Review: The Friday Night Knitting Club

Surprise, tears, and the desire to share. After being an avid reader forever, I find that I usually see an ending coming. I’ve usually recognize the foreshadowing and even though I enjoy a book, it’s rare that a book actually totally surprises me at the end. It’s even rarer for it to surprise me with tears. The Friday Night Knitting Club did just that though. I had read good reviews for the book so I purchased it one day on a whim, and I’m so glad I did.

I’ll be honest and tell you that I started this book three times before I actually read it though. There was something about the beginning that seemed slow, and I had a hard time getting involved; however, after the first few chapters I was anxious to get to know the characters more. By the time I made it halfway through the book, I did not want to put it down. I was so anxious to continue the story. And then when the end took such a surprising twist. I was SHOCKED! Kate Jacobs truly did an amazing job of coming up with a real shocker.

The Friday Night Knitting Club is the story or Georgia Walker and her yarn shop, Walker and Daughter. Georgia is a single mom to a teenager in New York City. She’s raised her daughter on her own (maybe one of the reasons that this book appealed me as I’m doing the same?) – only having the help of store employees and customers who have become friends. The group of friends forms The Friday Night Knitting Club as a time to bond (and for some to knit). One amazing quality of the club is that they don’t even all knit well. It’s more of a social bond – a connection.

Of course, then things go crazy – each of the women seems to have some major issues in their personal lives – from an unexpected pregnancy, Georgia’s daughter trying to find herself, an ex love coming back into the picture, children who think they should make decisions for elderly parents, and a divorce – it’s a roller coaster of emotions. However, The Friday Night Knitting Club presents a place for each of the women to find an escape and ultimately because of the friendships formed a peace with their problems.

I enjoy most books I read.  I just have an appreciation for reading.  However rarely do I read a book that I start telling everyone I know that they need to read it too, but this is one of those books.  I’ve already passed it on to my grandmother who read it and enjoyed it because she said “it was so realistic.”  I’m passing it on to a coworker next and then another friend of mine that loves to read.

The book has a sequel, Knit Two, that I have already purchased and will be reading and reviewing soon.

Review: The Diary by Eileen Goudge

I bought The Diary by accident to be honest. I’m not sure how it ended up on my booklist at Book of the Month Club, but I must have been looking at it and clicked “add” somewhere along the way because sure enough it came in the mail a few months ago. I knew I’d need a couple books for my trip to Chicago so I threw this one in my bag for the trip home. I had read the summary a couple times, but it didn’t really get my attention so it kept being placed further down in the stack. I’ll even admit that I only put it in my suitcase knowing when it was the only book in my suitcase, I’d have to read it.

So as soon as I took my seat on the plane, I pulled out The Diary and started reading – bound and determined to successfully finish it so it could be moved to the “finished” stack. Imagine how surprised I was when by the third chapter I was really into it and loving every page – daring the man next to me to speak and distract me from my book (luckily he was reading too) or the stewardess to ask if I wanted a drink or snack.

The Diary is the story of two sisters who recently lost their father and their mother is now on the verge of death herself. They are going through and cleaning out the family home when they discover their mother’s diary from when she was in her early twenties. It is then that they discover that their mother once had a life (imagine that!), but not just any life – a pretty dramatic life. She professes to have only truly one love and the man is not her father. They have no doubts that her mother and father loved each other, but in her 20’s her mother loved another man – and this is devastating news to the girls. How did their mother make the decision to “settle” for the father? They don’t know as the diary ends with all those decisions left unsaid.

Eileen Goudge does such a good job pulling you into this book, that you too are flipping each page hoping to find the answers to all the questions left unsaid in the diary that the sisters are searching for themselves. Will they find a follow up diary? Will Mom wake up from her stroke and finish the story for them? As I flipped each page, I was anxious for those answers, but never saw them coming from the source that Eileen provided. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the messenger and the message.

The Diary may be the ultimate love story – a reminder of what “genuine love” is, how hard it is to make decisions between your heart and your mind, and that our parents are real people with real emotions now matter how we’ve looked at them as we grow up as infallible.

