Why hello there!

Thanks to my six die hard followers who keep up with me even when I'm less than faithful about posting. You'd think nothing noteworthy was happening, but well, that's just not true!

Summer is in full swing here and (shhh don't tell anyone I said it) the last few days have been GORGEOUS. Warm but not hot, breezy, not too humid... almost like an LA summer! We've been enjoying time both indoors and out.

This weekend has been a quiet one. Wes was gone all day with friends, which gave me the time to wash and block quite a bit of what I've been up to lately. It also gave me time to tend to our garden, clean the house in anticipation of a houseguest next weekend, and of course, catch up on more t.v. and knitting.

So here are the projects:


The Pattern: Transition Hat, my adaptation of the Transition Gloves

The Yarn: Dale Baby Ulli in Black, Collinette Jitterbug in Salty Dog

The Needles: US 3's

The Verdict: Love it! This was a work in progress forever, and this month I finally just sat down and did it. It goes with the Twilight Mittens I posted here.


The Pattern: Clapotis

The Yarn: Collinette Jitterbug in Salty Dog

The Needles: US 6's

The Verdict: Another from the Work in Progress pile that sat forever, but was done in just a little over a week. Now I have a matched set with the two projects mentioned above.


The Pattern: Pooling Scarf, mine with a little help from Barbara Walker

The Yarn: Socks that Rock, Mediumweight, Colorway: Chapman Springs

The Needles: US 4's

The Verdict: This one took a little finesse. The scarf is knit width-wise so the first trick was figuring how many stitches to cast on (and in what pattern, on what needle size) so that I could get the colors to stack. I had some great help/guidance from the Ravelry community and I'm happy with this for my first try. Next up... a pooling stole!


I also had a 4th project, but leave it to me to ruin it in the washing. (It wasn't pretty... I don't want to talk about it).

What's next? Oh yes: the garden!

We have a variety of green peppers:


Several Jalapenos:


And we harvested our carrots! (They're kind of small but tasted great!)


Otherwise we've seen Transformers (Punk ass decepticons!) and I've caught up and finished Harry Potter Book 7. I've got a new shawl and a new sweater on the needles, as well as a second sock and a wrap in the works. And I've re-vamped what I'm doing for our wedding afghan (which apparently won't make our first anniversary either!). Otherwise we're loving summer and the extra daylight.

More soon!

Kiri

I realize that as of late I haven't really been updating. I don't know whether it's the summer heat (for the past week we've been in the 110+ range with heat index) or that I'm just spending so much time engrossed in my knitting and Ravelry, that I don't feel I have much of interest to say.

I am, however, knitting quite a bit. And I have a new project to show for it. It only took me two weeks which AMAZES me. I present to you, Kiri:


The Pattern: Kiri

The Yarn: Noro Silk Garden Sock, 2 skeins

The Needles: US 6's

The Verdict: In this pattern the yarn did all the work. Noro is delightfully dyed and the colors are fantastic. I was a bit apprehensive about the bright orange in this skein, but as it turns out I love the finished product. I love that this photo shows that I didn't make any errors in the pattern, and how clear the lace looks. I'm definitely on a lace kick - you'll be seeing more shawls this summer!


Let's see... what else have I been up to? Yesterday Wes spent the day with friends so I spent my afternoon beating the heat and catching up on Season 1 of True Blood. I only just recently read Book 1 of the Sookie Stackhouse series. The book and the TV show are a bit different, but I have to say that I quite like both. Who thought I would be into vampire series?

We're also still growing the garden. At this point we harvested our big cucumber (it tasted great!), but had to forfeit the rest of the plant. Unfortunately it had succumbed to some kind of root rot or fungus and wasn't growing well. We've cleaned out the container and started with fresh dirt and are putting together another crop! Our peppers are growing great - we've got half a dozen in various sizes and our jalapeno plant is boasting one perfect looking spicy pepper. Remind me not to eat that! Our carrots are harvesting sweet and crunchy. Our tomato plants look full and green and leafy and smell great, but so far we have no tomatoes. We're going to look into fertilizing soon. All told, not a terrible crop for our first foray into gardening!

