Welcome to Erssie Knits

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I love books!

Not just knitting books but fiction, either classic or contemporary. I used to read over 50 books a year but looking back over the last year, I was so busy with my knitting empire I didn't really read that much.

I was totally impressed with the number of books Kerrie Allman had read since Christmas, she asked me what genre of books I liked so I sent her a list which I will share with you.

Here are some of the books I have read and really enjoyed, the taste is reasonably varied. I did like a lot more contemporary light hearted stuff as well but when time is so precious, my fave genre is fiction that is unique rather than blockbuster if you know what I mean.

Last year I went through a phase of reading Chinese authors, moved by their stoical but emotional way of dealing with tragedy which was absolutely fatalistic and beyond my own cosy experiences. It taught me to have an acceptance of those tragic things that had happened that can't be changed. When I was going through a hard time myself (massive hole in the arm,hospital and pet bereavement!)these books saw me through. These are my recommendations:

Red Azalea, Empress Orchid and Wild Ginger all by Anchee Min
Falling Leaves Adeline Yen Mah
Wild Swans Jung Chang
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Paperback) *by Lisa See (Author)

Also this is a very short list of the ones I can remember (really must write down my readings on my blog this year, so many things to do so little time!)

Misfortune (Paperback) by Wesley Stace (Author)
Human Traces (Paperback) by
Sebastian Faulks (Author)

Lazy Eye (Paperback) by
Donna Daley-Clarke (Author
The Alchemist's Daughter (Hardcover) *by
Katharine McMahon (Author)
Fingersmith (Paperback) *by
Sarah Waters (Author)
Affinity (A Virago V) (Paperback) *by
Sarah Waters (Author)
The Night Watch (Hardcover) by
Sarah Waters (Author)
Tipping the Velvet (Virago V) (Paperback) *by
Sarah Waters (Author)
Never Let Me Go (Paperback) *by
Kazuo Ishiguro (Author)
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (Paperback) by
Marina Lewycka (Author)
The Time Traveler's Wife (Paperback)* by
Audrey Niffenegger (Author
The Shadow of the Wind (Paperback) by
Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Author)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: Adult Edition (Paperback) *by
Mark Haddon (Author)
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Paperback) by
Patrick Suskind (Author)


Human Traces (Paperback) by Sebastian Faulks (Author)
Flow, My Tears, the Policeman Said (S.F.Masterworks S.) (Paperback) by
Philip K. Dick (Author)
Ubik (Gollancz S.F.) (Paperback) *by
Philip K. Dick (Author
Eye in the Sky (Gollancz SF) (Paperback) by
Philip K. Dick (Author)

Forget the dreary plodding way of approaching classics at school, there are some real gems and you can appreciate them with the freshness of an adult perspective if you go back to them. If you haven't already read these (as an adult) I would throughly recommend them as easy reads:

The Woman in White (Penguin Popular Classics) (Paperback) *by
Wilkie Collins (Author)
Jane Eyre (Penguin Popular Classics) (Paperback) by
Charlotte Bronte (Author
David Copperfield (Penguin Popular Classics) (Paperback) *by
Charles Dickens (Author)
Middlemarch (Wordsworth Classics) (Paperback) by
George Eliot (Author), Doreen Roberts (Introduction
Far from the Madding Crowd (Penguin Popular Classics) (Paperback) by
Thomas Hardy (Author)
The Turn of the Screw (Dover Thrift) (Paperback) by
Henry James (Author)

Share your thoughts and add you recommendations. Show that knitters have a broad spectrum of creative thought and can be abstract as well as concrete and manual. Do you knit and read at the same time? I imagine it goes well with blankets and throws with repetitve long rows of straight knitting, not lace, Aran or colour work.
*Extra special faves



3 comments:

Unknown said...

hey the noblin link isnt right! i know im not posting but still

noblinknits.blogspot.com

one day i hope to have a proper website

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oh yes, i just read casino royale (ian fleming) and am now loving only you can save mankind (terry pratchett)

the first wives club is also an excellent book but i forget the author

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melilab said...

Dear Erssie,

I too am an avid reader and I have a huge stash of books. The Alchemist's Daughter is in my wishlist!

I read a great variety of fiction and one of my favourite categories are eastern authors, mostly chinese, arabic and indian. I have read some of the chinese books in your list and may I also suggest Amy Tan who's pretty good (I have read all of hers myself) and also Wei Hui (Shangai Baby and Marrying Budha). I loved The Geisha of Gion by Mineko Iwasaki and Memoirs of a Geisha (like the recent film) is not too bad either. Leaving Mother Lake by Namu and Christine Mathieu is a really interesting book about the last matrilinear society on record.

South american authors are also favourites of mine, they are the reason I learnt spanish so that I could read them in prototype. I have naturally read Gabriel Garcia Marques years ago, and I adore Isabelle Alliente, I love all of her books and Aphrodite (the love of food and the food of love) is different from the others and absolutely brilliant. The Notebooks of Don Rigoberto by Mario Vargas Llosa contains a very important concept for me. I have also read several of Carlos Castaneda, who's out of this world... literally :-)

I have a lot more suggestions for you if you are interested and maybe we could lend each other some books; I am already drooling over some of the books in your list.

all the best

meli

melilab said...

Dear Erssie,

I found a fantastic site that I think you will love!

http://www.bookmooch.com/

It's a site where you give away your books and in return you get points which you use to get books for yourself. It's free to use and you only pay for the postage of the books you send.

I just registered myself and I think it's a really clever idea.

happy reading!

xxx
meli