6.19.2006

wmtc the book

Last week, for my birthday, Allan gave me a treasure trove of books, CDs and DVDs - a real haul. Yet he said that my Real Present had been delayed, and these were merely substitute gifts.

Apparently he was hoping Real Present would arrive in time for the wmtc party, but no luck. Meanwhile, in the excitement of party prep, I forgot all about it.

When I came home tonight, he handed me a package (in between innings!), obviously a wrapped book, and a lengthy one. I couldn't imagine what book he could have been waiting for, what this Real Present could be.

Wow.

wmtc the book!

It's a slightly edited version (some posts omitted) from my first post (July 11, 2004) to my year-end wrap-up (December 31, 2005). He worked with a designer on the beautiful cover, and it's available for purchase at Cafe Press.

Man, I don't know what to say right now. I'm overwhelmed.

You can look at the front and back covers, and spine, here on my very own Cafe Press page.

23 comments:

allan said...

By the way, the Cafe Press price is the actual cost of producing the book.

$0.00 profit.

Masnick96 said...

That is sooooo cool. What a sweetheart he is :-)

laura k said...

I know, it's amazing.

And I never have good ideas for his birthday! He does all this cool stuff for me, and I'm like, duh, what can I get him... :/

allan said...

Sadly, there was little chance of Canada Post coming through for the 13th, but I was really hoping the Book would arrive before the party.

Stupid Post -- one day late. Grrrr.

Klite said...

wow- 561 pages
you have obviously written a lot in 18 months.
nice cover

laura k said...

Stupid Post -- one day late. Grrrr.

It doesn't matter. It's still the coolest gift.

mkk said...

Wow. That is the most amazing gift! Unbelievable.

James Redekop said...

Great cover, too. :)

barefoot hiker said...

Wow, what a fantastic idea. :D

Anonymous said...

That is so cool! And, happy birthday, too!

gito said...

wow! such a wonderful present! I've got to go and check it out right now, gito

Peregrinato said...

WOW! I love it!!!

Anonymous said...

What a GREAT gift!

Only one day late? One of the things you will soon get used to in this country is the irritangly unreliable mail service known as Canada Post. When timelines don't matter, it's always there in a couple of days. But it seems whenever something needs to be delivered by a certain day, well, call FedEx instead.

This reminds me of Riverbend's book that was a collection of Baghdad Burning posts about the war in Iraq ... it was a great read, and I'm sure this one will be, too. The best documents of any journey or event are those told from a personal perspective as opposed to a straightforward narrative. Can't wait to read it!

Anonymous said...

"irritatingly unreliable", that is ... long day. Blah.

allan said...

Almost all of the posts from the beginning to the end of 2005 are included, though I did delete some that were very link-dependent or consisted solely of newspaper articles. A handful of sentences were slightly rewritten to remove a link but maintain clarity.

There are pictures -- but they are black & white and not of the greatest quality (but certainly viewable); however, not all photos are included. If Laura posted four dog-wrestling photos, there may be only one in the book. Likewise, her neighbourhood tour, which might have been 10 pix on the blog, is maybe 3 in the book.

However, there is some stuff that was not posted on the blog. Yes -- unrelased material!

I got screen shots of the wmtc mention in the Washington Post (along with Howie Kurtz's dismissive crack about the blog's title) and the parody site (which I think followed the next day) -- wemovetolynn. I turned the screen shots into jpgs and put them in the book.

So if you are silly enough to put down $24+ for the book, you'll get something extra that the blog-only folks will not. :>/

Finally, I put together a similar book for myself of my Joy of Sox posts for the glorious 2004 Red Sox season. Last month, almost 18 months after finishing it, someone other than me bought a copy!

Laura passed that glorious sales total in like 20 minutes. sigh

Scott M. said...

Can I use my HBC Points? :)

laura k said...

unreliable mail service known as Canada Post.

I find paper mail between the US and Canada to be maddeningly slow - probably a combination of two dysfunctional systems. It's especially annoying when I'm waiting to get paid.

This reminds me of Riverbend's book that was a collection of Baghdad Burning posts about the war in Iraq

I wish!

"irritatingly unreliable", that is ... long day. Blah.

I liked "irritangly". Has a great ring to it. :)

laura k said...

Can I use my HBC Points? :)

ARGH!!!! :-D

Amateur said...

What a beautiful present.

Slightly off topic but in my local paper this morning there was a fluff piece about Jo Davenport (formerly of Atlanta) who has self-published a book called "The Canadian Way: An Immigrant’s Guide to Settling in Canada" (electronic book info). She might be another interesting contact.

laura k said...

Jo Davenport (formerly of Atlanta) who has self-published a book called "The Canadian Way: An Immigrant’s Guide to Settling in Canada"

I blogged about Jo and linked to her book when it came out. She emails me frequently... :)

Amateur said...

Well in that case I am outraged that this blog did not get a mention in the Herald ...

Sass said...

Yaaay Laura! What an awesome gift.

Crabbi said...

Wow. Just wow.

What a beautiful, thoughtful gift. What a wonderful way to honor and celebrate your journey.