I finished Kate Jacob’s series of books on The Friday Night Knitting Club! I read them all in a matter of four to five days actually. I don’t so much read books as I devour them. Especially when it’s a topic I love! When I was a little and learning to read, I struggled tremendously. I vividly remember the special classes and hours of flash cards with my mother. I HATED it at the time, but age has shown me the wisdom of those lessons. I can now speed read….and for comprehension. This skill greatly enhanced my test taking skills as a student and continues to aid me in my professional life.
Having said all that, I would also like to point out that I am not literary stickler. I don’t read for grammar, punctuation, or structure. I read for fun, to be pulled into the story and create it in my head. After years of stage acting and script reading, I read books to get lost in the story and put myself in the footsteps of the characters. (I will note as a disclaimer that several other readers in their review of this series HATED the way Jacobs writes in fractured and incomplete sentences. Ha, I didn’t even notice!)
I personally loved this series, especially the first book The Friday Night Knitting Club. The book follows a series if characters in a knitting shop and in their lives in New York City. The main focus is the shop owner, Georgia Walker and her daughter. I found all the characters to be well developed and unique from one another. The knitting references were accurate and sounded super adorable. No spoilers, but the end of the book really threw me for a loop.
The second book, Knit Two, picks up five years later with the same characters dealing with the ramifications of book one. I enjoyed this book (not as much as the first) and still found I was invested in the character stories. Both books are full of love, angst, family drama, knitting, and friendship. I blasted through the second book in less than a day.
I got a little lost in book three, Knit The Season. This book tried to wrap every characters story up with a nice neat bow. Life doesn’t always work out like that but it’s nice to pretend once in awhile. This book did stir up some feelings/memories about the holidays and family. That was both nice and bittersweet for me.
As a whole, I recommend this series to knitters of all ages and skill. All three books include recipes and knitting patterns for items referenced in the story. Nothing I just had to make right away, but lovely all the same! I plan on keeping these novels on my shelves and I bet I reread them in the future!
Happy Knitting!
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