Read With Us: The Winter 2023 Announcement

January 24, 2023 By Carole

As you might surmise from the title, today is the day that Bonny, Kym, and I are disclosing our Winter 2023 Read With Us book and it is . . .

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

Yes, this is an older book and many of you have probably read it already. And that’s okay because you get the pleasure of reading it again. And if you haven’t read it, you now have a great excuse to pick up this multiple award winner. That’s right, this book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1994, the National Book Award for Fiction in 1993, and more.

I tried (and failed) to summarize this myself (it’s been years and years since I read it and all I really remember is that I loved it) so instead I’m sharing the summary from GoodReads:

When Quoyle’s two-timing wife meets her just deserts, he retreats with his two daughters to his ancestral home on the starkly beautiful Newfoundland coast, where a rich cast of local characters and family members all play a part in Quoyle’s struggle to reclaim his life. As Quoyle confronts his private demons–and the unpredictable forces of nature and society–he begins to see the possibility of love without pain or misery. A vigorous, darkly comic, and at times magical portrait of the contemporary North American family, The Shipping News shows why Annie Proulx is recognized as one of the most gifted and original writers in America today.

We will be doing promo posts during the month of February and our online discussion will take place on Tuesday, March 21st at 7pm. I hope you will join us and read The Shipping News.

Read With Us: The Marriage Portrait Discussion Time

January 11, 2023 By Carole

I was thinking yesterday that it feels like forever since we announced our fall book, The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell. And I was right – it was September! But at long last the time has come to discuss . . .

For my question, I’m curious about your thoughts on 2 related matters:

What distinctions did you notice between the way girls and boys were raised in Cosimo’s household? To what extent are Lucrezia and her siblings permitted to experience childhood innocence?

I will be reading your answers and (trying) to respond in the comments but what I’m really looking forward to is our Zoom discussion tonight. I hope you will join Bonny and Kym and I, please let me know if you need a link to join the meeting.

And with that . . . discuss, please!

Simple Life Hacks

December 7, 2022 By Carole

There are 2 things I’ve . . . discovered . . . lately that have improved my efficiency and planning and, given my lack of new knitting content, I’m sharing them with you today.

First, I get some of my best ideas when I’m driving. I’ll be listening to a podcast or an audiobook or just thinking deep thoughts and I’ll come up with an idea for a blog post or remember something I need to write down on a list (shopping, blogging, writing) but I’m driving so there’s no way to take a note. You know what I do? I text myself. I use talk to text with Apple CarPlay and just text myself whatever it is I want to remember. It works great and I can’t believe I’ve never done it until recently.

(The other place I get great ideas is in the shower. I haven’t figured out a way to remember those thoughts yet but I’ll tell you this: I write fantastic blog posts in the shower!)

Another thing I’ve started doing, and it’s really incredible that I’ve never done this until recently, is I schedule blog post ideas on my Google calendar. I have several calendars I maintain, both for personal and professional stuff, and I simply created a new calendar for blog posts. This has helped me stay on track with my ideas for posts as well as other posts I write on particular schedules like Read With Us posts, my monthly welcome posts, and Museum of Me posts.

Finally, a bit of housekeeping. Our Read With Us discussion for The Marriage Portrait is going to be on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 instead of Tuesday, January 10th. This change is on me as I have to attend our town’s bicentennial kick off event on that Tuesday and Kym and Bonny decided they’d rather move it to a date when I can be there than to do it without me. I hope you can all adjust your calendars as well. Oh! And speaking of The Marriage Portrait, I see that it’s Reese Witherspoon’s choice for her December book club. Read With Us was ahead of the curve on that one, friends!

That’s my Wednesday jumble of thoughts. Have a great day!

Read With Us: The Marriage Portrait Promo Post

October 11, 2022 By Carole

Hello! How as your weekend? I hope it was a good one and I hope you’re ready today to consider what you’re going to be reading over the next couple of months. I’m sincerely hoping it will be The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell. And here’s why . . .

Maggie O’Farrell is a gifted writer and creates incredibly beautiful settings for her characters. Those characters run the gamut from naïve and frightened virgin heroine, a plotting and evil (or is he?) duke, a controlling and manipulative father, and brood of siblings, and a whole host of others to round out the story. There is art and lavish imagery, there are magical animals, dark castles with winding stairways, courtly rituals, beautiful gowns and so much more. The book is, quite literally, like stepping into a painting of the Italian renaissance.

If I haven’t intrigued you yet, I think this clip of Maggie O’Farrell introducing the book should seal the deal.

I truly hope you will Read With Us as we take on The Marriage Portrait.

Read With Us: The Fall 2022 Announcement

September 27, 2022 By Carole

It’s the much anticipated announcement for our fall book! Kym and Bonny and I are beyond excited to tell you that we are reading . . .

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell.

I had the good fortunate of receiving a copy of this book from NetGalley over the summer and I finished it and reviewed it right before it’s release date. I shared my review last month, but I’ll share it again today:

Maggie O’Farrell is brilliant at taking obscure historical figures and writing fascinating stories about them and The Marriage Portrait is no exception. Her ability to create a setting that feels vibrant and alive with detail is my favorite thing about her writing. There were moments while reading this book that I felt the panic and confusion of young Lucrezia, I could see the paintings she made, and I swore I could taste the delicacies prepared for her to eat. O’Farrell has taken very few historical facts and turned them into a full fledged story of passion, deceit, and the struggle for power and survival in 1500s Italy. Highly recommended. I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll be perfectly upfront and say that I did not love this the way that I loved Hamnet. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a fabulous book and it’s got the potential for a wonderful discussion. Hopefully you can get your hands on a copy, either from a local book store or online or at your public library. We will be discussing it on January 10, 2023. I know that seems like a long way off but we didn’t want to try and schedule a Zoom discussion during the busy holiday season and this will give us all something to look forward to when the fun of winter is over and the drudge is about to descend.

I hope you’re as excited as we are about our new Read With Us selection!