Hope you're enjoying your summer!

That's Entertainment!

So I actually have finished not one, but TWO projects this week. The gloomy skies and occasional torrential rain have made photographs impossible, however, so you'll have to content yourself with your imaginations today. Instead I'll write about a few entertaining things I've been into lately.

First off, I'm VERY VERY late to the podcast-listening party, but I have arrived. In the last few weeks I've discovered podcasts with a vengeance. Consequently I've spent most of my days listening to the following podcasts:

1. Cast On by Brenda Dane - The quirky and fun knitting tales of an American living in Wales. This podcast features some of the most interesting tidbits of music I've heard and some wonderful stories of knitting mishaps. All of her podcasts are accessible from her website.


2. Lime n Violet - I wasn't sure what to expect out of this podcast. It's a little less polished than Cast On but I think it might actually be my favorite knitting podcast so far. From listening to the show, and following the show notes and links I've found some great fiber artists! And I love hearing about what the girls are knitting. You can find this podcast on iTunes and subscribe!


3. Stash and Burn - This is the podcast of two girls desperately fighting to conquer and knit from their stashes. I aspire to knit from my stash... I think I could learn a few things listening to them. You can listen to this podcast on the site linked above!

4. Sticks & String by David Reidy - David is an "Australian bloke" who chats about what it's like to be a male knitter in Australia. His charming accent is a boon to his amusing anecdotes and discussions of knitting.

Now I know the ones I listed above were a little knitting centric (who me?). However, I've also found that I can follow my favorite NPR shows on iTunes as well. Never more do I have to miss Car Talk and Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me again.

Finally I've been trying to get back into reading. Currently in progress: The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley and The Know it All by A.J. Jacobs, gifted to me by the l'il sis' man this past Christmas. Stay tuned for book reports!

Back in the swing.

So I had been delaying posting because I wanted to post some great pictures of my newest finished object. However, the weather hasn't been cooperating (it's the Midwest, who's surprised?) so I'm back with projects and all sorts of reviews (books, movies, etc.)

First things first. This past weekend I finished my first big lace project and I'm absolutely in love with it!


The Pattern: Shoalwater Shawl

The Yarn: Malabrigo Laceweight, 3 skeins, Pagoda

The Needles: US 6's

The Verdict: I LOVE this shawl. This was a pleasure to knit, even though it took me over a year. The Malabrigo laceweight yarn is light and soft and creates the warmest, softest fabric I've felt in a long time. And using my new lace blocking wires (courtesy of my wonderful husband!) blocking was a snap. Stay tuned for more pictures of this one!

***

I haven't been posting much of late. I think it's a combination of lack of funny tales to tell, lack of time to knit, and lots of time spent at the department store job. I'm still looking for full time employment, but so far I haven't had much luck so I've been staying on. I seem to have made it through a variety of books and movies though.


* Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - I ripped right through this one and enjoy it as much, if not more than the previous books. I don't know why I couldn't get into the series the first time, but I'm really enjoying it now. I'm looking forward to reading the sixth installment soon. It will be the first book of the series that I read without having seen the movie first and I think it will be great to experience the book with no clue about what will happen next.


* New Moon - Yes, I'm hooked on Stephenie Meyer's series. I don't know what's more bizarre for me - that I'm reading vampire books and loving them, or that I'm reading teeny-bopper fiction and ripping right through it. Again, I think the most interesting part of the books to me is how the author takes all the common legends and stereotypes about vampires (and in this book werewolves) and turns them on their heads. I still haven't seen the movie and part of me doesn't want to, because I love the way I imagine the characters. I'm sure I will though.


* The God Delusion - The third book I'm still working on is Richard Dawkins'. I borrowed this from Dad when I was home for Christmas. Though the theory is sometimes a bit much for me, I'm enjoying reading his arguments against the existence of god. The book is humorous too - I find myself laughing aloud fairly often. I suppose if I'm going to be damned to hell I might as well have a good time getting there.

* Death at a Funeral - I Netflix'd this one after hearing great things about it and we weren't disappointed. This was truly a zany British farce and if you're up for some insanity I'd definitely recommend it!

