Snippets of SnapDragon

A short critique of Kate Jacobs’ The Friday Night Knitting Club

Greetings, Fellow Bookworms!

Now that I’m back from my little hiatus, it’s time to resume our Book-of-the-Month feature.

It’s true, since my last BOTM post (August) I’ve read about six books and counting (go me!).

So while I usually just focus on my most recent read for these posts, I had to actually choose which book was worthy of my BOTM designation. (Yikes!)

Okay. As usual, I’m making too much of things. On with the review, Snap.

. . .

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (2007)

I suppose I chose to read this book because:

A) It was a part of a bag sale at my local used book store and

B) Its title comforted me. While I don’t knit, I do tend to spend my Friday nights curled up with the fur babies and/or some other Grandma-like activity. That’s me, yo.

Simply put, I enjoyed this one.

It wasn’t mind-blowing or even “impossible to put down” as the back cover proclaimed.

Some of the dialogue was, well, a bit amateur at times.

But it was entertaining.

I felt connected to the characters by the story’s end.

The analogous ties between knitting and relationships was solid, even poetic.

And to be completely fair, when I finished the last page, I found myself Googling the sequel. (There are two, in fact. I added them both to my ever-growing shelf, so that says something all on its own.)

So should you rush out and find this, ASAP?

Certainly not.

But if you’re looking for a simple, feel-good read, then this one’s for you.

Favorite passage: (scans through dog-eared pages, eyes darting about)

knit and purl

These stitches are the fundamentals of knitting and are the basis of every garment. The knit stitch is a series of flat, vertical loops that produces a knitted fabric face and the purl stitch is its reverse. One side is smooth, the other bumpy. Knit is what you show the world; purl is the soft, nubbly underside you keep close to the skin (Jacobs).

So there we have it!

Happy reading, friends.

And happy knitting, if that’s your thing.