Knit the Season

A Friday Night Knitting Club Novel by Kate Jacobs..ah another book in the Friday Night Knitting Club series...and doesn't disappoint. More about all of your favorite characters Dakota, James, Catherine, Anita and Gran from Scotland. This takes place during the holiday season...there are wedding bells in the future, plans to be made about school, the shop and new relationships. What a great fun read!

Different Drummers

By Don Caron and Lyle Hatcher...what an INCREDIBLE book. I would recommend this book to all ages! I think that families could read this one together. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who knows someone with ADHD...or something similar. This is about two boys and their friendship. This was a quick read for me, less than two days...but what a powerful message and it did give me a lot to think about. There is really something in this book for everyone...school, parents, relationships, friendships...just incredible. You will laugh, cry and roll your eyes with the characters in the book. Also...for all of you locals here...this author is from Spokane...so local talent!

The authors will be at the Liberty Lake Municipal Library on Wednesday February 3rd at 6:30pm to do a reading and discussion. They will also have copies of the book you may buy and get signed! Should be an awesome event. Thanks to Jean at Barnes and Noble for setting this up! Hope you see you there!

Sarah's Key

By Tatiana De Rosnay...someone I know had just finished this book and recommended it to me. I was eager to read it as I enjoy books about the Holocaust...whether fiction or nonfiction. The story sounded appealing...a little girl is taken with her family during an event that happened in France during WW2...she locks her brother in a cabinet and takes the key with her promising to return. She and her family are taken to a camp, boarded on a train and taken to Auschwitz. So what about the boy?? The girl is frantic. What ruins the story is a modern day story about a reporter trying to find out about this event from the French...that part is okay, but her relationships and drama I found unnecessary for the story...and once the little girl's story is done...I was done.

The Road

By Cormac McCarthy...a Post Apocalyptic world...with one man and his son...trekking down THE ROAD to find...what? They encounter all manner of humans along the way...many have succumbed to the world and are no longer human...others are on the brink of starvation and death. What an incredibly depressing read...but I loved it. It was short (took me two days, less than 4 hours to read)...and made me think. Curious to read this book before seeing the movie...I am not sure I want to see the movie now. I am positive that the movie couldn't do the book justice. I felt hungry...alone...hopeless...thirsty...love...and fear. I recommend...but not for the weak in stomach!

1776

By David McCullough...I got this book to listen to in the car. I wasn't sure how it would work. Often books of history can be boring...or maybe just the reading of it could put one to sleep. This wasn't the case for this book. I enjoyed hearing about the British Army and the American Army...as they tried to outwit, outsmart, and outlast (stealing from Survivor) the other side. We get to look at the conditions of war, the homemade armies, the rules of war in that time and the excitement of being a bystander while some of the great battles were being waged on our soil. There are excerpts from diaries, letters and journals...there are personal accounts and there is strategy. Often I was in suspense when listening to the battle and how it would unfold...in spite of the fact that I do know who won in the end. Definitely nonfiction...maybe not for everyone! But most books by David McCullough don't disappoint...and this one was definitely worth the time!

The Help

By Kathryn Stockett...Skeeter is just home from college...the year, 1962. She lives in Jackson, Mississippi. Her dream is to become a writer...and the advice given is to write about something that bothers you. Skeeter takes on a task that will prove to test her friendships, her relationships, and her knowledge of what she thinks life is like in the South. She begins to record stories from the black women who take care of the houses and the children for white women and families. This was an incredible read! I got sucked in immediately...and after some laughter and some tears...I finished the book thinking that it was an incredible story. The author mentions TELLING MEMORIES AMONG SOUTHERN WOMEN by Susan Tucker...and I may have to find and read that book. I was also moved by the fact that the author grew up in the south and shares some of her memories at the end of the book as well. I think I went through so many emotions while reading...and I was impressed that the author was able to make me feel...so many times I feel like I am observing a book...not experiencing it! I highly recommend this book!

Stones Into Schools

Promoting Peace with Books not Bombs in Afghanistan and Pakistan...by Greg Mortenson. Well, I am a HUGE fan of the first book THREE CUPS OF TEA...and I have read that first book about 3 times! This was not a disappointment at all. It picks up where Three Cups of Tea left off...but it isn't more of the same (which was my concern) This books talks more about relationships, people, disasters, and how help can both help and not really help. I guess as I read this book the tragedy in Haiti was fresh and thinking about how a country can help another country made me realize that sometimes it just isn't that simple. Sometimes what we think is helpful, isn't. And...that made me think. I was also impressed with the number of people in the armed forces who have read THREE CUPS OF TEA...I often think that many of our soldiers aren't thinking in terms of other humans, but in terms of orders. That is something I need to work on! This book also enforced ideas of community, helping, and giving of your time. I definitely need to work on that as well. I am always so concerned about where my time is going...I don't always think about how I can give my time to help others. Definitely lots of great discussion items, things to make you think...and again, a message of hope in an area where things aren't always so hopeful! I highly recommend this book!

Unaccustomed Earth

By Jhumpa Lahiri...Had heard some different opinions about this book. It is a collection of short stories...and I had thoroughly enjoyed THE NAMESAKE by the same author...so I got the audio version and I have been listening to it for the past month! I especially liked the first story about a woman who is living in Seattle with her husband and young son, with a baby on the way, and her aging father comes to visit...

Most of the stories involve 1st and 2nd generation Indian immigrants...the relationships with their families, their spouses, their siblings, and their parents. My fascination with other cultures, family lives, and places kept me listening to this book to its end. I would recommend this book to someone who may not like reading a WHOLE book...these stories are shorter or longer...you can pick what you like.

The Tipping Point

By Malcolm Gladwell...this is the second time reading this book. I wanted to review it before my book discussion on Wednesday with the local Kiwanis group. The second time reading reminded me why I liked it the first time. Lots of great ideas...and motivation to find out what sort of sparks you can get started. It definitely gives us hope that maybe we can one day start a trend...it is so hard to say exactly what will get it started...and it makes me aspire to be on my game at all times because you never know when you can start something! Of course Mr Gladwell gives us some guidelines and tips...but it really comes down to chance!

Under the Dome

By Stephen King...I have renewed faith in Stephen King's ability to put together an epic novel! The perfect combination of horror, sci fi, gore and contemporary issues...I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this particularly long novel! I also broke my record for how long it takes me to read Stephen King. I managed to stretch it out from December 1st to December 29th...which wasn't slowly enough for a couple of my friends who asked me to read it...but in my defense...Stephen King is meant to be consumed quickly! There was so much going on and so many questions I wanted answers to...it kept me engaged right up to the very end! The last Stephen King novel I read was FROM A BUICK 8, and that was a while ago...if you haven't tried Stephen King...I recommend him...he is a good writer. However, most of his work is not for the weak of stomach...or if you want to sleep at night! If you want to read a Stephen King novel without the horror...read HEARTS IN ATLANTIS...some of the other Stephen King novels I have enjoyed include:

• Cujo
• Carrie
• Salem's Lot
• It
• The Stand
• The Shining
• Christine
• Different Seasons (novellas)
• The Dead Zone
• Firestarter
• Pet Sematary
• Skeleton Crew (short stories)
• Misery
• The Dark Half
• Needful Things
• Four Past Midnight (short stories)
• Gerald's Game
• Nightmares and Dreamscapes
• Insomnia
• Green Mile
• Bag of Bones
• On Writing
• Dreamcatcher
• Desperation

There are more...some I have read, some I haven't...but these are the ones I would recommend to others. Want a little fright...or spook yourself a little? Try Stephen King!