Books Blog : Kate Jacobs

Christmas Reading

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:54:00 GMT

I hear from a lot of people that they don't have time to read around the holidays. I can certainly understand that, but I need the escape of my favorite hobby more than ever during the busy month of December.

At the top of my Christmas reading list this year, I had Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs. It's her third Friday Night Knitting Club novel. It focuses on 20-year-old Dakota Walker, who was a little girl in the first book, but the rest of the club and Dakota's father James are there too and it takes them from Thanksgiving through Christmas and New Year's Day. I can't say it's as good as the first book, but I enjoyed it. It's also my favorite so far from the batch of books I've selected for this year.

Two others I've enjoyed this month are The Great Christmas Bowl by Susan May Warren and The Christmas Letters by Lee Smith.

Do you still find time to read around the holidays? If so, what are you reading this holiday season?

Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs

HRevvdon@evpl — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:05:00 GMT

Comfort Food (2008) by Kate Jacobs is a light book set in the world of a cable cooking channel. I listened to the audio version while on a road trip. That's a good format for this novel. There's not much to think about with this book, it is just good entertainment. Funny and ecclectic characters are jumbled together in predictable but funny situations. The main character is Gus - a middle aged widow with two grown daughters with their own problems as celebrity kids. Gus is thrown into a new cooking show format with Carmen, an ambitious Spanish ex-beauty queen who's main ambition is to be in the spotlight and own her own restaurant. The cooking assistant is a financial whiz millionaire who has given up his career, but not his money, to pursue his love of food and cooking. My favorite quirky sidekick minor character is Gus' next door neighbor - an ex-tennis star who has become reclusive since she was ostracized for throwing matches at her father's behest. All ends well, as you would expect.

This is a quick read and very entertaining, especially if you like watching the shows on the Food Channel.

Jacob's other books, Friday Night Knitting Club and its sequel Knit Two, have been very popular. I have not read them but if they are the same as Comfort Food, I am sure they are worth a listen.

A Good Sequel!

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:46:00 GMT

I am always skeptical of sequels. The more I love the first book, the more skeptical I am. This does not mean I don't look forward to sequels, just that I try not to get my hopes up too high. Knit Two by Kate Jacobs is a good book which is fantastic, because I loved The Friday Night Knitting Club and really didn't want to be disapointed. So, if you're a fan of The Friday Night Knitting Club too, get ahold of a copy of Knit Two and enjoy spending a little more time with your favorite knitting club characters!

Knit Two by Kate Jacobs

Knit Two by Kate Jacobs (CD audiobook)

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (Large Type)

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (CD audiobook)

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (downloadable audiobook)

previous post-- Kate Jacobs' Knitting Novels

Kate Jacobs' Knitting Novels

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:41:00 GMT

I have never knitted and rarely do I crochet. So, when I first heard about The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs, I dismissed it as just another of the trendy knitting-themed novels to hit the shelves since yarn crafts started making their big comeback. I just wasn't interested in reading about a craft I don't do. It wasn't until Kate Jacobs' second novel, Comfort Food arrived that I wondered if I should take a closer look. I recently read both books and I have to say that Jacobs writes wonderful characters. Her stories, while perhaps not as strong as her characters, are warm and charming. I would recommend both books, but I especially enjoyed The Friday Night Knitting Club. I was so drawn in, I did very little this past Sunday other than read FNKC. So, I'm very excited that at the end of the month a sequel, Knit Two, will be released!