Have you ever read a novel about knitting? I’ve read a few but have been finding myself drawn to the depressing as opposed to the fun recently! Last summer I bought The Friday night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (soon to be released at the cinema I hear!) whilst on holiday in St Ives. Me and the hubby had been wandering around the town and came across a lovely little book shop who quickly ordered the hardback version in for me in the short time before we came home (not an ideal thing to carry around whilst you’re backpacking though!) I read it almost instantly as it really was a book I couldn’t put down, but how depressing was it!??!?! Extremely!! I did enjoy it in a kind of sadistic way but was convinced that I wouldn’t read it again as I’m not very good with the personal tragedy type of story, it just depresses me. I have since leant it to another knitting-librarian at work who loves depressing novels!
Last October I placed a hold on another knitting novel, this time The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. It finally got to me last week and yesterday lunchtime I started it! I sat there for 2 hours solid and read, then this afternoon I came home and finished it. Yet another one I couldn’t put down and yet another one which made me absolutely ball my eyes out! This book, like the previous, centered around a group of women pulled together by their individual tragedies and they all were brought together by knitting. I find this absolutely fascinating. Each woman in The Knitting Circle had taken up knitting as a way of dealing with an issue in their lives which is exactly why I took up knitting again after so many years, and indeed why two of my closest friends probably did too. Knitting is a great way to pass the time and is a great hobby to take up but I think there are some of us who definitely take it up as a way to take our minds off something else. With me it was the awful 3 months off work. I have one more called Knitting by Anne Bartlett to read. I haven’t read a review of it but was merely browsing Amazon and came across it. I have no idea what it’s about (other than the obvious) so I don’t know if it’ll be a weepy but I’ll let you know.
I have read either the Friday Night Knitting Club or the Knitting Circle. Can’t quite remember which. I whipped through it and enjoyed it immensely but couldn’t tell you the plot. My co-workers were passing it around our library too.
Knitting definitely helps me when I’m feeling down. The worst thing I can do when I’m down in the dumps is do nothing. I need to keep active and knitting with other knitters is a great way of spending an evening and having a laugh. I might avoid the books for a bit though.
Have just read what that other book is about – yet more human tragedy!!! I’ll still read it though – I’m a glutton for punishment!
The Friday night knitting club is the one about the mother and daughter who own a knitting store, the Knitting Circle is about the mother who loses her daughter and so learns to knit!
x
I haven’t read those but my mother bought me some book called Knitting Bones (or something like that) and it is a knitting themed mystery. It. Is. Awful. I think it kinda turned me off of all other knitting themed novels.