Welcome to A Circle of Books.

Please visit Toni/CoolpinkOne (ME!!) at my new blog:

WWW.THE SOAPYVIOLINIST.BLOGSPOT.COM

Hello and welcome to my book blog. This blog is dedicated to books everywhere and the people who write and read them. Thank you for stopping by.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Drood Giveaway!!!!!


Drood Giveaway!

Hello Everyone! I hope you enjoyed the Blog Tour Yesterday. If you missed it, well you must just check it out. There were a lot of good reviews buzz yesterday!

For my review Click here.


Dan Simmons Book Signing: TJ over at Book Love Affair had this cool Experience. Check it out here.


I also wanted to let you all know that thanks to Miriam from Hachette I have a copy of this OUTSTANDING book to give away.

A Circle of Books Giveaway Details:

For one entry leave me a comment on this post on or before 3/7/2009 Random Drawing to be held on 3/8/2009.

For 3 entries, leave me a comment and blog about this contest (Sidebar counts too!)

Will ship to US and Canada only. No P.O. Boxes. (Hachette will mail directly to you)
You must provide an email address so I can let you know that you've won.


Another Great Giveaway at Bermudiaonion's Blog!

Check it out here along with her fantastic review!

So there you have it!!! I also encourage anyone looking for other giveaways to check in on the blog tour from yesterday... Several bloggers on Tour yesterday have giveaways!!!!

Have a great weekend check back later for Gary's Drood Review!

Friday, February 27, 2009

Drood - Blog tour - Dan Simmons


WELCOME to the Drood Blog Tour!

Extra Extra Read All About It!!!!

Guaranteed to be an outstanding Blog Tour. Please see the end of the post to see other blog tour participants. Stop by and show the love!

Drood is in the house!
Full Description:
On June 9, 1865, while traveling by train to London with his secret mistress, 53-year-old Charles Dickens--at the height of his powers and popularity, the most famous and successful novelist in the world and perhaps in the history of the world--hurtled into a disaster that changed his life forever.

Did Dickens begin living a dark double life after the accident? Were his nightly forays into the worst slums of London and his deepening obsession with corpses, crypts, murder, opium dens, the use of lime pits to dissolve bodies, and a hidden subterranean London mere research . . . or something more terrifying?

Just as he did in The Terror, Dan Simmons draws impeccably from history to create a gloriously engaging and terrifying narrative. Based on the historical details of Charles Dickens's life and narrated by Wilkie Collins (Dickens's friend, frequent collaborator, and Salieri-style secret rival), DROOD explores the still-unsolved mysteries of the famous author's last years and may provide the key to Dickens's final, unfinished work: The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Chilling, haunting, and utterly original, DROOD is Dan Simmons at his powerful best.

Author Information:

Dan Simmons is the award-winning author of several novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Olympos and The Terror. He lives in Colorado.


My review:

Drood is an outstanding book that reads like classic literature. The book is fascinating with a rich and interesting point of view. Wilkie Collins, colleague, acquaintance, and friend of Charles Dickens is telling this story. The book is nothing short of a masterpiece in storytelling. There is jaw dropping action as well and very detailed historical references. It is a rich, graphic mystery involving Drood. I can't go into detail about this character without spoiling.

From the rich London settings, to the depths of the underground Opium dens and crypts, the book has all the rich elements of outstanding historical fiction. Even though it reads like a fantastic fictional story, it is easy to get lost in the story and think one is reading NON FICTION. The writing is so believable that we actually think we are reading a first hand account of this whole incident. It is a truly unique tale. It is oh so haunting.. think graveyards, crypts, bugs, the underground dwellers and murder!

I think we will be talking about Drood in this house for a long time to come. Tomorrow we can check in to see what my son Gary has to say about the book.



