Sunday afternoon, the hubs and I went to Borders for me to get a new book. I have now finished “The Good Earth” (thanks for the recommendation, Mamma Loves) and “The Namesake” and could not get excited about “Dr. Mary’s Monkey” (sorry, Former Secretary). While at Borders, I saw a display for a writer of knitting books. I thought at first that it was a patterns book, but sat down and flipped through it anyway. It is a book about the humor in knitting.

Now, not to overstate the point, I am a nerd. I read a lot, am a tax attorney, and love yoga and knitting. And married a computer geek. Even so, I never found all that much humor in knitting — what with the cursing when things go awry (and for me, that is all too often), the constant counting, and the reading of patterns. But, oh, was I wrong! Ms. McPhee is one hell of a writer and her muse just happens to be knitting. And it is sad that only knitters will enjoy her writing because she deserves a bigger audience. (On the other hand, McPhee is a best-selling author selling to the multitudes of knitters in the world).

Well, upon closer inspection of the rack that displayed her books, I noticed that she was coming to the store the next day for a signing. Once I read half of her first book (aptly titled “Yarn Harlot”–isn’t that great?!) Sunday night, I kept thinking of her signing throughout an otherwise rough Monday. So I decided to head back to Borders and check it out.

The hubs and I (along with Sun) arrived a wee bit late. Turns out McPhee was also giving a lecture. Well, within no time, I was laughing aloud and feeling the tension from the day wear away. I learned a lot (not about knitting but about how many knitters there are in the world and how smart we are and how much disposable money we have!). Sadly, I bolted out early when I heard Sun crying from the music department. I did not get my books signed.

Today, McPhee wrote about her recent visit to New Orleans. And it is spot on. I am not the least bit surprised that she was astute enough to capture our spirit in such a short period of time. And like Monday night, I learned from McPhee. This time it was about the “bottle tree.” I have never heard of this nor believe I’ve ever seen one. Too bad for me. I will now be on the look-out for one.

So although I failed to get McPhee’s signature, I got a lot from her lecture and her blog. And for that, I am grateful indeed. And inspired to finish my afghan.

I have been reading a lot of novels lately. Here’s a quick recap of what I’ve read since Sun was born:

1. I finished reading “I am a Cat” by Natsume. This was not my favorite Japanese author to read. But it had its moments. It was interesting reading about life in Japan from a cat’s perspective. But it isn’t something I could recommend to anyone.

2. Then I read “The Lost German Slave Girl: The Extraordinary True Story of Sally Miller and Her Fight for Freedom in Old New Orleans” by John Bailey. I could not put this book down. It was very well documented and well written. The legal wranglings done back in the day were quite different than how they are today! Bailey also did a good job describing the legal issues surrounding slaves. For example, did you know that when you owned a slave and took her to a free state, like France, then you freed her? And she could sue for her freedom? And win? Or that you could leave your slave to your child in your will when you died? Interesting stuff.

3. Next was “Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia” by Elizabeth Gilbert. This came recommended by Jenny at Absolutely Bananas. This, too, was a book I devoured. It made me want to, well, eat, pray and love. I haven’t been inspired to want to pray in quite a while. And this book handled the religious end of things beautifully and not in a preachy way at all.

4. Next came “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. This came recommended by several sources. I hate to say that I did not enjoy this book at all. The ending redeemed it a bit for me, but it was just too violent and trite for me. For another coming of age book dealing with similar issues, I much prefer John Knowles’ “A Separate Peace.”

5. Then came J.K. Rowling’s seventh and final Harry Potter novel–”Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” I dodged all rumors and managed not to be spoiled on this book. Man, that Rowling can spin a yarn! I will miss you, Harry Potter! I am still suffering Post-Potter Depression.

6. Now I am on “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel. I am just sinking my teeth into this one, but so far so good. It, too, deftly covers the philosophical issue of religion. It has a good sense of humor, too.

But alas! Once I am done with “Pi,” I will be running low on books to read. And I still have five weeks of maternity leave to go! So I need your help! If you could recommend a book to read–maybe your all-time favorite or your current good read–I would be much in your debt. Long or short, fiction or not, classic or trashy: as long as you really liked it, I want to read it.

CS and I went over to a crawfish boil being given for his friend who’s getting married in two months. I was reluctant to go and be the only chick. But seems the groom wanted to see my belly for himself. As we are heading out the door, CS grabs his “guitar.” I put the word in quotes because it’s his guitar from Guitar Hero II. Now I could spend this whole blog on CS and that damn X-Box game, but I won’t. Suffice to say he LOVES it and is totally addicted. I find it amusing to watch him “play” for about 10 minutes, then I am good for a long while.

Turns out, you can have two players on the game–one playing bass, the other guitar. So once we get to the boil and are settled in, the boys plug in and start “strumming.” I held on as long as I could but after about an hour of seeing this, I had my fill and left (we had the foresight to drive separately).
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Looking for something to do with the young ones today? Like comics and “funny books”? Then today is your lucky day! Comic book stores around the country are participating in Free Comic Book Day! For children of all ages and for the child in you, do yourself a favor and get to your local comic book shop and join in the fun!

There will be Archie, the Peanuts, Transformers, Spider-Man, Justice League of America, and so much more!! Even if your child is too young to read, there will be things for him or her–check out “Owly“; it won several cool awards last year and is really fun for young children.

Our local store, BSI Comics, will be having other freebies offered, a live pod cast, as well as Star Wars Storm Troopers on site for pictures! Check out what YOUR local store is doing! It is sure to be a good time.