The Submission

Despite the glowing reviews, I probably wouldn't have chosen to read Amy Waldman's The Submission if it were not my book group's May selection. I feel as if I've read and watched enough stories exploring the trauma of the 9/11 attacks that all possible emotional and psychological territory has been covered.

Ms. Waldman hasn't found a new planet in the 9/11 universe, but her fictional story of the chaos following the selection of a memorial design to honor the victims is a thoughtful portrayal of the complex relations Muslim-Americans faced during the years following the attacks. 

The novel opens with a jury of 13 choosing between two final designs for a memorial to be built on the site of the destroyed towers. A rule of the competition is that the designers remain anonymous until the winner is announced. The jury chooses "The Garden," and the chairman opens the envelope to read the name of the winning designer: Mohammed Khan. So begins a saga that will upend the lives of the enigmatic Mr. Khan, some members of the jury, families of the victims and assorted other characters.

The story is told primarily from the perspectives of the ambitious architect Mo Khan and the wealthy Claire Burwell, a 9/11 widow who has championed his design on the jury. These two seem to have more in common with each other than with anyone else in their lives, and the reader has the feeling that if they could just sit down for dinner together, they would form an impregnable alliance. But a conversation doesn't happen until too late, after events have forced both into entrenched positions.

If the novel asks a central question, it is probably "how can we learn to trust each other?" That's a crucial debate for any society.

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

Ok, I cheated slightly on my one-book-a-week reading challenge. Because I didn't read as much as I had hoped during my spring break vacation, I took an opportunity to catch up by choosing a book I knew I could read in a weekend. Also, I was in the mood for something light.

David Sedaris is almost always laugh-out-loud, rolling in the floor funny, but I've enjoyed his other books more than Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls. His humor always strikes me as poignant, an exercise in laughing through the tears. This collection of essays had the usual reminisces of painful moments of childhood, young adulthood and romantic disappointments, but the humor fell short.

In a few essays which he claims to offer for high school students to read as part of a forensics debate club exercise, Sedaris writes in the voice of an alternate, fictional persona. Some of these were completely off; I couldn't tell if they were meant to be funny, satirical, sad or angry.

Even when Sedaris is not at his best, he's better than most humor writers, so if you're a fan, you may be slightly disappointed with this book, but you'll still relish the few hours you'll get to spend with this master of observational wit.

Sparrow Migrations

A disclaimer: I'm acquainted with the author of this week's book, and I like her, but I will do my best to be objective in my review.

My book club chose Sparrow Migrations, by Cari Noga, to discuss at our April meeting and invited the author, who lives in our town, to join us. So Friday night we were in the unusual position of being at wine, er, book group and talking about the book.

The novel intertwines the stories of three ordinary, fictional families whose lives were altered by the real crash landing on the Hudson River in 2009 by the flight piloted by Capt. "Sully" Sullenberger. Their stories are told in parallel for most of the book as the characters do not meet at the time of the crash and go their separate ways, and for one of the characters, the reader can't imagine how her life could intersect with the others again. But as Seinfeld made New York City seem almost as small as Mayberry, the two degrees of separation for these characters make a reunion inevitable.

The most compelling character to me was Robby, a 12-year-old autistic boy who is aboard a sight-seeing ferry when the plane landed on the river. On hearing that birds likely caused the accident, Robby becomes obsessed with learning more. In what could be a common fantasy for parents of an atypical child, Robby meets a kind and wise mentor who sees his autism not as a crushing disability, but as a gifted ability that, properly nurtured, could make him specially suited for work as a scientist.

I was so engaged with Robby's storyline that I read impatiently through the others, although sometimes lesbian mom Brett's story had enough drama to draw me in. I related the least to professional über-couple Christopher and Deborah.

Cari's journalism background is evident in the clear, concise prose. This is a pleasant and diverting first novel and a relatively easy read, yet it isn't simplistic or amateurish. The characters are richly-drawn and the plots are interesting. It certainly provided lots of fodder for discussion at our book group meeting!

What's the Economy for Anyway?

Due to a nearly two-week spring break trip, I'm slightly behind on my book-a-week reading challenge, but I anticipate being back on track soon.

