Why Neil Gaiman is Like a Toffee-Coated Banana

Want to feel jealous in a bookish manner? Go look at Neil Gaiman's library. The colours, the layout, the view from the windows and the mind-boggling amount of books.. I hardly ever covet anybody else's possessions but I do covet that room. On the topic of Neil Gaiman, people tend to assume that he is one of my favourite authors and I am at loss to explain why this is so. I have received emails from dear friends with subject lines like "Neil in Edinburgh!!!" (at which point I flailed happily around the house until Other Half pointed out that the email referred to Neil Gaiman and not Neil (yes, in Casa Bookish there is only one Neil and he needs no surname)). Other friends have assured me that if I run out of reading material, they have plenty of Gaiman books  they'll put at my disposal. And yet other friends approach me asking if I've read the latest Gaiman novel?

I've read two and three-quarters Gaiman books: American Gods, Neverwhere, Good Omens (co-written with Terry Prachett) and Odd and Frost Giants. None of these clicked with me - Neverwhere came closest, I think. American Gods is said to be Gaiman's finest and most complex work so far and it left me completely cold. I did like the film adaptation of Stardust.

I understand that people are passionate about their favourite author and I get that  people want to share their passion, but once I have read a couple of books by an author I am able to make my mind up about an author and decide that, nah, that guy isn't really for me. In that respect, Neil Gaiman is a bit like Ian McEwan. I read Amsterdam (still the worst Booker prize winner, in my opinion) and Atonement (horrid), listened to people going into raptures over McEwan, read a chapter of Black Dogs, and decided to choose Life over reading another page.

I suspect the "you must love Neil Gaiman' thing has to do with demography: I am in my early thirties, like geekery, am a Firefly and Doctor Who affectionado - and Gaiman just sort of goes with that territory. I still consider Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials one of my favourite reads this past decade, so sometimes I do find books within that niche that I really like. Gaiman just doesn't do it, though.

Have you ever experienced something similar? Have you read, listened to or watched something you knew you were meant to be Just Your Thing, but you just couldn't get into it? Other examples of mine include Bjørk, Tori Amos, Jonathan Safran Foer, and, well .. banoffee pie.

I'm a Crazed Knittah

I think knitters bring their own special brand of craziness to the craft. There is the compulsive stashing of yarns, of course, and the obsessing over hard-to-get yarns (Wollmeise and Sundara, anyone?). Add to that Opinions on the best knitting needles, the right techniques and the right way to knit wool from a ball. Knitters with a capital K could be called outspoken obsessive-compulsive perfectionists, but I'm sure most of us consider ourselves to be little fluffy balls of zen (Knitters with a capital K can be a tad self-delusional sometimes: "I need that ball of yarn, yes I do"). I'm mentioning this because I am beginning to worry about myself. Whilst I have been knitting my Lopi sweater (pictured left), I have been thinking about where to take my knitting. I'm not talking about taking my knitting to the park or on public transport - I'm referring to what I want to DO with my knitting. I rediscovered knitting a few years back and at first I had modest goals: make a sweater, learn Magic Loop and do a lace shawl. This year has been about knitting at least twelve items in twelve months (and I've knocked that one out of the ballpark), learning intarsia and how  to spin. Where to go, I wondered?

Firstly, one of my next projects will be to knit an entire sweater in a KidSilk Haze-type yarn. For those uninihiated, KSH is thin, slippery and maddingly tough to work with. Secondly, I'm considering doing NaKniSweMoDo next year.

NaKniSweMoDo equals knitting twelve adult-sized sweaters in twelve months. It's slightly mad, but I've done the math and I think it is entirely doable. An adult-size sweater for me equals 1000yrds of worsted weight yarn and so far this year I have knitted around 13,000yrds already with three months left to go. I have concerns though: I do not know whether I will have as much knitting time next year (or whether I'd have even more!), I might grow mad and sad only knitting sweaters all the time and while my stash is .. er .. substantial .. I would need to buy quite a bit of wool in order to make twelve sweaters (and surely I should work on a stashdown?).

Am I nuts?

Anyway. My lovely Lopi sweater is nearing completion. I have eight rows of the yoke's colourwork to do and then just the sleeves. It looks really nice on me and I'm very pleased. I have named it Snorri after an 11th Icelandic scholar who wrote down skaldic poetry and Norse mythology. It seemed apt.

Autumnal Knitting

I think autumn is upon us. One tree in the Arboretum is already turning red and orange and today we went bramble-picking. We're a few weeks ahead of schedule on this and I'm now eagerly looking out for ripe elderberries (nothing says autumn like elderberry soup served hot with crushed tvebakker, dried white buns). It should only be another week or so. Can you tell autumn is my favourite season? My knitting projects are also reflecting the changing season. I work on Pine now and then but I've turned my attention to warmer things.