* No Country for Old Men - Despite the fact that this movie won so many Oscars, and I'd been anxious to see it, neither Wes nor I enjoyed it very much. I found it hard to watch with all it's scenes shot in low light that were barely visible. We both found the dialogue kind of forced, and at the end we kind of wondered what the point was. Overall, I can't recommend this one.

* Burn After Reading - I laughed out loud at this movie. The cast was excellent, the material crafted very well, and the end result a winner. If you're up for some inappropriate situations and whole movie about the stupidity of people, you have to see this movie!

Some Assembly Required

I'm keeping busy crafting for the holidays over here and absolutely NONE of it is bloggable since it's all gifty goodness. So instead I'll talk about what I've been reading and watching.


On the way out to Los Angeles, Wes suggested that I pick up a copy of Twilight. (It turns out some airport shops will let you return it when you're done reading and give you half your money back!) I had been wanting to read the book for a while, especially before I take in the movie. I'm not lovestruck. And I didn't rip through the book because the writing was so good, although it wasn't bad. The reason I enjoyed this book so incredibly much is because of Stefanie Meyer's creative take on vampires. She essentially took every myth about vampires and spun it on it's head. And THAT's what kept me reading from cover to cover within the span of a 3-hour flight. Now I can just hope I get the rest of the set for Christmas.


Before I left Los Angeles, my father recommended a bevy of books to me. Turns out that top of the stack was another foray into vampire mania, Christopher Moore's Bloodsucking Fiends. So far it's gritty, bizarre, a little violent and NOTHING like Twilight or the Anne Rice novels. I also have a few more Christopher Moore books that should keep me company during my breaks at the job.


I was overjoyed this morning to receive an email from Netflix that instant watching is now available on Macs. I took advantage of this immediately, and enjoyed a quirky little French film this evening, Seducing Doctor Lewis. The movie is set in a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere that is struggling to become the site of a new factory. But the factory will only open if the town has a permanent doctor. The rest of the movie is about how the town seduces one Dr. Lewis. It was quirky and hilarious. As long as you're up for subtitles, I'd totally recommend this one!

Tomorrow I give up my crafting and reading to work a full shift in the home department of the department store. Wish me luck!

And here comes round 3.

The big news of this weekend (well Thursday and Friday) is that I have now progressed to Round 3 of job interviewing. That means that on Thursday of this coming week I will be meeting with a whole new set of potential colleagues and bosses, including the president and CEO of the company. Let's hope this goes well so that I'm happily employed soon!


Things haven't been too exciting around here. I've used my copious free time to crank out a few projects. I've done a second cowl for another local shop in another scrumptious yarn, I've progressed on several other projects I've got going and I finished another commission - an Elizabeth Zimmerman February Baby Sweater and hat. The yarn is VERY VERY pink, but the client brought it to me to make something cute for her granddaughter.


I've also managed to catch up a bit on reading. I'd had The Other Boleyn Girl on my must-read list for a while now, especially since I wanted to read it before I rent the movie. I tore right through the book and it was a pleasant read. I find myself sort of engrossed in the Tudors now having just watched Season 1 of The Tudors on Showtime and having pored over the internet today trying to learn more about the Boelyns and Henry VIII.

I've also gotten sucked into Mad Men. I'm now mid-Season 1 via my old friend Netflix, and I'm loving it so far. My only complaint is that I can't get the DVDs here fast enough to devour them!

The weather here has really turned to fall. The leaves are changing, and it's crisp and cold out. We've been down in the 40's at night, so the first frost can't be far off. All of this makes me want to knit up tons of warm sweaters and get myself ready for fall. Today was sunny, although a bit cold, and Wes and I managed to take a couple-mile walk through the parks and trails behind our house. It's been interesting living here over 9 months now and watching the area change with the seasons. Today I noticed how bare the trees are becoming and how the colorful leaves are burying the paths. I love the change in the seasons and I love fall, so I hope it sticks around for a while. No need for snow just yet!

The deadliest read.

