Ravelry Knitters discussion

Our book for October is While My Pretty One Knits by Anne Canadeo.

Start your library reserves and ILL (interlibrary loan) requests now. Or better yet, support the author by buying the book.

Please post your thoughts about any aspect of the book--from the cover to the story to the characters--here.

We'll just have the one discussion thread, so if you want to discuss specifics, please use the spoiler HTML tag. Above this comment box is a link that reads "(some html is ok)." Click the link to find out how to use the spoiler tag. Spoiler text should be inside the tag.

Happy knitting and happy reading!

-Robin

I couldn't read the Sept. Book - ran out of time. But I put a hold on this book in my library for Oct!

I ordered mine this morning! Looking forward to it.

i just ordered mine sucessfully too :)

Hello everyone. This will be my first read-along with the Ravelry group here and I thought the cover of the book looked very cozy and inviting. I usually like collecting these for my knitting bookshelf but have opted for the kindle version this time.

Hi! This is my first read-along too. I just ordered my book from Amazon and am anxiously awaiting its arrival

Glad to have some newby company, Peggy.
I'm in the UK and we are having an unusually hot and sunny spell - still knowing our weather it will suddenly change to a chilly autumn with the excuse for snuggling indoors with some knitting and reading;-)
I wonder if the weather makes a difference to what books we want to read!

I agree with you Teresa. It would be interesting to know if weather affects what we read. Maybe that is why they have summer reading lists or beach reads. What do we have for winter? My friend was just saying yesterday about getting ready for a winter of staying in to read and knit. Sounds good to me!

I do think that the weather influences what we want to read...there are certain books I always want to read at certain times of the year. I usually reread Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series (YA) every Christmas. Summers make me want to read cowboy romances. Anybody else have annual or seasonal reads?

I think Christmas is definitely the one time I absolutely have to read seasonal books. I like to read some Dickens every year at Christmas. I find myself drawn to books with a Christmas theme/cover too but as soon as the holiday is over I want to put any unread Christmas books away. Although, strangely, I am not averse to watching a Christmas themed film if there has been one sneaked onto the tv schedule by mid-summer, I really don't understand myself there!

Oooh, yes, Dickens. I was teaching last fall, and we did A Christmas Carol. Maybe we should see if we can find a Christmas/knitting themed book for the December read!

Any Halloween books? Harry Potter seems a bit too obvious, but maybe that's because it's the best choice?

I seem to want to read Richard Paul Evans in winter for some reason. I'm reading Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children. Just in time for Halloween too.

Ghost stories like Susan Hill's The Small Hand would make a good Halloween read, it is not too long and is very atmospheric.

Hi everyone! This is my first group read-along ever, I am very excited. I ordered the book yesterday, can't wait for it to arrive!

Hi Amanda - This is my first group read-along too and as I have my book on my kindle and it's officially October I have read a few pages to get familiar with the characters - I'll probably re-start as everyone gets going but so far so intriguing as the scene is set.

I am totally early in suggesting we readKnit the Season in December.

Well, I'm on page 215, and the book finally sparked a little interest in me. I'll post my full reaction when I finish it, but let me just say, it's not my favorite so far. Is it dragging for anyone else?

Dana * wrote: "I am totally early in suggesting we readKnit the Season in December."

Sounds good to me! I haven't read the first two in the series yet, she admits sheepishly. (yes, I occasionally like word play.)

I'm half way through the book and having sat down for a couple of hours to read straight through now, like Joanne, find myself more interested. I think the beginning of the book is somehow unsastisfying, maybe the writing seemed a bit laboured, but then she gets into a better flow.

Dana - I've read the first book in the series not the second, would you say you can read Knit the Season without reading the second book?

Teresa wrote: "I'm half way through the book and having sat down for a couple of hours to read straight through now, like Joanne, find myself more interested. I think the beginning of the book is somehow unsastis..."
I read the first two books of the Kate Jacobs' Friday Night Knitting Club series and I just started Knit the Season. Personally I think it is better to have read the first two books first to understand the characters and their past. They are quick read though so I am sure you can catch up before December if Knit the Season turns out to be the December book.

