Alanna OkunRecensioni

I thought this was going to be a light, humorous read about crafting. One of those books you like just because you can relate.

In reality, Okun wrote more of a reflective memoir (or tried to, anyway) than a collection of crafting essays, and her attempts at humor completely missed the mark for me. She went on and on about how she always has to be in a romantic relationship, and I just felt sad for her.

This book also felt very "written," for lack of a better word. It reminded me of essays I wrote in high school where I was required to use a certain number of "interesting" adjectives, verbs, and adverbs, and use very particular styles of sentence openers, and so on.

There is a lot of language in this. There are several references to sex, though no graphic details are revealed. There are references to teenage sex and teenage drug use.

One excerpt I did like:

"If I read one more article that begins with a line like 'Knitting: it's not just for grandmas anymore!' I'm ripping it up with a felting needle.... Crafters are told that we have to have permission to indulge in our pursuits, bestowed by the Whatever Tribune or blahdiblah.com, because otherwise all we should be is embarrassed by them. That's tacitly what these types of clunky, thoughtless trend pieces do: assume a beginning and an endpoint. They deny roots and they erase nuance, variance, and the lives of actual, real-life people who have spent their passion and energy learning how to create the world they want." (p 19-20)

I did also like the essays about her mom and her sister, but for the most part, this was just "meh." I would not recommend it.

(Side note: She has a lot of anxiety and deals with bouts of trichotillomania, which was a point of interest to me because those things run in my family.)

Disappointing personal essays, touching lightly on knitting and other crafts, but mostly about the writer, her boyfriends, her family, her friends, and her anxiety and obsessions. As a family typical American of her class, career, and background, none of this was especially new or interesting. She did reveal she has no proper yarn hold and can't do Magic Loop, which made me wonder why I was reading her opinions on knitting.½

nonfiction; knitter's memoir - short essays
Okun talks about friendships, grief, relationships, anxiety/panic attacks, family, and other topics, but mostly she talks about knitting. And even if you enjoy such talk, there's surprisingly little interesting to say about knitting. This might work fine as something to listen to while doing your needlework (if you are the type of person who likes to hear other people talk without having to volunteer anything to the conversation), but I didn't find it terribly engaging or even relatable--and I think it even kind of added to my anxiety, a little bit. Not for me, but I'm sure there are folks out there with nicer things to say.

I couldn't resist the title, which was one of the essays in this fairly short, very personal memoir. I was expecting something light and a bit shallow, and was actually pleased that the author explored her relationships with family, friends, and boyfriends through her knitting, embroidery, and crocheting - all of which she calls "crafting." I'm not a knitter, but I could relate to her enthusiasm over various yarns - both color and texture, and her satisfaction with completing a project. I have embroidered and crocheted, but I think anyone who has contemplated their personal relationships would appreciate the author's experiences with her mother, her siblings (especially her sister), boyfriends, and particularly her grandmother who taught her how to knit.

I found many of her observations to be poignant, and the book in general to be thoughtful and genuine.

Everything a crafter wants in an essay book! A collection that is a love/hate letter to a passion that drives one to swear and cause non-crafters to swoon over your fiber work in progress; Written with sharp, funny wit and heartfelt moments of love and loss, this true page-turner will have you soon curling up with your knitting with her stories echoing in your mind between the stitches.

Everything a crafter wants in an essay book! A collection that is a love/hate letter to a passion that drives one to swear and cause non-crafters to swoon over your fiber work in progress; Written with sharp, funny wit and heartfelt moments of love and loss, this true page-turner will have you soon curling up with your knitting with her stories echoing in your mind between the stitches.

This collection of essays was part memoir part love letter to crafting, and I absolutely adored every second of it. It was funny, honest, and relatable. I wanted to crawl inside the book and give Alanna a hug, and then have her teach me how to knit some of the things I've never done before. She has shown how something that seems so small becomes a part of who you are, and put in to words the way many people likely feel. I look forward to reading more from her in the future!

Okun's grandmother taught her to knit when she was six, and she's been involved in various fiber arts (mostly knitting, embroidery, crochet) ever since. In these autobiographical essays, she talks about crafting, and also about significant people in her life: boyfriends, best friends, family. My favorite quote from the book is from one of the early essays, "First Rows," where she talks about a friend who died. "I would always want him in a way that he did not want me, but instead of letting that repel him, he would take it and remake it into a firm and constant friendship." She also says a lot of great things in the titular essay about crafting, about crafting for specific people and what that means, or what you might want it to mean. "Because your gift is an assertion. 'I love you,' it says. 'I love you times ten thousand stitches and fourteen consecutive subway rides. I love you enough to keep you warm, and I love you enough to know what you need and therefore who you are, and in exchange I want you to think of me and want me and feel me there even when I am not with you.'"

This definitely has the feeling of a young person's memoir. Okun occasionally wonders about what the future might hold, and there's definitely a sense that she doesn't have everything figured out yet. I'm not a knitter and failed multiple times at learning to crochet, though I do some embroidery (mostly cross-stitch) and some basic sewing. Still, these essays caught my attention and I found them, for the most part, charming. If you have an interest in fiber arts from a Millennial perspective, I'd recommend this book.

For me, this is the kind of book that after I've read it, I'll never return to it and know EXACTLY which friend to pass it on to.

I really liked the author. She's insightful, writes with conversational ease and warmth, and has a way of capturing feelings that I found myself laughing or nodding at. I felt like I was reading something a friend wrote, without intruding in their thoughts. It was personal, but not intimate, which I mean as a compliment.

Each of the stories captures through a knitting project lens, a significant moment or person in Alanna's life. It's a love story of sorts for boyfriends past, treasured girlfriends and her family.

Of all the chapters, my favorite was the second to the end - the weather was better before you woke up (or something like that). In it, she talks about how fishing is her dad's version of knitting and she hits on something true--everybody has a love language that brings a spark of joy to their soul and helps them make sense and peace with the world.

This book is a charmer. It helps to have a thing for yarn or crafting, but even if you don't, this book is special, touching and loving. Plus, the cover is awesome. Recommended.

Awesome book by an awesome person. Alanna and I were at NHS together and in choir and play stuff together. Her crafting adventures are intoxicating and a breath of fresh air (might have gotten a bit emotional with some parts too...) Highly recommended for anyone interested in crafting or in life lessons in general. A Biography meets Crafting 101 stitching together of short stories. Loved reading every page!

Oh, what a wondrous book! ** I won an ARC in a GOODREADS giveaway. #GoodreadsGiveaway