Check out the blogs in the tour!

http://jennsbookshelf.blogspot.com/
http://hiddenplace.wordpress.com/
http://book-thirty.blogspot.com/
http://bermudaonion.wordpress.com
http://www.writeforareader.blogspot.com
http://thebookczar.blogspot.com
http://luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com
http://www.thetometraveller.blogspot.com/
http://www.bookthoughtsbylisa.blogspot.com
http://AllisonsAtticBlog.blogspot.com
http://www.chikune.com/blog
http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/
http://readingtoolate.net
http://www.myfriendamysblog.com
http://ABlogofBooks.blogspot.com
http://Cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com
http://shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com
http://www.savvyverseandwit.blogspot.com
http://bestbookihavenotread.wordpress.com
http://www.bookishruth.com/
http://www.bookingmama.blogspot.com/
http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com
http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/darbyscloset



Monday, February 23, 2009

Mailbox Mondays -

My First Mailbox Monday 2/23/2009



Hosted by: Marcia at the Printed Page

Tuesday

From: Valerie at Hachette - Free Yourself to Love, The Liberating Power of Forgiveness, by Jackie Kendall.

From: J.Kaye at J.Kayes Book Blog The Darcys and the Bingleys, Pride and Prejudice Continues, by Marsha Altman ( I won! )

From: My good buddy Darlene just because "That's what friends are for.." thank you! thank Hungry Woman in Paris, Josefina Lopez.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Hachette Giveaway Winners (Revised) - Paperback - The Terror by Dan Simmons


Winners for The Terror, By Dan Simmons.
*** Revised. Teddy let me know that she won the book elsewhere... so Check out the new winner!!
  1. Angela C
  2. Storyheart
  3. Scottsgal
  4. Bridget3420
  5. Sharonanne (New winner)



I will be emailing the winners today. If you see that you are a winner here, feel free to send me your mailing address in advance.

Congrats!!

Thank you Valerie from Hachette for the opportunity to host a great giveaway and for my own fabulous review copy.

Don't forget to enter for the audio Giveaway Here.

Hachette Audio Book Giveaway - The Terror, Dan Simmons

Giveaway - Audio book, The Terror, by Dan Simmons

Yes.... you read correctly... just one day after the Giveaway for The Terror in paperback, Anna from Hachette is providing three copies of the AUDIO BOOK to giveaway!

Description:
The men on board HMS Terror have every expectation of finding the Northwest Passage. When the expedition's leader, Sir John Franklin, meets a terrible death, Captain Francis Crozier takes command and leads his surviving crewmen on a last, desperate attempt to flee south across the ice.

But as another winter approaches, as scurvy and starvation grow more terrible, and as the Terror on the ice stalks them southward, Crozier and his men begin to fear there is no escape.

A haunting, gripping story based on actual historical events, The Terror is a novel that will chill you to your core.
Giveaway Details:
For one entry leave me a comment on this post on or before 3/7/2009 Random Drawing to be held on 3/8/2009

For 3 entries, leave me a comment and blog about this contest or follow this blog. (If you follow, or have me in your reader that is great and it counts).

Will ship to US and Canada only. No P.O. Boxes. (Hachette will mail directly to you)

You must provide an email address so I can let you know that you've won.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Winners - The Italian Lover, by Robert Hellenga - Revised

**** revised a second time. Bermudaonion and Gwendolyn have won elsewhere random.org is picking............... a new winner... and it is..........
Sharon54220.




Winners!!

I want to be like Bob Barker and say ... "come on down..."




  1. Bibliophile123
  2. Serena
  3. Darby
  4. Nicole
  5. Sharon54220
Thank you Valerie from Hachette for this wonderful Giveaway and my review copy. I can't wait to review along with everyone else!

Full Description:
Margot Harrington's memoir about her discovery in Florence of a priceless masterwork of Renaissance erotica--and the misguided love affair it inspired--is now, 25 years later, being made into a movie. Margot, with the help of her lover, Woody, writes a script that she thinks will validate her life. Of course their script is not used, but never mind--happy endings are the best endings for movies, as Margot eventually comes to see. At the former convent in Florence where "The Sixteen Pleasures"--now called "The Italian Lover,"--is being filmed, Margot enters into a drama she never imagined, where her ideas of home, love, art, and aging collide with the imperatives of commerce and the unknowability of other cultures and other people.

