Book #16 in 2014

Blossom Street Brides by Debbie Macomber.

Latest installment of the happenings on Blossom Street, loosely centered on the local yarn shop, A Good Yarn.  Sickeningly sweet romance, but not so bad I didn't read it in just a few sittings.

4 stars for what it is: chick-lit romance.

Book #5 in 2014

A Dark and Stormy Knit by Anne Canadeo.

Is the murder of a local co-ed related to the Knit Kats, a group of anonymous yarn graffiti artists?  Maggie Messina and her Black Sheep Knitters are on the case, along with the local cops, of course.

4 stars for chick-knit-lit.  Subtract one for the non-crafty.

Book #18 in 2013

Starting Now, A Blossom Street Novel by Debbie Macomber.

Libby Morgan is laid off from her high-powered job and begins to build a life for herself that includes friends, volunteering, and romance.  When she goes back to work, will it all fall apart?

Not much to do with Blossom Street except for a few visits to the local stores.  Brief appearances by Lydia, the yarn shop owner.

The macaroni and cheese of literature:  comforting when my life was feeling chaotic.

4 stars, for what it is.

Book #26 in 2012

Till Death Do Us Purl by Anne Canadeo.  A Black Sheep Knitting Mystery.

Cute enough story in the crafting mystery genre.  The Black Sheep knitting group works together to find who murdered a newlywed chemist, while trying to clear the name of his knitting widow.

3.5 stars.

Book #20 in 2012

Casting About by Terri Dulong.

More about the characters from Spinning Forward.  Kind of a yawner about newlywed Monica whose world is upended when her 8 year old step daughter comes to live with her and her new husband.

Feel good tripe.

3 stars as chick lit.

Book #19 in 2012

Knit One, Pearl One by Gil McNeil.

More about Jo, the widowed knitting shop owner as she tries to navigate work, family, and friends.  Not very interesting, but enjoyable.  I like Jo's attitude about kids - loves them, but they are not ZOMG! the specialist snowflakes ever!

4 stars as knitty chick-lit.

Book # 3 in 2012

Spells & Stitches by Barbara Bretton.

I believe this is third in the series which follows Chloe, a sorceress and the town of Sugar Maple which is composed entirely of other worldly beings - ghosts, trolls, fae, fairies, etc.

Good book for what it is.

3.5 stars.

ETA: Snooping around Amazon shows I may have missed book 3 and this is actually book 4 in the series.

Book #26 in 2011

All Wound Up, the yarn harlot writes for a spin by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

Knitting humor, if there is such a thing. Not as good as some of her previous books, but not as bad as others.

4 stars for fan-girls
3 stars for non-fan-girl knitters

I can't imagine anyone else reading this.

Book #5 in 2011

Needles and Pearls by Gil McNeil.

Follow-up to The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club. More about Jo, her boys, her gran and the folks in Broadgate. Ok story with some interesting twists.

3.5 stars for readers who knit.

Book #31 in 2010

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off, The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

Not my favorite SPM book, but enjoyable for a Knitter. I think there wasn't really enough material here for an entire book. It felt very stretched out. The material would have better made a nice series of magazine articles, I think.

3 stars. Add a star if your a total Yarn Harlot group. Subtract a star if you're not a knitter.

Book #30 in 2010

Spinning Forward by Terri Dulong.

A simple story of a middle-aged woman's coming of age. The descriptions of the island will have you checking out maps and dreaming of tropical vacations. The conflicts and their resolutions were a bit contrived, but overall it was an enjoyable read that I finished in a few days.

3.5 stars. Maybe subtract a half a star if you're totally uninterested in knitting/spinning/crafts. I don't think this is just a book for knitters though.

Book #26 in 2010

Sweater Quest, My Year of Knitting Dangerously by Adrienne Martini.

I liked this book, despite its inclusion of history which is usually a snoozer for me. It cleared up much of the mystery about designer Alice Starmore (SWMNBN she who must not be named) and her legal machinations. I wonder how much appeal the book would have for non-knitters, though.

Since I'm not a non-knitter though, I give it 4 stars.

Book #22 in 2010

Home is Where the Wine Is by Laurie Perry.

I love Crazy Aunt Purl and her blog, but sadly, didn't love this book. Oh, it was written in her easy-to-read, chatty style (which I enjoyed), but didn't seem like it had all that much to say. I guess this is because most of the chapters seemed like repeats to me - not exactly quoting the blog, but restating some of the previous info contained therein. I think someone who didn't follow her blog compulsively would enjoy it more.

That said, I came to the first pattern at the end and couldn't wait to cast on a set of handwarmers. And I still wish I lived close enough to be Laurie's friend.

Book #9 in 2010 (Audio)

Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs. Read by Carrington MacDuffie.

Third installment of the Friday Night Knitting Club series. Ho, hum. Maybe it's time for Ms. Jacobs to retire these characters. Also, I didn't care for the reader. She made Kathryn and KC sound too whiny.

7.5 Hours.

Barely three stars. The writing is ok, but come on, a little plot, please.

Book #6 in 2010

Knit Lit, Sweaters and Their Stories...and Other Writing About Knitting by Linda Roghaar and Molly Wolf, editors.

A book of short stories about yarn and knitting. What's not to like?

Four stars.

Book #35

Things I Learned from Knitting whether I wanted to or not by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

Another great book by the Yarn Harlot. Forty-five short essays about knitting. What could be better? (Ans: 50 essays!)

4.5 stars. Another book I should own. Actually, I think I do own it, but I couldn't find it, so I got it from the library this time. I pretty sure this is the book I bought when I got to see her at the Tattered Cover a while back.

Book #34

At Knit's End, Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

A great book by The Yarn Harlot. It was hard to put down, but you really need to sometimes to digest and contemplate each short essay. I really must buy a copy of this to keep on my nightstand.

I'm guessing non-knitters wouldn't care for this, but who cares. It's a 5-star book full of wooly goodness.

Book #32

Yarn Harlot, the Secret Life of a Knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

Great book of humorous knitting stories. I think this is my favorite SPM book. Love "The Green Afghan" and the fiber-stealin' squirrel stories. Enjoyable for any knitter.

Knitters can give this book an extra star!

Book #27

The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil.

A so-so novel about a widow who leaves London and heads to a small village by the sea to take over her grandmothers knitting shop.

I didn't love this book. I might not have finished it even if knitting hadn't been so prominently featured. My biggest dislike is that the novel was written in England English, not American English. I was constantly having to figure out the American equivilent of various words and phrase; idioms were especially troublesome. Each time one of these arose, I was pulled out of the story and back into real life.

Had this book been "translated" into American, I probably would have given it another star. Anglophiles, start your engines.

Book #19

Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber. The fourth book in the series about a yarn store in Seattle (A Good Yarn) and the people around it. It revisits the characters from the previous books and adds some new ones to the mix.

Ok, I admit I like a happy ending and I'm not a huge fan of conflict, so this book was a nice, relaxing read for me. As such, I'm giving it 4.5 stars. Call it a "beach read" or "chick lit", but I really enjoyed it.

Anyone who prefers great literature and lofty themes should steer clear of Debbie M and her novels.