I have begun an Icelandic top in Lett Lópi which is working up wonderfully cosy. I started out thinking the wool was awfully scratchy but unlike other wools, New Lanark and Kauni spring to mind, Lett Lopi has not ripped up the skin on my lefthand fingers* and the fabric is squishy if in a very hairy way. Every time I put down my knitting I look as though I have been embraced by a giant English Sheepdog. There are worse looks to be had.

(* I am a Continental knitter)

The top itself is pretty straightforward. It's a bottom-up yokey thing with colourwork. Of course I had to complicate things slightly because a) I wanted a slightly different fit and b) I wanted sleeves as sleeved tops are more suited to the Scottish climate. Still, the knitting bit zips along and while the top is not very photogenic at this stage (it's a big white hairy lump), I know the finished top will be beautiful.

Future warm projects? I want a fingerless gloves and woolly hat set, and while I already know which yarns I'm likely to use (because I'm feeling unusually benevolent towards orange all of a sudden), I'm still looking at patterns. I've also managed to land myself a bag of Sirdar Peru in a rather fetching chilli red hue. To be honest I'm not a huge fan of woolblends but I have worked with the yarn before and thought it was lovely. I'm contemplating Francis Revisited (have you seen SmashingPuffin's reinterpretation? Cor!) as it'd work with the yarn, but I haven't quite settled on that. I seem to have a very specific idea of what I want so I might just sit down and work out my own thing. Wouldn't be the first time..

Finally, I can't remember if I've mentioned the latest Twist Collective? It's my favourite issue so far and I waiting for a busty gal to take on Ysolda's Vine Yoke Cardigan so I can decide whether to knit it or not. And I have stash yarn just perfect for Audrey in Unst! I'm just slightly concerned about the stash yarn being grey (and thus more Unst than Audrey).

But first I need to finish my top and I have a bramble/apple crumble just out from the oven..

Zoey Van Goey - The City Is Exploding

Zoey Van Goey is a local band we've seen on several occasions. They're a an engaging live act and off-stage the members are talented, smart and nice. I was very pleased to find a video for their "The City is Exploding" - the art direction made me think of my very good friend (and frequent commentator) Darth Ken. Hope you all enjoy it and you are having a good weekend.

Music and Silence

Yesterday I picked up a friend from hospital and, whilst waiting, I began and finished Rose Tremain's Music and Silence. Full disclosure: while I would rather see Denmark become a republic than remain a monarchy, I do have a favourite Danish king, King Christian IV, and Tremain's novel is set in his court. It is always interesting to see my heritage interpreted by foreigners. Recently I went to Largs on the west coast of Scotland and visited their Viking exhibition. I was unsure of whether to laugh or cry at the incompetent and sometimes plain wrong presentation. Tremain has a firmer idea of what she wants to do with the source material, thankfully. The book is well-researched and coherent. I was quite impressed by Tremain's use of personal names as I've often seen otherwise decent historical novel fail by using anachronistic names. I did wonder about inconsistent orthography ("ø" is rendered faithfully but "å" isn't) but it is a minor quibble.

So Music and Silence is a well-researched novel about the Danish King's court in 1629/1630. You get the full meltdown of the King's relationship with his infamous mistress/Salic wife, Kirsten Munk, and you are also privy to the disastrous economic situation in Denmark following years of warfare and overspending. The book is well-written literary fiction. You would think I would be all over this, wouldn't you? Sadly the book left me cold.

I wanted to spend more time with the King who actually had a larger-than-life personality. I wanted a more nuanced take on Kirsten Munk who becomes Evil Carnated in Tremain's version. I wanted to hear about the King's children (some of whom led incredibly colourful lives). I wanted to know about a country in transit from European superpower to European ruin. I wanted to read about a country where the monarch had continuous problems controlling his own noblemen. Tremain had so much interesting material available to her and I was stuck reading about two dull original characters and their insipid backgrounds. Moreover, I was left feeling that her literary-visual take on a Baroque royal court owed far more to Sally Potter's film adaptation of Orlando than anything else.

Anyway.

This week has been a real beast and I'm yet to send out any of the blog giveaways. I am very sorry. Bar more unforeseen disasters (you don't want to know), I hope to send things out by Saturday. And please cross your fingers that the few remaining days of this week will pass uneventfully.

Interlude

It has been a long week, it really has. This week we had overseas visitors which was a lot of fun, but I juggled their visit with jury duty which was an exercise in futility. I particularly enjoyed being called in Thursday only to be informed that they had made a mistake and I was to meet Friday - and I really loved Friday when I showed up and was told that they were starting a case which was to last well into next week. Oh, and Friday they also took my knitting needles off me for no apparent reason (seeing as they had allowed them Monday through to Thursday). And, no, I wasn't selected for any juries at any stage.

Praise be for well-deserved naps, lovely friends, lazing about in my pyjamas, meeting up with my partner's parents, getting interesting books at a fraction of their value, coffee and cakes, bag-sized umbrellas, almost being finished with an unsatisfactory project, my patient partner, being able to say I will not finish reading a certain book, making important phone calls, antique fairs, and quietude.

Here I come, Monday, and may the next week be a great deal gentler..