide to read a book it is with a great deal of deliberation and thought. I want to only commit only to something that I will enjoy. And the right book will usually take me about a week, give or take a month. But I do try to be reading something. So it is with sadness that I admit the last chosen book was She-Bang by Valerie Vogrins took me two months to read. I wonder if that is a commentary on me, the novel, or both.

I really wanted to like She-Bang, the author was a knitter. A knitter that I had meet in Edwardsville at Knit one,Weave Two (http://evilleknits.blogspot.com/). I refer you back to April when I blogged about the visit (http://tempestinapot.blogspot.com/2008/04/oh-where-oh-where-has-my-knitting.html). One of the raucous knitters was the above mentioned Vogrins. She talked about the book while we were there and I decided to check it out from the library and read it. I was excited, a knitter wrote this, and there is knitting in the book. I got the book and well I want to focus on the positive things about it, a knitter wrote the book and there is knitting in it. But beyond that when you quote "famous" knitter "Barbara Zimmerman," I have to wonder, though a knitter, how much knitting culture the author had absorbed. A seasoned knitter would probably quote, "Elizabeth Zimmerman," not Barbara who when I googled her discovered a real estate agent, a school teacher, and a woman who lives in New Zealand, but no famous knitters. But I could have my knitting culture wrong, I am not a guru of the knit scene, just a sycophant.

In the end I would not recommend reading the book, as part of the knitting cannon, I am however think about looking into Debbie Macomber books, she knits and writes and her books fly off the shelves of the library. But I do have Truly, Madly, Viking by Sandra Hill on that stack of borrowed books waiting for me too. And a knitter did recommend it...