I just finished reading Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, which morgaine723 lent to me. I really loved it, so much so that I went to B&N today to look for copies of all three books in the series. I wanted to give a new one back since there was a little wear and tear (not literal tear, that's just the phrase... perhaps banged up...) on the one I was lent. There were about 4 different editions, but they didn't have any of them in softcover with the illustrated cover. So I bought a box set of the paperback versions, and hope that a really awesome Xmas present (TBD) will sate the bibliophile's lust for revenge (I didn't spill on it or send it thru the tree chipper!)

While at B&N, I also bought an ASL book, Signing Illustrated, Revised Edition: The Complete Learning Guide. It has a lot about the history of ASL, the various versions of signing, good illustrations and descriptions of signs, and it is in lessons by category (family, food, shopping, etc.) and similar signs are connected in the text. It has over 1,500 common signs and describes the ways in which one might use the fluidity of the gestural language to sign what does not have a sign. It is a large book, too, so no magnifying glass required.