About Author:

Robert Hellenga received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and studied at Queen's University in Belfast and the University of North Carolina before completing a Ph.D. in English Literature at Princeton University. He is a professor at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and the author of the novels The Sixteen Pleasures, The Fall of a Sparrow, Blues Lessons, and Philosophy Made Simple.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Blog Friends Award - Thank you Trin


I am so behind in the blog awards. I really need to get cracking and get organized. I do want to thank Trin at Trin's Nook for this award. Thank you Trin. The awards always make me smile.

I am officially bestowing this award to everyone in my reader and on my side bar. The friendliness in blogland is amazing!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Recent Acquisitions

I haven't started doing Mailbox Mondays but I want to share some of my recent acquisitions. (Plus I am doing a test post from my email... sorry no links or pics this time around).

Some of the books I have received over the last 3 weeks. Yes.. I am blessed. Thank you. I plan to start participating in Mailbox Mondays on ….drum roll … 2/23/2009.

From Hachette Books
By Author Carrie Vaughn
Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Kitty Goes to Washington
Kitty Takes a Holiday
Kitty and the Silver Bullet
Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand
Kitty Raises Hell
*** (Check back for Blog Tour info)

More From (Hachette Books )
The Girl She Used to Be, by David Cristofano

The Terror, by Dan Simmons (Today!!)

The Italian Lover, by Robert Hellenga (Today!!)

Sundays At Tiffany's, by James Patterson

From Kate Runde, Anchor Books
The Nine, Jeffrey Toobin

Run for you Life, by James Patterson. ( I won on the Patterson Site)

Signora Da Vinci by Robin Maxwell - Amy from Passages to the Past.

More from Hachette:
Galway Bay, by Mary Pat Kelly

The Triumph of Deborah, by Eva Etzioni-Halevy (sent from the Author)

A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick - Algonquin books

THANK YOU Fantastic People who send me books!

Hachette Giveaway - Free Yourself to Love: The Liberating Power of Forgivenes


March - Hachette Book Giveaway!

Thank you Valerie from Hachette for this fantastic giveaway.

Free Yourself to Love: The Liberating Power of Forgiveness by Jackie Kendall

Jackie Kendall Website.

Jackie Kendall has been involved with ministry for twenty-five years, working as teacher, counselor, conference speaker, and author. Jackie works with several athletic teams, including the Atlanta Braves and Pro Athletes Outreach (which is involved with professional baseball teams and the NFL). She is also the president of Power to Grow Ministries and the author or co-author of several books.

Giveaway Details: I've got five copies to giveaway

For one entry leave me a comment on this post on or before 3/1/2009. Random Drawing to be held on 3/2/2009

For 3 entries, leave me a comment and blog about this contest or follow this blog.

Will ship to US and Canada only. No P.O. Boxes. (Hachette will mail directly to you)
You must provide an email address so I can let you know that you've won.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Who By Fire - Review


Who by Fire, Diana Spechler

Thank you Diana Spechler (author bio) for sending me this book.

Author Website
Book Description

Bits and Ash were children when the kidnapping of their younger sister, Alena—an incident for which Ash blames himself—caused an irreparable family rift. Thirteen years later, Ash is living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel, cutting himself off from his mother, Ellie, and his wild-child sister, Bits. But soon he may have to face them again; Alena's remains have finally been uncovered. Now Bits is traveling across the world in a bold and desperate attempt to bring her brother home and salvage what's left of their family.

Sharp and captivating, Who by Fire deftly explores what happens when people try to rescue one another.


My review:

This book is very powerful and captivating. The journey with Ash and Bits is incredible and brave. I read the book in three sections. There are no dull moments in the book, there are no slow spots. The characters are flawed and likable. We can recognize the root of their issues. This made me cheer for them throughout the whole novel.

