SUNDAY POTPOURRI: BOOKISH TIDBITS & TREASURES — MAY 12

Welcome to another Sunday Potpourri, an event that brings together all the tidbits and treasures of the past and upcoming weeks.

First, take a peek at my Sunday Salon post, in which you’ll see blog posts and reviews from the week.

Now….let’s reflect on some upcoming releases that I’ve discovered…and added to my “must have” list:

Kind of Cruel, by Sophie Hannah.  I’m a big fan of her dark, twisted reads.

 

A Tidbit:  “Kind, cruel, kind of cruel.” Amber thinks it’s just nonsense, a side effect of being hypnotized for the first time. But when she’s arrested for a brutal murder two hours later, those four words are the key to clearing her name… if only she could remember where she’d seen them.

 ***

And then there’s Necessary Lies, by Diane Chamberlain, another favorite author. (Coming Sept. 3)

Tidbit:  Bestselling author Diane Chamberlain delivers a breakout book about a small southern town fifty years ago, and the darkest—and most hopeful—places in the human heart….

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And I already mentioned this next one at my Sunday Salon post, but I can’t emphasize enough how much I adore this author’s books:

After Her, by Joyce Maynard, coming August 20.  (She brought us a number of favorites, like Labor Day).  

It’s the summer of 1979, and a dry, hot, northern California school vacation stretches ahead for Rachel and her younger sister Patty – the daughters a larger-than-life, irresistibly handsome and chronically unfaithful detective father who loves to make women happy, and the mother whose heart he broke. Left to their own devices, the inseparable sisters spend their days studying record jackets, concocting elaborate fantasies about the life of the mysterious neighbor who moves in down the street, and playing dangerous games on the mountain that rises up behind their house…..then young women start showing up dead.  Imagine what happens next!

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Soon I’m off to get ready for my Mother’s Day brunch with my daughter and grandson…and some friends.

Enjoy your day!

SUNDAY POTPOURRI: MOMENTS OF REFLECTION — APRIL 28

I used to hate Sundays.  Why?  Because of Mondays, following closely on their heels.

But nowadays, Sundays are blissful.  I wake up early to delicious coffee, and later…a mimosa.  I might sit at this little dropleaf table where I ponder things or even pay bills.  It’s by the sliding glass door that looks out on the patio, where I might sit later, now that the weather is gorgeous.

By now, I’ve already posted my Sunday Salon thoughts:  My reading and blogging adventures for the week, and what’s coming up next.

I guess that I can’t really mind all those years of hating Sundays because of Mondays….without all those years in the trenches, I wouldn’t appreciate my days now.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about people I once knew and lost touch with…like a great friend in college, with whom I corresponded for several years…and then, nothing.

I searched for her at one of those sites…when Googling her on online networks revealed nothing.  And found her!  Not far from where she was when we last connected.  Now…I stare at the page with the info and wonder.  What now?

A cold call?  A letter?  I don’t have an e-mail address.  I don’t recall why or how we lost touch, but I know that back then, I was moving around a lot…and I changed my name a few times…lol. (Not just my last name, but my first name, too!).

Memories of our times together have revisited me in some of my creations.  One of the characters in Interior Designs is loosely based on her.  She was the friend who was brave and had loads of chutzpah…and she wasn’t even Jewish!

It’s kind of sappy, revisiting the past and remembering those we knew when.  But perhaps not so unusual, as we get older.

I’m reading Elizabeth Berg’s Tapestry of Fortunes, in which the characters are planning a road trip to revisit people they lost along the way.  For one of them, it’s an old love; for another, it’s a child she gave up at birth.

Do you ever ponder the connections of the past….those lost, or even forgotten?  What do you do about it?

SUNDAY POTPOURRI: BOOKS INTO MOVIES & OTHER SUNDAY TIDBITS — APRIL 21

Welcome to the April 21 Edition of Sunday Potpourri.

It’s been that kind of day…odds and ends, and a few tidbits and treasures.  I started out by shopping to replenish the fridge and cupboards.  I seem to put that task off until the shelves are almost bare!