Review & Giveaway: The Unexpected Gift

When I was asked if I would like to read/review/giveaway The Unexpected Gift by Meaghan Gonzales Wagar and Michelle Bulmer Atha, I clicked over and read the summary and knew from the beginning that I would love this book.  And I have to admit that I was not disappointed. It’s a thin book so I chunked it in my carryon bag when I was leaving for Blogher thinking it would be nice to have something lightweight to add to my bag.  I arrived at the airport super early Thursday so I pulled it out and started reading.  I was so involved that time flew while I waited on my plane.

As soon as I loaded on the plane, I pulled it back out, anxious to see what happened next. By the time the plane landed, I only had two chapters left to read.  The book is about two remarkable women. The first is a recently divorced wife and mother who is looking to find herself and raise her children alone.  Still loving her husband ex-husband makes this a challenging road. She’s also now needing to make her entrance back into the full time work world. The second woman is a young pregnant girl living in poverty, but working hard to make a better life for herself. The two meet by chance when the divorcee donates baby clothes to the young girl.  After a couple more chance meetings, they start to build a friendship that becomes quite strong and helps each of the women become strong and conquer the issues in their lives.

I’ve been both of these women to some degree – the young pregnant girl without much money (though my life was much easier than the girl in this book) and the single mom trying to raise her children so I felt so connected to each of them as I read it.

Does The Unexpected Gift sound like something you’d like to read? If so, you might be in luck as I have three copies to give away.

Required Entry:

Who in your life came to you unexpectedly and has made a difference?

Bonus Entries:

**To earn these entries you must first complete the REQUIRED ENTRY**
**For each extra entry, you must leave an additional comment**

1. Place my button in your sidebar (Grab it on the right sidebar) or add a text link
2. Subscribe to my feed. You can still enter if you already subscribe.
3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet this contest out! (you must leave a link to the tweet – already a follower, just tweet and let me know)
4. Add me to your Technorati favorites (leave your username)
5. Blog about this contest (WORTH 3 ENTRIES – LEAVE 3 COMMENTS) linking to this post.
6. Enter any other contest here or at Southern Girl Reviews through the duration of this contest. You may have an entry for every contest that you enter between now and then.

The Fine Print

• Must be a US Citizen
• Contest ends Sunday, August 16 at Midnight CST.
• You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address.
• All entries will be verified before naming the winner.
• Winner has 72 hours to claim prize and then a new winner will be selected.

Don’t want to wait until the contest ends? You can buy it now for $11.01 at Amazon.

Nutcase

I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I sat and read a book cover to cover in one setting.  I’m still sort of in shock to be honest with you.  When we got home from going out to eat tonight, a storm was moving in – that much was obvious. Knowing that our television and Internet comes in via satellite, I thought there was no point in turning on the television or computer so I went over to the bookshelf to pick a book to read.  I tend to pick those sent to me to review first and save the ones I actually purchased for “later.” But something about this book caught my eye so I grabbed it and one I was sent to review and headed off to my room.  I looked at both and thought, what the heck.  It’s been forever since I read a book I personally picked out in the store.  I think I’ll read this one – Nutcase by Charlotte Hughes.

After just glancing at the cover, I remembered why I bought it – there’s a quote by Janet Evanovich (one of my TOP FAVORITE authors) on the front, and if she endorsed it, I had thought when I was in the bookstore, I need to read it. Of course then I came home, life happened and it ended up in the “to read” stack that never seems to grow any smaller.  In my typical fashion, after finishing the book, I realize this is a SERIES and it’s not BOOK 1!!!  As it turns out, that’s what happened to be when I became a Janet Evanovich fan – I picked up one of her Stephanie Plum books in a bargain bin on a school trip and started reading only to realize that it was a series.  Luckily for me this time (unlike with the Stephanie Plum series), I discovered that Nutcase is only book 2 (unlike that book 5 I ended up with by Evanovich).  But once again, I’m upset that I’ve started a series in the middle.

