The Friday Night Knitting Club

The best part of the book was the knitting stuff -- and I don't even knit.
The characters had potential, but the writing was hackneyed and vastly in need of editing ("said her blond friend" etc.). I'm always looking for books about groups of women, though, and kept listening even though I found myself shaking my head at almost every turn. And I'm not generally judgmental about what they call "chick-lit" but most of what I've read before (Sophie Kinsella, Jane Green, etc.) is well written.
I agree with the reviewer above who said the way it ended was unbelievable and difficult to take. I also had major issues with what passed for parenting skills in the book. (Spoiler alert: Who rewards their kid for running away with an instant trip to Scotland?)
The book actually left me depressed about the state of publishing instead of the fate of the characters.

The book is OK. The narration is not so great. In particular, the voices of the two black characters are bizarre and, to me, grating. The voices don't fit what we know about the characters.

The book kind of grew on me for the first 3/4 of the book - a "comfortable" read (listen) and no heavy action. But the ending was so wrong (not what happened but the way it happened) - and from a medical point of view - inaccurate. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. That kind of ruined it for me.

I rarely give up on a book. This one just drove me to throw it over and to look for something else. Honestly, I'm not sure how it got published in the first place. Have editors been decommissioned to the point that an entire book can be made up of trite cliche'd phrases?

I love to knit. I hate this book.

I am a knitter, and it seeemed that a lot of other knitters liked this book. So I chose it, and boy, was it painful. HORRIBLY written, boring characters, incredibly cliche'ed stereotypes, and unrealistic stories. Georgia gives up a place at Dartmouth to stay with her friend, who then gets in and goes? No, this does NOT happen. What was she THINKING?
The narrator was awful too, but I'm not going to hold it against her. I wouldn't be able to read this drivel either.

For me the ending ruined this book. It was going along at a 4 star pace, as an enjoyable read, about different woman, all friends, traveling different interesting journeys in life....then the last quarter of the book came along....totally ruined whatever redeeming qualities the book had. I'll say no more, so as not to ruin it for anyone, but if you like an even somewhat "feel good" story, you might not want to read this. Totally a downer ending.

This is a great book/the narrator did a wonderful job /why do blacks have to sound a certain way.The book was full of surprises.I loved the friendship,the caring of the characters. The story will make you think of your own values and loves.I wish that I had more friends that I shared and interest with.I enjoy crafts,knitting,and had the same feelings as K C.I hope the author can produce more books of the fine caliber.The narrator's voice was excellent and the speed was just right she read at a pace that allowed you to think about the story while listening.I enjoyed this literature and will reread again and again.Thank you Kate Jacobs

The Friday Night Knitting Club was a good book BUT...I was very put off by the manner in which this book was read. The accents of the voices, most particularly that of the African Americans, were rather offensive. I do not know what the narrator's experience is with African Americans from the south but the Jim Crow accents she used were awful. MacDuffie also has a particularly hard time doing children without making them seem peevish and whiny. I prefer to have books read without fake voices for each part. When the narrator assigns an attitude to a part, she is deciding how we accept each character. James sounds like Uncle Tom with a mouthful of peanuts. Cat sounds like a 12 year old Valley Girl. Even Georgia, the main character, sounds like a young girl with less than a full deck of cards. Please, no more bad interpretations. We want to listen, but we are not attending a bad play.
If this book had been read in a straightforward way, I would have rated it higher.

I purchased this book because Julia Roberts is producing this movie and is staring as the main character, Georgia Walker. (in 2008) And I am a big fan of hers...

I wasn't crazy about the narrator. The way she narrated, it make the character's sound old and stuffy. So I didn't quite relate to any of them. Also, the main character, Georgia was 38, but the way the author wrote about her, she sounded much older. Because I am also 38, I felt like she made Georgia sound like a great aunt.

If you are just expecting to find a book to keep you midly entertained then go for it. Because I purchase these books to be used for when I am excercising, I really like these books that are so great, I can't stop listening to it, and therefore, I excerise longer. This just wasn't one of these books.

I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of the book. THen the bottom fell out and the last third was so depressing I wondered what was the author thinking? Surely she would know that few of us would pick up another of her books with such a horrible ending. IF I want to read horrible endings, I read the newspaper!