Home again, I did a little reading.  But mostly I’ve been watching movies.  I saw an old flick from 1988, based on a novel by Jay McInerney (his name is a tongue twister!).

Bright Lights, Big City, starring Michael J. Fox, Keifer Sutherland, Phoebe Cates, and Tracy Pollan (who is married to Michael J. Fox).

I know I saw this film in the eighties…but today it felt as though I were watching it for the first time.  I wonder why that is?  Has that ever happened to you?

Now I want to read the book.  Usually I read the book before the movie….

 

 

I read another one of McInerney’s books awhile ago:  The Good Life.  A real literary author.  Well worth the read.

 

What are you up to today?  Relaxing, reading, taking a Sunday drive?

SUNDAY POTPOURRI: A TREASURE TROVE OF BOOKS — MARCH 31

Welcome to another Sunday Potpourri, in which I share tidbits of what’s happening, and what is coming next.

Check out my Sunday Salon post for updates from this past week.  And despite my vow to curtail my book purchases, I cannot completely turn away when Amazon sends me one of those “in your face” e-mails that remind us of books we’ve been panting after.

I had tried to get The Good House in the library, but so far, nada….So I downloaded it onto Sparky today.  The fact that it has been hard to capture tells me I’m going to love this one.

How can you prove you’re not an alcoholic?

You can’t.

It’s like trying to prove you’re not a witch.

Hildy Good is a townie. A lifelong resident of an historic community on the rocky coast of Boston’s North Shore, she knows pretty much everything about everyone. Hildy is a descendant of one of the witches hung in nearby Salem, and is believed, by some, to have inherited psychic gifts. Not true, of course; she’s just good at reading people. Hildy is good at lots of things.  A successful real-estate broker, mother and grandmother, her days are full. But her nights have become lonely ever since her daughters, convinced their mother was drinking too much, staged an intervention and sent her off to rehab.  Now she’s in recovery—more or less.

Alone and feeling unjustly persecuted, Hildy needs a friend. She finds one in Rebecca McCallister, a beautiful young mother and one of the town’s wealthy newcomers. Rebecca feels out-of-step in her new surroundings and is grateful for the friendship. And Hildy feels like a person of the world again, as she and Rebecca escape their worries with some harmless gossip, and a bottle of wine by the fire—just one of their secrets.

But not everyone takes to Rebecca, who is herself the subject of town gossip. When Frank Getchell, an eccentric local who shares a complicated history with Hildy, tries to warn her away from Rebecca, Hildy attempts to protect her friend from a potential scandal. Soon, however, Hildy is busy trying to cover her own tracks and protect her reputation.  When a cluster of secrets become dangerously entwined, the reckless behavior of one threatens to expose the other, and this darkly comic novel takes a chilling turn.

THE GOOD HOUSE, by Ann Leary is funny, poignant, and terrifying. A classic New England tale that lays bare the secrets of one little town, this spirited novel will stay with you long after the story has ended.

***

Doesn’t it sound like one I needed on Sparky?  I’ve read another book by this author and loved it.  That’s a definite plus for me.

Also coming this month is Fly Away, by Kristin Hannah.  I ordered the hardcover version of this one, as I need this lovely tome on my bookshelves.  Once, a long time ago, I walked down a night-darkened road called Firefly Lane, all alone, on the worst night of my life, and I found a kindred spirit. That was our beginning. More than thirty years ago. TullyandKate. You and me against the world. Best friends forever. But stories end, don’t they? You lose the people you love and you have to find a way to go on. . .

And later, another one for my shelves is Tapestry of Fortunes, by Elizabeth Berg.  I think I have all of her books on my shelves.  This one explores four women who venture into their pasts in order to shape their futures, fates, and fortunes.

I have several lovely books coming in May…more on those later!  What is grabbing your attention today?  What titillates your book buying urge?

SUNDAY POTPOURRI: A LITTLE IRISH — FEB. 24

Good morning!  Welcome to another Sunday Potpourri post, in which we celebrate moments in our lives; sometimes those moments are from the previous week, but at other times, they commemorate whatever we are enjoying in our lives.

