The Knitting Circle

This is not a book I would usually be interested in reading. But, for some reason the cover just caught my eye at the library.

The story deals with Mary dealing with the loss of her young daughter, Stella to meningitis. Her mother suggests she takes up knitting to help ease her mind and help her cope with her stress. Reluctantly she joins a knitting circle where she meets a whole set of women, each with their own unique story of love and loss. Some of the stories were very touching.

Throughout the book you see Mary go through the grieving process and how it effects her relationship with her spouse, boss, co-workers, friends and even her mother. The end is happy, yet believable.

I really enjoyed this book.

Good Night Henry

This is a book I bought pretty cheap at Borders (I told you, I love the Bargain Books). I read this on the plane to Ireland and during some downtime on my vacation.

Honestly, I bought the book because a) it was only $4 and b) the dog on the front reminded me of Lola.

The story was pretty decent - it seems to deal with a lot of characters dealing with various forms of loss and grief. One part of the story is about a single mother raising 2 boys (one with a maimed arm). Their father vanishes from their life when they were babies, then reappears, causing some chaos in the family structure. Woven throughout that story is the story of the mother dealing with the disappearance of her beloved older brother years ago - and facing the possiblity that he is most likely dead, as well as the tragedy surrounding his dissapearance.

I would pass this on to someone looking for a good book that isn't too 'deep' or depressing. Sometimes I just read too many of those...