I need to find a book group. I'm trying to go to the one at my local library, but I haven't managed to get the right book and have it read in time for the meeting, and I've been trying for the last three months. The book for October was The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I'm listening to the audiobook, and it's just…soooo…long. I'm on disk 16 of 18. I tried desperately to finish before they met last Tuesday, but I just couldn't take any more and had to take a break. I don't know what the problem is, I've listened to books that were even longer, and there is a lot to like (although there are some very unlikable characters, of course). I think there are just some books that are easier to read and some that are fun to listen to, and this is in the former category. 

So, for my break from the never-ending audiobook, I read Sarah's Key , about which I have been hearing all sorts of good things. And now I need to have a book discussion about it, so I just thought I'd have it here, and if anyone else has read it, please talk to me in the comments! Be warned, there are going to be spoilers, so if you haven't read it yet, stop right now, I don't want to ruin it for you! And also, I didn't like it much, so I'm really sorry if you loved it. Please feel free to explain why, if you did. I'm open to other opinions! 

Okay, let's chat about this. I really wanted to like this book, I feel like I've read quite a few WWII/Holocaust books lately, and they have been among the best books I've ever read (The Book Thief, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, just to name a couple), and I've seen some excellent documentaries on the same subject (The Rape of Europa was a fascinating look at the loss of art, particularly from Jewish-run galleries and collectors as well as from museums. Highly recommended!), so I'm already in this WWII mindset, and just fascinated with it.

So, it starts out alternating between two stories, that of a young girl from a Jewish family in Paris in 1942, and that of a 40-something American woman in modern day Paris. I found the quick transitions between the two stories in the beginning really jarring, and just when you have really connected with this young girl, and really want to know more about her experience, the story shifts solely to modern times. 

I really had a hard time with Julia. I'm reading all about this horrific event, where families are rounded up, crowded into a velodrome under deplorable conditions, and then torn apart and sent to different camps, and, of course killed. It just made me not really care about her first world problems. Also, I really couldn't understand her difficulty in making a decision about having an abortion. As soon has her husband said that's what he wanted, the marriage was over. That kind of ultimatum, to me, is the end of any relationship. If she went through with it, how could she live with this man who would ask such a thing of her? I thought it was just a cheap dramatic ploy. Ugh! And then the whole attraction between her and Sarah's son, I just didn't see it, it was like a cheese-y romance novel. I did like the development of the character of her father-in-law, and I thought Mamé was someone I would have liked to know more about, but they were the only ones in the modern Paris that I liked. The rest just seemed so underdeveloped and little more than caricatures. 

I think there was enormous potential here, and rather than having the two POVs of Julia and Sarah, I would have loved to have read some other character's perspectives, like the policeman that let Sarah escape, the older couple that took her in, and even Sarah's husband and son, and seeing how the grown-up Sarah coped with her past. Oh, and one other thing that I didn't understand was the author referring to Sarah as "the girl" until she tells the older couple her name. As if we don't know who she is. The name of the book is Sarah's Key, I think we all know what her name is. Was it a literary device that I am too dense to have gotten? 

Okay, I'll stop here, but please, oh please, if you have read this book can we have a discussion in the comments? I would so appreciate it! 

What are you planning to do this Autumn? Here's what I want to accomplish by the end of the year:

• Finish Christmas shopping/making by the first week of December
• Find the perfect  cream of mushroom soup recipe (I think I'll start with this one, Ina never lets me down!)
• Bake a Ginger Pear Upside-down Cake
• Bake a pear tart
• Bake an apple cake
• Make lots of pickles for gifts
• Finish a quilt
• Finish current knitting projects before starting a new one
• Go on a hike
• Clean up the garden
• Plant some cold-weather vegatables (Kale, spinach, etc)
• Plant pansies and flowering kale in pot on the porch
• Make a desk for the guest room, so I can work there on my laptop instead of sitting in bed or on the couch
• Chop wood for the stove and start building fires (I need to learn how to split wood, I think that will be a good skill to develop)
• Move the mulch to the garden
• Build another planting box

I can't wait to eat this cake again! 

