The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater

Essays on Crafting

By: Alanna Okun

Narrated by: Alanna Okun

Length: 4 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

This program is read by the author.

The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater is journalist Alanna Okun's cozy audiobook memoir about life truths learned through crafting.

People who craft know things. They know how to transform piles of yarn into sweaters and scarves. They know that some items, like woolen bikini tops, are better left unknit. They know that making a hat for a newborn baby isn't just about crafting something small but appreciating the beginnings of life, which sometimes helps make peace with the endings. They know that if you knit your boyfriend a sweater, your relationship will most likely be over before the last stitch.

Alanna Okun knows that crafting keeps her anxiety at bay. She knows that no one will ever be as good a knitting teacher as her beloved grandmother. And she knows that even when we can't control anything else, we can at least control the sticks, string, and fabric right in front of us.

In The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater, Okun lays herself bare and takes listeners into the parts of themselves they often keep hidden. Yet at the same time, she finds humor in the daily indignities all crafters must face (like when you catch the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome and can't possibly finish the second in a pair).

Alanna Okun's newest audiobook will speak to anyone who has ever said to themselves, or to everyone within earshot, "I made that".

©2018 Alanna Okun (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Okun's narration, lightly poignant and occasionally tongue-in-cheek, enhances her witty writing style.... Listeners need not be knitters or crafters to relish Okun's delightful, self-deprecating stories." (AudioFile Magazine)

essays about life that occasionally involve yarn

if michelle tea or Michael chabon wrote a book of essays about knitting it would probably look like this. the prose is beautiful and at times just stops you in your tracks with a sentence so beautifully constructed and poignant that you have to go back and read it again. The essays carry you like waves on a journey of broken hearts, missed connections, anxiety and love all wrapped in a project bag filled with knitting needles, half finished projects, and then endless possibilities of a future that can happen if you just keep making the next stitch.

heartwarming

I wasn't ready for all the emotions this book made me feel. 💔 loved it!

Fantastic!

Loved it! Very poignant, humorous and heartwarming. It made me think about my own life situations and smile.

Beautiful Tales of Life and Knitting

If you're looking for a knitting tutorial, this is not the book for you. If you are a dedicated crafter who understands, like Okun does, what place knitting and crafting has in our hearts and in our relationships, this is the one for you. Okun's essays hit me right in the feels. I don't think I've ever heard someone so accurately describe what it is really like to be a 20-something "millennial" woman, beyond the Buzzfeed listicles and Facebook memes. Trying desperately to "check the boxes" - good college, good job, find a boyfriend, get married, buy a house - but also don't forget to "find your truth!"(does anyone know what that actually means?).

As we transition from teenage years to the mock adulthood of our 20s, Okun examines the people we encounter, changing relationships with family, trying to hold onto childhood and tradition while struggling to craft a new life all your own. It's really great stuff, and she knits her way through it. She inspired me to pick up my knitting needles after many, many years away. She reminded me that my grandma taught me, and, even if I'm still crap at it, I can weave those memories into every stitch. Bravo!

Pleasant to listen to

Pleasant enough to listen to while crocheting. Possibly a little too self-revealing in parts. I'm probably closer to her mother's or grandmother's ages so this gave me to feeling of being in a craft circle where all the "sweet young things" think they just discovered the secret of how to keep your granny squares from twisting in the middle while the old heads smile and nod encouragingly and knowingly. And yes, Ravelry.com is a real thing established in 2007. Welcome to the party!

chicken soup for the crafting soul

a lovely memoir for the reader or listener who loves to craft or loves someone who crafts and can't quite identify why.

Cozy, fun & relatable

I greatly enjoyed this book. It was cozy, fun and relatable. The author did a great job with the narration. I know I will listen to it again and again. It has a real beauty about it and warms my heart. It put a little smile on my face every time I turned it on.

Okay. Stream of consciousness.

The author sounded young and read the book fast. When I realized it might sound better at a slower speed, I slowed it to 75 percent, and that did sound better. I enjoyed some of the thoughts expressed, but at times she sounded spoiled and self-centered. Not my cup of tea.

Great listen

The only objection I had to the collection of essays is that it wasn’t longer. It’s the perfect thing to listen to while knitting- both relatable and inspiring.

thanks but no thanks

it's not a bad book, it's just not what I was looking for. the title had given me the impression that it was a comedy writing, rather than a sort of autobiography.