I've noticed a definite connection between knitters and books. As Forrest Gump would say, they go together like peas and carrots. Many knit bloggers cite the current book they're reading in their blog entries. There's even a Knit Bloggers Reading Group. What is the link? Personally, I believe knitters have a strong curiousity about life in general. We seem to enjoy the journey, as well as the final destination. We enjoy what's "around the corner," be it the next row of a project or the next page of a book. We're definitely a tactile bunch -- we love the feel of yarn under our fingers or the heft of a good hardback book. I do not believe that e-publishing will ever replace books completely. There's just no comparison between holding a cold, impersonal electronic device to snuggling up in bed with a brand new book. As a graphic artist, I'm fascinated with the cover illustrations, typefaces, and paper stock of books. I love deckle-edge paper.

Pioneer Melissa had a entry yesterday about the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Course. Melissa said her mother is a prolific reader, and uses a similar method to mine: she takes in entire paragraphs at a time rather than reading word-by-word. I tend to move my eyes around a paragraph in a circular fashion. It takes several revolutions for me to "absorb" the words. I don't know when I started reading this way -- it just seemed to evolve naturally. Reading in this fashion, I can easily read/absorb up to 4 books per week. Thank God for the public library -- otherwise I'd go broke trying to feed my "book jones." But once in awhile, I do like to purchase books. I fluctuate between Costco, Amazon, and (shameless plug!) the Quality Paperback Book Club, or QPB. QPB carries only trade paperback-size books -- you know, the "larger" paperbacks. They usually have a first-time sign-up offer of 4 Books for 4 Bucks (plus shipping & handling). There's no further obligation to buy -- you can quit anytime. I've managed to build up a nice little library over the last 10 years as a member. Anyway, check it out.

I like read just about *anything* -- fiction, non-fiction, biographies, and my favorite literary indulgence, short horror stories. When I was finishing college, my time was limited and I was dog-tired since I was also working full-time. The only kind of "recreational" reading I could manage were short stories. I had the satisfaction of being able to read a story on a break, between classes, or before falling asleep at night. I'm not sure how I gravitated to the horror genre, though. I think it probably started years ago after reading Stephen King's "Night Shift," with its scary cover illustration of a hand, with numerous open eyes covering the palm. Shiver! I don't care for King's novels (too windy), but his short fiction is some of the most finely crafted out there.

Available for Weddings & Bar Mitzvahs
"Guess who just got back today, them wild-eyed boys who'd been away" Thin Lizzy, 1974

RockStar (aka my 14yo stepson) gets home from a 3-week visit with his mother, in North Carolina. Here he is, in full regalia, bonding with his beloved Gibson guitar:



DH and I truly enjoyed the quiet during his absence, but we've missed his energy and goofy sense of humor. Welcome home, RockStar.