My vacation book was the next selection in the Bob Russell Resilience Reading Project, What's the Economy for, Anyway? by John de Graaf and David K. Batker. While the book was a clearly-written and interesting way for this former C economics student to re-engage intentionally with the discipline, as well as economic policy issues, I suppose I wasn't quite as ignorant as I assumed because most of the information was familiar territory. I guess I can credit a decade of involvement with Bay Bucks, our local currency project, for keeping me up to speed with economic theories and alternative money structures.

The first premise presented in the book is that the Gross National Product (GNP) and its stepchild, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), are poor measures of the nation's economic health. For example, the spending required to clean up after disasters will raise both measures, but no rational economist would claim the country would be better off with more disasters.

The authors propose evaluations that focus on a goal of the greatest good for the greatest number over the longest run. Equality and sustainability should be considered when we judge the merit of economic policies. This was not a newsflash for me.

Perhaps because I'm poorly traveled, the primary eye-openers in the book for me were the economic comparisons of the United States to other nations. Being a big newspaper reader, I've seen plenty of charts showing the U.S. lagging in education, health care, wages, vacation time and numerous other measures, but this book brought so much of that together that I now feel like I'm living in a bad banana republic and wonder if immigration to Norway is possible for a middle-aged couple.

I'm content with my personal economic situation. I'm not rich, but I have enough and I don't yearn for more. I don't care to trade more time for money. I wish as a people we would stop measuring success with dollar signs. However, considering the inequity of current economic policies makes me want to grab the torches and pitchforks and storm the castle. We desperately need a fairer distribution of wealth.

For those who would like to learn more about this topic but don't want to read a book, I highly recommend the documentary Inequality for All featuring former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. It's available for streaming on Netflix and would be an excellent use of 88 minutes of your time.

The Signature of All Things

After two joyless books, I was in the mood for some lighter reading, so I picked up Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things.

This is a character-driven novel, with a rather plodding plot, if it has a plot at all. Fortunately, the characters are interesting, and the primary character -- Alma Whittaker -- is one I won't soon forget. A stalwart woman of science whose life spans the 19th century, Alma is born into privilege as the daughter of Philadelphia's wealthiest man, a self-made botanical entrepreneur. Money is the least of her privileges; she is blessed with parents who nurture and encourage her considerable intellect and thirst for knowledge.

As Alma reached her middle years, I anticipated the author of Eat Pray Love would rescue her heroine from spinsterhood with a steamy romance. Things did not go quite the way I expected, but I can say no more without spoiling.

This was a satisfying novel and one that makes me eager for the snow to melt so I can poke around in my garden and observe the wonders of the plant kingdom.

Detroit: An American Autopsy

Despite living in Michigan for the past 22 years, I don't know much more about Detroit than the average American. I've only been there three times, each a short overnight visit. And after reading Charlie LeDuff's memoir, Detroit: An American Autopsy, I can't say I'm any better informed.

Detroit, LeDuff tells us over and over again, is a hellhole. He writes of his childhood on Joy Road in Livonia, a near suburb of Detroit. And the road name is basically the only joy in the book. LeDuff's Detroit is sordid, saturated with murder, corruption, cronyism, drugs, and despair. Those hipsters, urban farmers and young entrepreneurs you've heard are flocking to Detroit? LeDuff apparently hasn't met them.

This reads like a 1940s crime noir novel, with LeDuff playing the role of hard-edged gumshoe, which in his case is reporter for the Detroit News, the job he holds for most of the story. LeDuff is the lead character in a gritty tale of frozen corpses, murdered strippers, crooked politicians, incompetent business executives, heroic firefighters, shattered families, and LeDuff's ever-present cigarette. There's even a scene with a cop in a hat and trench coat.

In the prologue, LeDuff calls this a "book of reportage," but this is not a typical work of journalism. This is a memoir of the reporting he did in his two years with the News. He goes behind the scenes to show his work in getting the stories, with a lot of personal information thrown in. LeDuff doesn't bother with any kind of meta-analysis to explain Detroit's decline, aside from some references to the legacies of racism. There are no footnotes, and some conversations are clearly reconstructed from memory, unless it is LeDuff's habit to take notes while drinking.

Reading this book felt a little like rubbernecking at a major accident. It offended my ideals of journalism, strained my credulity at times, and, in one chapter, made me grateful to not be married to LeDuff. Yet, I couldn't stop reading. I finished this in less than 24 hours, closing it only to eat or sleep. I can't wait to discuss it at book group.

