I've had a hard time concentrating on any novel I pick up lately. One after another, I read a few chapters then put it back on the shelf, bookmark in place with the intention of giving it another shot at another time.

(I know, I know. Some folks consider not finishing a book tantamount to shaking a baby -- which, of course, you never, ever, ever do -- but there are too many books on my shelf to devote my time to a writer who has not done his or her job of capturing the reader's interest.)

But I need to read. It's how I ease into sleep each night and how I feel like myself during the day. I'm a reader and readers read, just like writers write. I can't call myself a reader if I'm not reading.

So I turned to Ann Hood.

If you don't know Ann Hood, I suggest you seek her out today. Head to the library, head to Amazon.com. I've loved Ms. Hood ever since her first book was published in 1987, called Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine. There were several others, but Somewhere... remained my favorite.

Then her well ran dry. And for good reason: In 2002, her five-year-old daughter died suddenly from a rare form of strep. Because of the tragedy, Ms. Hood lost the will and the words to write.

Until The Knitting Circle, which is a novel based on her personal struggle finding a sense of peace and normalcy after her daughter's death. And which has been sitting on my shelf for more than a year. I'm an admitted bookaholic and my shelves get filled with books I've bought, books I've been given at a rate much faster than the rate at which I read (and I'm a pretty fast reader). So The Knitting Circle has been waiting patiently. I picked it up the other day, remembering the comfortable and comforting feel of Ann Hood's words.

I don't knit and -- thank God! -- I've never lost a child, but I love this book. I feel at home in it. It brought Ann Hood back to writing, and it's brought me back to reading.

Here's an interview Ms. Hood did last year about The Knitting Circle. Watch it, then head out -- or online -- for an Ann Hood book of your own. (And be sure to let me know what you think after reading it.)