Thank you Amanda. As this October book is proving quick to read I will, hopefully, have time to read the second in the Friday Night Knitting Club in case Knit the Season is chosen.
How is everyone getting on with the October book? I wonder which characters are finding their way into everyone's affections. I'm not sure what counts as a spoiler so I will just say that I am enjoying the blossoming romance and am liking how each character is developing their own personality. I am finding I can visualize the settings (even though I have no idea whether they are anything like the 'real' places they are based on).

I'm finished! I'm trying to decide the best way to start....

1. I like books that allow me to connect with the characters. If I don't care about the characters, then I have a hard time finishing the book, and I certainly don't return for the next book in the series. Until the end, I really didn't have a good sense of these characters. They seemed flat and two-dimensional. Lucy, in particular, was unremarkable. I understand that someone besides Maggie had to be the central character so that the author could maintain our suspicions, but Lucy just didn't have an engaging voice for me. What did y'all think?
2. Genre expectations. This book was fairly formulaic. Mysteries often are, and that's fine. Unfortunately, this one stuck a little too close to the formula, so I kind of knew who did it long before I had any idea why that person might have done it. When did y'all figure out the culprit?
3.On the plus side, I thought that the knitting was rather well placed and used within the text. I found myself having a hard time deciding if I wanted to read or knit when such an opportunity arose, and I think that was because reading about knitting was making my fingers itch for needles.
(view spoiler)[
4. The romance. I like Matt, and I was excited for Lucy. However, I was really disappointed when the date was set up outside the narrative. Where's the excitement, the suspense in that? And then the date itself was badly placed, I thought. I like to sort of wallow in the romance, but I hurried through the date because the mystery itself was finally picking up, and I wanted to keep up the momentum. So I feel like I didn't get to enjoy the romance at all.
5. The conclusion. I figured out why the killer did what she did way too early. And I hate that! Even if I kind of know what happened, I want some of the details to be a surprise. But this time, I knew all the clues, I knew the motivation, everything. Such a disappointment. Plus, there was completely a "Don't go down to the basement in only your underwear"moment! It made me think that the characters were idiots, which makes it hard to connect to them.
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hi there I am hoping to read along with this group but I have hit a slight problem in that I have had difficulty getting hold of the printed versions of the recent books.. I live in the UK and maybe the books weren't published here in large quantities and the libraries dont hold them. I have purchased the last two for kindle on my iPhone but this is not my favourite reading medium and I find it slower to read a book as I can't read off screen for long periods. also if I have to purchase a e-book every month it is going to become expensive and I could spend that money on yarn!! perhaps I will just join in with those books that I can get from the library in the UK in future..

Knitty wrote: "hi there I am hoping to read along with this group but I have hit a slight problem in that I have had difficulty getting hold of the printed versions of the recent books.. I live in the UK and mayb..."
You should be able to find it at www.bookdepository.co.uk at £7.04 with free delivery. I bought it for my kindle from Amazon priced £6.99 which was cheaper than the paperback there which is £8.09. Hope you have some luck getting hold of a copy.

Just got my copy. Gotta read fast!!

Joanne wrote: "Oooh, yes, Dickens. I was teaching last fall, and we did A Christmas Carol. "

Fun! We did "Christmas Carol" on CraftLit podcast last year--both as a video podcast with reference pictures and as pure audio so you can listen and knit at the same time. The guy who did the reading was an EXCELLENT Scrooge, though he looks more like the Ghost of Christmas Present.
If you're interested those episodes are in the library here, (http://crafting-a-life.com/craftlit/?...), though we're doing Halloween-y Dracula right now.

Fun! We did "Christmas Carol" on CraftLit podcast last year--both as a video podcast with reference pic..."

I taught Dracula one Halloween--always fun. Another popular Halloween author was Edgar Allen Poe.

I'd love to catch your podcast, but now that I'm staying home with the kids and no longer have a commute, I have very little time for listening to anything. What little podcast time I have is usually dedicated to Wittertainment! But I'll make a note in my iTunes for when I have more time. Thanks!