But back to the book. The focus is on the protagonist – Kate Holly, a psychologist who just might need her own psychologist (oh! wait…she actually goes to counseling in this book).  Like my favorite heroine, Stephanie Plum, everything in Kate Holly’s life is “crazy.” She seems to draw out the “crazies” just like Plum.  Wow!  That might explain this glowing review.  That’s not where the similiarties end – Kate has 2 men in her life – Jay, a husband/ex-husband and an Thad, ex-boyfriend hoping to rekindle their “love” with the husband is officially the ex-husband. Noticing a trend?  Then there’s the crazy family – Stephanie has Grandma, Kate has her mother and aunt (twins).  And don’t forget the sidekick – for Stephanie it’s Lula, for Kate it’s Mona.  Yep…..Charlotte Hughes is after my heart, and I can see why Janet Evanovich said this book was “Great fun!”

So what kind of mayhem does Kate find herself in? Kate runs her own office where she tends to have more nonpaying patients than paying ones, her marriage is on the rocks (even though she knows that Jay is the only man for her), her aunt decides to marry one of her patients, she’s been evicted from her office, she has an overbearing ex-boyfriend, oh! and her husband who is a firefighter is battling a very dangerous arsonist.   I won’t tell you how any of these things turn out, but I will assure you that you’ll love every twist and turn in this book…oh, and if you can’t tell there’s a few mysteries thrown in too – a mysterious patient who claims to be Marie Osmond and the arsonist.  Have I mentioned my two favorite genres? Chick Lit and Mysteries!  When you combine those two as the McDonald’s slogan goes, “I’m Loving It!”

In fact, within 15 minutes of finishing Nutcase, I had scanned Charlotte’s website/blog and headed over to Borders.com to order the first book in this series, What Looks Like Crazy.  I’ll be reading it the day it comes in I’m sure!   The third book in this series will be titled Hanging By A Thread (Just read on Charlotte’s blog it will now be called High Anxiety), and I can’t wait to read it as there was a preview in the back of Nutcase of Kate subbing at an anger management meeting that of course goes “crazy.”

Meet Lucy Adams & Win a Cap – ENDED

Our Grand Opening is starting late due to an online break I took, but we are starting with an awesome book review and prize. The book is If Mama Don’t Laugh It Ain’t Funny by Lucy Adams and was a blast to read. I’m so excited to be introducing you to Lucy during her If Mama Blog Tour 2009.

I felt an instant connection with Lucy as soon as I found out she was a teacher; however she teaches much younger kids than I do. (She’s a second grade teacher, and I’m a high school teacher.)  She graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in education and continued her education earning a Master of Science in psychology from Augusta State University.

Lucy is also a syndicated columnist and her articles Life’s Little Lessons are published in newspapers across Tennessee and Georgia.  Lucy has been married for 15 years and is the mother of four children. In addition to being a teacher, an author, a newspaper columnist, a wife, and a mother, Lucy also maintains a blog.

She is a true southern lady (currently residing in Thomson, Georgia), and as a lifetime Texan, so many of her stories hit so close to home.  If you are a southerner, each of the stories in If Mama Don’t Laugh, will hit home.  I found with almost every story that I could relate the stories to someone in my community.  

Lucy was nice enough to give me an interview. Enjoy getting to know Lucy Adams (and keep reading for your chance to win a prize from Lucy).

How did you get started writing?

My high school friends would tell you that they always knew I would be a writer. My college friends would tell you they were all surprised. My husband says I’m not the same woman he married; that it’s like my alien inside took over.

I always wanted to write. I sort of gave up on it, though, after high school, seeking to do more practical things with my education and my life. It wasn’t until I was 34, with four children ages 6 and under and a husband who said we needed extra income, that I got up the courage to act on it.

I typed up sample columns and went to my local newspaper and asked if I could write for them. Then I called back the editor again, and again, and again, until he said, “Yes, if you’ll quit bothering me. I’ve got work to do.”

Now, going a day without writing is like going a day without oxygen.

What inspired you to take your previous writings and turn them into a book?

So many things inspired me to write If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny. My husband stayed after me about doing it. Readers of my weekly newspaper column frequently asked me when I planned to write a book.

The turning point came when a publisher called me and asked if I was interested in writing a how-to book on parenting. Wow! I was flattered. But when I finally got my puffed up ego to sit down and be quiet, the reasonable, logical side of me said that it was dangerous territory to trod. After all, my own children aren’t fully cooked. I’ve yet to see the end product of my own parenting. Who am I to tell someone else how to do it? I had to call the publisher and decline the invitation. While on the phone, however, with newfound confidence clutched in my sweaty palms, I pitched the idea for If Mama. He liked it.

