Knit in Comfort: A Novel

Let me begin this review with thanks to LibraryThing and Avon Publishers for providing me with the opportunity to read this book. Knit in Comfort: A Novel by Isabel Sharpe is one of many books published recently which are centered on a group of women who share knitting as a common hobby. I wanted to love this book, and while I found it engaging enough, I only liked it.


The story revolves around two women. Megan Morgan lives a settled life in Comfort, North Carolina with her husband, children, and mother-in-law. She belongs to the knitting club, Purls before Wine which meets weekly. Even though this is the life Megan wanted, she never really seems content. Needing to supplement the family income, Megan rents out the small garage apartment behind the house to Elizabeth Detlaff. Elizabeth lived in New York City with her boyfriend. In a dream, Elizabeth heard her grandmother tell her to go find “comfort” and she believes that is what she has done! She views Megan’s life as blissfully happy until she sees beneath the surface and realized things may not be the way they seem. And isn’t that true of everyone’s life?




The part that made this story a little more interesting was the introduction of Megan’s stories about her ancestors from the Shetland Islands in Scotland. Fiona, Megan’s great-grandmother, knitted beautiful lace that seemed to tell her story. (This little sample of Shetland Island lace is just one of many beautiful examples I located - oh, if only I could tat lace like that!)
In the beginning, I was more focused on this story until I could figure out who was who. The two stories, Megan’s and Fiona’s, seem to flow together over the course of the book just as Megan and Elizabeth’s stories do.



TITLE: Knit in Comfort: A Novel
AUTHOR: Isabel Sharpe
COPYRIGHT: 2010
PAGES: 320
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: This was an easy book to read and it kept my attention - bonus twist as you learn family secrets. I didn't love it, but not really my cup of tea.

Table Talk Tuesday - 1st ever!

Welcome to the first Table Talk Tuesday meme, hosted by CMash Loves to Read. Hop on over to her blog to participate. The goal is to share a cup of coffee or tea and share three tidbits or ask three questions - either things about yourself or things you want to know.

My Three Things:

1. Do you prefer coffee or tea? I love Starbucks coffee on ice. Not a huge fan of hot coffee. I love, love sweet (Southern sweet) tea. Only drink hot tea when I am sick.

2. I love animals. We have four beautiful chihuahuas at our house. Do you have any pets? Or even a pet preference? I used to have cats but somehow I have become allergic, so I am not strictly a dog person.

3. I read The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay all in this last week - a little late to the games, so to speak!! Have you read them? Do you plan to read them?

I hope you have a great week and enjoy this little coffee break!

The Eternal Ones

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Haven Moore. I's seventeen years old and I live in a town called Snope City in eastern Tennessee. As long as I can remember, I've had visions of another life in New York, a city I've never visited.

My name then was Constance, and I was friends with some members of your Society. I believe I was around twenty years old when I died in a fire in the mid-1920s. (p, 101)

Haven Moore wrote the message above to the Ouroboros Society. She and her best friend Beau decided it was time for her to find out about her past lives, especially since her "spells" are becoming more and more frequent. After seeing Constance's lover on television, Haven runs away to New York to find him. The book becomes a mystery, with psychological twists and frantic escapes. The questions Haven must answer are: Who can she trust? Is the past real? and Can she find love and happiness in the future?

I was a little hesitant at first when I began reading this novel. It seemed disjointed with Haven moving back and forth in time, with other names and other people. Gradually, I really liked Haven and Beau and wanted them to find answers. And I wanted the bad people to be punished. In the end, I was satisfied with the outcome and glad that I had read the book. The strength of the book is that Miller is able to make each character, often the same person but different in time, become real and separate. I also liked the flow of the story, from beginning to end.

I visited the author's website and discovered that she is the creator of Kiki Strike, a young heroine in New York City, which has been very popular. I found a very good interview with Miller at Publisher's Weekly online - Q & A with Kirsten Miller. I would like to thank the publisher, Sleuth Razonbill, for sending me this copy of the ARC of The Eternal Ones. In return, I am providing my honest review of the book.

TITLE: The Eternal Ones
AUTHOR: Kirsten Miller
COPYRIGHT: August 2010
PAGES: 411
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: I had a little bit of difficulty getting into this book, but once it got going, I could not put it down. So if you don't like it at first, give it a chance - it will be worth it.

Sunday Sidelines

So, in my little neck of the woods, it has rained and poured all weekend long. It could not have happened at a better time. I finished The Hunger Games and Catching Fire (both on the Kindle) and now I can start Mockingjay. The only review I allowed myself to read was rather negative, so I am a bit sad because I want it to be as good as the first two. If you have read the final book and would like to encourage me PLEASE leave me a little comment telling me how good it really is! But no spoilers, please.

Please visit Merit Badger to decide which badge you have already earned as a reader or a writer! I read through many of them and have decided that I have earned the Voracious Reader badge:

Sure, writers write. But they should read, too! Earn the “voracious reader” merit badge by giving yourself permission to refill your head with words every now and again.

Since I am always reading two or three books at a time, I think I have earned this one for sure. Visit this unique blog to see which badges you have earned!

1.Bangs :: cut too short
2.Diaper :: change
3.Coffee table :: book
4.Cops :: and robbers
5.Matches :: cigarettes
6.250 :: dollars
7.Hurricane :: Katrina
8.Bad :: news
9.Confirmation :: church
10.Fiber :: One Bar

Unconscious Mutterings is a weekly word association game created by Luna Nina. Visit her blog to play along and see if anyone else matches your answers!!

I have one other question for you today...do you use Intense Debate for your comments, and if so do you like it better than the standard comment management on your platform?

