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.

Comments

  1. allan19 June 2006 at 20:05

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

    $0.00 profit.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Masnick9619 June 2006 at 20:23

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

    ReplyDelete
  3. laura k19 June 2006 at 20:27

    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... :/

    ReplyDelete
  4. allan19 June 2006 at 21:27

    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.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Klite19 June 2006 at 22:35

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

    ReplyDelete
  6. laura k20 June 2006 at 04:05

    Stupid Post -- one day late. Grrrr.

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

    ReplyDelete
  7. mkk20 June 2006 at 04:14

    Wow. That is the most amazing gift! Unbelievable.

    ReplyDelete
  8. James Redekop20 June 2006 at 04:44

    Great cover, too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. barefoot hiker20 June 2006 at 05:43

    Wow, what a fantastic idea. :D

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous20 June 2006 at 06:32

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

    ReplyDelete
  11. gito20 June 2006 at 08:19

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

    ReplyDelete
  12. Peregrinato20 June 2006 at 09:19

    WOW! I love it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous20 June 2006 at 10:04

    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!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous20 June 2006 at 10:04

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

    ReplyDelete
  15. allan20 June 2006 at 11:31

    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

    ReplyDelete
  16. Scott M.20 June 2006 at 12:40

    Can I use my HBC Points? :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. laura k20 June 2006 at 12:56

    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. :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. laura k20 June 2006 at 12:57

    Can I use my HBC Points? :)

    ARGH!!!! :-D

    ReplyDelete
  19. laura k21 June 2006 at 05:51

    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... :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Amateur21 June 2006 at 09:37

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

    ReplyDelete
  21. Sass21 June 2006 at 11:20

    Yaaay Laura! What an awesome gift.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Crabbi21 June 2006 at 21:30

    Wow. Just wow.

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

    ReplyDelete

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