The Prague Cemetery

Reading anything by Umberto Eco always makes me feel a little smarter, and that is true with his novel, The Prague Cemetery. However, this story is more clever than it is enjoyable, probably because the main character is so repulsive I was loathe to spend any of my valuable reading time with him.

Eco is a masterful writer. He chronicles the foibles, eccentricities and gullibilities of humanity, and in this novel, as in my favorite of his, Foucault's Pendulum, he revisits the bizarre terrain of conspiracy theorists, where freemasons and Jesuits are embroiled in elaborate plots, at least in some imaginations.

To appreciate Eco's cleverness, it would help to be acquainted with European history, particularly the latter half of the 19th century. Only the main character, the split-personality Captain Simonini/Abbe Dalla Piccola, is fictional; the supporting cast includes personages famous, infamous and obscure, using and being used by Simonini to thwart or further various intrigues. I frequently interrupted reading to look up names and events on the internet.

I would have enjoyed this story more if it had one prominent non-vile character, perhaps a nemesis to Simonini.

The Sixth Extinction

Choosing a depressing book to read during the coldest week of the coldest winter of the past two decades perhaps was not a good idea, but the latest visit from the polar vortex gave me a good excuse to stay inside to finish Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction.

Kolbert isn't providing a newsflash; scientists have been telling us for many years that we are living in a period of species extinction not witnessed since the event at the end of the Cretaceous period that wiped out the dinosaurs, which fossil evidence indicates was the fifth time in the planet's history that the diversity of life cataclysmically contracted. Species are disappearing at an alarming and accelerating rate, and this time, the villain is one very successful "weedy" species, an invasive species like no other.

Even though I consider myself reasonably educated on ecological issues, before reading this book, I had a simplistic notion of the cause of the current species extinction. I believed it to be largely a result of human-induced climate change. But as Kolbert explains, the warming of the planet is merely accelerating a process that started when homo sapiens walked out of Africa some 100,000 years ago. 

The rapidly-unfolding climate change brought about by the burning of fossils fuels is certainly a major factor driving species extinction, as it alters habitat, acidifies the oceans and changes the composition of the air we breathe. But other human activities also have a significant impact, including predation (hunting, poaching), habitat destruction, and global commerce that spreads invasive species.

Kolbert visits around the globe with scientists in several disciplines to describe their research and, sometimes, their near-hopeless efforts to save a disappearing species. These are interesting and admirable people, but probably not the sort with whom you'd want to spend much time on a gray winter day. Fortunately for Kolbert, most of her field visits occurred in the tropics, so at least that provided some relief to this depressing tale with her descriptions of the wonders and beauties of the endangered species she saw in the Amazon rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. But then, sadly, we are left to mourn for them, and for ourselves.

Despite the grim subject matter and the apocalyptic title, the author does not take an alarmist stance or issue a rallying cry to humans to mend our ways before it is too late. The tone here is more fatalistic, a sad witness to an inevitability rather than a call to action. Also, Kolbert makes clear that it's the diversity of life rather than life itself that's at stake, and we simply don't know yet whether the loss of diversity may threaten the species that caused it.

This book is an excellent piece of science journalism, well-written and researched, with an impressive bibliography. I recommend it, but if winter has already depressed you, wait until spring to read this.

Longbourn

I said I wouldn't count re-reads of Jane Austen novels for my book-a-week challenge, but I didn't say I would avoid new Austen-inspired novels.

Longbourn, by British author Jo Baker, likely will appeal to fans of Downton Abbey as well as Austenites. Ms. Baker has imagined, in astonishing detail, the lives of the Bennet family servants, who are her central characters. Her story tracks that of Pride and Prejudice from the downstairs perspective, where anxiety about the future of Longbourn and its entail is perhaps even more pitched than it is upstairs.

The principal character is Sarah, a housemaid barely mentioned in the original novel. Her days at Longbourn are long with boredom and heavy work that drains her physically and mentally. I've never fully appreciated the wonders of flush toilets and automatic washing machines until I read this novel.

Despite Sarah's hardships, she never fails to notice the tiny delights of the natural world around her. Ms. Baker's vivid descriptions of the English countryside permeate the novel and approach the level of poetry.