A while ago a friend of mine hooked me up with LibraryThing, a site for avid readers and bibliophiles. Aside from great book reviews, and being able to list your collection of books, the site hosts an Early Reviewers feature. Each month LibraryThing receives a few hundred early review advance copies of books, and you can request books. A lottery system determines if you win or not. So far I have been requesting books for a little under a year, and I've won twice.

Which brings me to today's book review, Time Bandit. This is the story of brothers Andy and Johnathan Hillstrand and their Bering sea crabbing boat the Time Bandit. You may think these names sound familiar - that's because they're one of five crews who are also part of the Discovery Channel's The Deadliest Catch.

Crabbing, according to the brothers, is like the most extreme of extreme sports. This may explain why I'm not always tuned in to the series, and why I didn't have super high expectations for the book. (Those of you who know me know that I'm not into anything with the word extreme in it, unless it relates to knitting!)

I was, however, pleasantly surprised. The book is really gripping and chilling, and was an enjoyable read the way Into Thin Air was; if you put aside your horror at what these people are doing, they are truly amazing individuals, much, much different from you and I. I learned a lot about fishing and crabbing, as well as a lot about Alaska (although I don't think it improved my diplomatic relations with Russia, unlike some people....).

I would heartily recommend this book!

Late to the party.

Back when the Harry Potter books first came out, everyone was all atwitter and engrossed in the adventures. I saw the movies and thought they were entertaining. I even picked up books 1-4 on sale and sat down to try and read them. But I got stuck in the juvenalia of books 1 and 2, and just couldn't get into them enough to enjoy them.

Fast forward to the last month or two. I decided that since they were on my shelf, I either needed to read them or ditch them. (What's the point of keeping books if you don't think you'll ever read them?) In my current temp job, I'm allowed to read during the day, so I packed up the Harry Potter volumes and brought them with me.

And lo and behold, I was sucked in. In the last week and a half I've devoured all 4 books and now I'm looking at the remaining stack of unread books on my shelf (the one's I should also be reading), and wistfully thinking about buying books 5-7 instead so I can keep going. I actually think I'm going to be sorry when I finish book 7 and there just isn't any more!

So yeah, I'm a little late to the party, but apparently I have arrived.

P.S. I tried the House Sorter apps online and apparently I'd be a Ravenclaw. I guess I need a scarf... with a patch!

Positively HILARIOUS

I decided to take a short break from the heavier non-fiction I've been delving into last week, and picked up a copy of Tony Hawks' Playing the Moldovans at Tennis.

I first learned about Tony Hawks some years ago during an NPR interview he did during the launch of his book Traveling 'Round Ireland With a Fridge, which if you haven't read yet, you MUST read. The premise of his first book is simple. One night, while both men are exceedingly drunk, a friend bets Tony that he can't hitchhike around Ireland with a dorm-size refrigerator as a traveling companion. The rest of the book you can imagine - I have never laughed so hard in my life.

In this book, Tony seems to fall prey to the same problem. While exceedingly drunk, the same friend bets him that he can't beat the entire Moldovan Football (Soccer) team at tennis. And so, with 11 names on his list, Tony sets off to Moldovia, a small country in the former-USSR area of the world, to win 11 games of tennis or sing the Moldovan Anthem in front of a crowd while buck naked for failing. I have to say that the second book isn't quite as inane as the first, but was a truly funny and quick read.

Food for thought, or thoughts about food?

The last two days I've been sucked into some of my library check-outs. Yesterday I went down and returned Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat. After trying for a week to read the book on my lunch hour, I found that I just couldn't get into it. It may very well be a brilliant book with fabulous insights, but I was sort of "eh" on the whole thing. So I made the very grownup decision that if I can't get into it, I should just move on. I happily returned the book yesterday and checked out two more books on my reading wish-list.


Yesterday at lunch time I began reading Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner's Freakonomics and I can already tell that I'm going to love it. What do you get when you take a young Chicago PhD economic genius and let him start to answer life's tough questions? Questions like: What's more deadly - a swimming pool or a gun? Well you get some really interesting answers. I've only read the first chapter so far, but Levitt pretty much takes all our preconceived notions about just about everything and spins them on their heads. It's a fascinating book so far and I'm sure this will be one of my favorite reads!