Wishing you a great week ahead.

Blogger Hop Friday - raining and reading The Hunger Games

ABOUT THE HOP:

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read! So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list at Crazy-For-Books!!

The Hop lasts Friday-Monday every week, so if you don't have time to Hop today, go back later and join the fun! This is a weekly event! And go back throughout the weekend to see all the new blogs that are added!

This week's question comes from Books Are A Girls Best Friend!

Do you use a rating system and if so, what it is and why?

I do not use a rating system. I usually end each post with the publication information and my recommendation. I always like it when people DO use a rating system - with one quick glance I can see if they liked it or not. I often think about creating one, but haven't yet - then I would have to decide how to rate each book??#@

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. I just finished The Hunger Games and have started the next book, Catching Fire. Don't be like me and wait forever to read them as the first book was really good. I had to stay up way past my normal bedtime last night just to see what was going to happen. I really appreciate all of the reviews and the excitement surrounding these books over the last few weeks. Your words or praise really encouraged me to read the books. Soon it will be Mockingjay time for me. (All on the borrowed Kindle, I might add.)

Have you read them? Did you love them? Which book was your favorite?

Sunday Sidelines

Good morning and welcome to another Sunday Sidelines!

I reviewed the Kindle and Drive by Daniel Pink this week. I very much liked both!!

It is also time for Luna Nina's Unconscious Mutterings:

1.Leads :: follows
2.Concierge :: tip
3.Thousand :: and one nights
4.Engines :: cars
5.Argument :: constant
6.2006 :: so long ago
7.Knot :: tied
8.F*** :: my life
9.Handsome :: is as handsome does
10.Ridge :: Noth Carolina

I would like to share another website and activity with you this week. It is called Postcrossing and I enjoy it very much! Share postcards with people all over the world. I have been collecting postcards since I was 14 (umm, over 40 years now) and I absolutely love this site. Check it out!!

Check out my review of A Special Fate: Chiune Sugihara, hero of the Holocaust to learn about one of the largest rescues of European Jews during the Holocaust. Another Holocaust review this week is The Good Liar.

I have been doing a lot of reading and hope to get some more posts up soon. But the school year starts tomorrow and I have over seventy students in one class and I am dedicated to establishing a real relationship with each and every one of them (in an online environment) - this involves quite a bit of time. And I expect the library to be very busy as we move into the semester. So we will see where I can carve out reading, reviewing, and posting time!

I would love to hear about your week (grab the logo and leave a comment to your post) and hope you have a great upcoming seven days! !

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

I don't know what to rave about first, the Kindle 2 (which I have checked out from the library where I work) or Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (the very first book that I read on the Kindle). I am now a huge fan of both and wish that I had known the advantages of both much earlier!

Daniel Pink sets the business world, and our personal interactions, on end. Building on work of various psychologists and economists before him, Pink suggests that internal or intrinsic motivators, provided in the way of autonomy, independence, and freedom for creativity, will garner far more results than extrinsic rewards such as money, awards, etc. This approach has been implemented in many forward looking businesses, such as Google and Tom's Shoes.

Another business where these ideas have made a real difference is the Seattle Pike Place Fish Market. Here is their version:

•EMPOWERMENT - The astounding creativity, productivity and profitability that erupts when leaders are willing to be wholly committed to empowering their employees.
•VISION TO REALITY - Any group of people... anybody... can create a powerful vision and have it happen.
•MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD - making a profound and lasting difference in the quality of life in the world is the true purpose of being in business.

Of course, one part that really engaged me was about how to deal with children. Every parent should read this book. Did you hear me? Every. Parent. Should. Read. This. Book! It could change your child's life. Do you pay for grades, or use a bribe to get chores done? These if you do this, then I will do that rewards can have exactly the opposite effect from what you intended. The section on education really struck a nerve with me.

---too many schools are moving in the wrong direction. They're redoubling their emphasis on routines, right answers, and standardization. (location 3487 on Kindle).

I had four children. Three of them went through the Catholic school system in my town. The fourth (a middle child) went private and public...until he dropped out of school at age 16. He is a smart boy - still is, but he fell through all of the cracks of the public school system. Now all of my children are grown and I work in a Curriculum Materials Library, so I work daily with potential new teachers. It is rather sad. We expect the preservice teachers to be creative, to engage young learners, to teach to individuals. But the reality is that it all boils down to how each child, and therefore, each school does on the standardized FCAT test given yearly in the Spring. The scores already determine schools' standings in the county. Officials tried to tie it to teacher compensation (WHAT?), but that failed when put to a vote. So, we are teaching our children how to take that test, give the same correct answers. We are not teaching them how to THINK! And according to Pink, we are sapping out their internal motivation...something we are all born with and systematically lose as we get older, unless we are left to develop our own internal reward system. Sorry about the little diatribe, but it annoys me to no end. How is education "monitored" in your state or country?

Check out the author's webpage and what people are saying about Drive.

Oh goodness, I absolutely love the Kindle. I am a huge fan of the written word - rather words written on paper...well, more specifically words typed on paper and bound in the form of books. But I did dearly love the Kindle experience. It is so light, the type is clear, it was easy to navigate. And oh so many more wonders! If you are like I was, a doubter, do try one. See if your local or academic library has them for checkout...please do not come to my library to get one because then I will have to give this one up and I do so want to read The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and The Hunger Games!!

TITLE: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
AUTHOR: Daniel Pink
COPYRIGHT: 2009
PAGES: who knows, it was on KINDLE!
TYPE: non-fiction
RECOMMEND: I really liked this book. It put some new ideas into my brain and reminded me about one of my favorite management philosophies at the Seattle Fish Market.