Chatting Books Online Day 71. The Week In Review May 18-24,2020.
This week’s recommended books started close to home with Rod Dreher’s “The Little Way of Ruthie Leming” showing us the beauty of small town living .
We then travelled to a bookshop in Florida (in our minds thanks to this book even if we couldn’t in real life thanks to the ban on Louisianians Florida has imposed !) and rode out a hurricane and a murder in John Grisham’s newest “Camino Wind”.
On Wednesday we went for a magical visit to granny’s in Kat Pigott’s “Green Dinosaur Pancakes”, and then Thursday returned home to see the beauty of our own state with our tour guide in book form “Discovering Louisiana “ by C C Lockwood .
We took a flight of fancy while turning the pages of Matthew Reinhardt’s wonderful work of paper artistry and engineering in “Cinderella” a pop-up fairytale .
And then once more returned close to home with M O Walsh in his “My Sunshine Away” set down the road in Baton Rouge .
I hope you have enjoyed this week’s recommendations . If you missed any of these and want to know more you can always find all of my Chatting Books Online recommendations by visiting our website at : http://www.conundrumbooks.com/chatting-books-online
Day 70 : My Sunshine Away by M.O.Walsh
Chatting Books Online Day 70. Today's recommended book is "My Sunshine Away" by M.O.Walsh. Set in an all-American neighborhood in Baton Rouge beginning in 1989 this book is at once a nostalgic walk through our past , a coming of age story , and a mystery all wrapped up in well written prose. It will keep you guessing beyond the last page. I must admit when I had finished the book and read the included bookclub questions in the back of the book I then had to go back and re-read it as things about the book were pointed out that were so subtle I had not even noticed them on the first pass. Of course I later asked the author why he came up with this (the biggest surprise) and would love to share his answer with you but don't want to ruin it for you so read it first and then come chat with me! Mr. Walsh manages to write about a truly tragic event without becoming bogged down, he even finds a way to make you laugh in this otherwise serious book.
My Sunshine Away is available in paperback for $ 16.00
And on a side-note M.O.Walsh has a highly anticipated book due out in September that we can't wait to read!
Day 69: Cinderella : a pop-up fairytale / Matthew Reinhardt
Chatting Books Online day 69. Many of you know that I love a Pop-Up Book . Well, today we added a new one to our in-store selection. Today's recommended book is Cinderella as paper engineered by illustrator / artist Matthew Reinhart . I am a particular fan of the elaborate pop-up books engineered by Matthew Reinhart and by Robert Sabuda and this one is just as special as any I have seen. With pages where you peek through a window and see a mouse transform into a coachman as you turn the page, another where lizards become footmen, and even one where we get to see a resplendent Princess turn back into Cinderella at midnight. I particularly love the page where it tells the tale of the ball masque and as you open the page the dancers twirl about the floor. It is absolutely magical.
To add this book to your collection will cost $ 39.99 per copy.
Day 68 : Discovering Louisiana by C C Lockwood
Chatting Books Online Day 68. Since it appears we all may be staying a bit closer to home this summer I thought C.C.Lockwood's Discovering Louisiana would be the perfect book to inspire our travels within this beautiful state. As CC states in the introduction we all come to think of Louisiana as one type of place but really Louisiana has such diversity in what you can see depending where you go. Sure, you can see swamps and alligators, we all know that. But did you also know that you can see Prairies, Salt Domes, and Bogs? Not to mention the variety of wildlife you might encounter. So take a little inspiration for your summer staycation and flip through the pages of this book of amazing photography by CC Lockwood, read his journal entries and musings on the different areas and then set out on your own adventure.
Coffee Table sized book, hardcover, 150 pages. $39.95 per copy .
Day 67 : Green Dinosaur Pancakes by Kat Pigott
Chatting Books Online Day 67. Today’s recommended book is Green Dinosaur Pancakes by Kat Pigott . This children’s storybook tells the story of a little boy’s visit to his Grandmother’s house . Nana’s house is a magical place where the tooth fairy leaves shiny quarters , Santa always eats all the cookies left for him and Nana makes green pancakes for breakfast shaped liked dinosaurs . But you better gobble them up fast or else the dinosaurs might be released from the pancakes and wreck havoc on the kitchen dripping syrup everywhere , particularly if Nana leaves the room !
This hardcover storybook is $16.99 a copy .
Day 66 : Camino Wind by John Grisham
Chatting Books Online Day 66. Today’s recommended book is Camino Wind , the newest release from John Grisham.
I am a sucker for a book set in a bookstore and as such I devoured this one . If you read Camino Island a couple of years ago you met the cast of characters and have their backstories. Both of these mysteries are set not in a courtroom , as we have become familiar with in most Grisham books, but in a bookstore on a barrier island on the Florida coast . Both books give great behind the scenes glimpses into the bookstore world (great to know I am obviously not alone when so much feels so familiar - particularly the quote I highlighted in picture #2) , and provide page turning action as well . In the new book a hurricane sets its course for the island and so there is the added familiarity of the preparations for and aftermath of a hurricane . I would definitely read another book if this series continues !
The first book Camino Island is now available in paperback for $9.99
The new book Camino Wind is currently available in hardcover for $28.95.
Day 65: The Little Way of Ruthie Leming by Rod Dreher
Chatting Books Online Day 65 . Today’s recommended book is The Little Way of Ruthie Leming by Rod Dreher . As I am sure most of you know this book tells the tale of community written large , and particularly of THIS community of St Francisville , and how it can pull together to support its members in both times of trouble and in daily life . I have a confession to make , though I have stocked this book since we opened the store , and though I have a huge respect for the writing talents of my friend Rod, I had never actually read the book until a few months ago . I was completely blown away . Having owned a home here for 15 years now I felt like I knew what St Francisville was all about. There is so much more. The writing in this book is moving and through reading this book I learned so much more about the community I thought I knew . If you have not read this book yet I highly recommend you wait no longer.
Day 64: The Week in Review (May 11-17, 2020)
Chatting Books Online Day 64. The Week In Review May 11-17,2020.
For the past several weeks I start each week thinking what books can I possibly recommend this week , I must be running low on favorites . Then I get to the end of the week and I look at the “Week in Review” picture and I think : these are some of my favorites yet and seeing each book reminds me of another I love and want to recommend. This week is no exception. We dipped our toe in the water the past few days and opened a few hours to customers for the first time since mid-March and once again I got to actually “chat books” in person. One guy said to me “I love a small bookstore because the selection is always so well curated , how do you choose the books you sell ?” And I realized that because I hand select every book on our shelves I have thousands of favorites still to share - and I look forward to doing so . But Enough of that , another day we can chat about how and why I select each book - let’s look at what I selected this week !
Since it was graduation week (albeit one without the usual pomp and circumstance) this week three of our recommendations : “How to Skimm Your Life”, “Make Your Bed” and “What Do You Do With A Problem” offer words of wisdom for those starting out - or anyone needing a bit of inspiration to manage their days , get ahead , and solve what may seem at first like an insurmountable problem .
We visited Cecile on vacation on the Riviera in “Bonjour Trestesse” then we travelled home to our own shores to join the “Mosquito Supper Club” for fabulous recipes , instructions and stories from the Louisiana coast .
And finally we read vignettes about the eclectic group folks you will find populating that most interesting city down the road in Ronnie Virgets’ “Saints and Lesser Souls”.
If you missed any of these and want to know more you can always find all of my Chatting Books Online recommendations by visiting our website at : http://www.conundrumbooks.com/chatting-books-online