It is broken up into three different perspectives. From each character there is a nice flow to the story as it changes from each point of view/perspective quite often. For me this kept the story fresh and easy to absorb. It was a brilliant way to write a deep and powerful story without bogging one down in the depth of the heartache within the story. And just when you think you have it figured out, there are just enough curves and bends in the story to finish out the novel with a little twist.

Read it! Read it! The book will not disappoint. It is a beautiful, soulful story that unfolds perfectly and timely without dragging. It is a story about family, about forgiveness, guilt, blame, and moving on.

The book is deeply touching and it lingers in the mind long after the last page is turned. Who among us can rescue another if we still have yet to rescue our ourselves? For me I kept thinking about that quote about plucking the straw from our neighbors eye while ignoring the rafter in our own eye.


Thanks again Diana Spechler.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Dexter



Dexter is just checking in with A Circle of Books. He is 5 months and 30 lbs!

He is not in trouble in the pictures. He is very focused with the phrase. "where's my dinner?"

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Summer 2008 - Steinbeck Museum



The John Steinbeck Museum, Salinas, California


What a fantastic day trip!



A bit before I broke off my knitting blog to A Circle of Books, I went to Steinbeck Country. My book club The Page Turners were reading a 5th year anniversary reading of East of Eden. Reading East of Eden along with Oprah was our first selection in 2003. Since I am in California and Salinas is a mere 3 hours or so away, hubby (bless his heart) and I trotted off to Salinas for the day. We went to the Steinbeck Museum, the Steinbeck family house, and the family grave site.

I left a daisy from my car on the grave site from all the Page Turners and it was a great day. If you are a Steinbeck fan or even if you just like a few of his books, this is an outstanding museum and tour. It exceeded my expectations.

What I came away with knowledge-wise was much more than I had ever known of Steinbeck. The actual Life with Charley trailer was there and a lot of other goodies. It is quite an experience to be there in Steinbeck Country. For those that have read Grapes of Wrath or East of Eden and John Steinbeck writes of the dry dusty Salinas Valley, I just had to take this picture. I am thinking that some things never change just look at the valley of Salinas in 2008 . It is a lovely drive and full of literary vibes. I just felt close to it all while I was there. Because....well I am just like that.

To Kill A Mockingbird - Lit Flicks Challenge



Lit Flicks Challenge -

Okay... this my first challenge and I am waaay behind. But...that's okay.. NEVER GIVE UP.. NEVER SAY DIE!! :) It was very very cool a couple of weeks ago I had a rare quiet moment at home and I got to watch To Kill a Mocking Bird. This book is also on my shelf so I have put it by my bedside and read along and compare with the movie. Voila Lit Flicks Selection!

I absolutely LOVED this movie. I highly recommend this movie!! Gregory Peck does an outstanding job. I was captivated from the first scene. No spoilers from me on this one, just my 100% endorsement... watch it... watch it.... watch it..... so now I will read it ... read it.... read it and try to get my Lit Flicks wrapped up!!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Kate Jacobs- Book Club "Visit"


Last night my online book club, The Page Turners had a special guest. Kate Jacobs logged on to yahoo messenger and join in for an online books discussion of Knit Two.Link

It was such a great experience for our club The Page Turners. We all had so much to talk about. It ended up being 18 pages of text! Wow! Kate knows and loves her characters in the book. It was awesome to be able to ask questions about the characters, as well as what inspired different plots within the book. It was a wonderful (and exciting) time talking to a wonderful group of women about another wonderful group of women. We all feel really connected to the members of the Friday Night Knitting Club.

It was nice talking to Kate about the characters because it confirms that the book is not just fluff and puff. The characters in the book are complex and they undergo changes and suffer loss just like the real world mothers, daughters, sister, and friends.

Please visit Kate's Website: Link
Once again the Book is: Knit Two, by Kate Jacobs. (click her for chapter one excerpt)

Thank you Kate Jacobs.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Hachette Give Away - The Italian Lover - Robert Hellenga


The Italian Lover - Robert Hellenga - Hachette Giveaway

Thank you Valerie from Hachette for offering A Circle of books this Great Giveaway.

