New Knits for the New Year

Over the past week or so, I've cast on  a pair of basic socks, a pair of slightly more complex socks, and a worsted weight wrap. That gives me suitable projects for all kinds of knitting time.  I'm absolutely wallowing in all of this wonderful texture, and happy to be using up some really old stash in  two of  the projects.

I've told you before that I'm fascinated by travel memoirs, and I've written about plenty of them here on the blog. No Baggage: A Minimalist Tale of Love and Wandering by Clara Bensen takes things to extremes I've never even imagined. After meeting a guy on an online dating site, Clara packs her toothbrush, credit card, and passport and sets off with him on a twenty-one day trip across Europe. Their plan is to avoid hotels, use hostels only as a last resort, and see where their adventure takes them.  The book focuses more on the relationship than their destinations, which I enjoyed. The one thing that bugged me most was the passage about how she "didn't turn out like the socially awkward, denim-overall kids of homeschool lore." It's one sentence out of the entire book, but after all the years we've been homeschooling I'm not sure I've ever seen homeschooled kids like that.

I think I squealed a bit when I got my hands on The Masquerading Magician by Gigi Pandian.  This book continues the story of alchemist Zoe Faust and her gargoyle friend, Dorian. While trying to decipher Dorian's book of backward alchemy and stop him from reverting to his original stone form, Zoe becomes convinced that the stage magician performing at a local theater might be another alchemist. The mystery was intriguing, but I was more interested in learning about Zoe and Dorian's pasts. The more I learn about the two of them, the more I want to know.

What She Left: A Novel by T. R. Richmond sounded intriguing. A college professor is writing a book about the death of a student, Alice Salmon, using her diaries and letters and the digital trail she left online. The book is entirely told through letters and messages, including letters that the professor is writing to a colleague.  The book drags and by the end I didn't really care how Alice met her fate. I think that's because the format keeps her so distant from the reader.

I'm linking up to Yarn Along, ikneadtoknit and Patchwork Times. The publishers of the three books provided  me with advance review copies.