Knit the Season

Serendipity. It's one of my favorite words. Wikipedia defines serendipity as "the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something entirely unrelated". Serendipity is a sprinkle of magic. Some days are transformed by serendipity of the best kind, often in relation to books. One afternoon I found a copy of The Giver signed by the author, Lois Lowry, at a used book shop. This was a book I had wanted to read for ages, and now I had an autographed copy! Sometimes the very books I want to read fall right into my lap.

Such was also the case with Knit the Season: A Friday Night Knitting Club Novel. Craving a cozy, comforting book to curl up with and get me in the mood for the holidays, I was thrilled to learn about Kate Jacob's new book, Knit the Season, the third book of a trilogy. When Lydia from Putnam offered to send me an advance reading copy of the book, I felt honored I'd be one of the first to read it.

About a year ago, I discovered the novels of Kate Jacobs. My husband gave me The Friday Night Knitting Club as a birthday gift, because he knew my blog focused mainly on books by women writers. I read and reviewed The Friday Night Knitting Club, and was also lucky to interview Kate Jacobs. This was my first interview with an author. I read the second book in the series, Knit Two, soon after it came out last November.

Knit the Season takes place a year after the second book. I need to be very careful here not to say too much, because I don't want to spoil any of the books in this series by revealing too much. The same lively characters are featured, Dakota, Georgia, Catherine, Gran, James, Peri, Anita, and the rest of the cast. The holidays are coming up (just as they are for us), and James wants to take his family and Catherine to Scotland to visit Gran, who's in her nineties. But Dakota has a conflict, and must decide between career and family. There are also many changes for these characters as they mature a bit and realize what's important in life. Of course, knitting is still a leitmotif, and the Manhattan knitting store, Walker and Daughter, continues to thrive. Friendships between characters have ripened, and there are romances and even wedding plans. Knit this all together (sorry, couldn't help it) and you get a thoroughly charming and enjoyable novel.




















My youngest daughter and I baked Gran's Scrumptious Shortbread, a recipe featured in Knit the Season. We spent an evening mixing up the dough, cutting the shapes, baking them, and, of course, sampling them. We added lingonberry jam to the centers of the circular cookies. Together, we had a taste of the season ahead.

Special thanks to Lydia for sending me this book. Knit the Season will be available for purchase on November 3, 2009. Please stay tuned for another exclusive interview with Kate Jacobs!