What I'm Doing

Part Two of Move:

Arriving

Boxes

boxes

boxes

boxes

boxes

boxes

boxes

boxes

xx

Books, Books, Books

Books books books

I'm so greedy for books

Today's arrivals

nutrition for the month

lined up

on the kitchen counter

yummmmmmm

xx

Bracelet of Books

A gift from my daughter

this treasured bracelet of charms

one charm for each of my books

twenty charms

for which she hunted far and wide

eighteen represent children's books

two represent adult books 

published only in England

below is a list of my books

if you want to match the charms with the books

(though you will have to know something about a few of the books to decipher the charm)

xx

Novels:

Absolutely Normal Chaos

Bloomability

The Castle Corona

Chasing Redbird

Granny Torrelli Makes Soup

The Great Unexpected

Hate That Cat

Heartbeat

Love That Dog

Pleasing the Ghost

Replay

Ruby Holler

The Unfinished Angel

Walk Two Moons

The Wanderer

Picture Books:

A Fine, Fine School

Fishing in the Air

Who's That Baby?

For Adults (but out of print):

Nickel Malley

The Recital

Of Books and Dogs

Books, books, books. I can't help it - I can't resist buying books, books, books. I also have a Kindle, but much prefer holding a Real Book.  Some of these books are kept forever and some are donated.

Last week I vowed: No more books until I finish reading the ones stacked beside the bed.

Today I bought:

So much for vows.

Have I also mentioned this book (link below): S.O.A.R.,  animal rescue stories by Jack Floyd?  S.O.A.R. stands for Southport-Oak Island Animal Rescue, and Jack is a long-time volunteer there.  I'm partial to it because I know the author, but you might want to check it out. [It's an ebook; the link below is for iTunes, but you can also get it elsewhere.]

S.O.A.R. Stories by Jack Floyd

What is your latest book purchase?

Why It Takes So Long to Write a Book

Sure, there are the normal things like cooking, cleaning, laundry, errands, doctors, dentists, children, spouses, friends, family that need attention.

But then, also: there is the pale moon framed by branches

and

the flowers waving

and 

beckoning

and so

you have to stop

and pay attention

right?

New Books, New Birds

I keep a running list of books that I'd like to read, and if the titles still resonate a week or two or three later, I buy them. Above are the most recent purchases and it feels like Christmas--wow!

Along with the new books came three new baby robins–hatched yesterday–in a porch nest. Two are seen here:

They remain in that position all day, mouths perpetually open, waiting for the parents to bring them morsels.

New books, new birds: feasts for the eyes, the mind, the soul.

Ciao, bellas. . . .

New Books

Two very different books that I'd ordered arrived last week: Lettres a Giorgio and The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus.


I'll have to do a separate post showing the illustrated postcards and envelopes in Lettres a Giorgio: 1967-1975--all so colorful and intriguing. They make me want to paint my envelopes. The illustrator's name is Folon; I'm off to do a search about him.

The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus is a novel in verse by Sonya Sones, whom you may know as a young adult author. This novel is for adults, "about marriage, motherhood and mayhem." I find something simpatico in Sones' voice, almost as if my characters Jack in Love That Dog or Annie in Heartbeat had grown up and written in their adult voice. Sones' character displays an appealing combination of humor and poignancy.

What are you reading?

The Unfinished Angel, launching

Mixed feelings about launching a new book. . .

Book Treasure


Three small packages arrived yesterday, each with two books inside. The first package contained the Korean edition of Love That Dog, a sweet, handsomely produced volume with occasional small illustrations in black line on yellow background:

The second package contained the Korean edition of Walk Two Moons, also handsomely done, with a Korean version of the Newbery Medal on the front, and a tiny crescent moon at the bottom of the last page of each chapter.  I tried to get a photo of that tiny moon, but couldn't capture it clearly.

And finally, the third package contained the new baby:  The Unfinished Angel, due out on September 22.

The real book!  At last!  I love its trim size (about 5-1/2 by 7-1/2) and its slenderness (164 pages). To me, this is a perfect sized book, fitting comfortably in my hands, and the perfect sized story, with no room for wordiness.

And so I take some time to be grateful for all the people who made my stories into books: the editor, designer, artist, copy editors, production team, publishers, translators, and more, there are always more who believe in books.