Kate

"On a sweltering afternoon in early June, Celia Fox stands at the railing of her deck and smokes the second-to-last cigarette she'll allow herself before going to work." Helpless: Barbara Gowdy

I picked this book to read as a quick, chick-lit book. However, it is too well written to be classed as that. There is a strong story, great characters and a bit of knitting that made this a lovely, exciting read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book: The Friday Night Knitting Club. Jacobs turned out to be a great writer, and I will definitely be looking out for her work. Here is the synopsis: Casting on! It starts almost by accident: the women who buy their knitting needles and wool from Georgia's store linger for advice, for a coffee, for a chat and before they know it, every Friday night is knitting night. Finding a pattern! And as the needles clack, and the garments grow, the conversation moves on from patterns and yarn to life, love and everything. These women are of different ages, from different backgrounds and facing different problems, but they are drawn together by threads of affection that prove as durable as the sweaters they knit. The Friday Night Knitting Club - don't you want to join? My favourite character was Georgia's daughter Dakota I think. I loved watching her grow up, search for her roots and I loved her passion for baking, one of my passions too! However, I did love all the characters. Georgia was a beautiful character; strong, independent, reliable and a real role model, showing that women, especially single-mothers can make it big in life, can achieve what they want. I adored the Club and the people who came along. The attempts at knitting made me laugh, and made me realise how bad I would be if I tried, however, because of this book I do want to give knitting a go. The friendships formed and the way they stuck together through everything was beautiful. This showed how friends can be formed in crazy places, but they are friendships that will last. Jacobs searched all kinds of issues, from knitting, to love, to race, to cancer. All were written about in a sensitive, commendable way and the issues are dealt with wonderfully. My only complaints are that not all the characters were explored as much as I would have liked. Both K.C. and Marty I felt I didn't know enough about and there was one story line involving Anita that I didn't feel was finished. Even though this is a book based around knitting, there was not an overload of knitting in the book, and actually, it shows how people of any age can enjoy sitting down and following a pattern. 9/10 - a lovely book, highly recommend it!

Welcome

I have just read My Lady Judge by Cora Harrison and the main character is called Mara

Hi welcome!

Hello

What was it that has made you decide to stop reading the book?

It won't take long on here before your wishlist and TBR list grow!

I didn't mean to offend, sorry. I was just trying to make the point that it isn't all religion-based seen as it is a religious book. If anyone else is put off/offended please don't be, if I implied people don't live moral lives I'm really sorry

I have finished another book today This book, Ten by J. John looks at the Ten Commandments in a modern way and makes them relevant to us today. It is 300 pages of God, love, common sense and the Bible. The book explains the Ten Commandments, why they were made and how we can keep them in this day and age. A lot of it very helpful and practical. For non-Christians, this religion is not stuffed down the throat; the book gives sensible and practical ways of living a good moral life. There are also some very funny parts, to lighten the load. There is a lot of information in these pages however, and I don't think I took all of it on board. It was a bit of a slow read too. Overall, this is a great way of looking at the Ten Commandments and a new way of living. 8/10

Hey! Welcome

I finished My Lady Judge by Cora Harrison this morning. The review is here. It was a very good read

My Lady Judge This is the first book by Cora Harrison that I have read, and I really enjoyed it. Here is the Amazon synopsis for My Lady Judge: In the sixteenth century, as it is now, the Burren, on the western seaboard of Ireland, was a land of grey stone forts, fields of rich green grass and swirling mountain terraces. It was also home to an independent kingdom that lived peacefully by the ancient Brehon laws of their forebears. On the first eve of May, 1509, hundreds of people from the Burren climbed the gouged out limestone terraces of Mullaghmore Mountain to celebrate the great May Day festival, lighting a bonfire and singing and dancing through the night, then returning through the grey dawn to the safety of their homes. But one man did not come back down the steeply spiralling path. His body lay exposed to the ravens and wolves on the bare, lonely mountain for two nights ...and no one spoke of him, or told what they had seen.And when Mara, a woman appointed by King Turlough Don O'Brien to be judge and lawgiver to the stony kingdom, came to investigate, she was met with a wall of silence ...'An excellent historical novel with a most original leading character...A true Celtic feast.' - P. C. Doherty. This is a murder mystery set in Ireland in the Middle Ages. The main character is Mara, who is the judge of this kingdom. I loved her character. She had so many sides, the teacher, the mother, the judge and the woman. She could be deceptive when necessary, or just to get out of boring social meetings, which made me chuckle. She did have a conscience however. She was fair, calm and friendly. All the characters were well written and many I found an emotional connection too. I liked the old-fashioned way of investigating the murder. There were several characters who could have been framed and way the murder was solved and reveled reminded me of the old murder mystery shows, with Mara talking to the king about how she worked it out. I guessed who the murder victim was but I did guess who the murderer was. I liked how there were two crimes that needed solving, and how we learned about the family ties and feuds that joined the community together. It was also interesting how Harrison compared English law to Irish law at the time. I did have problems with the names. There were several long, hard to read names, but I just read over them and inserted my own version of the word. Harrison's description of Ireland in the Middle Ages was magical and I found myself transported back there. I will definitely be reading more in this Burren Series. 8/10

:friends0:I hope you are OK

I'm glad he went, he wasn't as fun to watch. For the men I'm supporting Austin Healy and for the girls I'm supporting Lisa Snowden. I love it, I'm so glad it is back on!

I have made a note to look out for this book

Hello

Thanks Emma. This week I have only finished 1 book, but I do have about 5 on the go at the minute Hopefully will get them finished this week. At the minute I'm focusing on The Lady Judge which I am reading as a review book for Nici

Welcome

Yeah I agree. I find both Bookcrossing and LibraryThing a bit anti-social. This is the only place I find myself talking in the forums

I'm looking forward to reading The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets That is a great list you have there

I love this book!!