If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny was also inspired by my need to prove that life is more than a collection of chaos bookended by rare moments of calm. Every moment counts. Every minute of every day has a purpose. I have found that by learning to live in the little moments, I open myself to the biggest lessons and the best rewards. And, of course, humor. The smallest sliver of a second contains a complete journey. So much more happens between loads of laundry than wiping noses, folding shirts, and scrubbing the kitchen floor. In fact, most of life happens at the same time that I’m driving carpool, cleaning toilets, and scorching spaghetti.

How did you narrow down what stories to put in your book?

I read and re-read my stories so many times in the writing and editing process. One of my first criteria for including a story in the book was that it still had to evoke laughter or tears from me after looking at it so many times.

I also selected stories that received a lot of comments from my newspaper column readers. There’s no better way to gauge audience approval than through direct feedback.

How does your family feel about their lives being published?

I have to admit, there’ve been a couple of pieces I published that sent my husband over the edge. He has actually given me a list of things I can’t print about him in the newspaper. For example, I can never write that he “squealed like a school girl.”

And every now and then my parents will question something I put in print. My friends laughingly say things like, “Uh oh, you’re not going to put that in the paper are you?”

But my children seem to go out of their way to give me topics to write about. I even find myself lecturing them on not doing brainless things just to see if I’ll write about them.

What is your favorite story in If Mama Don’t Laugh?

My favorite story is “I Hope I’m Getting Smaller,” about an interaction with my then 4 year-old daughter about loving “bad guys” and what God would want us to do. We shared an amazing moment when I had a revelation about my relationship with my daughter, as well as about how she and I both understand God. It was such a profound experience; tears fill my eyes every time I read that story.

Another of my favorites is about Noah, the three legged pig. But that story is best consumed a little bit at a time, so I won’t go into detail here.

What was the hardest part of putting together and publishing If Mama Don’t Laugh?

The hardest part was deciding that the manuscript was finished. Every time the publisher sent me a proof, I sent back a mark-up with changes. Finally the editor quit sending me proofs and declared the manuscript done. Unfortunately, I’m only a perfectionist about my writing. The rest of my life is going to hell in a hand basket.

What has been the most exciting moment in the If Mama process?

Doing television interviews. For one of the interviews, my husband and kids came to the studio and watched. Then my host gave us a VIP tour of the television station which included letting my kids play with the green screen. Bobby Thomson, the baseball player who hit the shot heard round the world, was also being interviewed on the same program that day, so we got pictures and autographs.

If your readers only got one thing from If Mama Don’t Laugh, what would you want that to be?

That life is short, without a lot of big moments outside of marriage proposals, weddings, and children’s births. So it’s important to live it all in the everyday small moments. That’s where the marrow of our existence is.

Do you find yourself watching in your life for “stories?”

I don’t watch for them as much as other people do. Friends and family always point out what they think will make a good column subject.

Mostly, I find that when I’m not “looking” is when everything happens.

What process do you use for remembering these stories?

I keep a notebook and a pen with me at all times. Ideas suddenly come to me and I have to write them down or I’ll never remember them. I also have lots of scraps of paper stashed here, there, and everywhere with various notes. Sometimes writing a story is like piecing a puzzle together, literally.

What’s in the future for Lucy Adams – another book? Expansion of the newspaper article?

I’m currently working on my second book of humor about the tight places and uncomfortable conversations in which we find ourselves; you know, like walking out of a bathroom with my skirt tucked in my panties. Look for it in the summer of 2010.

My blog series on Southern Girls Living Fearlessly will continue. I’m also working on turning it into a monthly column, and, in the future, a humorous book of off-center advice from a woman learning it as she goes.

You’ll find a brief review of If Mama Don’t Laugh over at my personal blog, All About Kimberly.  Want to purchase a copy of If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny?  You can do that at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Books a Million. You can also purchase an autographed copy directly from Lucy at her If Mama site.

And now for the contest. Lucy has generously donated a If Mama Don’t Laugh baseball cap for one lucky reader.

So how do you win this contest?

