Bogormen

Title: MWF Seeking BFF
Author: Rachel Bertsche
Genre: Memoir, Non-fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 349
Date read: April 2014

When Rachel Bertsche first moves to Chicago, she's thrilled to finally share a zip code with her boyfriend. But shortly after getting married, she realizes that her new life is missing one thing: friends. Sure, she has plenty of BFFs - in New York and San Francisco and Boston and Washington, D.C. Still, in her adopted hometown, there's no one to call at the last minute for girl talk over brunch or a reality-TV marathon over a bottle of wine. Taking matters into her own hands, Bertsche develops a plan: Meeting people everywhere from improv class to friend rental websites, she'll go on fifty-two friend-dates, one per week for a year, in hopes of meeting her new Best Friend Forever.

One of the most inspirational books I've read since Gretchen Rubin's "The Happiness Project". I didn't really have any idea what to expect when I started reading it, but I ended up LOVING it, and finished it in just two days.

Rachel Bertsche sounds like an awesome person, and one I'd enjoy getting together with IRL, so I really enjoyed reading about her search for friends, feeling like I could live vicariously through her.

At the end of the book, Rachel Bertsche has a section on "Recommended Reading", and while I'll definitely have to check out some of her recommendations (it would seem like our taste in books mesh quite well - and she recommended The Baby-Sitter's Club!!! That's friend-material right there! ;) ), what I loved most was her section on "Books whose authors I'd like to have as friends" (from memory). What a cute idea :) One of the authors listed was Gretchen Rubin, who'd definitely also be on my list.

And after reading this book, I think I would have to add Rachel Bertsche herself to that list as well.

Lovely, happy-making book :)

Title: Laced with Magic (Sugar Maple #2)
Author: Barbara Bretton
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 327
Date read: April 2014

Knit shop owner and sorcerer's daughter Chloe Hobbs felt the Fates finally got it right when she met Luke MacKenzie. And no one could have convinced her otherwise-including the trolls, selkies, or spirits who also call Sugar Maple, Vermont, home. But then out of nowhere Luke's ex-wife suddenly shows up, claiming to see the spirit of their daughter, Steffie-a daughter Chloe knows nothing about.

Steffie's spirit is being held hostage by a certain Fae leader. And if Chloe weaves a spell to free her spirit, her nemesis will also be free-free to destroy her yarn shop and all of Sugar Maple. But if she doesn't, Steffie won't be the only one spending eternity in hell. Chloe'll be joining her, cursed with a broken heart.

About half way through the book it looked as if I would end up giving it two stars at best. A horrible disappointment after I had enjoyed the first book so much. But fortunately Barbara Bretton managed to redeem herself in the second half, and in the end she regained my trust and at least almost lived up to my expectations. So after thinking I might not finish the book at all, I now find myself considering continuing with the series after all.

But the first half was absolutely ripe with foreshadowing - one of my hugest pet peeves in books. At page 111 I was disgusted enough with the entire thing that I considered just giving up on the book altogether. Fortunately I gave it the benefit of the doubt, and not only did the main characters not run quite as straight-forwardly into a brick wall as I had feared, but there was only one more incident of foreshadowing in the rest of the book. Still, the extreme use of the feature in the first half subtracted a full star off my rating.

I'm not sure I buy into Luke and Chloe's relationship any longer, and there were quite a number of plotholes here and there, but I absolutely adored Karen and her weird friendship with Chloe, and am sad we won't get to see her again.

Even the cliff-hanger at the end of the book was decent enough that it only subtracted half a star rather than the full star it would usually do.

Title: Magic or Madness
Author: Justine Larbalestier
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 2.5/5
# pages: 268
Date read: April 2014

For fifteen years, Reason Cansino has lived a life on the run. Together with her mother, Sarafina, she has moved from one place to another in the Australian countryside, desperate not to be found by Reason's grandmother Esmeralda, a dangerous woman who believes in magic. But when Sarafina suffers a breakdown, Reason is forced to move in with her grandmother in Sydney. The moment Reason walks through Esmeralda's back door and finds herself on a New York City street, she's confronted by an unavoidable truth - magic is real.

This is one of those books that ought to come with a sign: "WARNING! Not a trilogy, but rather one book split up into three for convenience." Consequently I waited for most of the book for the action to start, and once it did, there were only 40 pages left, and I knew there was no way it could all be wrapped up in time.

