Knitting books

I need advice from knitters who own books:

What are good knitting books to have?

I am considering purchasing Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac on Amazon for $8 (I have a $25 gift card too), but some say that it's hard to follow without learning her abbreviations and lingo in Knitting Without Tears. I searched the entire Cumberland County Library System, and the only Elizabeth Zimmermann book they have is Knitting Without Tears, so I put it on hold. I figure I could get the Almanac, and photocopy the parts I need from KWT. Mainly I want the baby surprise jacket, but lot of Ravelry people and knitters in general always call Almanac the best knitting book for $8 you will ever buy, and I'm curious. Does anyone have a copy I could borrow and skim?

Do you have other knitting books that you think are vital to your knitting library? I have now read Stitch 'n Bitch, the entire learning part before the patterns, and I am about 20% through my first sweater from Ann Budd's Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns, which I think was a good choice for my first sweater book.

Katy! Nic! Anyone else who knits! I need thoughts.

Happy Earth Day!

To do: ----------------------------------------- Update in the evening:

Get dressed ------------------------------------- check
Take Prednisone for poison ivy ----------------------- check, it's working like a charm
Vote (Obama '08!) ---------------------------------check!
Stop at Starbucks? (Michelle may have already done this) --- check, Michelle got me my fav iced fat-free chai
Work (accruals, accruals, accruals!) -------------------- check, got them all finished before 3:00, earlier than usual!
Come home --------------------------------------check, altho I dawdled at work and didn't get home until 7:00
Laundry ----------------------------------------- check, gotta go switch loads soon
Dishes ------------------------------------------ check, Paul got them started before I got home and finished them while I was folding laundry
(Clean dining room floor?) --------------------------- not tonight...
(Vacuum family room?) ------------------------------not tonight...
Dinner (Cream dried beef?) ---------------------------check, and baked potatoes, it's delicious! and so easy!!
Crochet ------------------------------------------this is what I plan to do instead off cleaning & vacuuming...
Sleep --------------------------------------------again, instead of cleaning...altho the 'roids might keep me up for a while...!

In other news, I finished "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer last night. It was very good. Also very unique and, Han is absolutely right, very post-modern. You'll see what I mean if you read it. I highly recommend. He also wrote "Everything is Illuminated," which is also a good movie, but I barely remember the book because it's been a few years since I read it.

Peace out...