REQUIRED ENTRY:

Visit http://www.ifmama.com/blog.php and make a relevant comment on Lucy’s blog. Then come back and tell me which post you commented on and what you said.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

**To earn these entries you must first complete the REQUIRED ENTRY**
**For each extra entry, you must leave an additional comment** 

1. Place my button in your sidebar (Grab it on the right sidebar) or add a text link
2. Subscribe to my feed
3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet this contest out! (you must leave a link to the tweet)
4. Add me to your Technorati favorites (leave your username)
5. Blog about this contest (WORTH 3 ENTRIES – LEAVE 3 COMMENTS) linking to this post and Lucy’s site.

But wait!  I’m upping the ante. For all the contests being posted over the next week, I’ll give you TWENTY (yes you hear right) TWENTY extra entries if you head over to MomCentral and vote for my blogging friend, Trisha, to win an Electrolux washer and dryer. She’s #8 strawberryred.  After you vote, come back and tell me you voted and leave your Mom Central username.  You can then comment 20 times for 20 entries for each of the grand opening prizes!

The Fine Print

• Must be a US Citizen
• Contest ends Friday, March 27 at Midnight CST.
• You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address.
• All entries will be verified before naming the winner.
• Winner has 72 hours to claim prize and then a new winner will be selected.

 

Want to Win Other If Mama Don’t Laugh Prizes?

Lucy is giving away an apron on her blog and you can have another chance at one of these nifty caps at 3 Garnets & 3 Sapphires.

 

Queen of the Road

“A Charles Kuralt-Albert Brooks-style romp where they meet up with nudists, robbers and more. Required Reading.” -The New York Post

“Eat, Pray, Love – without the depression – meets Confessions of a Shopaholic – without the ditz.” – Denver Magazine.

 is the true story of Doreen and her husband, Tim, who are both psychiatrists, and embark on a year long road trip across the United States following Tim’s dreams and to Doreen’s despair. Tim has dreamed of this trip for years while Doreen has cringed at even the idea. However, somehow Tim convinces her to abandon her “princess” life of working from home in her pjs and load up in a 340 square foot bus turned RV for a year. On top of her hermit like qualities, Doreen also loves to shop – proud of the large number of shoes she owns, but these shoes can not make the trip with her. How will she ever survive?

I was immediately caught up in Doreen,Tim, the cats, and the poodle’s life. It was amazing how quickly I was dying to know what adventure would be next. Their journey’s were told with such great language that I felt like I was there. My only regret was that my book was a paperback because as I carried it around everywhere trying to get to the next story, it became pretty rugged.

I have to admit that when I began this book, I missed one very important detail – that it was true. Yes, as an avid reader, as an English teacher, I am mortified that I actually didn’t read (and register) that this was a true story. After all, it was in perfectly clear English that is said ON THE COVER, “The True Tale of 47 States.” Yes. So as I read of each of their stops along the way, I was increasingly amazed at how thorough Doreen has researched each of those locations. She knew so much about them. It was unbelievable. Imagine my amazement at the end when I realized it was in fact true. That explained so much.

My favorite stops along the way? I loved her trip to Disney World. I actually read parts of this to my two daughters (they are 8 and 17) as we are the BIGGEST Disney fans and wishing hard that we could make it back to Disney. My 17 year old is now dying to read the book herself, and my 8 year old told me I had to save it until she could read books “that big.” Next I really enjoyed the Texas stops. Since I’m from Texas I have been to these areas also and so I could relate. It was actually during the Disney and Texas stops that I realized how much of this book was true – how much “research” Doreen had done to write this book.

When the end came and I realized it was true, well I am actually ready to read it again. I don’t reread many books, but I do think this is one that I’ll focus on different parts the next time around and knowing it’s true, I think will put an entirely different outlook.

About The Author:

DOREEN ORION is a triple-boarded psychiatrist on the faculty of The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Her first book, I Know You Really Love Me, established her as a national expert on stalking with related appearances on Larry King Live, 48 Hours, and Good Morning America, to name a few. In spite of all this, Doreen considers her greatest accomplishment to be that her bus was featured as the centerfold for Bus Conversions magazine (where she is currently the travel writer), thus fulfilling her life-long ambition of becoming a Miss September.

One for the Money