The Friday Night Knitting Club- Kate Jacobs

page count: 360

After giving up temporarily on Mansfield Park, I wanted a quick and easy read that let me get lost in its pages.  I found it in this book.  I was able to completely lose myself in the story of a knitting club and the lives of its individual members.

The book follows Georgia and her daughter Dakota.  Georgia is a single mom who opened a knitting store 12 years earlier to support her and her daughter.  The store has been featured in a couple of magazine articles and newspapers, so it is beginning to make a name for itself.  Anita, an older lady who helps out at the store, starts an unofficial Friday Night Knitting Club, where anyone can come, sit around, and work on knitting projects while they talk about life.  Everything is going along fine and good until James, the father of Dakota, comes back into the picture, wanting to be a part of  Dakota's life.  This spins everything out of control as Georgia has to decide whether or not to let James back into her life.

The book also follows the other members of the club: Anita and her struggle to join the dating scene again after the death of her husband, Darwin, who doesn't knit, but is writing her thesis, using the club as research, Peri who also works at the store, but is starting her own purse line, KC, an old co worker of Georgia's who is making some big life changes, and Lucie who has decided that she wants a baby, with or without a man in her life.

Like I said, this book was a fairly quick read.  I basically started and finished it over a weekend.  The story draws you in, and you get wrapped up in the lives of these women.  Besides the fact that Georgia owns her own business and it is successful, just like I want my future bookstore to be, I was able to relate to all of the characters in some way or another.  The women in the book are just average, everyday women going after their dreams.  I loved that about this book.

I would  recommend this book to anyone looking to escape their own world for a while.  It allowed me to visit New York and make some friends, which is what a good book should do in my opinion: take you away for a couple of hours.

Next up, I'm reading 1776.  I'm enjoying it so far, but have reached a dilemma.  Do I finish this book before jumping into the library books I checked out, or do I just read the library books first since I own 1776?  These are the tough questions in life. . . :)

Until next time,

~Tara

Mansfield Park- Jane Austen

So I would like to say that I finished this book and enjoyed it. But I can say neither of those things.  I had to take a break from Mansfield Park.  I found the book hard to follow, and that led it to be hard to enjoy.  I would get lost in conversations.  I would forget who characters were and had to go back to find out who that character was.  I'm pretty disappointed in this because I love Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility a LOT.  I don't know if it's the fact that I'm so busy and stressed that made it hard for me to enjoy, or if it's the book itself.  I'm hoping that if I take a break and come back to it, I will have a different opinion.  I mean,  I didn't like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at first, but after taking a few months and trying it again, I ended up LOVING it. . . and then becoming obsessed with the entire series.  So maybe that will happen with Mansfield Park.  I know I like Jane Austen's writing, so hopefully I can come back to this book and enjoy it.

I am a little behind on my posts because I took a vacation to visit my mom in Colorado.  I did finish another book that I will write about, so look for that soon!

Until then,

~Tara

Just an Update

Hello fellow readers!

I just thought I'd give you guys a quick update so that no one thought Ash and I were slacking on our posting. Ash just started her first semester of school, as well as her new job, so her posts might be few and far between.  We'll see how that goes. Unless you all are anxious to hear about the text books she is reading for school. But I doubt she would want to write about those on here.  It might just be me posting for a while.

As for me, I am still making my way through Mansfield Park. I'm finding it hard to get through, to be honest, which makes me kind of sad.  I've been pretty stressed the last week or so with work, and since I'm finding this particular book hard to read, I'm not as anxious to sit down with it in order to relax.  But I'll fill you in on the details later. I just wanted everyone to know that I was reading, just not as fast as normal.

Let me know if there are any books I should be reading!!! I need some suggestions!  Some of the people closest to me might think that I don't need any more books to read, but I think I do.  So if you are hesitant about reading a book because you don't know if you'll like it, let me know and I'll try and read it and tell you if it's worth your time :)

Happy reading!!!