Austen's novels were set during the Napoleonic Wars, but those events are barely acknowledged in her stories. The presence of a militia camp in the nearby village of Meryton and its later removal to Brighton is significant only for its romantic implications for the Bennet sisters. Ms. Baker, through the character of the footman and former soldier James, portrays the horrors of those wars.

This is not Austen fan fiction, and Ms. Baker does not attempt to imitate Austen's style. It is simply a famous story retold by a gifted writer from an alternate perspective. Perhaps an apt comparison would be that Longbourn is to Pride and Prejudice as Paula McLain's The Paris Wife is to Hemingway's A Moveable Feast.

Eating on the Wild Side

In Eating on the Wild Side, nutrition researcher Jo Robinson turns the produce aisle into a medicine cabinet. She has sorted through massive quantities of food studies to reveal the fruit and vegetable superstars and how to select, store and prepare them to maximize absorption of vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.

Each fruit and vegetable is introduced with a description of its wild ancestor and a brief history of its domestication and resulting nutritional changes. Some cultivars have retained more of the wild nutrients than others. Robinson discusses the cultivars most available in U.S. supermarkets or farmer's markets, the relative merits of each, and when canned or frozen versions may serve as well as fresh.

I learned, for example, that purple carrots are the richest in bionutrients, and for all carrots, nutrients are more available if the carrot is cooked rather than raw. The best practice is to steam the carrots whole and slice them after. She also recommends eating them with a little oil or fat.

At the end of each chapter, Robinson provides a chart of recommended types and varieties of the fruit or vegetable for shoppers and home gardeners, as well as a good-better-best summary.

I checked this book out from the library, but I'll probably buy a copy so I won't have to copy half of it for reference.

Rules of Civility

I had trouble sleeping after finishing Amor Towles' mesmerizing Rules of Civility. Every time I woke during the night, I resumed thinking about the characters' choices and consequences and wishing I had been alive to experience New York City in 1938.

The central plot of Towles' novel is the love triangle of Katey Kontent, Eve Ross and Tinker Grey, but another trio of loves permeates the pages: literature, jazz and the energy of the world's greatest city. Gotham is the central character in the story, the polestar around which the characters invent and reinvent themselves.

I could subtract a rating star for the author's overuse of metaphor, but I restore it in gratitude for his giving me a heroine in Katey that I'm unlikely to forget. My only other quibble would be that the story may have been stronger if he had told Katey's story in the third person rather than the first; I was several chapters into the novel before I need to stop reminding myself that Katey was a woman. But eventually, she felt so real that I wished I could have dinner with her, if not be her.

The Element

I've just marked 50 trips around the sun, and quite serendipitously, the book I was reading as I reached this milestone was The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, by Ken Robinson. The serendipity comes because, now that I'm entering my second half century, I've decided it's finally time to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

Unfortunately, Sir Ken doesn't tell me what that is. I shall have to decipher this on my own. But he does provide copious anecdotal evidence, mostly from the lives of successful and famous people, that devoting my energies to something I love would be a worthwhile endeavor, especially if it turns out I have some ability at that something.

This book made my reading list because it was on a list of books recommended to change your life, or a similar promise. Perhaps this would be true if I were reading it at age 19, but I suspect that most people of my age have encountered Robinson's themes previously. I recall as a teenager having Dr. Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking thrust upon me by my parents, who apparently thought I was mired in teen negativity. Imagine that! In the intervening years, I've had exposure to finding my "zone", the "artist's way", and myriad programs of workplace creativity-inspiring. And yet, I still can't definitively label my particular element. There are numerous activities I enjoy, and a few I even do well, but nothing I could accurately describe as an overriding passion.

Most of Robinson's success stories involve people who found their element seemingly by chance. I'm left to wonder what happens to the would-be dancer who is never taken to the ballet studio and thus never discovers this latent gift? Robinson doesn't address that, although he does give examples of people who find a passion later in life, or in a unorthodox context.

I spent most of the book also wondering who would drive the garbage trucks if everyone is out looking for their creative element. Surely some tasks are necessary but unlikely to elicit much passion. Zen Buddhists tackle this reality by urging mindfulness and reverence when performing every task, no matter how mundane. But Robinson doesn't seem to be coming from the "be here now" school of thought. However, he does indirectly address the question in a section titled "for love or money," noting that some people pursue their passion as a hobby while working a job to pay the bills.

