Knitterly

Hello!

So remember when I made a schedule for the books I would have to read? Well, we all know how I am with schedules.

I finished Eat, Pray, Love so that is something that I did manage to achieve.
I finished Gatsby as well, because apparently we were supposed to finish it two weeks ago, so I finished it the day it was due (not good, I know, but I remembered enough of it that I was able to keep an intelligent discussion going in class, so it all worked out).
However, I didn't read half of On The Road before started The Friday Night Knitting Club.
I don't know, I feel like I really have to be in the mood for On The Road because it's my dad's favorite book and I feel like it deserves more attention than I've been able to give it these last few weeks.

So, I read TFKC in about four or five days. It's such an easy, feel good book that I didn't want to stop reading it.

It's the story of many different people whose lives are all connected by the Friday Night Knitting Club, a group of people who gather in the knitting shop, Walker and Daughter, managed by Georgia Walker and her twelve-year-old daughter Dakota. It's full of little stories, and past issues that resurface, and basically it's the kind of book that is just right to read while knitting by the fire (which I did, thank you very much, I made a good portion of a scarf while reading this book). I just really liked this book. The writing isn't amazing, but it isn't bad either. It's easy to read. It's lighthearted (I feel like it shouldn't be, but I read it as such) and quirky and personable. There are some sad things that do happen (it wouldn't be very interesting if nothing bad happened), but everything works itself out somehow. 

I don't have much to say, this is a very short review, but you should read this book, it's a good fall book in my opinion. There's also a sequel and a Christmas story one, which I'm going to wait to read because I absolutely have to read On The Road.

That is all, have a great week!

Eat, Pray, Love

I finally finished Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I say finally not because it was bad, but because it took so long. I also think that I didn't read it at the right time. I'm a firm believer that there are books that deserve to be read at certain times, be it seasons, or vacations, or even places. This book was not a "hectic, back-to-school" autumnal kind of book. This is more of a summer vacation book. The fact that I had so little time and that the book was so content heavy is probably why it took me so long. 

A word about the story: this is an autobiography about Elizabeth Gilbert, known as Liz. She lived in New York as a writer for several years, but then realized that she desperately needed a change of life. So she got a divorce, and ended up traveling to Italy, India, and Indonesia for several months. In Italy, she learned about pleasure. In India, she learned about prayer. In Indonesia, she sought balance and ended up learning about love. This book is an account of those months spent traveling and re-discovering herself. 

That was something I liked about it though: not a word was wasted. This book is well written, thought out and planned but not constricted. I liked the format, the 180 chapters or beads, relating to the beaded prayer necklace. 

Honestly I began reading it because under the pressure of school the only thing I wanted to do was pack my bag and travel somewhere far away from standardized tests and college fairs. When I began reading it, the Italy section of the book really spoke to me. But once she hit India it became heavier and much more personal, as is to expected from the section of the book dedicated to prayer. However, I find self-discovery to be a fascinating idea, so I enjoyed reading it. I enjoyed reading the whole thing, but I wish I had had more focus than I did.

I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but when I re-read it, I'm going to buy my own copy and write things down in it, and underline passages because there were so many that I really liked and couldn't highlight because it was a library book. 

So, in conclusion to my mess of thoughts, I do recommend this book, but I recommend it if you know you will have chunks of time to dedicate to it, because it is a thought-provoking book and it deserves to be explored to the fullest. 

I realize this was not really a review, but I hope it convinced you to read it.

Have a great week!