I have FIVE Copies to give away.

Author Website

Description:

An exhilarating novel of romance, art, and food in Florence, featuring the beloved Margot Harrington, who graced Robert Hellenga's The Sixteen Pleasures. Margot Harrington's memoir about her discovery in Florence of a priceless masterwork of Renaissance erotica - and the misguided love affair it inspired - is now, 25 years later, being made into a movie.

Margot, with the help of her lover, Woody, writes a script that she thinks will validate her life. Of course their script is not used, but never mind - happy endings are the best endings for movies, as Margot eventually comes to see.

At the former convent in Florence where "The Sixteen Pleasures" - now called "The Italian Lover," - is being filmed, Margot enters into a drama she never imagined, where her ideas of home, love, art, and aging collide with the imperatives of commerce and the unknowability of other cultures and other people.

Giveaway Details:
For one entry leave me a comment on this post on or before 2/17/2009. Random Drawing to be held on 2/18/2009.
For 3 entries, leave me a comment and blog about this contest or follow this blog.

Will ship to US and Canada only. No P.O. Boxes. (Hachette will mail directly to you)
You must provide an email address so I can let you know that you've won.

Good Luck.

Hachette Giveaway - The Terror - Dan Simmons

The Terror Dan Simmons - Hachette Giveaway


Thank You Valerie from Hachette.
I have FIVE Copies to give away.

Author website
Link
Description:
The men on board HMS Terror have every expectation of finding the Northwest Passage. When the expedition's leader, Sir John Franklin, meets a terrible death, Captain Francis Crozier takes command and leads his surviving crewmen on a last, desperate attempt to flee south across the ice.

But as another winter approaches, as scurvy and starvation grow more terrible, and as the Terror on the ice stalks them southward, Crozier and his men begin to fear there is no escape.

A haunting, gripping story based on actual historical events, The Terror is a novel that will chill you to your core.


Giveaway Details:
For one entry leave me a comment on this post on or before 2/20/2009. Random Drawing to be held on 2/21/2009.
For 3 entries, leave me a comment and blog about this contest or follow this blog.

Will ship to US and Canada only. No P.O. Boxes. (Hachette will mail directly to you)
You must provide an email address so I can let you know that you've won.
Good Luck.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Knit Two - Kate Jacobs - Review - Plus Interview

Knit Two - Kate Jacobs


Knit Two Description:

Kate Jacobs reveals the latest adventures and predicaments of the Knitting Club members in her eagerly anticipated sequel, Knit Two. There have been some major changes over the five years since their tearful goodbye to Georgia Walker, the woman who brought this unlikely crew together in the first place. After Georgia's untimely death from ovarian cancer, the members of the club banded together to protect and guide her young biracial daughter, Dakota. Now a college student, Dakota is not sure she needs such intense foster mothering anymore, and she also butts heads with her devoted and perhaps over-protective father, James.

Peri, the manager of Walker and Daughter, also has her own successful line of knit handbags, but sometimes resents the fact that she has no time for a personal life. Lucie's career in film is soaring, but the demands of being a single mother and the declining health of her own mother have her at wit's end. Following a series of miscarriages, the feminist historian, Darwin, has at last become the mother of twins. After two divorces, KC has decided that her new career as a lawyer and being child-free suit her well, but menopause is another story entirely. Divorcée Catherine runs an upscale antiques store in the Hudson Valley but struggles to find true romantic contentment. Anita, the seventy-something widow who is like a mother to the entire club, is ready to walk down the aisle with her new soul mate, but must first overcome the objections of her three grown sons.

When a series of once-in-a-lifetime circumstances brings four of the knitting club members to Italy for the summer, they embark on an unforgettable journey of romance, self-discovery, and surprises. Each of the four is in search of something different: Dakota, a sense of direction; Lucie, a boost to her professional standing; Anita, a lost sister; and Catherine, herself. Meanwhile, Peri, Darwin, and KC tend to their knitting back in New York and offer their support from across the ocean.

