Plugging the National Book Festival and a Sock

In addition to hiking, canoeing and playing I did a lot of relaxing on this vacation which, for me, meant reading and knitting. I brought most of the projects listed in the sidebar with the exception of the vest. Somehow, as the space in the car dwindled – so did my desire to drag it out. All of the other projects got a little attention but my focus was mainly on Seraphim and starting a new Trek Sock (seen above). My focus was rewarded by measurable progress. The sock is moving along nicely and I finally got to start the charts on Seraphim. My goal is to wear it to the High Holiday services at the end of September. I’m pretty sure it’s do-able.

As I said, I was reading a lot during this trip. I read Seven Up, one of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, and Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. I love mysteries and the SP books are a favorite. This one did not disappoint. I’ve been intentionally pacing myself with them because I dread the day I have none to look forward to but I think I may dive right into Hard Eight because I’m craving another fix. On a related note, I saw this site, Stop, You’re Killing Me over at Kristi’s yesterday and I’m so thankful for it. I love mysteries and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished for a list like this to tell me the order of the books.

Undomestic Goddess was a little bit of a departure for me. I read mostly mysteries and classics with the occasional memoir or non-fiction thrown in. I don’t read romances and I’ve never read any of the chick lit. This was fun in a breezy, forgettable way. It was a very light read and, as it turns out, just what I needed.

If you’ve reached this point in the post then it’s likely that you’re a reader so let me plug one of my favorite upcoming events – The National Book Festival! Ignoring that it’s sponsored by the Bush administration, it’s actually a great event for the whole family. You can find me there this year in the Mysteries and Thrillers pavilion where I look forward to hearing Michael Connelly, Scott Turow and Kathy Reichs (her books are behind the TV show Bones) while I knit. I wouldn't mind hearing Doris Kearns Goodwin either. The Drama Queen will likely want to hear Kathy Reichs too because she loves that show but she’s most excited about hearing Abdrew Clements speak - she’s been on a tear with the his books lately. This may make up for the fact that Mary Pope Osborne (The Magic Treehouse books) won’t be there this year.

In the past, we’ve gone as a family and there really is something there for everyone. There are pavilions for Fiction and Fantasy, Poetry and Children along with one representing the states. The only thing that I don’t recommend is waiting in line for autographs. It cuts into your time to hear the authors too much because the lines are so long. Very often the line gets cut off before you even get to the front.

There is one thing that troubles me a bit about the event though. No knitting book authors! There is a place for them in the Home and Family pavilion but, when I checked the list there are no knitters listed. It’s a shame because there are so many great new knitting books out there and knitters seem to be a pretty literate bunch who would certainly love to hear someone speak to them. Maybe next year.