I am pleased to report that I have organized all my knitting. I've cleaned out the stash yarn, made plans to use most of what I have left, cleaned up my Ravelry queue, and am working away on a few things that I want to finish asap, so I can cast on some other things that are ready and waiting-yarns and patterns together in bags, hanging from the hooks in my little studio, just hoping to be cast on soon. Whew, that feels so good! 

I finished one mitt to go with my much loved shawl, and the other should be done shortly. These will be worn regularly this winter. I just love these patterns, the stripey-ness and the lacy-ness of them. 

And because I have been making progress on my Tea Leaves cardigan (button bands are done! sleeves are underway!), I just thought I'd go ahead and cast on a big, lacy shawl. It's just that the yarn, it was sitting there so prettily, I couldn't help myself.

It's Malabrigo Lace (the color is Bobby Blue), and oh my goodness, it knits up like a soft, soft cloud. Those two skeins should become a big shawl that will weigh nearly nothing. This is my first time knitting with Malabrigo, but I really think I need to try every yarn they make. I should, right?

And mostly unrelated, I just thought I would jump on the "what's in your bag?" bandwagon, and take a picture of the contents of my purse. This is one of very few places that I have complete control, and I like to keep it super tidy and organized. Doing this I realized that I really need a much cuter case for my sunglasses, and a much cuter cover for my check book. Why have I been carrying it around in the navy vinyl monstrosity that came with the checks? What is wrong with me? I'll take another picture when I remedy these things, don't you worry. 

What is the state of your bag? What all do you carry around with you? 

I'm having kind of a good time finishing some things that were started a long time ago. Here are just a few: 

A long ago thrift store find, this little display shelf was dusty, dark wood. I think it still needs one more coat of glossy paint, I just had some flat spray paint, but I love it so much more in white. It's nice to have a place to showcase some tiny treasures that I love. 

A simple appliqué quilt I started long, long ago. I finished sewing the three big flowers and their stems, so now I just need to get some batting, figure out the backing, quilt, and bind the whole thing. I love the saturated colors of these batik fabrics. I know they're maybe not so modern and hip, but I don't care. I'll probably hand quilt it with lots more of the same bright colors. 

It's nice and chilly in the evening, so I've picked up the knitting needles again! This is the Tea Leaves cardigan (Ravelry link) I started in March, and that is the bottom edge, just about ready to be cast off. Then I'll just have to do the sleeves and the button band, and I'll have a new sweater for this autumn!

There are a couple more projects in the works, and all this suits my ADD style just fine. I've also managed to hem my living room drapes, which have been hanging there un-hemmed for longer than I'd like to admit. There's also another porch project that I hope to finish this weekend that I think is going to be very cute. 

Luckily, Winston keeps me company in my little house studio as I work on all these projects. It really must be fall, his summer haircut is growing out quite nicely! 

I think Mr. Heylucy could live on a diet that alternated soups and sandwiches, with the occasional combo of both at the same meal. Luckily, I pretty much agree with him, I like soup and enjoy a good sandwich myself. I have long loved Vietnamese Banh Mi, and have an eternal inner struggle when going to my favorite Vietnamese restaurant: pho or banh mi? It's so hard to decide. Until now, banh mi were a take-out treat, but a friend sent me a link to this recipe from the traveler's lunchbox, and now I can make them at home too! I think every ingredient is important here, so don't skip anything!

I made a whole jar of daikon/carrot pickles, which are the most time-consuming part of these sandwiches, but since they can be used for other things as well, they're worth having on hand. The bread is key, and I was lucky to find that the deli inside the big Asian grocery store I frequent sold the rolls individually. Vietnamese baguettes have a definite French influence, but they use rice flour which somehow makes them lighter on the inside, and shatteringly crisp on the outside. If you can't get the real deal, try to find rolls that are soft (not too chewy), with a thin crust that will get nice and crispy in a warm oven. 

There's just something about the warm, sweet and salty, sliced pork paired with the fresh, cool vegetables that makes my mouth water. My regular restaurant banh mi also includes an egg, cooked over easy, so the warm, runny yolk adds a delicious sauce on top of all those crisp vegetables. I didn't include the egg this time, but that extra step would be worth including the next time, I think.