Once I got to B&N, I headed straight for the craft section and found the knitting books all laid out in their knitty glory. There were so. many. to. choose. from. If I had the cash, I would have bought them all, no joke. Alas, I did not. There were some only on socks, there were some only on sweaters, there were some only on chunky wool for pete's sake! I was like a fat kid in a candy store! (no offense meant, I was once a fat kid!)
I decided I wanted a book on stitch patterns, full patterns. I looked at the Stitchionaries, but they were a) too expensive and b) a little dis-organized for my taste. I looked at a couple others, but their photography and yarn choice turned me off even more (neon pinks, olive greens, and mustard-y oranges all on the same page!). No, those wouldn't do at all.
Then I found the Field Guide to Knitting. It's not a bad book, granted the name sounds slightly ostentatious - entire title being Field Guide to Knitting: How to Identify, Select, and Work Virtually Every Stitch. It's probably not the best book on stitch patterns they had to offer, but the price was right ($15.95) and each section's pictures were knit in monochromatic wool (Knit and Purl Stitches were in shades of red, Cables were in gold/brown, Openwork and Lace were in blue/purple, etc.), and it has a LOT of stitch patterns - it says 200+ and I believe it.
I'm really enjoying thumbing through it and thinking where I could use the patterns. I already have a few projects in mind.
If you're looking for a good book on stitch patterns, this is your way to go. It's not as specialized as books like Knitting on the Edge, but it has a good selection to get you started.
Keep on Knitting!
Edited to Add: I've just come up with a sinister idea to attept to knit up a 5x5 in. swatch and post my results and opinions on the pattern. This may fail to come to fruition, but it's an idea I may decide to run with.
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