Well, finally, my “Three-Cornered and Long Shawls” book came today–the Icelandic version with illustrations, and the black-and-white translation. I’m glad it’s finally here–I’ve been looking forward to it for months, and was starting to worry that it was never going to arrive. (Two and a half weeks from Wisconsin to New Jersey still seems kind of excessive, but it’s here.)

It’s a pattern book, of course, and only 78 pages long, so it’s not really impressive to look at, but what matters is on the inside. Twenty-eight patterns, and some of these shawls are absolutely lovely. Including, especially, the Hyrna Herborgar that seems beloved of the blogging world these days. (Susan, for example, is making one. And Risa has one in her photo album of FOs. I’ve seen one somewhere else recently, too, but can’t remember where.) It’s a safe bet that that’s probably going to be my first project from the book.

  What I’m not happy about is the condition in which it arrived. It’s a paperback book with a spiral binding (excellent for any pattern book, but of course, I’ll be using the English translation which is all of 16 pages held together by a couple staples). It was shipped in a pretty flimsy envelope–one of those ones that’s a little thicker than plain paper and has shredded paper fiber between two layers? Not nearly as cushioned as bubble-envelopes. The envelope wasn’t sealed shut–it was just stapled through at the end–right through the catalog enclosed in the envelope, though luckily not through the book. There were two staples when it arrived; I don’t know how many it left Wisconsin with. But of course, the staples were fairly widely separated and so basically, the envelope was open to dust and such on its travels, and so it’s kind of gritty. And, of course, there wasn’t much protection, and so my poor book got pretty battered. The bottom corner is crumpled, and the entire book has a crease through across the middle, as if somebody stepped on it and ground their heel (shod, no doubt in wood) into it. Or piled several heavy packages on top and lifted the entire pile, bending the envelope at the bottom. At only 78 pages, the poor book didn’t stand a chance.

The reason this is so frustrating is that this wasn’t a cheap book. It’s a newly republished print of a relatively rare book, plus a separate, English translation, that together cost $45 (before the shipping). For that kind of money, is it too much to ask that it arrive in good condition? From the patterns I’d seen, I thought it was worth the cost, but . . . I take good care of my books and almost my entire library is in excellent shape–no tears, no wrinkles, very few cracked bindings. This book already looks old. I’m unhappy with the shape the book is in. I like the book, but am upset about its condition. I’ll send the folks at Schoolhouse an e-mail, but really don’t know what to expect. Frankly, though, the poor shape of the book, and the slightly gritty feel to the pages from the open envelope has dampened my enthusiasm. I’m not used to having to wash my hands after flipping through a brand-new book, and I’m not looking forward to shelving it alongside my other knitting books, right next to my yarn.

On the plus side of mail-order, though. . . . I showed you yesterday the copy of Paul McCartney’s newest CD which arrived yesterday. I’d completely forgotten that yesterday was actually its release date. Kudos to Amazon.com! I played it in the car on my way to work this morning and . . . well, there’s been a Lexus commercial lately with a song “Fine Line” playing, and I’ve been thinking to myself all week that it sounded like Paul, but I didn’t recognize the song, so figured I was wrong . . . Wrong! I was right! It was Macca. It’s the single from this album, and the first track on the CD. I put it in the stereo this morning and immediately got all excited. “That’s that song!” And then spent the rest of the drive to work trying to figure out what the commercial had been for . . . (I know now that it was Lexus. One, because I did a Google search to find out and, two, there’s a big Lexus tie-in with this album and Paul’s latest tour.)

But the other thing is that I work with two people (both named Jim, coincidentally) who are huge Beatles fans, and by extension, huge Paul McCartney fans. I mentioned in passing to Jimmy that I had my copy and he got all excited. “Would you like to look at the liner notes?” I asked him. Oh yes, he would, very much. So, I went back to the car and got the jewel case. While he flipped through, he commented that he was going to have to wait until Christmas for his copy because money’s tight (they have a two-year old and a pair of 5-month old twins). “Well, would you maybe like a copy?” The words weren’t even out of my mouth and he was saying yes. So . . . back to the car to eject the CD from my stereo, and a not long after, he had his copy playing on his computer’s CD drive. A little while later, the other Jim stopped by. “Jim! Guess what I’ve got? Debbie gave me a copy of Paul’s new album!” “Wow, that’s out already? I’d pay big money for that.” . . . You can see what’s coming, right? Yep. A little while later, a copy of a copy was in his hands. (No actual money changed hands.) And no, I don’t feel badly about this–both of these men are going to buy copies of their own at some point–this is just letting them listen a little sooner. So soon, in fact, that Jimmy was on his third listen by the end of the day, and I hadn’t even gotten through the entire album once. Not really fair, but . . . he’s got three little kids clamoring for attention when he gets home, I suppose I don’t begrudge him the relative-peace of office listening time. (Not that it’s exactly peaceful–he could have a revolving door at his office, there are so many people stopping by all day long!)

Ooh! And, I’m so excited. I stopped by Stephanie’s blog today, and . . . she’s going to be at Rhinebeck that Saturday afternoon. Yay! I told Mom that we are not leaving without my getting a chance to say hello, and I left Stephanie a comment saying how happy I was, and that it’s so rare that I get an excuse to carry both yarn and books in my purse these days.

I also bought a pattern today–Wendy’s “Not So Shrunken Cardigan.” I liked it yesterday when she posted it, and decided to get a copy. I’m not sure when I’ll make it, exactly, but I like it!

And . . . check out this story about a pod of dolphins swept out of their Mississippi oceanarium, and found in the Gulf by their trainers. A sweet story! Or, how about this article about the security risks of Google Earth’s satellite imagery? Am I the only one who thinks that the lawsuits over the Pledge of Allegiance are ridiculous?

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Mail Order //