I love St. Patrick’s Day….it reminds me of the great photos of Ireland that my eldest son brought back with him after living there for several months.  He even put together a gallery showing of some of those images in the 1990′s.

In my blog header today (and in the photo above), note the little vignette (on the left) of Irish images I have brought together in my bedroom, which I’ve dubbed my Ireland Room.

Here are some more current arrangements:

Ireland Vignette & Photos in my Ireland Room

Some of the black and white photos on the walls are from cemeteries in Ireland, where sculptured images showcase the loved ones and the memories of them.

Beer, especially Guinness, symbolizes all things Irish—especially for my son.  And then there’s Green Beer that seems to symbolize St. Patrick’s Day.

So…that’s what March gives us….and also some great reading.  Do you have any favorite books set in Ireland?  Does Maeve Binchy come to mind?  Or Cecelia Ahern?

Here’s one I enjoyed, although it wasn’t my favorite Maeve Binchy book:  Whitethorn Woods.

Here’s another Maeve Binchy book that I read last year; this one was better….

Firefly Summer takes the reader into the heart of a village undergoing massive changes.  Set in the 1960′s.

Cecelia Ahern’s P.S., I Love You isn’t a book I’ve read.  But I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, with the lush scenes in Ireland.

What does St. Patrick’s Day mean to you (if anything)?  What are some favorite books you remember from the past…and what will you be reading in March?

SUNDAY POTPOURRI: EXPLORING THE TO-BE-READ STACKS — JAN. 20

Welcome to another Sunday Potpourri, my “other” Sunday post.  Why have a separate one?  Well, the Sunday Salon is a more formal blogging post, with its own Facebook group and all, and my thoughts here are totally random.

I wasn’t even planning to write a post here today, but then I gave up on a library book that I had thought I would read today, and came back to my stacks to search for something else.

What you cannot see in this photo is the table behind the bookcase…and there you’ll see other stacks.  Those are the OLD stacks, the books I bought before 2007.  That stack dwindled to seven books that I plan to read…someday.  But they are all pretty chunky and they’re primarily memoirs.  So I have to be in the mood.

You can see them in this photo…to the extreme right.

Today’s search led to this book, which has been on my newer stacks for awhile, but not a long, long time.

Last Light Over Carolina, by Mary Alice Monroe, explores a vanishing feature of the southern coastline, the mysterious yet time-honored shrimping culture, in a convincing and compelling tale of an enduring marriage.

I’m hoping to be captivated by it, because once I’ve set down a book without finishing it, I feel spooked.  As if I’m destined to be bored by everything I pick up.  But that is unlikely.

And the book I put down would probably have intrigued me at another time in my life…or even on another day of the week.

Does that ever happen to you?  Pick up a book and expect to like it and then give up in disappointment?  I’m glad it was a library book.

As for library books, I have requested a few more, and one of them is available now.  I’m picking it up tomorrow…or maybe this afternoon.

Goodnight Nobody, by Jennifer Weiner, is a semi-accidental mother of three, suburbia has been full of unpleasant surprises. Her once-loving husband is hardly ever home. The supermommies on the playground routinely snub her. Her days are spent carpooling and enduring endless games of Candy Land, and at night, most of her orgasms are of the do-it-yourself variety.

When a fellow mother is murdered, Kate finds that the unsolved mystery is the most exciting thing to happen in Upchurch, Connecticut, since her neighbors broke ground for a guesthouse and cracked their septic tank. Even though the local police chief warns her that crime-fighting’s a job best left to the professionals, Kate launches an unofficial investigation — from 8:45 to 11:30 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, when her kids are in nursery school.

As Kate is drawn deeper into the murdered woman’s past, she begins to uncover the secrets and lies behind Upchurch’s picket-fence facade — and considers the choices and compromises all modern women make as they navigate between marriage and independence, small towns and big cities, being a mother and having a life of one’s own.

I thought I had already read all the books out there by this author, but I guess I missed this one.  Or I totally forgot it, since nothing about it sounds familiar.  And I don’t have it on my shelves!

Do you ever question whether or not you’ve read a book after glancing at the blurb?