~Tara

Sugar Cookie Murder- Joanne Fluke

If I were to have to name my top 5 favorite things (and I said THINGS, not people), 2 of those things would be recipes and a good story.  The Hannah Swenson series (of which this book is a part) combines both of those things into one fantastic binded bundle of happiness for me.  So I will give you a low down on the series before I give a summary of this book in particular.

Hannah Swenson owns a cookie shop (which I imagine as kind of being like all the cupcake stores that have popped up over the past few years) in a small town in Minnesota.  She is kind of dating 2 guys, one of them a dentist and the other a detective.  Her family all lives in town with the exception of her dad, who has passed away, and her baby sister, who is off at school.  Basically in every book, Hannah will find a dead body or is with someone when a dead body is discovered. Hannah then solves the murder. While the plot in each story may sound predictable, it is far from it. I love these books because: A. there are recipes. B. There are some surprising endings to the stories and C. the characters actually develop a lot throughout the series.  I love reading these books and finding out if Andrea (Hannah's sister) has had her baby or if Lisa (her partner at the cookie shop) is going to get engaged to Herb.  Like I said,the stories develop well and you get to keep up with the characters.

So now to the summary of this particular book.  The novel itself was 200 pages with an additonal 166 pages of recipes :)  YAY!  I won't lie, while I was reading this I noticed that there weren't recipes between chapters like there normally is and I got a little bummed. I flipped through the pages a bit to see if I was getting jipped and saw that there was a TON in the back and all was well.  ANYWAYS. . . in this particular story, Hannah is hosting a Christmas potluck for the town of Lake Eden.  The reason behind it is that she is collecting recipes and compiling them into a cook book that is getting published (they discuss this in some previous books. . . see continuing story line). She is kind of having a taste test thing and using the Christmas Potluck and as way to carry this out.  At the party, a recently divorced resident of Lake Eden shows up with his new wife, a Vegas showgirl.  As the party goes on, it is discovered that an antique cake knife that was supposed to be used on the desserts has gone missing. Hannah goes on the prowl to find it and discovers that it was used to murder the new Vegas showgirl wife. She grabs her sometimes man Mike the detective and they decide that most likely the murderer is still at the potluck because of the weather conditions so the building goes on lock down until the murder is solved. Hannah and her sisters end up solving the murder and the Christmas Potluck ends in success.

Like I've said, I love these books, so this one was no exception.  I love that stuff from previous books in the series carries in to this one.  This series is one that I would read in order, so I can't read another one until I buy the next book. Trip to Barnes and Noble anyone???? I recommend these books to anyone who loves a good mystery and a love of sweets.  I can't wait to attempt some of the recipes in the series!

Next up on my reading list: Mansfield Park.  I love me some Jane Austen!  I've actually never read this book before, but I love Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility, so I don't see why this one would be any different.

Sorry for the long post!

Happy Reading!

Tara

The Red Queen- Philippa Gregory

Book: The Red Queen
Author: Philippa Gregory
Page Number: 424

Summary-
          Margaret Beaufort is heiress to the house of Lancaster, the royal house of England, who is in constant struggle with the their opposing house of York for the throne. At a young age Margaret wishes to give her life to God's will, but is instead married at the young age of 12, and gives birth to a son that she is determined to see as King of England. Margaret must watch her step as she is forced into loveless marriages, alliances, treason, and civil war as she works toward her dream of restoring Lancaster to the throne, becoming "My Lady and King's Mother", and "Signing her name Margaret R."

My Opinion-
       I have a bias for Philippa Gregory and her novels. I love the Tutor era, and love Gregory's writing style. Historical fiction is a genre I enjoy, and I find the characters in her books to  be complex and well rounded; this novel was no difference.
       Margaret was hypocritical, self-righteous, stubborn, and in many instances immature; but she was also determined, smart, and a realistic character. I thought her to have more flaws than saving graces, but this kept me entranced. Margaret Beaufort was refreshingly human and therefore relatable.
        The story line was detailed, visual, and easy to follow. Though the novel covers a span of many years, the pace is neither to fast or too slow. All the information you need to follow the story is given in ways that don't feel burdensome or boring, and you will feel yourself sucked into the drama of the time.
           In short, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who love historical fiction and drama, but would tell those who can't stand to read about a character they wouldn't like in real life to stay away.

