Reading and knitting continues apace. Dear Data is one of the print books I’m reading. It’s thematic postcard-based data visualization — two women agreed on weekly themes of things in their lives to count (beauty projects, compliments, times they looked at their phones) for seven days and then come up with their own unique way to represent that information visually, which they drew on postcards and sent to each other (and then compiled in a book). It’s interesting, but very dense, and I have a hard time focusing on it if I read more than a few weeks’ info in one sitting. I find it a lot like visiting a museum: I read every word until I discover I’m not reading any of them.

I’m currently listening (as in, I put it on pause to write this post) to Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum, a YA novel I saw on a lot of best-of lists. A teen girl’s widowed father gets remarried to a stranger, moves her across the country, and enrolls her at a new school with her step-brother, who’s also a junior. She starts getting anonymous emails from a guy at school offering to help her navigate the new scene and decides it can’t hurt to accept the offer. I’m only five chapters in, but am thoroughly enjoying it so far. It feels not dissimilar to To All the Boys I Loved Before, if you liked Jenny Han’s book.

I’m hoping to finish a few knitting projects in the upcoming days (I’ve got two three-day weekends coming up), so I’m showing you some of the new yarn my folks gave me for Christmas. It’s going to start becoming the Partridgefield Cowl just as soon as I get a couple things done this weekend. (Sorry for the dark exposure. Cats were occupying my two good photo shot spots and my phone was on low-battery mode, which meant I couldn’t use a flash.) There are five skeins of plum yarn and one red. Mum tells me the pattern looks like it’ll make good tv knitting, which I appreciate, particularly since I’m looking at trying a new knitting group next week.

Yarning along with Ginny at Small Things.