The second book that I checked out was Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. I might add that I actually didn't check out the BOOK per se, but instead I got the audio version. I'm not usually a huge fan of audiobooks (depending on the reader they can be supremely boring) and I LOVE the experience of reading a book, holding it in my hands and turning the pages. However, the library's copies of the book were checked out and I have a 45-60 minute commute twice a day every day now, so I decided to give this a try. The reader of this book isn't the best - I find him a little monotone, but the material is excellent. I'm only one disc in (of 13) but I'm already sucked into his exploration of the fundamental question, "What should we eat?" Especially since this question always arises in my own home! Again, so far I'm really sucked in and I can't wait to get back in the car and listen to more!

Today I'm working a short day, and then this evening we're heading down to my in-laws for some kayaking, watching of fireworks, and hopefully some knitting and R&R. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and I'll be back soon with knitting photos! (Yes between reading and working and PackRatting [Rattin' as we in the know call it], I have been managing to get some knitting done too!) (By the way, can you tell I like parentheticals?)

Oops I did it again.

That is, forget to post for a week. I know, just 6 months ago I was posting multiple times a day and now I'm lucky if I post a few times a week! I attribute part of it to my not working in an office environment every day; half my stories used to be weird antics or things that were circulated at work. Lately I've just been spending a lot of time doing things that I love, but these aren't necessarily post-worthy.

This week in particular, I've spent most of my time sleeping late, and knitting. I've also been taking advantage of Fancast. Fancast is a beta project that my friend Knitmeister S's dad had been working on, and I have to say it's fabulous. It's a great LEGAL way to watch episodes of television for free. It's not great if you're looking for the newest stuff, but if you're looking for something a few seasons back... or even a LONG time ago you can score here. This week I have been watching an eclectic mix: Twin Peaks (that David Lynch is a VERY bizarre man but the show has it's hysterical moments!), a few episodes of season 3 of Bones (waiting for them all on Netflix is KILLING me!) and I've also watched several episodes of Hill Street Blues (Steven Bochco's early police comedy featuring a YOUNG David Caruso - pre-scenery chewing CSI!). All have been enjoyable and have helped combat midday tv and rerun boredom.


In the past few weeks I've also been able to polish off a few books. The first is Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. This is a great read about architecture, the church and political intrigue in the time of (and immediate preceding) King Henry's ascension to the throne in England. The story focuses on a church prior and a master stone mason and how their lives intertwine. While the architectural detail in the book can get a little tedious to read at times, the plot itself is full of intrigue and kept me turning the pages rapidly in this 800+ page novel. I'd definitely recommend it!


The second book I've read in the past few weeks is Harry Potter: The Sorcerer's Stone. Yes I know I'm behind the times. I originally bought books one through four after seeing the movies and wanting to know more. But the first time I tried to read the first book, I just got stuck. I already knew most of the plot and it just didn't capture my interest. This time around, I read the book in a day and a half, mostly while I was stuck in the airport. It did hold my interest, and I even managed to glean a few of the literary details that movies so often leave out. I still haven't managed to pick up the next book since I've been back, but it's now on my list.


Finally I've been knitting up a storm. When I went home to LA a week or two ago, I brought a lacy shawl with me that has been relegated to the corner of the couch for some months now. For whatever reason, I just couldn't seem to get the hang of it and that made it more like a chore than fun knitting. I don't know what was wrong before because coming back to it has been so much fun! I ripped through a few repeats while I was in LA and now I'm halfway through the 3rd repeat (1 more full one after this and then edging). At this point it's going slowly because I have almost 300 stitches on the needles, but I'm loving it. I can't wait to finish and post pics!

I've also managed to pick up a few more samples, one for a local store and a few for A Mano. Add that to the baby blankets I'm trying to finish for the fall, several pairs of socks for gifts and all that yarn sitting in wait for things for me and I've been super busy. However, with Wes out of town and this week dedicated to knitting, I've gotten a fair amount done. By the weekend's end I hope to have at least one finished knit to show you. We'll see how I do!

I guess that's all for now. I'm off to pick up my sweetie at the airport and then tomorrow it's off to the Sunflower Knitters Guild Yarn Crawl.

