Joey Quinton

Adding to my Knitting Book Collection

Today, was date day and my wife and I headed north up I-75 to go to Logan's Roadhouse in Richmond, Kentucky, for dinner.  Following our delicious meal, I went to Hastings to see if a crochet magazine my wife has been awaiting was on the newstands.  Unfortunately, it was not, but I was able to pick up a copy of the Fall 2010 Interweave Crochet for her.  There were no knitting magazines on  the newstand that I did not already have so I browsed through the knitting section in the stacks of books. 

One of the books that I purchased this afternoon was Free-Range Knitter by knitting guru Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.  I, like the rest of the entire knitting world, love the Yarn Harlot and follow her blog closely.  She is an amazing evangelist for knitting and the fiberarts.  I also picked up a copy of Stitch 'n Bitch by Debbie Stoller.   

When I got home I got a wonderful surprise; Cat and Eric have released a new video podcast.  My wife is now napping and I am in my recliner with my knitting bag and my new knitting books...Saturdays just don't get any better than this!

The Knitting Circle

I have been interested in knitting for about a year and I have a life long passion for books, so on Friday afternoon I googled "knit lit" to see if there were any fiction books that had knitting as a theme.  Was I ever pleasantly suprised.  I listed all of these books in my Moleskine and then visited the online catalogue of my local library to see if they had any of these treasures on their shelves.  One of the books that I checked out wasThe Knitting Circle by Ann Hood.  It was fantastic and I could not put the book down.  The story centered around a local knitting group that was populated by knitters who were all too familiar with grief, disappointment, and tragedy.  The protagonist is Mary Baxter who loses her 5-year old daughter to meningitis.  To help her cope with her loss, Mary's mother suggests that she join a local knitting group that meet's each Wednesday evening at Big Alice's Sit and Knit, the local yearn shop.  Through her association with the group each week, Mary gets to know the other knitters and the tragedies that have touched each of their lives.  I kept reading all weekend because I desired to learn the life stories of Alice, Scarlet, Lulu, Beth, Harriet, and Ellen.  I savored each page of the book and am looking at exploring other books by Ann Hood.

 

 

Favorite Authors

How does one author become your favorite? Generally, you like the author's writing style or the way they relate a story.  I used to be one of the milions of people that flocked every January to the local bookstore for the new Grisham release.  Several years ago my supervisor had given me a copy of Grisham's A Time to Kill.  I began reading it but the rape scene in the first chapter was so graphic that I put the book down; I picked it back up several weeks later following so many recommendations from my reading friends.  I am grateful that I gave the book a second chance for it established Grisham as one of my favorite authors.  I loved the way his writing forced you to stay up late at night just so you could read one more page.

In 2005, Elizabeth Kostova became one of my favorite authors after I read her first book, The Historian. This fascinating book was a wonderous flight through time and geography as the protagonist searched for the legendary Dracula.  Kostova has just released her second book, The Swan Thieves, and I have eagerly snatched it up to devour page by page.  Critics purport it to be an equal to her first book. 

The Year of Living Like Jesus

Over the Christmas holiday, I picked up a copy of The Year of Living Like Jesus by Dr. Ed Dobson.  The title intrigued me and when I flipped through its pages I noticed that it was written in a diary format, which greatly appealed to me. 

I am more than half-way through the book and it is a wonderful read.  Dr. Dobson was inspired by A.J. Jacob's book, The Year of Living Biblically.  In his book, Dr. Dobson relates how he used the Gospels as a blueprint to living the way that Jesus lived.  He investigated eating kosher, keeping the Sabbath, not trimming the corners of his beard, and other things to replicate exactly the life that Jesus led.  Through his year-long journey, Dobson touched the lifes of others and will serve as an inspiration to others seeking to share the love of Christ with the world.