Wow...five days without blogging. That may be a record for me. Not only that, but from Saturday evening until I got home at noon on Monday, I was not on the internet, and didn't even have any withdrawal symptoms! And when I got home on Monday, I didn't immediately get on line. So I guess this is my way of saying that I'm NOT addicted. I CAN quit anytime I want. But I hope someone out there missed me!!!
So, today you get to be the recipient of my "junk in the trunk"...stuff that has been accumulating in my brain since we left Boca for Merritt Island Friday afternoon. (If anyone from either of my children's schools is reading this, of course this was AFTER their doctor's appointments for which I needed to remove them from school early!)
1. Less than two weeks until Buy A Friend A Book Week. I must think of a new unique contest. In the two contests I have done so far I have asked entrants to 1) give me the title of the best book they have read in 2006 (I got such a great turnout for this one that I had both adult and junior divisions); 2) list the top three books they have read. If you have any suggestions for a theme, e-mail them to me privately and guess what? I'll buy a book for the first person to come up with the theme I eventually use!
2. Andrea finally made a decision on her book won in my last BAFAB contest. For those who worry that there is any unfairness to this contest, I will remind you that her favorite book of 2006 was The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue, which I kind of disliked and I think Andrea may have selected just to be contrary. Since Andrea is a local winner, we had a Sunday morning rendez vous at Barnes & Noble where my 13 year old entertained her 4 year old so that we could have coffee and delightful adult conversation. Before Andrea's arrival, I walked around collecting a large pile of books from which I thought she might like to make her selection. We used the pile to save our table, went and ordered our coffees and came back to find that an overzealous bookseller had picked them up and reshelved them! Ugh!!!!
Anyway, after reading unanimously positive critical reviews (or after weighing all of them and going with the heaviest), Andrea selected Heydey by Kurt Andersen, and after her last report, is loving it!
Taylor, who won the junior division selected That Was Then, This is Now by S. E. Hinton, but when it came from Amazon and I foolishly left it on the counter, my son Rory started reading it leaving pages dog-eared and the spine broken, so I couldn't give it to Taylor. Besides, it is such a tiny little book, I want to get her that and something more. Any suggestions? Taylor is in 5th grade and about to enter middle school.
3. I am reading Jodi Picoult's latest, Nineteen Minutes, and all the while blogging in my head. I am about 2/3 through it, so we will see what the final outcome is, but right now it is running a distant second to Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin.
4. Speaking of Ms. Shriver, her latest book The Post-Birthday World has received some positive buzz. For those fortunate to live in the vicinity of Quail Ridge Books, the greatest independent bookstore ever, Ms. Shriver is going to be appearing at QRB in Raleigh on April 10. For those who are not fortunate enough to be with a couple of hours of Raleigh so you can take the occasional field trip, I would strongly encourage you to subscribe to QuailMail, the consistently informative newsletter sent weekly by QRB's incomparable owner, Nancy Olson (shown here with John and Elizabeth Edwards). In addition to the great book selection, wonderfully comfortable children's section, articulate staff reviews and unrivaled service, one of my favorite things about QRB is the eclectic collection of blank note cards. I just got a very cool Frida Kahlo card from my friend Shirley from my book club in NC who got it at QRB. Shirley, I think we should plan a field trip and lunch around visiting QRB when I'm up there in the beginning of April.
5. We just had a great weekend with friends Steve, Nicole and McLane who stopped in Merritt Island before heading on to a week at Disney. I love having friends who do not need "entertaining", but enjoy the simple things...a windy day at the beach, a fabulous dinner at Danny & Sonia's, kicking a soccer ball around, playing cards, working maniacally on a jigsaw puzzle and even taking the occasional spontaneous nap while watching March Madness. McLane (age 8) summed it up for me when she plopped herself down in the backseat of my car and announced, "I'm having fun! Are you having fun?"
6. Today it's back to the "real world"...I was hesitant to even open up my calendar and check my schedule for today because I didn't want to lose the overwhelming sense of relaxation I had from the weekend.
Di
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