Booking it

On those occasions when I flip through knitting books, I do more flipping than looking. In other words, there's a lot in them that isn't for me, doesn't interest me, or appears too difficult. I'm well aware that the majority of these books aren't written with my gender in mind. That's fine. I'm not asking for special treatment, but it would be nice to find a book that has more than one or two things in it that meet my knit-worthy criteria.

I think I've found one. I've seen Mason-Dixon Knitting mentioned quite often, and my favorite color swap secret pal sent me a ballband dishcloth made from the pattern in it. I placed a reserve on the book at the library and picked it up this afternoon. Ordinarily I'll page through and glance at the pictures, but I read the first few pages of this book. Then I took my time going through each pattern and checking what was involved.

I liked several of the patterns I saw, so I might have to order a copy for myself. I'm already having insane thoughts of making log cabin blankets for Christmas gifts. If I do that--and that's a big if--I better get cracking soon.

What are your favorite knitting books? Also, what are you reading at the moment? I'm ready to dig into A Thread Across the Ocean: The Heroic Story of the Transatlantic Cable. Despite the title, it has nothing to do with knitting.