The basic premise of this book is that it is ideal for the knitter on the go, and that everyone from beginner to intermediate will find the patterns easy to follow. As a person who has knitted but is very much a beginner, I was quite lost while reading through the book. Yes, there is a glossary, hidden between the instructions and the yarn sources, but having to flip back and forth became a bit tedious. It didn’t seem that it would be that hard to spell out a few of the terms, at least the first time with every pattern.
Excluding the intro and dedication, the book has three basic sections: the 10 patterns that take up only half of the book, the help area in the middle consisting of the instructions and glossary, and then the final 11 pages, a listing of various websites and knitting tips by Ms. Nock. The 10 patterns each had a nice finished color picture, so you can see how it should end up. The instructions though were vague at best and should have provided a lot more detail. The web and book resources cited will give you a good place to start for more help, if you have the time to look.
Now let’s discuss the book itself. Expecting more of a coffee table sized book, the small 55 page book measured a mere 3/16th of an inch thick and was the width and height of a novel. Margaret Nock self-published Knit 1 for the Road at booksurge.com. There is nothing wrong with self-publishing, though going by the price being charged for the book, she chose the wrong publisher. $17.99 is a ridiculously high price for such a small book. As I flipped through the pages, I couldn’t help but think it should be a free ebook given away with purchase.
Except for the pictures of the finished product, there are no other pictures or illustrations at all throughout the book. Even free patterns you can find online give step-by-step guidelines with pictures of each step. So you buy her book but then must spend countless hours looking online for the proper help to finish her “easy” projects. Though it might take you a bit longer to complete them, some of those projects do look interesting, if not a bit intimidating.
Ms. Nock needs to take this book back to the drawing board (literally), add more pictures, illustrations, and instructions and then republish with a more economical publisher like createspace.com. She could easily sell this book for under $10 and still make a nice profit…or preferably sell it as an ebook. She’ll never have a best seller with this book as is, at least by this reviewer’s estimation.
Knit 1 for The Road by Margaret Nock
My rating: D
http://www.knit1fortheroad.com/
Judyth Piazza chats with Margaret Nock, Author of Knit 1 for the Road
