Book Club and Summer Knitting

Apparently, I am a member of the most unorthodox book club ever. I joined last October and have had so much fun ... love the reading, the discussions, the sharing, the camaraderie, the wine! As far as schedules go, it seems that we take December off because everyone is too crazy busy, and we take the summer off as well. Every year there is an "outing" of some sort to kick off the summer hiatus that does not involve reading a book.

Last night, Hubby asked me as I was getting ready to leave, "So where's book club tonight," meaning whose house. And when I told him Farrelli's Cinema Supper Club in Scottsdale, he did a double take. Yep, we went to dinner and a movie. Watched The Bounty Hunter starring Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston, which was cute and funny and very enjoyable for our group. And I had a marvelous dinner which I plan to replicate at home -- a portobello caprese sandwich that was so good! Hey, and it's vegetarian and healthy. Once I figure it out, I'll be sharing the recipe.

So we chose three books to read over June, July and August, then we meet again in September to discuss them. First (and I am so excited to read this one), the third Stieg Larsson book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I actually had just ordered this one from Barnes & Noble online a few days ago. With my membership, it was 40% off and free shipping. Sold!

Another summer selection that I suggested is The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry, which I had just finished recently. All of the ladies in this book club like to cook and are foodies in some fashion. Plus, they're all into true stories and this is such an enjoyable read.

And we are also reading Carol Burnett's memoir, This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection. I adore Carol Burnett! Growing up, we faithfully watched her weekly variety show as a family and laughed so hard. All her wonderful skits with Tim Conway and Harvey Korman. Just thinking about the infamous Gone With the Wind skit where she comes sweeping down the stairs as Scarlett O'Hara wearing the curtains made into a dress - with the curtain rod still in - makes me laugh out loud.



So that's book club. On to knitting. Last month, I had mentioned in a post that I'd like to make myself the Dynamic Cardi shown in the May 2010 issue of Creative Knitting magazine. Here's the picture again ...

I decided to go ahead and order some yarn and make this gorgeous little cardi. Having just hit our first 100 degree day last Friday, it is now officially Summer in Phoenix so I'll have at least 5 months to wear it and maybe more. We've had some very warm Fall weather here in the past, too. Here's a story for you. About 6 years ago, Hubby and I were invited to a costume party on Halloween - so we're talking October 31st - and it was 105 degrees that day. The costumes were so uncomfortable and we were in an outdoor garden setting so there really wasn't any relief from the heat. I remember we all talked about growing up in cold weather areas where we had to wear parkas and hats and gloves and boots for trick or treating and you couldn't even see the costumes.

Anyway, just today I placed an order with Herrschners for Patons Grace cotton yarn in the color Tan. It's kind of a spicy color that will look good with just about everything and be wearable year round. I'm kind of excited. Can't wait for my yarn to get here, to get started on it and make something for myself to wear. Woo hoo!

Reading "The Girl Who Played with Fire"

This is the March selection for our book club, the second in the Millennium series written by Stieg Larsson who passed away in 2004. It's the follow up to "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and is pretty darned exciting. I would definitely recommend first reading Dragon Tattoo so you have the lay of the land and who all the characters are.

This story is all about European sex trafficking and the scumbags who run the operation. Mikael Blomkvist, the journalist who writes about true crimes and corporate creeps, has an employee who is set to publish a book about the sex trafficking trade - and name names. When he and his girl (who has in tandem written her thesis on sex trafficking and organized crime) are both murdered, it is a blow to Blomkvist and the others at Millenium. A third murder has occurred nearby with the same weapon and forensic evidence points to Lisbeth Salander - she with the Dragon Tattoo who now Plays with Fire.

There are some very good, unexpected twists in this book and the excitement runs strong right to the very last page. Larsson did an excellent job of setting this story up as a lead in to the third installment, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest."

I think the premise for the story can be found in one sentence on page 463 (hardback edition):

Salander was the woman who hated men who hate women.

I am anxious to read the next one.