Yarn Along #6

I'm joining Ginny's yarn along this week

I'm a huge fiction reader. I love reading all types from classics to hot off the press novels. One of the difficulties of being a book-obsessed family is that we have thousands and thousands of books in our home.  So many, in fact, that we've run out of bookshelf space and piles are beginning to crop up in every room (and for a neat freak like me, that is not good).

In 2011, I challenged myself to read the top 50 novels as chosen by the NYTimes -- I didn't quite make it to all 50, but I was this close. That meant that I didn't read a stick of non-fiction and, in many ways, I felt the loss, the gap. In 2012, I'm not doing that challenge (and, yes, it's kind of a relief) so I'm reading whatever I feel like, whenever I feel like, and right now, I've got the non-fiction bug. On my bedside table is an ever-growing pile of New Yorker magazines and this week I finally got to the mid-February issue which I've been reading cover-to-cover.  Sometimes, one issue will have nothing I'm interested in reading and then the next issue will be a treasure trove. 

One article about a plagiarist was fascinating but the most gripping piece that I read was the one about face transplants and the bio-medical-ethical concerns that accompany any type of transplant. I could never be a surgeon (hats off to any of you who are studying to be doctors and I know that several of you knitters are), but I am mesmerized by the science of life. One thing that really struck me was what the surgeons who were interviewed read themselves. One was inspired by Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff; another reads biographies about his hero Edmund Hillary who climbed Mount Everest. They recognize that those who inspire them are individuals who see limitless possibilities. I know, you're probably feeling squeamish right now and wondering "what is Evelyn talking about?" but seriously, this essay is a must-read.

So, what's on my needles this week? Remember when I bought this yarn and wasn't sure if it was right for my taste? As I was searching patterns for leg warmers, I came across this snazzy one by Jane Richmond and knew that my maxima would be perfect.  I'm already loving how it's knitting up, and the pinks and oranges are keeping my needles happy, too.