Knit Two, Kate Jacobs

I was given the opportunity to read an advance copy of Kate Jacobs' latest book. You may remember me giving away a few copies of her book "Comfort Food" a while back. As I stated, I have a ton of things going on here currently and the thought of setting aside time to read weighed on me. However, Thursday afternoon she drew me in.

I am not sure which character actually snagged me. Was Darwin, with her odd name and lists? Dakota in her youthful zest to taste life and leave everything behind? Or Catherine? Oh Catherine. I found myself telling her to just live life, intead of trying to manage every second.

I must admit, I'm jealous. Flat out jealous. Not of Kate Jacobs, but of the circle of friends she created in this series of book. They are just a group of women, ordinary women who have knitting in common. But I have walked through the door of knitting shops, many times, to find an eclectic group of women gathered round chattering about this and that, only to fall silent at the presence of a stranger. I always felt as if I was intruding. Not until I read Knit Two did I come to an understanding about those groups of ladies. It wasn't that I was intruding at all. I only had stumbled upon a group of knit together women, trading stories of their past week. And last year, and five years or even possibly ten together. I just wasn't part of their afghan, so to speak.

I've not been a part of such a group. My heart fills with envy as my sister speaks of her book discussion group, and her great Christmas party each year. Over the years these groups have grown together and apart, sharing their triumphs and joys, the trials and hardships, and all things in between with each other. Kate Jacobs has captured those group in her book so well, I feel the need to find one!

Knit Two is a delightful read worthy of the few days it may take you to read it. It is predictable in parts and surprising in others. In the end, I'm glad I picked it up and now am going to go purchase the first book The Friday Night Knitting Club in the series to see where this all began.

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The Book List

The world is giving up on literature. We're all too busy. We read how-to books, cook books, self-help books, books related to our careers and a plethora of short stpries and essays pertaining to current events. However as a whole adults have dropped their literature books on the shelf. So I've got this list.

And what a list it is. You've probably seen it before. We were all forced to read during school. But how many of you have read or re-read any of these books since? I've read the bold titles. Some of them not for a long time. Others have been read in their native tongues. And by the way, where is Dumas on this list?

1. Pride and Prejudice-Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings-JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre-Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series-JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird-Harper Lee
6. The Bible-Have you read it cover to cover?
7. Wuthering Heights-Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four-George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials-Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations-Charles Dickens
11. Little Women-Louisa May Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles-Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22-Joseph Heller
14. Complete works of Shakespere
15. Rebecca-Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit-JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong-Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye-JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveler's Wife-Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch-George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind-Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby-F. Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House-Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace-Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy-Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited-Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment-Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath-John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland-Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows-Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina-Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield-Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia-CS Lewis
34. Emma-Jane Austen
35. Persuasion-Jane Austen
36. The Kite Runner-Khaled Hosseini
37. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin-Louis De Bernieres
38. Memoirs of a Geisha-Arthur Golden
39. Winnie the Pooh-AA Milne
40. Animal Farm-George Orwell
41. The Da Vinci Code-Dan Brown
42. One Hundred Years of Solitude-Gabriel Garcia Marquez
43. A Prayer for Owen Meaney-John Irving
44. The Woman in White-Wilkie Collins
45. Anne of Green Gables-LM Montgomery
46. Far From The Madding Crowd-Thomas Hardy
47. The Handmaid’s Tale-Margaret Atwood
48. Lord of the Flies-William Golding
49. Atonement-Ian McEwan
50. Life of Pi-Yann Martel
51. Dune-Frank Herbert
52. Cold Comfort Farm-Stella Gibbons
53. Sense and Sensibility-Jane Austen
54. A Suitable Boy-Vikram Seth
55. The Shadow of the Wind-Carlos Ruiz Zafon
56. A Tale Of Two Cities-Charles Dickens
57. Brave New World-Aldous Huxley
58. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Mark Haddon
59. Love In The Time Of Cholera-Gabriel Garcia Marquez
60. Of Mice and Men-John Steinbeck
61. Lolita-Vladimir Nabokov
62. The Secret History-Donna Tartt
63. The Lovely Bones-Alice Sebold
64. Count of Monte Cristo-Alexandre Dumas
65. On The Road-Jack Kerouac
66. Jude the Obscure-Thomas Hardy
67. Bridget Jones's Diary-Helen Fiedling
68. Midnight’s Children-Salman Rushdi
69. Moby Dick-Herman Melville
70. Oliver Twist-Charles Dickens
71. Dracula - Bram Stoker
72. The Secret Garden-Frances Hodgson Burnett
73. Notes From A Small Island-Bill Bryson
74. Ulysses-James Joyce
75. The Bell Jar-Sylvia Plath
76. Swallows and Amazons-Arthur Ransome
77. Germinal-Emile Zola
78. Vanity Fair-William Makepeace Thackeray
79. Possession-AS Byatt
80. A Christmas Carol-Charles Dickens
81. Cloud Atlas-David Mitchell
82. The Color Purple-Alice Walker
83. The Remains of the Day-Kazuo Ishiguro
84. Madame Bovary-Gustave Flaubert
85. A Fine Balance-Rohinton Mistry
86. Charlotte’s Web-EB White
87. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
88. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
89. The Faraway Tree Collection-Enid Blyton
90. Heart of Darkness-Joseph Conrad
91. The Little Prince-Antoine De Saint-Exupery
92. The Wasp Factory-Iain Banks
93. Watership Down-Richard Adams
94. A Confederacy of Dunces-John Kennedy Toole
95. A Town Like Alice-Nevil Shute
96. The Three Musketeers-Alexandre Dumas
97. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-Roald Dahl
98. Les Miserables-Victor Hugo
99. One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest-Ken Kesey
100. The Scarlet Letter-Nathaniel Hawthorne

As I peruse the list, there are some, I would not categorize as literature. Maybe pop literature, but not the classics I've grown to enjoy. There was an absence of books I thought for certain would be on the list like Slaughterhouse Five, Atlas Shrugged and Frankenstein. I know I've not read many of them lately. Maybe a good read in is in order for fall. Where to start?

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Giveaway time!

Go over to the food blog and participate in a book or bag giveaway! I'm going away, to a university graduation. I'll be back Monday and the drawing will take place then. Hopefully some of you will win!

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Reading - Craft Inc.

For my recent birthday, thanks to one of the offspring, I was able to purchase this book. I have to say I am only into the third chapter but it has already made a difference in that I am doing. Meg Ilasco has settled my mind.

I am doing several craft fairs coming up for the holidays. I thought I needed to have a lot of things for people to buy. Meg has helped me understand the difference between a lot of things and a lot of your artwork. I am a crafter. I can do all kinds of things, but I am learning that the more dedicated I am to one medium the better I'll do. It makes complete sense. Sometimes I look back and wonder how I got so far. But then again, it is all about learning and doing.

If you are thinking being an artisan or professional crafter, I suggest purchasing this book and applying its principles. It will help you to focus your efforts and possibly lead you in the path of success.

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