Silly knock knock jokes that the kids will get a kick out of.  There are duplicates and proofreading could have been better.  Included are bonus knock knock jokes from his other three knock knock jokes.  My favorites were 58 and 75.  I chuckled at those ones.

During World War I on a tiny island in the Seine sits The Little Palace, a restaurant run by master chef and cheese maker, Narcisse.  Narcisse happens to be a cat who believes in equality and service for all.  The stress of the war has allowed for animals and humans to communicate in ways unknown before. With the help of a very special group of animals, Narcisse has made The Little Palace an oasis for good food, company and a refuge for artists.  In the cafe animals and humans work side by side; however, one of the servers at The Little Palace believes that animals and humans should not be equal.  The server hatches a plan that damages the reputation of The Little Palace.  At the same time Narcisse gets word that her father has been injured in the war.  

What a wonderful gentle read. The life of William Stoner, a student and then a Professor at the University of Missouri. He initially enrolled to study agriculture, and help manage his father’s farm, but in one very significant life changing moment he discovered his true vocation in the world of literature. His choice of Edith as a future spouse was a fundamental mistake….”She was short, plump woman with fine white hair that floated about her face; her dark eyes twinkled moistly, and she spoke softly and breathlessly  as if she were telling secrets.”………”in her white dress she was a cold light coming into the room”…..And so with a stoical mind and a shrug of inevitability Stoner fills his days with the enquiring and challenging minds of his students and his lifelong love of books and the written word. Katherine Driscoll, a student completing her dissertation, falls in love with Stoner and he, whose life is totally devoid of any affection, reciprocates this much wanted attention. For a time, his personal and private life were full of joy but under pressure from departmental elders the affair ended….”He had wanted love; and he had had love, and had relinquished  it, had let it go into the chaos of potentiality. Katherine, he thought. Katherine.”…….

The life of Stoner is a life or ordinariness filled with those special moments, full of decisions taken, choices made, right or wrong, good or bad. It is a clever, poignant book and in many ways a reflection of any human life, and the inevitable fate that awaits us all. Beautiful storytelling and highly recommended.

I don't often share my thoughts as I read a novel but the writing in Stoner is astounding and the observations have a pinpoint accuracy..."Her parents behaved toward eachother with a distant courtesy; Edith never saw pass between the the spontaneous warmth of either anger or love"...

by Joelle Hoverson

I admit, I was attracted to this one because of the elfin hat on the little girl on the cover.

As the title suggests, this is a book of patterns for gift items that you can knit. It is different in that the table of contents is organized by how long it takes to make an item!

There are some really nice items to make and some of them take as little as two hours, maybe less. Hats, bracelets, wrist warmers, sock and even toys can be made quickly when you suddenly need a gift for someone. That alone makes this is brilliant book.

There are holiday items like bauble covers, not to mention the cute elf hat, and many of them would be a joy to give to someone. The knitted baskets in the 2-4 hour patterns really appealed to me. Nice design and so useful!

The book has full color photos for all the patterns and some of them show the effects of making them in different colors and sizes.

You get the usual baby socks and hats, but also things for adults like scarves and wrist warmers in particularly nice designs. A few household items are included that are diferent from the usual stuff. As the time commitment gets longer, the patterns include more clothing items for both children and adults. There are even patterns for gift tags to make your present especially nice. There's an index in the back to make it easier to find the pattern you want.

Personally, I may have to make a gift for myself out of this. The beret was very appealing, especially with the photo of different ways to use color to make it unique. Apparently there was a first book called Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I may have to search it out!