The
Goodweather
Report
XXVI ~ August 2009
I'm sending this a tad early as I have to be on my way to the Haywood Book Mania in Waynesville first thing in the morning.
We have had the most beautiful July in my memory -- not too hot and plenty of rain. I alternate between garden, kitchen, and laptop, trying to keep up with things. Click here for a Sunday stroll around the farm.
And of course I'm hard at it with the next Elizabeth book, Under the Skin , and am finding a whole new side of Elizabeth that is very interesting to me. It seems that her sister Gloria brings out a whole new side of Elizabeth. I wrote about The Sister Thing over on my (pretty much) Daily Blog.
And here's an interesting story, courtesy of my brother-in-law Pete.
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This cracked me up as the last time I went grocery shopping, I pushed my cart up to the car and clicked my opener repeatedly – till I noticed the baby seat in the back and my own (very similar) car parked one over.
Happy August!
~Vicki
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QUESTIONS AND OBSERVATIONS FROM YOU ALL
( who mostly either haven't been reading or haven't told me about it)
Pat W. in TN is always reading: I just finished reading "Fair and Tender Ladies", and must say it has become one of my all time favorites! I absolutely fell in love with Ivy. In the back of my book was a short interview with Lee Smith, and I thought it very interesting how she found old letters at a yard sale and they, in turn, inspired her to write this wonderful book. I have "The Last Girls" in my TBR pile and think it will be my next book when I finish "Down River" by John Hart.
Pat got in touch later to add : Well, on these warmer afternoons I've been doing a lot of reading when I don't feel like being outside. Think I told you I had read "Down River" by John Hart. A very good book and I have his other books on my wish list now. Another Southern author I just discovered is Silas House. I'm reading his book, "A Parchment of Leaves", and it's one of those books that grabs you in the first few pages. I am trying to find as many Southern authors as I can and making a wish list of their books.
My niece Amelia said: I did recently read and enjoy one book entitled A Recipe For Bees by Gail Anderson-Dargatz and listened to another, Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani. A Recipe for Bees is set in rural Canada and alternates between the heroine's young recollections and her life now as an elderly woman living in assisted living. The story of her younger years reminded me a little of Little Sylvie and her struggles, and for that reason made me think of you. Big Stone Gap is set in rural Virginia and, while lacking in your authenticity IMHO, and cursed for making a pretty big plot leap towards the end, I thought that you might enjoy taking a look at it too. I bring these up because both of these stories have subtly dominant roles for the various houses that the ladies live in or encounter. I guess the beauty of rural areas is that the country lets its houses and structures age rather than constantly razing them for some new something and so they begin to inform the landscape as much as the flora and fauna. I have always loved abandoned cars for that reason: an old car can make quite the poetic planter.
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RECENT READS AND RE-READS
Books I've enjoyed during the past month
A Circle of Quiet and The Irrational Season by Madeleine L'Engle - lovely inspirational memoirs by one of my favorite writers
Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl – a memoir with food and beautiful prose
Back Spin, Deal Breaker, Drop Shot by Harlan Coben – the Myron Bolitar series is top notch for a really likable, funny, sensitive guy protagonist with a psycho-preppy sidekick
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Vicki's Schedule
2009
Saturday, August 1 ~ Haywood Book Mania, Waynesville, NC More info
Saturday, August 22 ~ Tablescapes Luncheon, Waynesville, NC
Friday and Saturday, September 11-12 ~ CAROLINA MOUNTAINS LITERARY FESTIVAL, Burnsville, NC. Info here
Thursday, October 15 – Sunday, October 18 ~ BOUCHERCON - the Mystery Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana
Monday, November 2 ~ Book Your Lunch with Vicki Lane Greenville. SC
Saturday, November 14 ~ GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS BOOK FAIR – First United Methodist Church, Jackson Street, Sylva, NC. 9 am to 3 pm
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