Granny Square Afghan Book Blanket Update / January 2025

Oh hey, it’s me a month late trying to remember what I’ve read so far this year! I’ve decided to take Elyse Meyers‘ method of ranking books because sometimes I’m just not sure how to rate them. Her system is – either half a point, point, or no point to each of the following categories…

Plot, Characters, Setting, Writing Style, Pacing, Themes, Originality, Emotional Impact, Overall Enjoyment, Ending

As far as the crochet squares go, it took me a minute to figure out exactly what I wanted to do. Mostly because there are so many granny square patterns out there (and I did a roundup of options), and then I tried a few and decided that I’m more about the colors than making something super complicated. So I went back to basics and have liked that!

Without further ado, here’s the books and their squares from January.

Small Things Like These

by Claire Keegan

Plot: .5 // Characters: .5 // Setting: 1 // Writing Style: 1 // Pacing: 0 // Themes: .5 Originality: .5 // Emotional Impact: 0 // Overall Enjoyment: .5 // Ending: 0

Total: 4.5

Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: Admittedly, I started listening to this one while at a coffee shop drawing on my ipad so I didn’t look at the description enough and didn’t realize it was a short story. I was thoroughly confused when it ended. It felt kind of adjacent to Call the Midwife, which I love, and I wished that I could have read more of it so that was good, but this might be one I’ll have to come to later on.

The Book of Murder

by Matt Murphy

Plot: 1 // Characters: 1 // Setting: 1 // Writing Style: 1 // Pacing: .5 // Themes: .5 // Originality: 1 // Emotional Impact: .5 // Overall Enjoyment: 1 // Ending: 1

Total: 8.5

Format: Ebook

Thoughts: I first heard about this book on Armchair Expert when they interviewed Matt Murphy, and my pre-law brain perked up when I heard he had written a book! (For those who don’t know, my original goal had been to go to law school before I was like actually, no my senior year of college.) It was interesting to hear the human side of how prosecuting cases like this fit into (or don’t fit into) the prosecutor’s life. For me, it also confirmed that I’m glad I didn’t go to law school…while the cases still pique my interest, the gore that he had to face would not have been good for my mental and emotional health!

The Four Winds

by: Kristin Hannah

Plot: 1 // Characters: 1 // Setting: 1 // Writing Style: 1 // Pacing: .5 // Themes: 1 // Originality: 1 // Emotional Impact: 1 // Overall Enjoyment: 1 // Ending: .5

Total: 9

Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: This was a book I thoroughly enjoyed, with memorable characters and a compelling parallel to modern times. The dust bowl is never something I’d studied all that much, and it was so interesting to hear how it affected this family. It would have been nice if the beginning could have sped up a bit and *spoiler* the daughter could have gotten her ish together before the last minute* but overall definitely a great book.

A Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii

By Kate Quinn, Stephanie Dray, Ben Kane, Sophie Perinot, Vicky Alvear Shecter

Plot: 1 // Characters: 1 // Setting: 1 // Writing Style: 1 // Pacing: .5 // Themes: 1 // Originality: 1 // Emotional Impact: 1 // Overall Enjoyment: 1 // Ending: 1

Total: 9.5

Format: Ebook

Thoughts: I’ve read a collaboration book by some of the same authors in the past (Ribbons of Scarlett) and really enjoy how both Kate Quinn and Stephanie Dray write. This is now a reminder for me to check out the other authors as well! I went to Pompeii in 2019 and it was really cool to be able to recognize some of the places that were mentioned in the book. I liked how each story kind of curled together in different ways and also enjoyed that there were a variety of different endings to the stories (I honestly assumed everyone would die).

The Briar Club

By Kate Quinn

Rating: Plot: 1 // Characters: 1 // Setting: 1 // Writing Style: .5 // Pacing: .5 // Themes: .5 // Originality: 1 // Emotional Impact: .5 // Overall Enjoyment: .75 // Ending: 1

Total: 7.75

Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: I think I wanted to like this one more because I love Kate Quinn’s work so much. This one packed a lot in and sometimes felt like it didn’t have to take quite as long to get to the point. Another time period I didn’t know much about!

The House of My Mother

by: Shari Franke

Rating: Plot: 1 // Characters: 1 // Setting: 1 // Writing Style: .5 // Pacing: .5 // Themes: .5 // Originality: 1 // Emotional Impact: .5 // Overall Enjoyment: .5 // Ending: .5

Total: 7

Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: I hadn’t heard of the Franke family or 8 Passengers prior to Ruby’s arrest and subsequent media storm, and I was glad that her eldest daughter was able to share her story in a way that was true to her. What she and her siblings endured was heartbreaking, and it was awful that she was fighting so hard to get help for them. I’m glad that she and others are able to speak up about considerations for kids in social media and on youtube channels.

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts?