Okay, this one you can blame on Carole. She’s the one who posted that Red Bird Knits was having a sale that was ending today. So, um, I ordered a skein of Jaggerspun 4/14–a limited edition wool-silk blend like Zephyr, but in Fingering weight–for a pair of socks; and I bought a little Cormo roving and a little Kid Mohair roving, too. But really, that was it!

Now, you’ll think that I’m not taking responsibility for myself, blaming others for my yarn purchases, and in general, this is an attitude I dislike in people. Stand up and take responsibility for yourself, I always want to shout! But this is entirely different. I mean, I could resist buying the big purchases, but . . . sock yarn? It’s so easy, so relatively inexpensive. And it takes up so little room in the closet. It’s almost cruel to say no–especially in these last two circumstances: a sale, and the inauguration of a new store. I mean, really, you have to.

Today’s questions are from Marie. Thank you!

1. Do you finish every book you start, no matter how bad it gets? Why?
   Almost always, but if it gets really, really bad, I’ll often cut my losses. (That “Strange & Norrill” book? I read 2/3 of it before I finally shut it as an alternative to throwing it against the wall. When I found myself making excuses like cleaning the bathroom or balancing my checkbook instead of opening the book, I finally accepted it was a dead loss.) The book has to be pretty bad, though. I’m a fast enough reader that I’ll usually finish what I’ve started, although if truly bored, I’ll skim my way to the end, so that I find out what happens to the story . . .
2. Do you ever sneak-read the ending before you finish the book? If so, what about the book tends to cause you to do so?
   I have to admit that on occasion, I do. For two reasons–if a character appears to be in mortal danger, I’ll flip through the end of the book, looking for their name, just to see if they’re likely to survive the current situation. Or, if the book is really bad . . . I do usually get past the first 50 pages or so, and by then, I’m at least moderately curious about what’s going to happen to the characters. (It’s not their fault they got stuck with bad authors, right?) So if the book is bad enough I want to stop reading, but I’m at all invested in the characters, I will sometimes skip to the end to see if it was a happy ending, or whatever.

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