Who says sweaters have to be complicated and difficult? With this book, even the newest knitter can make just the right sweater. But not just for beginners, the techniques used to create these lovely projects can be an inspiration to experienced knitters as well.

A variety of wonderful patterns from yarn shops across the country make this book one of my favorites. Each featured shop presents one pattern along with information about the shop itself.

A classic that will never go out of style, Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac is full of practical advice and a variety of challenging projects. Elizabeth Zimmerman is probably the most revered and influential knitter of the 20th century. A master craftswoman her books will never go out of style because of their warmth, humor and practicality.

Here is another great knitting book for kids. Especially popular projects from this book include the knitted backpack and the floppy doll.

While there isn't a lot in this book I'd make for myself, the patterns offer inspiration for knitter who like to make garments that are highly fashionable. Especially popular with teen knitters in my weekly knitting group, this is a fun alternative to all the baby knits, ho-hum sweaters and afghans. This isn't your granny's knitting book.

While this book isn't lavishly illustrated it is still packed full of practical advice and instruction. Maggie Righetti has a unique voice that makes reading about knitting fun. Her no-nonsense advice will clear up even the most difficult knitting concepts and she might just make you smile to boot.

Everybody has oddballs. The wonderful ideas in this book will help you use them to make fun and useful items for yourself or for gifts. Clear, easy to read instructions make for no-headache knitting.

Using thick yarn, simple, well-written instructions and just a few hours many of the projects in this book can be completed. As with other books by Melanie Falick, the instructions are well-written and easy to follow. A wide variety of projects ensure something for everyone.

This is a great book for beginning knitters, both children and adults. It has a variety of easy and fun projects along with all the information necessary to learn the theories behind what you are doing. Especially popular, and very easy, is the pattern for the garter stitch doll.

I've been knitting for over 30 years and I own countless books, but for information on techniques this is the most comprehensive book in existence. It carefully explains variations for the techniques used in the craft and art of knitting.

A great book with a less than great ending. Mirasol is a beekeeper and is also holds the position of Chalice as one of a group of ten, the Circle, who work together to protect the Willowlands. As Chalice Mirasol is awkward and never seems to know the right thing to say. Her task is to help the former Master's brother adjust to his new life as Master--a role he never expected to have as he had gone away to become a Priest of Fire. I found the ending a bit abrupt. Mirasol's bees swarm the interloper who has come to take power from the Master and burn him. Her damaged Master miraculously changes back to human form from his Fire form and all is well with the world. Much of the book is beautifully imagined and described. It seemed a shame to end it in such a contrived and hurried fashion.

Set in Renaissance Florence, this book centers around a family of chefs and their duty to the illustrious de Medici family. Mixing superb historical elements with just the right mix of fantasy to be wholly believable, Ms. Roessner has created a cast of characters who are not to be forgotten. The author's skill for creating visual images through imaginative writing that are lush and beautiful is a true talent. I found it difficult to say goodbye to the characters in this book and was thrilled to read the sequel, The Stars Compel.

Set in Renaissance Italy this book is just the right mix of vivid historical detail and believable fantasy elements. Throw in some well-defined and wonderful characters and you have quite a memorable book. Of course Renaissance Italy was rife with court intrigue, political and religious strife. All these elements and more are melded into a book that is original but entirely believable. At the center of this, the sequel to The Stars Dispose, are Caterina de'Medici and Tommaso Aristo, her talented chef in training and her magical familiar. Tommaso must help Caterina negotiate the possible futures she sees for herself. Art, intrigue, romance and the fragrant smells of Renaissance cooking blend perfectly with wonderful characters to create an almost perfect book.

Two original voices in fantasy writing team up to create a haunting and thoroughly believable world where men and wolves join for life. These wolf/men are responsible for protecting their world from evil trolls who would like nothing better than to invade and destroy everything. If you think this description sounds corny, think again. This is a dark, but beautiful world peopled with memorable characters and fully realized traditions. A Companion to Wolves is a stunning book and can't be compared to any of the myriad other human/animal bonding books written before it.

Marsha Hunt's first book, Joy, tells the story of a family through their eyes after the death of Joy who, along with her sisters, escaped a life of poverty and deprivation after garnering success as singers and entertainers. But nothing is as it seems on the surface and even the beautiful, talented Joy had things kept hidden.

By far the best book I've EVER read The Name of the Wind chronicles the life of the brilliant and enigmatic Kvothe from his days growing up with the Edma Ruh, a professional traveling troupe of entertainers, to his admission to the University as the youngest student ever to be allowed into its hallowed halls, and all that falls in between. Told with gradeur, beauty and a subtlety of language that is stunning. When the story begins Kvothe is an innkeeper in a remote out-of-the-way hamlet. How did he get to be there and why is he so reluctant to admit who he really is? What role does Bast, his devoted servant and student, play in his life? And why does he become so alarmed over the appearance of great evil creatures called the Scrael? I can hardly wait until March 2011 for the next installment in this magnificent series. Early pre-pub reviews indicate it will have been well worth the wait and the sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, is just as powerful as The Name of the Wind.

Marsha Hunt writes a heart-wrending account of her search for her grandmother, Ernestine, who was committed to an insane asylum in the 1920s. When Ms. Hunt discovers that her grandmother is still alive at age 94, she knows she must locate her. Despite objections by family members who wished to keep Ernestine's whereabouts secret, the author eventually finds her grandmother in a run-down nursing home. Why was she condemned to a life of institutionalization? Was it because she was the daughter of a African-American woman and and unknown father? Was it because she was light-skinned with blue eyes and blonde hair? Beautifully written and highly personal this is amoving story that is hard to forget.

Set in Germantown in 1913, this is the tragic story of Teenotchy Simms, a poor, young African-American servant to a local family of privilege and power. When he meets a young Englishman, Alexander Blake, Teenotchy discovers a friend who society forbids him to care for. A haunting and desperate act ends this book and sears the characters in the reader's mind forever.

I never want the adventures of Felix and Mildmay to come to an end so it was with great sorrow that I read the book that ends this highly original series. Rather than tying up the series with an unbelievable "happily ever after" ending, Ms. Monette gives the brothers a few more tasks to accomplish in order to save their world from destruction. Then they retire to the country for, perhaps, some much deserved peace and quiet. F*#@ me sideways 'til I cry, but I really don't want to give these characters up. I can hold out a faint hope that they will be revisited someday. And what a day that will be!

Unbeknownst to Mildmay, the actress he has fallen in love with, Mehitabel Parr, is actually a spy for the Bastion, a group of rival wizards who are out to destroy the Mirador by destroying Mildmay's half-brother, Felix Harrowgate. The intrigues and counter-plots all take place withing the Mirador itself and this seems to have a stifling effect on both Felix and Mildmay. As Felix is drawn back into his life of privilege, Mildmay, joined to Felix by blood-magic, is subjected to the sneers and snobbery of the Melusine elite.