With Knit Two, Kate Jacobs has once again woven a deeply satisfying story of friendship, family, and connection with a light but sure touch. A valentine to the power of women's friendships—and knitting, of course—it will surely delight the legions of readers who took The Friday Night Knitting Club to heart.

My Review:

I enjoyed this book tremendously. I loved friendships in the book and the sprinkling in of the knitting projects. Not so much as the glue that holds the women together but the flavor. Like the bananas in banana bread. I am a knitter and I have never had the pleasure of being part of a knitting group but I am in a book club and I can seriously relate to this book! I really enjoyed the Friday Night Knitting Club for the knitting, the yarn and the close women's friendships.

In Knit Two, the sequel to the Friday Night Knitting Club, I found more than just a knitting group. I found a group of friends like my own. Friends of all ages and backgrounds that come together in a unique and lasting way. All the women in the group have needs, insecurities, problems, and things they are working out. This book is about those things. This book is about accepting your friends and growing up. In this book we learn it is never too late to forgive, to grow up or change your mind.

This book was different than the Friday Night Knitting Club, and yet it was like going home. So many of characters remind me of my own club. The Page Turner Book Club. We will celebrate 6 years of friendship through books. And now we are family. Just like Dakota, Peri, Anita, K.C., Lucie, Darwin, and Catherine. We know each others spouses, dogs, hubby's, boyfriends, cats, moms, dads and grandchildren.

In reviewing the book as our January 2009 Book Club selection, one member quoted a part of the book.

..."they were a family, too. A family of choice. The club wasn't only the club if they were in the same room. They probably weren't all going to be in the same city. And the club was not about the shop. It never had been, that was just there starting point..."
Our club is no longer about the books, it is about us. She (my friend) mentioned that it was books that brought us together, but it is not what has kept us together. When I hit that part in the book I just sobbed as I thought of our own group.

Dakota's story for me is one the kept the tears flowing for me in this story. I can't imagine her struggle to move on and make her life without her mom. I was continually moved by Dakota and her strength in facing her loss of her mother and her struggles with her independence.

In the book we take a journey to Italy. What a blast that was. I enjoyed and savoured this journey. I recommend this book. There is a lot of good girl stuff packed into this book, cooking, traveling, knitting, births, engagements, single parenting, shoes and shopping!!

A Review from my good friend Dar, Peeking Between the Pages.


A Conversation with Kate Jacobs (reposting from 11/24/2008)


Did you think you’d write a sequel as soon as you finished The Friday Night Knitting Club, or did that decision come later?

I was exhausted right after finishing The Friday Night Knitting Club! It was my first novel and I was ready for a good, long nap after all that writing! Though, in all seriousness, I had some other characters rumbling around in my brain and their stories deserved telling. So I wrote Comfort Food. That said, I always had a future mapped out for the members of the knitting club, and, after hearing from so many fans who were eager to know what happens, it didn’t seem fair to just keep it all to myself. Writing this sequel was truly a joy, and I’m excited to share the new book with readers.


Without giving too much away, are there things that will surprise readers in KNIT TWO?

KNIT TWO is set about five years after the first book, and all of the characters are older and, in some cases, more mature. Dakota is in college now. Though just because we get older doesn’t always make us wiser! There are new friendships between the characters, folks who didn’t know each other as well in the original, and overall the sequel is much more upbeat than the ending of the first book.

Which character do you identify with most strongly? How much of yourself did you put into these characters?

Well, I really love all the characters – I forgive them all their flaws and mistakes. I identify with many of the struggles the characters have, to some degree, but that is something many women could say. Issues about career, about getting married, about mapping out our lives (and learning how quickly things can go off-road). I’m there in the book, and then again I’m not there. Sometimes I put personal things in quite consciously – I did that more with Comfort Food, in which the best friend has the same last name as my best friend, for example. Other times, little bits of me just seep into the characters, and it could be a favorite food they have or a pet peeve. But I tend not to write one fully developed character who is a stand-in for me – that would be too revealing!