The Reads

I confess I haven't been reading too much lately because I'm swimming in things I want to knit, and unfortunately, the more complicated the pattern, the less able I am to read while I knit. Reading is also a solitary activity, and while I love it, I also enjoy spending time with Wes, so I prefer to knit and spend time talking with him than sitting with a book. That said, I LOVE READING and I'm so excited to have finished two books on my "want to read" list.


The first is Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I admit that the first time I picked this book up it was on the recommendation of friends and I just couldn't get into it. Indeed the first section is told in somewhat of a dialect and I really had to forge through the first 40 pages. However, after I did that, I was hooked. The first half of this book is told in chronological order, and the second half in reverse chronological order. The stories are seemingly unconnected and yet in some small way the characters in each briefly touch each other. Although certain sections were harder reading than others, overall I'd say the construction of the book was really masterfully done and I enjoyed reading this one quite a bit.


The second book is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I stole this one from my mother's shelf when I was home, and in the course of an 8 hour day of plane rides and layovers I tore right through it. The story narrated by an old man, recalling his days spent literally running away with the circus. It's an interesting read and the author notes that she spent quite a bit of time researching the history of the circus - many of the seemingly unbelievable tales are loosely based on actual events! This was quite an entertaining way to spend a day!

The Partly Cloudy Patriot

After I enjoyed Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation so much, I passed it on to my friend Knitmeister S who also enjoyed it greatly. This afternoon I walked into his office and he told me that he had just received another of Sarah Vowell's books, The Partly Cloudy Patriot. I ooohed and aaahed until he let me borrow it, and then proceeded to commit the embarrassingly nerdy act of reading it all in one afternoon while I was supposed to be working. In deference to him, I'm not going to post spoilers, but just say that it was an excellent read. If you enjoy Sarah's sarcastic look at American history, you'll enjoy this! I do believe my favorite line of the book is this:

"American history is a quagmire, and the more one knows, the quaggier the mire gets."

Giggling through history.

For Chanukah/Christmas, the l'il sis' boyfriend gave me a book, Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell. I hadn't heard of the book, nor the author so I had no idea what I was in for. All I knew was that she had recently received quite a bit of acclaim on NPR, and that was enough.

I was in for a treat though! Ms. Vowell has written a book about taking a vacation to retrace the steps of America's most famous assassins. What she weaves together is a humorous retelling of some of the darkest moments in U.S. history. Aside from her impeccable historical research, she spends a lot of time exploring the nuances of who knew who, who was present where and when, and all the interesting footnoted trivia about our presidents and the men that chose to kill them. I profess I'm no historical buff, but this was a truly enjoyable read and I spent most of it giggling through history. If you're a liberal at heart, you'll enjoy Ms. Vowell's explorations and how she relates them to current political quagmires.

Three Cups of Tea

I just finished a wonderful book, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. The book begins as a tale of a mountain climber trying desperately to summit K2. After a few failed attempts, half-frozen, hungry and half-dead with exhaustion, he loses his way down the mountain and ends up in a tiny Pakistani mountain village. Out of this visit comes his desire to give something back to the people who have saved his life, and thus starts a life's journey. Greg Mortenson begins with just $12,000 and a dream to build a school for girls in the tiny Pakistani village of Korphe. Set amidst 9/11 and other world events, Mortenson's journey into the Arab world is terrifying and courageous and beautiful. Mortenson, as one lone American, achieves what an entire war is being fought for, and is failing to achieve. I can't say enough about how wonderful this book is, it truly is a must read.

Into the Wild

Well things are back to normal at work, and the daily humdrum tasks leave plenty of time for reading. Today I finished up a great book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I have read one of Krakauer's other works (Into Thin Air) and I have to say that I highly recommend both.

This book, now a major motion picture, is a reflective look at the life of Christopher McCandless, an educated young man who walked into the Alaskan wilderness to live off the land and never returned. There have been many arguments over the years as to whether McCandless was mentally disturbed, suicidal, naive or just simply stupid, and Krakauer explores all of these possibilities. The story is intense, much like I would expect McCandless himself was, and it was a consuming read.

