Thanks to accelerated/AP English classes in high school, I learned to hate reading.  Or more accurately, I hated the reading that was assigned to us.  On the rare occasions we got to choose a book to read, I usually liked my choice quite a lot.  (A Clockwork Orange was one of those few.)  I’ve only recently started learning to really enjoy reading again, and that’s because I came to the realization that reading doesn’t always have to teach you deep lessons on life, nor do you always have to pick books apart looking for themes and motifs and hidden meaning. I guess you could say I’ve rediscovered the idea of reading for just pure pleasure.

Just lately I’ve been devouring all the “knit-lit” that’s being published right now.  Combining my interest in knitting with a good story? — Heck yes!

The first bit of knit-lit that I read was The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs.  I absolutely loved it, and it’s still probably my favorite in the genre.  I’ve heard there’s plans of making it into a movie too, which would be fantastic.

I’ve also been reading Debbie MacComber’s Blossom Street series.  I just picked up the third book, Back on Blossom Street.  I guess Debbie MacComber is “technically” a romance-writer.  I know I feel awkward (and a bit dirty) browsing for her books in the romance section of the bookstore.  (Not that there’s anything wrong with romance novels; it’s just that those Fabio-graced covers kind of squick me out!)  But her books are well worth it.  She’s really good at making you care about her characters.

Then there’s all the knit-lit books that fall into the mystery category.  Both Maggie Sefton and Mary Kruger have written knitting mysteries.  I’ve read Maggie Sefton’s Knit One, Kill Two and I’m almost finished with Needled to Death.  Her books qualify as a sort of guilty pleasure.  They’re rather repetitive (see Alison’s blog post) and maybe even a bit cheesy, but I can’t help wanting to read all of them.  I’ve heard that Mary Kruger’s knitting mysteries are better, so I picked up her book, Died in the Wool, as well. Come to find out, that’s her second book though, so I need to go back to the store and get the first one.

Finally, while not knitting-related, Kelley Petkun’s blog recently mentioned the Coffeehouse Mystery series.  Being that coffee-addiction and fiber-addiction are my two biggest vices, I decided this series of books was probably right up my alley as well.  I can’t wait to read the first book.

What’s on your summer reading list?