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December StoryGraph

December was a little crazy, book wise. 

I ended up listening to two sets of books. 

First I did the My Brilliant Friend series by Elena Ferrante with Ann Goldstein (Translator), Hillary Huber (Narrator). This was four volumes telling the complete story. 

Then I did The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower, which is eight volumes following Emma M. Lion. 

Both were quite good, recommend. 

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower

As this posts, I am finishing the third volume of this excellent series. 

The first two volumes are surprisingly (confusingly) short, then the books expand to a regular length. 

I maintain accounts on GoodReads and StoryGraph, thanks to youngest getting me organized. 

StoryGraph - 

In each book post, I utilize https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/

This is a wonderful website that helps clarify the publication order of books and verifies book series. I use this website because there are no spoilers. But if I need a description, I can click over using the links, easily. There are also author bios.

Thread/Lint catcher for my sergers

 I have two sergers, one with black thread, the other white thread. 

If you are not familiar, a serger seals the raw edges of fabric so it does not fray. 

There is a very sharp blade that cuts the fabric even as it sews. This creates a real mess. 

Previously I had a paper bag taped to the table to catch the threads and cut off fabric bits. This did not work well, I ended up with a lap full of lint. 

In November, serging the raw edges of the Japanese quilt, there was a huge quantity of lint. I had to vacuum myself. My black pants were covered. 

I found this, it works like a charm -

It is not attached. The weight of the serger holds it in place. So it is easily portable to a sewing bee or retreat. 

Joy to the World

 I made this quilt in September of 1999. 

So it is 26 years old. 

(My quilt racks are built into the molding in my kitchen, hall, entry way. I have six large quilts on display all the time.)

I think the snowman quilt still looks very fresh. Unlike most old bridesmaid dresses, it has stood the test of time and still looks contemporary, in my opinion. 

My good with color quilting friend thinks I taught this as a class. 

I do not remember. 

She was able to borrow the book from a friend of hers so I could photograph the front and back. I paged through it, the designers did well, many other patterns also stand the test of time. It is a cute book. 

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (2011) with Ann Goldstein (Translator), and Hillary Huber (Narrator)

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (2011) with Ann Goldstein (Translator), and Hillary Huber (Narrator) was a book group assignment. 

My Brilliant Friend is the first of four books in a series:

My Brilliant Friend (2011) 13 hours

The Story of a New Name (2012) 19 hours

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2013) 17 hours

The Story of the Lost Child (2014) 18 hours

13+19+17+18=67 hours

I am able to listen at a pace of 1.25, which will reduce the total hours to 53.6. As this posts, I am just finishing the third book.

I think of this series as four volumes of the same book. I think these were written nearly as a continuous book, which would have been VERY LONG, so it was divided into four parts. 

When I finally *settled into/liked the first one, for me, it meant rolling right through all of them while the characters were straight in my head. I can’t picture just reading one of these books. It would be like reading 1/4 of a book you liked. 

*I had a tough time getting going. I listened to the first two hours, of the first book, which was the assigned one. I was not engaged. It was going to be a struggle. I just got off to a bad start. I took a break and caught up on my podcasts, then I started over at the beginning of the first book. The second time, I was fine, I really liked the book, so I started through the rest of the volumes. 

These books were translated from Italian to English. It is the best translation I think I have ever read, one would never know they were translated. The translator deserves as much praise as the author. Good translation is an art.

These are considered Historical Fiction. I have no complaints about these four books and the category of historical fiction. Normally I complain a lot about the genre of historical fiction. In this case, I do not. 

My assumption is - the names and some of details have been changed just enough to shroud the real people. It amuses me to consider the author might have been male. That would be quite the twist.

The author uses a pseudonym. The author is a mystery -

I maintain accounts on GoodReads and StoryGraph, thanks to youngest getting me organized. 

StoryGraph - 

The covers are beautiful. 

In each book post, I utilize https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/

This is a wonderful website that helps clarify the publication order of books and verifies book series. I use this website because there are no spoilers. But if I need a description, I can click over using the links, easily. There are also author bios.

Podcasts yes, books no

No books so far this month, I have been having a great time catching up on my podcasts. 

I was very behind on everything, especially Pop Culture Happy Hour. 

I reupped my plus membership (PCHH) so I get the bonus episodes and no sponsor ads. 

I follow four podcasts - 

I deleted many obsolete podcasts a while back, I kept two. 

Reeding Between the Lines sporadically publishes. 

Every once in a very very long while (years between episodes) Young House Love publishes. The last time was 2023. The time before that was 2021. There is always hope.

Sharyn Dorfman

 Does that name ring a bell, but you just can’t place it? 

Google it. If you were an Oprah fan, you will recognize the circumstances immediately.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hoarder-oprah-show_n_4005719/amp

I have no idea what’s happened over the last decade, but I think about Mrs Dorfman on a fairly regular basis. 

November StoryGraph Chart / Books Finished