Robinson's stories are engaging and inspirational, and every now and then even those of us in our middle years can benefit by renewed attention to this question of, "what are my dreams and am I pursuing them?"

The Luminaries

Had I read The Luminaries with no prior knowledge of its author or date of publication, I would have believed it to be a work of 19th century British literature. Yet extraordinarily gifted writer Eleanor Catton is a New Zealander in her mid-twenties. How astonishing!

Ms. Catton has crafted 830 pages of intrigue with a large cast of richly-drawn characters that will no doubt, when its announced television miniseries is produced, represent an employment opportunity for British actors not witnessed since the Harry Potter series concluded.

I was loathe to leave her world of the 1860s New Zealand gold rush, and even when I reluctantly set the story aside to attend to such mundane tasks as eating, I imagined the streets of Traverse City had transformed to those of Hokitika, and I considered which dining establishment might receive my custom for the evening.

Ms. Catton takes care to introduce each character with a comprehensive description of appearance, personality, and motivations. Some are endearing, some are villainous. Some meet with the fates they deserve, some do not. Most early mysteries are explained, but there are a few blanks the reader will need to fill in with her own imagination.

I have only two quibbles with this hefty novel. First, the astrological structure was beyond my comprehension so I don't know if I missed some important meaning. Second, the dust jacket (of the American version) referred to it as a "ghost story", so I spent the entire novel wondering when the ghost would appear. I believe I know the "apparition" that elicited this description, but having finished the story, I wouldn't qualify it as a ghost, unless it is part of the meaning I fear I have lost by not being a student of astrology.

The Book of Air and Shadows

I'm slightly behind schedule in my goal to read a book a week in 2014, but I'm optimistic I'll catch up and not because I'll be choosing short books. My current selection is 830 pages.

Earlier this week I finished The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber. I picked up this novel for $1 at my local library's book sale a few months ago.

The plot is rather intricate and involves a possible lost Shakespeare play, Oxford dons, librarians and Russian mobsters. The story is told from the points of view of its two primary characters: Jake Mishkin, a rakish intellectual property rights lawyer who narrates in the first person, and Albert Crosetti, a nice guy computer geek who dreams of going to film school and relates to all events as if they are happening in a movie. Crosetti has an intriguing theory that movies and television influence real world behavior. We may think what we see on the screen reflects our life, he says, but actually our lives are reflecting what we've seen on the screen. For example, police officers have watched enough episodes of "Law and Order" to understand the behavior the citizenry expects of them and they adjust accordingly. Such is his theory.

If this book were made into a big-budget film, the role of Mishkin would go to a marquee actor, perhaps Ben Affleck, and Crosetti - the real star - would be a breakout role for a young talent. Meaty supporting roles are plentiful, with a beautiful ingenue taking third billing as damsel-in-distress/possible-villainess Carolyn, and familiar movie faces would portray Mary Peg, Klim, Amelie, Miriam, Paul and Haas. There's even a cameo for Robert De Niro near the end.

But back to the story. Gruber writes intelligently and elegantly. In the suspense thriller genre, I would categorize this novel as much more intellectually demanding than The Da Vinci Code but less erudite and more accessible than Foucault's Pendulum. It's not quite a lose-sleep-over-it-page-turner, but it's engaging with an almost believable plot and diverse, fleshed out characters. The ending is a bit confusing, with regards to Carolyn and Haas anyway, and doesn't neatly tie up all loose ends, which could be disappointing to some readers.

As this is ostensibly a knitting blog, I must make an effort to link the book to the fiber arts. Well, some of the scenes take place in England, and good yarns happen there, and if I could knit and read at the same time, I would probably choose a pattern from Alice Starmore's classic Tudor Roses to accompany this fine novel.

Fat Chance

Week 2 of my 2014 reading challenge was Fat Chance, which is reviewed on my fitness blog. I'm already behind on week 3, but I'm sure I'll catch up as my next selection is a thriller.

Life After Life

One of my resolutions for 2014 is to read more. Specifically, I've set a goal of a book a week. This would be 20 more books than I read in 2013, if my Goodreads recording is accurate. Such an ambitious goal may interfere with progress in knitting unless I take to audiobooks, which is doubtful. I like the words on the page, preferably between two hard covers.