To what extent are the characters based on your own circle of family and friends?

In The Friday Night Knitting Club, I could point to Georgia’s Gran and the similarities with my own grandmother, who was a great knitter, great baker, and great lady. And so opinionated! Or I could share that when I was a little kid, I loved to bake – as Dakota does – and then when I was a teenager I was so like Darwin, who is suspicious of everything domestic. In KNIT TWO, the characters have all continued to grow and change, and Gran is mostly off-page in Scotland. So they’re all moving beyond these similarities and truly becoming themselves.


Your characters are of different races, religions, and economic backgrounds, but their friendship mostly transcends those factors. That said, Dakota, Georgia’s daughter, has to confront some issues related to her biracial background. So what does all this say about the way these kinds of differences affect friendships between women in the real world?

My personal world is made up of friends and family who are different from me – and so I think it’s important that the group in the novel be multiracial, multigenerational, and have different religions and sizes of bank accounts. That’s real. Because at our core, regardless of differences, I think we all share similar desires for community and connection. We want to love and be loved. And, like the women in KNIT TWO, most of our conversations revolve around what we’re dealing with in any given moment, whether it’s something about our work or our family. In other words, our struggles and similarities form the basis for our friendships. That said, differences do remain. It’s important to be honest about them, not to pretend they don’t exist. It is very difficult to ever fully comprehend another person’s struggles when we cannot personally relate, when we haven’t walked in their shoes. That’s why compassion is such a crucial element in a relationship. And why I try to bring compassion to writing honestly in my novels.

KNIT TWO is primarily a story of friendships between women, like The Friday Night Knitting Club, but you also include some significant male characters, and there’s one particularly close but platonic male-female friendship. Women’s friendships are certainly special, but can men join the circle, too, maybe as associate members?

Of course men can join! And it’s not just characters. Over the past year, I’ve heard from a handful of men who’ve read the book, and that’s been a delight. Personally, my husband is my best friend, and many women I know have important men in their lives. It seemed only appropriate that men have a place in the novel, and developing the platonic friendship was a way to show a male character in more than just the role of the love interest.

What is it about knitting that makes it so popular right now, both traditional and hip at the same time?

Knitting is a lot of things all wrapped up in a ball of yarn. It’s memory of good old days and sweet grandmothers. It can be an assertion of personality, of irony, of creativity. It can be a luxurious indulgence using the fanciest materials, and it can be a budget-minded holiday scarf using yarn on sale. You can knit all alone, or you can find a group and knit with them. Knitting has the flexibility to meet our needs for a creative and emotional outlet, and it has a very soothing rhythm. It nurtures, and I think that’s a very good thing in times of uncertainty.

How’s your own knitting going? When do you find time for it?

I have so many half-finished projects it is becoming ridiculous! Our guest room has turned into a stash room, which is good for me but crowded for guests. I’ve moved into my afghan phase – well, it’s more about throws I can make in one piece – and that’s all I want to knit lately. The only hiccup – and it’s a good problem to have – is that I’m so busy writing, talking to book clubs, going on tour, and so on that I only have time for a few rows here or there. However, knitting on large needles has really helped stretch out my wrists, which can become stressed after being perched on the keyboard all day. So now I have an excuse to sneak in a little knitting!

The Friday Night Knitting Club was extremely popular with reading groups, and you spoke to many of them by phone. Will you do the same thing for KNIT TWO?

Absolutely! I talk to about 40 clubs every month. It’s good fun. The telephone call-ins started when a group from Minnesota invited me to chat with them during their meeting. I was nervous but I ended up having such a good time that I blogged about the experience at katejacobs.com. Suddenly, I had more invitations, and that’s when I decided to put a button on my website. Now I talk to clubs any day of the week. I’ve talked to clubs from the back of a cab, standing in a line for missing luggage at the airport, driving a rental car on a visit home to see my parents. (I had a headset so I was driving hands free!) Setting up the calls is easy: A member of a group just needs to send me the date & time of their club’s get-together and if I can fit it in, I will!


