STITCH 'N BITCH The Knitter's Handbook

Debbie Stoller is credited with inspiring a whole new generation of knitters. Her Stitch 'N Bitch books have a sassy style, and as the narrator she keeps the sass in her delivery. With wordplay like "Take Back the Knit" and "Blocking for Blockheads," she definitely tries--too hard, in my opinion--to appeal to a hip listenership. There may be a way to produce a successful how-to-knit audiobook, but this attempt misses the mark. Knitting is a hands-on visual activity, so an audiobook has an uphill battle. Moreover, Stoller's penchant for cutsey phrasing detracts, and references to patterns in the book but unavailable in an audio format exacerbate the weaknesses of the format. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 08]