The first one is finished. Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson, a critically acclaimed novel featuring a character who relives her life every time she dies, with different outcomes. The writing was good, the story compelling, but I was often frustrated and confused, wondering if I was finally reading her "real" life. Perhaps I'm not sufficiently metaphysical for such a concept. If I weren't committed to a reading timetable, I'd be tempted to read it again in an effort to better understand. But as it is, I did re-read it, several times. So time to move on.

Nemesis

My search for an entertaining and diverting novel that would neither tax nor assault my intelligence finally led me to Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbø. I can't remember on which blog or recommended reading list I found him, but the recommendation coincided with the availability of a couple of his books at my public library. Ding ding ding!

I read Nemesis, which, like most of the author's novels, features detective Harry Hole. He's an alcoholic and apparently a bit of a workaholic, but otherwise a fairly decent character. The plot had a few unexpected twists, although even with my limited exposure to the crime genre, I was suspicious early on of the character who turned out to be the one-who-done-it.

The website that recommended Mr. Nesbø's novels claimed the success of Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy is responsible for Mr. Nesbø and other Scandinavian writers getting published in English. If so, that's a welcome side-effect from the girl with the dragon tattoo phenomenon; his writing is solid and worthy of a wider audience. Yet, Harry Hole, for all of his charms, is no Lisbeth Salander! She's probably one of the most unforgettable characters in modern literature, and I know I share with millions of readers a profound sense of tragedy that Mr. Larsson died before he could give us more of her.

Reading a Norwegian crime novel did put me in the mood for working more on that Scandinavian sweater, and I've knit a few more rows. Perhaps I will have it finished in time to wear it this season.

Wizard of Earthsea

I made good on my resolution to abort the novel, although I suspect I'll check it out again one day because I'm basically among the 38.1% at the bottom of this infographic.

In the meantime, I've started Ursula K. Le Guin's The Wizard of Earthsea because it was sitting on the coffee table, where it had been relocated from my son's bookcase several months ago for reasons involving Matthew McConaughey.

OK, I know I have to explain that one.

At some point this past winter, undoubtedly due to sunlight deprivation, I got it into my head that a character played by Matthew McConaughey advised reading Le Guin as an introduction to science fiction for someone who may ordinarily prefer, say, Jane Austen.

I remembered McConaughey's character in The Jane Austen Book Club giving this advice to Maria Bello's character.

Wait, you say: Matthew McConaughey wasn't in that movie! Yeah, I know: Grigg was actually played by Hugh Dancy. But for some reason, I thought at the time that Matthew McConaughey was telling me to read a Le Guin book, so of course I fetched the only Le Guin I could find in the house. And there on the coffee table I let it sit for months because I had other things I'd rather read.

I'm not loving this wizard book either, but I'm halfway through, and it's fairly short, so I'll finish it and hope to discover the magic before the end. Also, this is fantasy, not science fiction, but maybe that's what Hugh Dancy's character was recommending anyway. I can't remember. I suppose I could look it up in the book, which I own. Or I could read it again; I liked that one.

However, the wizard did get me to thinking about knitting. It made me recall the fabulous knits in the film version of The Golden Compass, probably because that was also based on a fantasy novel, and as the film was released several years ago, I wondered if any knitting patterns from the costumes had become available. So I googled, and I found my next project.

My teen daughter, who will never wear a hat even on the coldest winter days, was looking over my shoulder and let me know that she would consent to wearing this if I knit it for her:

I found the pattern at Ravelry, and I probably have equivalent yarn in my stash, so as soon as the sweater is finished, this will be a go.

Wild abandon

I sent my daughter to writer's camp this week, and perhaps through a extrasensory transference such as the type seen only in the movies (think What Women Want or even Spiderman), I have been imbued with a frenetic writing energy that requires multiple outlets.

In other words, I'm resurrecting this blog. I've already dusted away the spammers in comments, so if any real readers still exist, it's safe to come back.

It can be difficult to write about knitting when one is not actually knitting, which has been my problem for the past three years. Am I knitting again now? Not yet, but I think I've figured out the root cause.

I received this enlightenment yesterday while contemplating a novel I've been "reading." (Reading, of course, is usually incompatible with knitting except for those blessed with the ability to pay attention to audiobooks. I'm a more prolific reader than knitter.) My progress on this book has stalled after about 60 pages, and yet I've so far refused to follow Nancy Pearl's Rule of 50 and give it up. I started it for a reason -- because the author is highly regarded and someone I feel like I "should" read -- and that reason doesn't disappear just because the book hasn't engaged me.

Yet I know I could've read at least three other novels in the 6 weeks or so that I've been "reading" this one. I pick it up, read a page, and set it down to do something else, but I don't read anything else because I have this to finish first.

The same problem has stalled my knitting. I think it may be six years since I started this sweater:

It's from Solveig Hisdal's book Poetry in Stitches for those interested.

It's lovely sweater, and I'll be happy to have it completed, but it's a rather random, non-repeating pattern that requires constantly looking at the chart. This means it's difficult to do much of anything else while working on it. I can watch television if I don't want to look at the screen, but foreign films with subtitles (which make up about 80 percent of my Netflix queue) are out of the question.

My progress has been so slow on this sweater than I believe moths may have already been at some of the early rows. There's broken yarn I can't explain.

Really, I should abandon it and move on to something else, like a scarf or a sock. But I'm almost finished with the body and the sleeves will be much easier! It would be tragic to abandon it now after so much work.

Many situations in life require us to resolve to let things go to maintain our sanity, or our relationships, or to allow room for other things to breathe. And yet, it's often with the projects we persist on, when everyone else may be urging us to give up, that we're most rewarded. The trick is to recognize what's worth pursuing and what's better consigned to the remainders bin.

For now, I think I'll return the novel to the library and finish up the sweater, resolving to make sure my next knitting project is mindless and portable.

The novel, by the way, is Thomas Pynchon's V., in case anyone wants to plead its case in the comments.

Early fall dinner

Editor's disclaimer: on the slim chance that any reader still exists for this knitting blog, rest assured that I'm not converting it to yet-another-food blog. This is a one-time posting to efficiently distribute information to a few friends.

For a seasonal cook, the first days of October in northern Michigan offer tantalizing options. My CSA box this week was a bridge from summer to fall. The tomatoes are still producing (quite late for this region!), the greens are still rich from the fields and the fall carb-fest of winter squashes and root vegetables are rounding it out. I could still make something summery and light, with tomatoes and dragon beans and kale, but with the wind howling and the skies gray, fall comfort food beckoned.

First up was the chunky apple walnut cake I've been making for more than 20 years. The recipe comes from The Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins. This is one of the first, if not the very first, cookbooks I ever purchased. I bought it when I was still in college, so that's basically how long I've been a foodie and aspiring cook. The dust jacket is in tatters, and leafing through, I found a receipt from 1988 and another from 1986 tucked in the pages. I know this cookbook has some mistakes, so it always pays to be careful and thoughtful when using one of these recipes, but the apple cake, which I make almost every fall, is perfect just as written. I rarely leave a recipe unaltered, but this is an exception (well, a tiny amount of editing).

Chunky Apple Walnut Cake

from The Silver Palate Cookbook

1.5 c. vegetable oil

2 c. sugar

3 eggs

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp. cloves

1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. mace (or nutmeg)

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 c. whole-wheat flour

1 1/4 c. walnuts, chopped and toasted

3 1/4 c. coarse chunks of peeled and cored apples (recipe calls for Rome Beauty, but use what you have)

3 Tbsp. Calvados or applejack

1. Preheat oven to 325F.

2. In a large bowl or your stand mixer, beat oil and sugar until thick. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

3. In another bowl, stir together the flours, soda, salt and spices. Add to oil mixture and blend.

4. Add walnuts, apples and Calvados and stir until evenly distributed.

5. Pour batter into a greased 10-inch round cake pan (I use a bundt). Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until done.

6. Let cake rest for 10 minutes, then unmold and pour glaze over warm cake.

Apple Cider Glaze

4 Tbsp. sweet butter

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

6 Tbsp. sugar

3 Tbsp. Calvados or applejack

4 Tbsp. sweet cider

2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice

2 Tbsp. heavy cream

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in both sugars.

2. Add remaining ingredients, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and cook for 4 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Pour while still warm over warm cake.

