A Book-ish Day in Alvin, My First Two French Books, and A Give-Away!

A Book-ish Day in Alvin

It's a happy day for me when I have not one, but two book events to attend.

In the morning, I popped into a book signing for local author, Sharon Beck. The day was so beautiful that I walked the mile or so to Laid Back Books on Mustang Road here in town. Sharon's daughter, Marla, was on hand, as were many of her other family members and friends. Sharon's book, her first, is Lemons to Lemonade and it is the poignant story of the life of Sharon's son, Randy Beck, born with a serious heart condition, who defied the odds and lived a life that, in Sharon's words, "absolutely made lemonade from the lemons he was given."

I was delighted to see lemon-ish refreshments at the signing.

I bought a copy of her book and had her sign it. Can't wait to read it!

In the evening, I was privileged to introduce Ron Rozelle at Meet the Author Night at the Alvin Library. Ron is the author of one of my all-time favorite books, Into This Good Night, a memoir about his father, a school superintendent who had Altzheimer's. He spoke to a full house at the library about his experiences with writing and read a chapter from his book. His later books include Windows of Heaven, a novel about the 1900 Galveston Storm, and Sundays with Ron Rozelle, a collection of his newspaper columns. I acquired Sundays with Ron Rozelle at the event and plan to spend some time today, Sunday, with Ron Rozelle.

My First Two Books for My Trip to France (and One More...Not About France)

This week, I finished my first two books for my trip to France and one more...not about France.

A Giveaway!

I jumped into the Book Blogger Hop on Friday. Mercy, I never dreamed I'd move from 75 followers on Friday to 99 today! Zowie, that makes me happy.

So what shall I do to celebrate?

I thought about a giveaway. How about two ten dollar Amazon gift certificates? I'll give these away to two followers.

How can you try to win? (1) Be a follower. (2) Leave a post here, telling me you are a follower. (3) For an extra chance, tweet about this giveaway.

I'll run this through Easter Sunday.

Book Blogger Hop: Say Hello!

I just had to jump into the Hop.

I'm Old but I feel New. I started blogging (almost) two years ago. I have 75 (amazing!) followers. So, Old.

But I consistently blog just once a week. And I fumble around every time I add a picture or post a link. So, New.

What I am most interested in:  I want to connect with other book bloggers who read more than I do or read more widely than I do. I want to learn from you. I know you are modest, but I also know you are out there.

What do I like to read? The good stories. Fiction. Nonfiction. Travel stories. Children's picture books. A little fantasy. A little sci fi. A mystery now and then.

I like character more than action. I like something that surprises me, but I'm not interested in being shocked just to be shocked. Beautiful words. Happy stories. Redemption. Vision. Meaning.

Please say hello here. I will also seek you out. I will add you to my Reader and/or Follow you.

Follow me here, too. Befriend me at Goodreads. Follow me at Twitter. Befriend me at Facebook. 

What if you don't think you are this kind of reader?  Say hello anyway. I love to know someone is out there.

What to Read? What to Read? Suggestions for a Visitor to France?

It is definite. I will be going to France this summer. Woo hoo!

Now comes a very important question:  What should I read?

I want to read books set in France. Books with French authors. Books with

French characters. Nonfiction or fiction. Good books.

So, I come to you, the greatest readers on earth. What do you recommend?

Suggestions? Ideas?

Photo by craigfinlay

I Am Going to Paris!

Photo by vizzzual.com

This is really going to happen....I am going to Paris!

Not today. This summer. The end of June. A week in Paris and a week in Provence.

Here's how it came about: My sister has been to Europe several times. She is making all the arrangements. My two nieces are going with us. I love my husband, but he sees no reason to leave Alvin, much less Texas, much much less the US. So I am going to France with my sister and two nieces!

Words of advice? Bookish sites to visit? Bookstore suggestions?

Sunday Salon: Picture Books, Picture Books, Picture Books

Picture books, picture books, picture books. Who knew my public library had so many? And so many titles I'd never heard of, much less read. I must find many of these for my school library.

They are all from 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up.

I now stand at 290 books read. The breakdown:

0-3 books: 23/39

3+ books: 64/122

5+ books: 100/219

8+ books: 65/352

12+ books: 38/271

The 12+ books include some weighty titles like To Kill a Mockingbird and Kidnapped. I'll focus on reading these last, if at all, as my main interest in children's books lies in 0-12.

What wowed me? Clown. The Gruffalo. Poems for the Very Young. Window. Gorilla. I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato. Ernest and Celestine. Flotsam. Stone Soup. 

It's Spring Break time for me. After a long, cold winter, I'm finally starting to move around again, to want to get out of my cave, and sit in the sunshine. I made stops at Half Price Books and two libraries yesterday, so I'm pretty well set for the week. Betsy-Tacy. Mary Poppins. Millions. And Making Toast and Country Driving in the grownup book category. 

What are you reading this week? Anything you'd recommend? I can always stop by B&N...Hey, I'm on vacation!