SUNDAY POTPOURRI: LOST IN BOOKS — JAN. 6

Welcome to another Sunday Potpourri!  As usual, I’ve been enjoying reading and movies today, and just finished a book I couldn’t put down:  There Was an Old Woman, by Hallie Ephron. (Click title for review)

 

Perhaps I enjoyed it so much because I’m getting older and can relate to some of the issues.  Or maybe because I’ve always had a soft spot for the elderly because of my very special grandmother who was such a wonderful advocate in my life.

I guess you just have to click with the characters in a book in order to love it.

In any case, I’m glad I chose this one from the Amazon Vine newsletter.  It’s kind of hit and miss whether or not I’m going to love a book I’ve chosen.

Next I’m reading another Vine selection called A Thousand Pardons, by Jonathan Dee.

What are you reading today?  Or if you’re not reading, what is capturing your thoughts and attention?

Be sure to check into my An Interior Journey post tomorrow to see what I’ve been reading this week, and what’s coming up next.

SUNDAY POTPOURRI: NOSTALGIA & SUNDAY CHORES — DEC. 16

Good morning and welcome to another Sunday Potpourri. 

I love Sunday mornings, where I think about the week past, in my Sunday Salon post; and contemplate the day…and the week ahead.

I started off the day with breakfast in bed.  And now I’m in my office watching a VHS tape (yes, the movie is that old!) about love, forbidden romance, and consequences.  An Inconvenient Woman is based on a Dominick Dunne novel, which I also enjoyed.

Yesterday I indulged in several Woody Allen movies.  Yes, it’s nostalgia time.

I also did a little cleaning, including bagging up the leaves on my patio.  They were much worse than these yesterday.  Literally piles!

I don’t go out there much during the winter, but I still like to keep ahead of the leaves.  And I love listening to the wind chimes.

The moon and stars chimes was a gift from an old friend, given when I first visited her lovely home in Northern California a few years ago.

I think of her when I see it…or listen to it.

I almost bought a home up there when selling my foothill house, but my kids threw a fit.  Now I realize that they didn’t want to see their babysitter leave!  lol

I still sometimes wonder what would have happened if I’d moved there.  While I visited, we went to some lovely book signings and visited some quaint shops.

Small town life.  But what a lovely small town in a liberal community.  Sounds like my cup of tea…sigh.

Nostalgia.

What do you enjoy on a Sunday as the holidays approach?

SUNDAY POTPOURRI: BOOKS & MOVIES — DEC. 9

Welcome to another Sunday Potpourri, the event that welcomes chats about odds, ends, and quirky stuff.

First off, I wrote about my bookish/blogging week at my Sunday Salon post.  

There I shared my thoughts about books and blogging, up to a point.  But of the books I read last week, two were great and two didn’t quite engage me.  Do you have weeks like that?

I do try to mix the week up so that I’m not bored all week…and I guess I succeeded with that goal, as I couldn’t put two of the books down. (Click Titles/Covers for Reviews)

The Search, by Nora Roberts

Midwives, by Chris Bohjalian

Today has been less reading and more movie watching.  I enjoyed an oldie about sexual harassment called Disclosure, with Michael Douglas and Demi Moore.

And then I started watching an old favorite with Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson:  Heartburn.

Tonight’s TV shows will be Christmas movies, etc.  I will miss seeing The Good Wife, but if I don’t like the Christmas shows, I’ll read.  Today’s read is The Good Woman, by Jane Porter.

What has your day been like?  Evening plans?  Have fun….

SUNDAY POTPOURRI: CURL UP AND READ WITH TEA — DEC. 2

Welcome to my Sunday bookish post.  Click on over to my Sunday Salon event to see what has been happening this week.

I’ve been reading Nora Roberts’ The Search, which I am totally loving.  Mystery, romance, dogs…all kinds of ingredients that engage me.

I’ve also enjoyed watching some old movies, like Annie Hall and Unfaithful (Diane Lane).

A rainy day usually finds me curled up for reading and movies.  I had to go out in the rain for a little while to do errands.  But I couldn’t wait to return for tea and books.

Check out my November Bookshelf Clearing event and win a copy of one of my giveaway reads.