The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood

An American novel about overcoming traumas, illnesses and grief by knitting.  It is very girly and not amazingly deep but surprisingly inspiring and uplifting.  The writing is gentle and the characters fun, if slightly unrealistic, which all makes for a very enjoyable read.   It is very easy to succumb to the charm of this novel and since reading it I have located my nearest wool shop and learnt to purl.  This has not solved my not-really-that-numerous problems and, outwardly at least, I have probably become more mental - sitting in a corner whispering knit-knit-purl-knit-purl-shit is not as endearing as the novel suggests - but it shows how addictive the ambience created by this book really is.  It's not many novels that can inspire a new hobby and I would definitely recommend this one (the novel - not necessarily the knitting which is actually a bit frustrating).