WiP Wednesday: Scarftastic

I am making a clapoktus-- a mash-up of the incredibly popular clapotis and baktus patterns. I'm just over halfway finished with it. Hopefully, it'll be done by the end of this weekend, as I still need to finish my sock and glove projects for January.

Book Review: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

 A few weeks ago, I posted the following request for book recommendations on facebook:

I have $25 to spend on frivolous (read: not school-related) books. I am looking for recommendations.

Parameters: no bodice-rippers, crimesploitation, "chick" lit (if the plot could be an episode of Sex and the City, I'm not interested), spaceships, unicorns, dragons (this includes tattoos), sentient beings that ~sparkle in the sunshine~, architecture, or railroads.

YA is okay if it's well-written. Same goes for speculative fiction (think Jasper Fforde). French language recommendations are always welcome. I also enjoy non-fiction of a sociological bent.

A lot of my friends are avid book readers, so I knew that they should come up with a few good ones. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao was mentioned by several people, so I decided to check it out of the library on my next visit.

Overall, this book was very good. I'm a sucker for modern coming-of-age stories, especially those involving the hopelessly awkward, so Oscar Wao was a character/novel after my own heart. Set in New Jersey and the Dominican Republic, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao discusses the family's fuku, or curse, that had been set upon them by Trujillo, the brutal, American-backed dictator who terrorized the DR's inhabitants from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. The fuku follows the family from the DR to New Jersey, ultimately afflicting Oscar, the youngest son, who is fat, nerdy, and terminally virginal.

Told from the perspective of multiple family members and set in a variety of times and places, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao paints an elegant yet terrifying account of the long-lasting effects of brutal, repressive governments and the immigrant experience. Diaz did an excellent job highlighting the differing experiences of the characters, deftly revealing the role that intergenerational trauma plays in current relationships. I also learned several Spanish words that probably shouldn't be used in polite company.

My only complaint about the book is that the pacing was uneven, making a few parts in the middle something of a slog to get through. Otherwise, it's a great read. 4 out of 5 stars.

BAND: January Prompt & An Exciting Announcement!

Learn more about BAND here.


Joy of Joy's Book Blog asks:


What book or books have you used or are you using to support a goal, resolution, or project?


I am hereby pleased to announce that I will be hosting August in the 2012 Year of Feminist Classics. We'll be reading The Bluest Eye, and I'm pretty excited about hosting the discussion. After all, I did write my undergraduate thesis on Toni Morrison. 


Other than that (and the other books for the challenge along with the ones from last year I didn't get to), I don't have any specific books that I plan to read this year. There are some new releases I'm looking forward to (the sequel to Delirium, for example, and I think Jasper Fforde has a new book or two slated to come out this year as well), though. I'm trying to keep my standards low in case grad school eats my life again.

FO Friday: Juneberry Triangle the Second

This is another project that I started in 2011. It took me ages to finish, though, as lace projects do not mesh well with knitting in class (the rule: if it has a chart, it's not a good class project) and I lost some of my blocking supplies in the move and hadn't gotten around to replacing them. It's also taken the better part of a week for this sucker to dry thanks to how cold and wet the air is in my dad's basement/ garage this time of year. 


Pattern: Juneberry Triangle by Jared Flood
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needle: US #8

Finished Size:  Not quite as ginormous as the first one that I made, but nevertheless Pretty Huge, as far as shawls go.  56" wide and 29" deep.

I modified this pattern by not completing all of the repeats in the second chart. I think I stopped 10 or 12 rows early and did a little fudging so that the next chart would line up right. If you look at the chart, it's fairly easy to replicate what I did. 

One thing that I think is really amazing about knitting lace is the way that blocking totally transforms what you've made. This is what my shawl looked like before I blocked it:

It's lumpy, uneven, you can't see the stitches or the pattern, and it's kind of on the small side. 

When you block something, you soak it in water until the yarn has been thoroughly saturated. Then, you stretch it to a more desirable proportion and pin it out so that it dries that way. 

When it's done, you can see the stitches and design much better and it's a lot larger (note the relative size of the box of tea bags). 

Big improvement, yes?

Things I'm Excited About

1. I have joined the intelligentsia and subscribed to The New York Book Review. I also have subscriptions to The Nation, Atlantic, National Geographic, and Wine Enthusiast. Nook magazine subscriptions + my tablet = best thing ever.
2. I tried a beer this weekend that tasted like beef Ramen noodles. True story. (It was Abita Winter, if you're curious or like beer that tastes like extra salty, artificially meaty noodles.)
3. They are finally airing new episodes of the TV shows I like.
4. My internship. It's pretty amazing, and it really sucks that I can't blog about it here, because damn. THE STORIES.
5. My classes thus far: I like my electives. I don't have the required ones until Friday. 
6. Not having to work until mid-February.
7. And still getting paid. Yay, funemployment!
8. Possibly visiting Canada at some point this year.
9. The fact that the school library allows grad students to check out books until the end of the semester.
10. My hair. It looks pretty awesome these days.