I have now finished the book and I loved the gentle humour with which the writer infuses the book. I smiled when I read the part where one character decides not to eat cake because she hoped to loose several pounds by the weekend! A lovely, gentle read just right for moments during the day when you want nothing more than to relax and get cosy.

Joanne wrote: "What little podcast time I have is usually dedicated to Wittertainment!"
Ooh! Now I have a new one to go find.
And today on my long train commute I'm starting While My Pretty One Knits. Home with kids makes for limited reading time here too, but today I have a nice long train ride to Rhinebeck.
Thank you for the podcast rec. I'll sync Wittertainment before I leave.

Heather wrote: "Joanne wrote: "What little podcast time I have is usually dedicated to Wittertainment!"
Ooh! Now I have a new one to go find.
And today on my long train commute I'm starting [book:While My Pretty ..."

Wittertainment is Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's film reviews, if you have trouble finding it.

There's also a lot of podcast discussion at the moment over on the 'Do you listen to audio books and knit' thread if anyone wants lots more suggestions. I'm seriously going to have to sort out and catch up on audiobooks and podcasts - it's getting as bad as my yarn stash;-)

I'm planning on making a pod cast for my mystery book, currently you can download a free sample at smashwords - Akila's Labyrinth

Just finished the book. Overall it was okay. I wished that Lucy could have put everything together a little quicker.

Joanne, I agree the knitting and knitting lingo was well placed. Otherwise the book was not really memorable for me.

Joanne wrote: "I'm finished! I'm trying to decide the best way to start....

1. I like books that allow me to connect with the characters. If I don't care about the characters, then I have a hard time finishing t..."

Joanne wrote: "I'm finished! I'm trying to decide the best way to start....

1. I like books that allow me to connect with the characters. If I don't care about the characters, then I have a hard time finishing t..."

Peggy wrote: "Just finished the book. Overall it was okay. I wished that Lucy could have put everything together a little quicker."

Amanda wrote: "Teresa wrote: "I'm half way through the book and having sat down for a couple of hours to read straight through now, like Joanne, find myself more interested. I think the beginning of the book is s..."

My IPad did something funky there and I think I replied to a few people...whoops.

i'm up to page 172 and i'm loving the storyline so far. Its been a great comfort while feeling sick and helping me take my mind off of it. I also like gazing away at the cover, imagining buying more yarn! i'm going to give this book 4 or 5 stars i think. Hopefully i will finish it tonight. :)

My book hasn't come yet : ( I ordered in from fishpond on 30 sept expecting it to arrive two weeks ago so I have time to read it before end of oct but it still hasn't arrived...

I just couldn't get ahold of this book, but I'm loving everyone's reviews. It's helped me put it...well, on the middle of my priority list. :) Any nominations yet for the November BOTM? I'm looking for an excuse to buy the new Stephanie Pearl McPhee.....

Teresa wrote: " I'm seriously going to have to sort out and catch up on audiobooks and podcasts - it's getting as bad as my yarn stash;-) "


I'm on page 90. The story is enough to hold my interest, but not enough to draw me to look forward to relaxing and reading the book.
There is not enough character development for me to really care about them yet.
As far as podcasts & audiobooks, I feel the same. It's getting to be like a stash that keeps building and takes too long to use it all.
I retired two years ago which ended most of my audio listening, yet I still subscribe. Now I listen to podcasts/audio books when I knit.

I love knitting and mysteries, but I couldn't get into this book enough to finish it.

I finished the book last week. It was OK. I actually liked it better than the Sept. book. I tend to read, or listen to, crime dramas that have more suspense. That said, it's kind of nice to not have the characters crossing the railroad tracks at midnight with their gun tucked into their jacket to catch a killer. :-)

But I didn't know that Stephanie Pearl McPhee has a new book out. Hmmm...off to check B&N's website...

I've just started this, so far so good. Like the characters. Should be a quick read. I did see another book by the author at my local library today