Krakauer's books are not for the faint of heart - he describes in non-fiction autobiographical form the most harrowing adventures, the deepest darkest side of man and the harshest beauty of nature, but they are excellent reads and I would highly recommend them.

Those dirty book stealers.

Great news! They're stealing our books!

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The Frankfurt Book Fair has an indicator to help publishers gauge public interest in the new offerings presented at the annual exhibition -- the unofficial "most stolen book" index.

Bild am Sonntag and Germany's ZDF television have come up with lists of titles most stolen from 15 leading German publishers' stands set up in the Frankfurt trade fair grounds.

"The most-stolen books are usually the most-sold later on," Claudia Hanssen of the Goldmann Verlag publishing house told Bild am Sonntag newspaper, which published a list of the 10 most stolen German-language books this year.

"They're the popular ones and are most likely to end up on the best-seller lists," Hanssen added.

The German translation of Nobel Peace prizewinner Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," outlining the dangers of global warming, featured among the mainly German titles on the list.

More than 100,000 people attended the book fair, which ended Sunday. There were 7,448 exhibitions where publishers from 108 countries presented some 400,000 different books, videos and other products.

Another Belated Book Report

When Wes and I took off to the Bahamas I filled my suitcase with yummy reading materials - magazines that had sat for a few months, and some fun beach reading. I spent most of my time sightseeing with Wes, though, and didn't get much reading done.


Sort of humorous then that I started reading A Trip to the Beach by Melinda and Robert Blanchard. The story: Melinda and Robert abandon their life in Vermont to move to Anguilla and open a restaurant. The surprising part: the book isn't fiction. The Blanchards truly did move to Anguilla and open a restaurant. This book is a collection of memories, anecdotes, recipes and island experiences as the Blanchards adapt from New England to island time and find a new home living the rest of their days on the beach. It was a great read and perfect to take on our trip.


The second book I took, but didn't read until we got back, was Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen. Much like Skinny Dip this is a book written about the most dysfunctional people an author could dream of. The story starts with an abhorrent litterbug and the vaguely disturbed young man who decides to teach this piece of garbage a lesson in tidying up. This is a quick read, and laugh out loud funny.

Back to the bookshelves...

A Good Weekend

Wes and I got to spend our first weekend together in a while. Friday night we laid low, ordered some yummy Thai food and watched the movie The Covenant. It wasn't a great movie, but it whetted our appetites for some magic.

Saturday was double feature day. We joined up with Knitmeister S and Blogless Will for a morning showing of Transformers followed by an afternoon showing of Harry Potter. Both movies were excellent. Transformers was good old fashioned summer fun (Yeah Bumblebee!) and Harry didn't disappoint either. Thought I'm not into the Harry Potter books (thus avoiding the lines this weekend for #7) I do enjoy the movies.

Saturday night we met my parents for a great Italian dinner to celebrate Dad's 61st birthday! I got him a few good reads: Wicked and Wild Trees, which he's planning to take with him on their trip to Canada this week. It was a lot of fun.

Today was exercise and outdoors day (since yesterday was sit on our ass, watch movies, and eat food day!). We started this morning with a workout. He, who has been training for a while, ran several miles this morning. I, who am a total workout wimp, walked a mile on the treadmill, cycled 2.5 on the bike, and did the weights circuit in the gym, followed by situps. I feel sore already, so tomorrow ought to be fun. This afternoon we headed out to pick up a few things in Target (why are there no 1 piece swimsuits for women this year?!? but that's a subject for another post...) and then went Geocaching a bit. Unfortunately for us it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and what we were looking for was mostly hidden in parks overrun with children and people. We did manage to find one however, and find a nice bench to chill on for a few.

Tonight we're home watching more movies (The Clearing starring Robert Redford, Willem Defoe and Helen Mirren - it was interesting), some Man v. Wild, and have a little dinner. The only good part about starting a new week is that we're a little closer to our cruise!

Suggested Reading List

I'd need 25 nightstands to host this books recommended on this list, but it's a great resource. It lists books I've heard of, books I want to read, and titles I don't even recognize. For brevity's sake I won't post it here, but check it out. And then head to the library!