Nor was it, and while those last 40 pages WERE very interesting indeed, they couldn't quite make up for the preceding 200-something pages that were a bit of a slog to get through. So while I am curious to see what will happen next, I think I'll just read through some spoilerific reviews here, rather than actually go get hold of the books myself.

Title: Knit One, Pearl One
Author: Gil McNeil
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 396
Date read: July 2012, April 2014

It's been a busy few years since Jo Mackenzie lost her husband. Life has brought adventure, surprises, unexpected pleasures and, of course, lots of knitting.

Jo's seaside yarn shop, with a brand-new cafe, has taken off, keeping her busier than ever. And being a single mum to two boys and a headstrong toddler, Pearl, is just as exhausting and enchanting as she thought it would be. On top of all that, celebrity diva Grace has a secret, Jo's firecracker best friend, Ellen, is launching a new television series, and lovable but hapless Martin continues his oft-misguided attempts to woo Jo. Just when Jo thinks she has about all she can handle, Daniel, Pearl's globe-trotting dad, turns up out of the blue...

With a little help from her friends and her beloved Gran, Jo is building a new life for herself by the sea, stitch by stitch.

I do hope Gil McNeil is planing more books in this series. It's comfort reading of the best kind. You really grow to love the characters with all their quirkiness.

I liked seeing a resolution with Daniel, and adored Pearl - she's a perfect description of a two-year-old with all their charms and horrors ;)

I wish I had a yarnshop like McKnit nearby!

Title: The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club (Diva's Don't Knit)
Author: Gil McNeil
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 404
Date read: June 2011, April 2014, July 2018

When her husband dies in a car crash-not long after announcing he wants a divorce-Jo Mackenzie packs up her two rowdy boys and moves from London to a dilapidated villa in her seaside hometown. There, she takes over her beloved Gran's knitting shop-a quaint but out-of-date store in desperate need of a facelift. After a rough beginning, Jo soon finds comfort in a "Stitch and Bitch" group; a collection of quirky, lively women who share their stories, and their addiction to cake, with warmth and humor.

As Jo starts to get the hang of single-parent life in a small town, she relies on her knitting group for support. The women meet every week at the shop on Beach Street and trade gossip and advice as freely as they do a new stitch. But when a new man enters Jo's life, and an A-list actress moves into the local mansion, the knitting club has even more trouble confining the conversation to knit one, purl two.

A nice, cozy read. I was a bit dubious at first, as it could have ended up being rather depressing, but fortunately it was handled well, and ended up being an enjoyable, feel-good read. I especially loved the friendship that developed between Jo and Grace, and laughed out loud at Grace's manipulation of Jo's star-struck ex-in-laws.

Title: The Friday Night Knitting Club
Author: Kate Jacobs
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 418
Date read: July 2009, April 2014

Walker and Daughter is Georgia Walker''s little yarn shop, tucked into a quiet storefront on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The Friday Night Knitting Club was started by some of Georgia's regulars, who gather once a week to work on their latest projects and to chat-and occasionally clash-over their stories of love, life, and everything in between.

Georgia has her hands full, juggling the demands of running the store and raising her spunky teen daughter, Dakota, by herself. Thank goodness for Anita, her mentor and dear friend, and the rest of the members of the knitting club-who are just as varied as the skeins of yarn in the shop's bins. There's Peri, a pre-law student turned handbag designer; Darwin, a somewhat aloof feminist grad student; and Lucie, a petite, quiet woman who''s harboring some secrets of her own.

However, unexpected changes soon throw these women's lives into disarray, and the shop's comfortable world gets shaken up like a snow globe. "James," Georgia's ex, decides that he wants to play a larger role in Dakota's life - and possibly Georgia's as well. Cat, a former friend from high school, returns to New York as a rich Park Avenue wife and uneasily renews her old bond with Georgia. Meanwhile, Anita must confront her growing (and reciprocated) feelings for Marty, the kind neighborhood deli owner.

And when the unthinkable happens, they realize what they've created: not just a knitting club, but a sisterhood.

I really liked this book. It was cozy, optimistic and generally the perfect chick-lit. To my surprise it even made me want to knit(!) - something I've always reckoned I didn't have the patience for at all.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters, and the relationships between them. Especially Georgia's Gran was just terrific.

It's not a book where a lot of things happen, but a book where you get to know and love a bunch of people and get a look into their every day life. I did feel Kate Jacobs skipped quickly over things occasionally, and the ending knocked me for six, but in general an excellent book.