Note to northern Michigan readers: I bet Left Foot Charley's Cinnamon Girl hard cider would be a terrific substitute for the sweet cider, or the Calvados. I might make it again to find out. Or, better yet, just buy a bottle to drink with the cake.

While the cake was baking, I started a leek bread pudding. At the risk of being struck by lightning, I will confess to altering this original Thomas Keller recipe. I'm sure it would be even better if I had made it exactly as he specified, but I am but an ordinary home cook, not a great chef, so I must sometimes modify.

The inspiration for making this came from a loaf of homemade sourdough that would be hitting the compost in a day or two if not eaten. The recipe calls for 12 cups of bread cubes, so that would take up most, if not all, of this poor forsaken loaf. Mr. Keller would have me make a loaf of brioche instead, but I couldn't see why a multi-grain, multi-seeded sourdough couldn't substitute. I also didn't seek out his specified cheese, just getting a basic Swiss from Oryana. And I used less dairy and a slightly different herb mix, based on what was growing in my back yard.

So here's what I did.

Leek Bread Pudding

with apologies to Thomas Keller, from his wonderful ad hoc at home

2 c. 1/2-in thick slices of leeks (white and light green parts)

salt (he calls for kosher, I used sea salt)

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

freshly ground black pepper

12 c. bread cubes (he makes a brioche; I used a sourdough)

1 Tbsp. finely chopped chives

1 tsp. fresh oregano (he called for thyme)

a little bit of fresh chopped parsley (my addition)

3 large eggs

2 c. whole milk (he called for 3 c.)

2 c. heavy cream (he called for 3 c.)

freshly grated nutmeg

1 c. shredded Swiss (his recipe used Comte or Emmentaler)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. Put the leek rounds in a large bowl of water and swish to clean, then drain. Saute over medium-high heat, seasoning with salt, for about 5 mins. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the butter and pepper. Cover the pan (he says use a parchment lid, but I just used the pan lid) and cook, stiring every 10 mins, until the leeks are very soft, about 30 mins.

3. Meanwhile, spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast in the over for about 20 mins. (I put them on the rack under the cake).

4. Mix the leeks and break together, then add the herbs. (Sage would probably be nice with this, too.)

5. Lightly whisk the eggs in another bowl. Whisk in the milk, cream, salt and pepper to taste, and a pinch of nutmeg.

6. Sprinkle 1/4 c. of the cheese in the bottom of a 9x13-in baking pan. Spread half the leeks and croutons in the pan and sprinkle with another 1/4 c. cheese. Scatter the remaining leeks and croutons over and top with another 1/4 c. cheese. Pour in the custard to cover and press the bread down into it. Let is soak for about 15 mins.

7. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 1.5 hours, or until the pudding feels set and the top is brown and bubbling.

The leek bread pudding went into the oven just as the cake was coming out. While that baked, I whipped up a very simple potato-leek soup. Probably every cookbook I own (no small amount) has a version of this recipe, but I used Julia Child's, which is the very first recipe in her Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Potage Parmentier

adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

3 to 4 c. or 1 lb. peeled, diced potatoes

3 c. or 1 lb. thinly sliced leeks, white and green parts

2 qts. water

1 Tbsp. salt

1. You know the drill -- swish the leeks around in water to clean, then drain.

2. Put the potatoes and leeks in a big soup pot with the 2 qts. water and salt. Simmer for 40 to 50 mins, or until all is tender.

3. When it's cooked, do whatever you need to do to make it all smooth. Julia recommended mashing with a fork or passing through a food mill. I used a food mill, but I took the lazy method and ladled the soup into the mill while I held it over the pot, so it wasn't perfect. I suppose a stick blender might work. I'd be hesitant to use the food processor or blender for fear of rubberizing the potatoes. Next time I'm at Patisserie Amie (nice French bistro near my house), I'll ask Chef Eric what he does to make his vichyssoise (the cold version of this) like velvet.

While the soup was cooking, I stared at the tomatoes. Then I chopped up a couple and made a salsa to placate the hungry until dinner was ready. Everyone knows how to make salsa fresca, right? The variations are endless, but basically it's tomatoes chopped finely, lime juice and salt. I always add garlic and cilantro, and some chopped jalapeno when I have it. Experiment! You can't go wrong.