Crocheted of recycled (100 percent cotton) sweater yarn.

This was my second time following this pattern, and it went a lot faster than the headache-inducing first time. Still, it took *way* longer than most crocheted hats take me.

Once I got that done, I spent most of the week working away on my Motley [project link] [pattern link] — I’m almost half done! I’m quite enjoying seeing how the colors work together. Also: Entrelac is not as scary as some people make it sound.

Have you crafted a finished object this week? Check out the roundup of other people’s finished objects for the week at Tami’s Amis. See also the Fiber Arts Friday roundup at Wisdom Begins in Wonder to see what other people are crafting this week.

1. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer (nonfiction, memoir, international, cause)
2. Saints in Limbo by River Jordan (Christian fiction, magical realism?)
3. Nothing but Ghosts by Beth Kephart (YA literary fiction)
4. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (fiction, international)
5. The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry (fiction, mystery)
6. Lost Mission by Athol Dickson (Christian fiction, faith)
7. The Only True Genius in the Family by Jennie Nash (fiction)
8. Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum (nonfiction)
9. Sweeping Up Glass by Carolyn Wall (fiction, southern)
10. Faces in the Fire by T.L. Hines (Christian fiction, suspense)

Books I haven’t read yet, but think might make my list: The Help. I’m inching up the wait list at the library, but I don’t know if I’ll get it finished in this calendar year. I’m sure there are others, but this is a big one, and I’m not thinking of other titles.

ossuary, n A container, as an urn, vault, etc., for the bones of the dead
page 16, Fields of Blood by Eric Wilson
“The Collector brushed over the shape and recognized it now as an ossuary, a repository for the dead.”
The text itself does a pretty good job of defining this one.

sybaritic, adj, from the noun Sybarite: Any of the people of ancient Sybaris; anyone very fond of self-indulgence and luxury; voluptuary
page 17, Fields of Blood by Eric Wilson
“This place was creepy, murmuring to him in sybaritic tones.”

revenants, pl n People who return, as after a long absence; ghosts
page 42, Fields of Blood by Eric Wilson
“The eighteen revenants continued through the night.”

susurrus, n A whispering, murmuring, or rustling sound
page 115, Fields of Blood by Eric Wilson
“Ariston and the other Collectors ducked into subterranean darkness and shuffled along stone-cold walls, stirring the susurrus of those who had given their lives for this land.”

tuica (pronounced: tsweeka), n A traditional Romanian alcoholic beverage, usually made from plums
page 144, Fields of Blood by Eric Wilson
“‘You still want the case of tuica, don’t you?’”

macadam, n (after John L. McAdam, and pronounced accordingly) Small broken stones used in making roads, esp., such stones combined with a binder such as tar or asphalt
page 3, Charming Billy by Alice McDermott
“The place was at the end of a sloping driveway that started out as macadam but quickly diminished to dirt and gravel.”

breviary, n A book containing the Psalms, readings, prayers, etc., of the Divine Office
page 62, Charming Billy by Alice McDermott
“Shivering, I pulled it over my elbows and felt as I did a small square weight in one pocket — a breviary or a flask.”

tattersall, adj (after Tattersall’s, a London horse market and gamblers’ rendezvous, founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall) Having a checkered pattern of dark lines on a light background
page 158, Charming Billy by Alice McDermott
“He was changed out of his suit but looked that much more polished in a pressed sport shirt and tattersall pants.”

colleen, n [Irish] A girl
page 252, Charming Billy by Alice McDermott
“Held out his hand and said, ‘Billy Lynch,’ and Eva, drying her hands on her apron like some Brigadoon colleen, said, ‘Billy Lynch, I know it’s you.’”

Reviews of the books cited here:
Field of Blood by Eric Wilson
Charming Billy by Alice McDermott

Earlier installments of this feature (more great words!)

Currently reading: The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Pages read since last update: 102
Running total of pages read since I started: 478

Amount of time spent reading since last update: 100 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 445 minutes

Mini-challenge this hour: I’m not going to try my hand at making a read-a-thon button; I don’t have the software on this computer, so I’d just get frustrated.

Prize you’ve won: none yet
Books completed since I started: 1: Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Comments about this hour:
I’m nearly done with The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency! That’ll make two down. I’m waffling about what I’ll pick up next, but I don’t have long to decide!

I resisted them all for quite awhile, since when I initially perused any site I heard of for books I might want to receive, I couldn’t find the titles I sought. I felt like, since I don’t read/own mostly bestseller paperbacks, I was out of luck.

I finally joined BookMooch a few weeks ago after reading about it on a few different book blogs.

You just sign up, add a few titles from your shelves that you’re willing to part with, search for books you want to read, maybe import your Amazon wishlist, and you’re set! I do feel like BookMooch has a good range of books (even some textbooks), and I’ve succeeded in nabbing several titles from my list.

At one of those aforementioned book blogs, Dewey recently wrote a post giving good advice about BookMooch etiquette.

Are you part of one of these sites? If so, why did you choose it? If not, why have you stayed away?

This situation is not surprising to me, but it is frustrating. The problem is partly due to the current (for nearly the last decade, now) newspaper arrangement in the two-county area.

According to candidate filings with Benton County, 4 names will be on the ballot in one Siloam Springs district for the position of justice of the peace. Nowhere online did I find which numbered district encompass what parts of the county. I did know that this district with 4 candidates was in at least part of this town, though, because I’ve seen candidates’ signs. (I also recognized the name of the incumbent from when I worked at the hometown newspaper.)

The local newspaper — Siloam Springs Herald-Leader — has mentioned two of the candidates’ names. The other two are nowhere to be found. [While I worked there, I made a concerted effort to include articles relevant to county politics.]

I had to check my voter registration card to learn that I won’t have to choose any of these candidates, since in my JP district, the incumbent is running unopposed.

Now my responsibility as voter must focus on the county-wide races: Collector, coroner, judge and sheriff.

The difficulty, though, is that it’s impossible to get information on these races. The county newspaper (Benton County Daily Record) faithfully interviews each candidate, but I can’t get the county newspaper. Well, I could go buy a copy on the newsstand each day, I suppose, but that’s expensive and annoying. I can’t get it delivered to my house, even if I wanted to. If I called and asked, I would instead be delivered the Northwest Arkansas Times, which is owned by the same company but is published in the county south of here and also covers mainly the one “city” in that county. It does not concern itself with lowly county races for the neighboring county.

I don’t think this problem is common throughout the country. I think it’s rather rare, in fact. But it’s still a problem. I have told the leadership of the company and of each of these newspapers about it before, when I worked for the local paper. Here’s the rub: The decision to exclusively offer the Times in Siloam Springs is based entirely on advertising, to the exclusion of content considerations.

The theory, several years ago when the situation was established, was that Siloam Springs residents drove south to Fayetteville — and not north to Rogers or Bentonville — for shopping and entertainment. This scenario, while quite probably true when the study was initially completed, is out of date and now inaccurate. Benton County’s major population centers have grown exponentially, and they have been the sites of most major retail growth in the past 5 years. More new restaurant options, the new mall, among other things, have undergirded the new situation, where Siloam Springs residents now sometimes go north and sometimes go south. The decision is no longer automatic.

At the very least, the company should offer Siloam Springs residents their choice of newspapers.

Even in this internet age one year isn’t very long. I plan to keep going.

I want this blog to be about words, writing, language …

I love words, and I think clear communication is essential. So, here we go!

I’m sure the appearance and organizational structure of this blog will morph as time passes; after all, I haven’t done any of that yet. It will come.