Knit the Season

Serendipity. It's one of my favorite words. Wikipedia defines serendipity as "the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something entirely unrelated". Serendipity is a sprinkle of magic. Some days are transformed by serendipity of the best kind, often in relation to books. One afternoon I found a copy of The Giver signed by the author, Lois Lowry, at a used book shop. This was a book I had wanted to read for ages, and now I had an autographed copy! Sometimes the very books I want to read fall right into my lap.

Such was also the case with Knit the Season: A Friday Night Knitting Club Novel. Craving a cozy, comforting book to curl up with and get me in the mood for the holidays, I was thrilled to learn about Kate Jacob's new book, Knit the Season, the third book of a trilogy. When Lydia from Putnam offered to send me an advance reading copy of the book, I felt honored I'd be one of the first to read it.

About a year ago, I discovered the novels of Kate Jacobs. My husband gave me The Friday Night Knitting Club as a birthday gift, because he knew my blog focused mainly on books by women writers. I read and reviewed The Friday Night Knitting Club, and was also lucky to interview Kate Jacobs. This was my first interview with an author. I read the second book in the series, Knit Two, soon after it came out last November.

Knit the Season takes place a year after the second book. I need to be very careful here not to say too much, because I don't want to spoil any of the books in this series by revealing too much. The same lively characters are featured, Dakota, Georgia, Catherine, Gran, James, Peri, Anita, and the rest of the cast. The holidays are coming up (just as they are for us), and James wants to take his family and Catherine to Scotland to visit Gran, who's in her nineties. But Dakota has a conflict, and must decide between career and family. There are also many changes for these characters as they mature a bit and realize what's important in life. Of course, knitting is still a leitmotif, and the Manhattan knitting store, Walker and Daughter, continues to thrive. Friendships between characters have ripened, and there are romances and even wedding plans. Knit this all together (sorry, couldn't help it) and you get a thoroughly charming and enjoyable novel.




















My youngest daughter and I baked Gran's Scrumptious Shortbread, a recipe featured in Knit the Season. We spent an evening mixing up the dough, cutting the shapes, baking them, and, of course, sampling them. We added lingonberry jam to the centers of the circular cookies. Together, we had a taste of the season ahead.

Special thanks to Lydia for sending me this book. Knit the Season will be available for purchase on November 3, 2009. Please stay tuned for another exclusive interview with Kate Jacobs!

Edith and the Mysterious Stranger: Review and Giveaway

It was an offer I couldn't refuse.

Having read the first book, Melinda and the Wild West, I looked forward to continuing my adventures with the second book in this series by Linda Weaver Clarke, Edith and the Mysterious Stranger, published in 2008. When the author graciously offered to send it to me, I jumped at the chance.

Set in 1904, this story takes place seven years after the end of the first book. Melinda is "with child", and having a difficult pregnancy. She's supposed to stay in bed and off her feet as much as possible, although she can't stand the restrictions. Her cousin, Edith, a nurse living in Salt Lake City, Utah, decides to visit her parents in Idaho and help Melinda get through her precarious pregnancy.

While caring for her cousin in Paris, Idaho, beautiful and "spunky" Edith attracts the attention of more than one suitor. Whereas Melinda and the Wild West focuses on the romance between Melinda and Gilbert, this book focuses on multiple romances. The first is the continued romance between Melinda and Gilbert, married now and more in love than ever. There's also a budding romance between Jenny and her father's young helper, David. Last but not least, admirers have taken a romantic interest in Edith. The first is Henry, a school administrator, who's educated and polite, but who believes a woman's place is in the home. Also interested in Edith is Joseph, a farmer and cowhand, who's self-educated and plays the guitar. But Edith is extremely picky when it comes to men.

"Many men had courted Edith, but she inevitably found fault with each one. Either he was too shy or too bold, too ignorant or too proud, too arrogant or too quiet, too short or too tall, too old or too young."
~Edith and the Mysterious Stranger, Linda Weaver Clarke

Edith begins to get letters from a "mysterious stranger", and she shares these romantic letters with Melinda. The author based this story around the courtship of her parents, who wrote letters to each other before they ever met.

As with the first book, history is woven into the story. I learned that Irish immigrants brought the concept of dressing up on Halloween to America, and about the opening of the New York subway in 1904, a response to the terrible blizzard of 1888. An important aspect of this book, also evident in the first book, is the value of equality between the sexes, the emergence of early feminism, and the right to vote in some states. In these books, the central women have professions. Melinda is a teacher and Edith is a singer and a nurse. Traditional women's work--taking care of children and a home--is also appreciated and valued as real work. Even though his tone is stern, what Gilbert says here made me cheer:

'Don't talk to me about these so-called wifely duties. If a man can't help with the household chores, then what kind of husband is he, anyway? I tell you this, I enjoy helping and serving whenever I can. A man who comes in the house after his job is done and then sits down to read a newspaper while his wife is fixing the meal is no example of a husband who truly loves his wife. Why can't a husband help? Is there a written law that wives should wait on their husbands? I don't think so.'
~Edith and the Mysterious Stranger, Linda Weaver Clarke

This book is an enticing combination of genres--Wild West, historical fiction, romance, Christian, mystery--that any reader age twelve and older should enjoy. I certainly did, and look forward to reading the third novel in the series, Jenny's Dream. Linda Weaver Clarke's books are fun to read, and full of adventure and romance.

Exciting news! The author is giving away one autographed copy of Edith and the Mysterious Stranger.

• To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment after this post.
• For an extra chance at winning, become a follower of this blog. If you're already a follower, please indicate that in your comment.
• For an additional chance, post about this giveaway on your blog or Twitter, and let me know.

Enter by Sunday, November 8, 5PM PST. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on Monday, November 9.