A big part of KNIT TWO takes place in Italy. Did you travel there on research? How tough a trip was that?

Oh, terribly difficult, trying to figure out how to eat everything and see everything! No, it was delightful, of course, every day filled with new discoveries. My husband was with me and we both love history and walking and hearty dishes of pasta, so it was a perfect trip for us. We learned a lot, I would say, as do the characters in KNIT TWO. Isn’t it funny how sometimes we have to go somewhere else to see what we already know?


Food plays an important role in both The Friday Night Knitting Club and KNIT TWO. You’ve also written a novel about a cooking show called Comfort Food. Are knitting and friendship and food all intimately connected with one another? Is that why you include both knitting instructions and recipes at the end of KNIT TWO?

Well, food keeps us going, after all. I write often about characters trying to nourish themselves, typically in an emotional sense but also in a physical sense. And whereas cooking is an important part of many characters’ lives in Comfort Food, baking is significant to one member of the Friday Night Knitting Club. I know sometimes kids change their ideas of what they want to do multiple times, but I always knew what I wanted to do. So does Dakota. As for the pattern and recipes, it can be fun to have little extras in a book. Not to mention that almost every book club I speak with has made Dakota’s muffins from The Friday Night Knitting Club, so I thought they needed a new recipe to try!

New York City -- the Upper West Side of Manhattan, to be specific – is almost another character in the book. You grew up in western Canada, lived in New York for a long time, and now live in Los Angeles. But New York continues to have a hold on your imagination. Why?

That’s something I’ve thought about very often, in fact. You know, I didn’t like New York very much when I initially moved there. Too loud, too busy. It didn’t feel like my place. But a couple of things happened. For one thing, I made a great group of friends – we used to always get together on Tuesday nights (and no, we didn’t knit!) – and that helped make New York feel more like a community. For another, I met the man who became my husband, and he grew up just outside the city. But I suppose also the mix of having my first apartment, my first job, becoming an adult, all happened in New York. And being in the city on 9/11 solidifies a connection, that’s for sure. While I do love California – the weather is amazing, the people friendly – right now I feel that I understand, in an intimate way, small-town Canada and urban Manhattan. And I don’t think I’ll ever be done exploring the lives of New Yorkers. Frankly, I think of myself as a Canadian-born New Yorker who just happens to live on the West Coast. As I say in my books, it’s all about defining yourself as you want to be.

Do you have a website where readers can get in touch with you and learn more about your books?

I am always reachable at www.katejacobs.com. I check my own email, typically daily, and love to hear from readers. I get a kick out of emails that begin with “Please tell Kate…” It’s me! Plus the website has a list of my tour events, a blog and all the relevant news about the books, including first chapter excerpts and reading guides. In addition, I post almost every interview or podcast I do, so there is a lot of material to find out more.


Are you working on a new book now?

I’ve been asked this question often lately – which I suppose is a good thing! Yes, I am happily working on a new book already. There are a lot of stories I want to tell. But I’m a bit particular about not talking about what I’m writing until it’s quite far along. So you won’t get any details yet!


What is the core message of KNIT TWO? What do you hope readers take away from it?

The Friday Night Knitting Club was about forgiveness, about getting beyond regret and moving forward. It was also about becoming independent and learning to live on one’s own terms, as well as this idea of how important it is to have strong female friendships, and to recognize and honor those relationships. KNIT TWO is about the power of legacy, about how we hold on so tightly because we’re afraid to let go – and how sometimes the letting go allows us to keep a better hold on things in the long run. This story is about falling into patterns and figuring out if and when it’s time to break those patterns. About when it’s time for acceptance and when it’s time to be courageous and be bold. It’s about the idea that success is a journey, not a sprint, and that the answers for one moment in our lives may not be the answers for another. Ultimately, KNIT TWO is a novel about hope.