The Host- Stephanie Meyer

So before I go into a summary of this book I just want to let you know that I'm pretty sure Ash is skipping out on writing blogs for the books she's read.  I'm sure she's read at least 5 books since her first post, and yet nothing new from her. I will be having a talk with her later. :)

Alright so The Host was actually surprisingly good, especially for a Stephanie Meyer book.  Having studied English Lit at BYU, I was basically trained to think that Stephanie Meyer was a disgrace to all English Lit peeps from BYU.  But I really really really liked this book. So here's the low down.

The book is 619 pages.  When I started it, I was positive I wasn't going to like it. I just couldn't get into the book and almost gave up.  But after the first few chapters (which are really short by the way), I was hooked. So if you decide to read this and think about changing your mind after the first few pages, get if a chance!

In the book, "souls" have basically taken over the universe, invading all other life forms.  The souls have taken over Earth and its human life forms as well.  Not all humans have been abducted though. There are a few "rebels" left in hiding.  Melanie is a recently abducted human. The soul that overtakes her can't fully over take the body though. Melanie still lives on in her head.  Wanderer (or Wanda as she is called later in the book) has to listen to Melanie talk, live her memories, and feel her emotions. Those emotions and memories lead Wanda to seek out Melanie's brother and one true love.  Wanda finds them in the deserts of Arizona.  Jared and Jamie, along with 35 other humans, have taken refuge in an underground cave/tunnel system.  The rest of the story deals with whether or not the humans will accept Wanda or kill her, whether Melanie is alive inside Wanda or not, and the struggle between Melanie, Wanda, and Jared (Melanie's love).

I won't give away too much else.  Like I said, I really enjoyed this book. I probably would have finished it sooner had I not been required to go to work.  Seriously, put any doubts you might have about Stephanie Meyer aside and give this a chance.  I will admit to having read the Twilight books, and this FAR surpasses the quality of those.  So yeah, give it a chance.

I'm not sure what is next on my reading list.  I'm tempted to read the book I just bought at Barnes and Noble yesterday.  It's part of a series I REALLY like, so that might be next up. But who knows what will happen.

Have a great week and happy reading!!!

~Tara

Shocking Secrets of American History: 115 Surprising and Amusing Tales- Bill Coate

Hello all!

I just finished reading this book by Bill Coate. (page count to come. I'm writing this at work so I don't have the book on me).  I must say, it was a lot less like a book and a lot more like a collection of tid bits, which has it's good and bad aspects.  I liked that instead of chapters the book had little stories, broken up into a page to a page and a half in length.  Readers find out the orgin of the song "taps", learn that we actually had a president who was only in office for a day, and discover the curse that was left after Lincoln's death. 

While the book was very interesting, I don't think I'm a fan of the short story.  I have learned through reading this book that I prefer one continuous story line instead of 115 little diddies.  This is the type of book I would maybe leave in my car for those pesky doctors appointments or things like that where you don't want to get super engrossed in a story line just to get interrupted.

I did learn a lot of cool facts that make me feel all the more nerdy.  I just hope that Mr. Coate isn't leading me astray with any of his tales.  So if you want to learn some weird or little known facts about the US of A, I recommend this book.  But if you are like me and prefer one tale per book, I might suggest finding some other nerdy history book.  I will be reading some more history type books here soon so stay tuned :)

Next on my list is The Host by Stephanie Meyer.  Yes I know, I'm going from some intellectual book to. . . well. . . not so intellectual.  Hopefully this is better than the Twilight series.  I've heard that it is, so lets find out if my friends have led me astray or not.

Adios and Happy Reading :)

~Tara