Sunday Salon | Book Chatter

Today is just gorgeous! That’s why this post is coming to you so late. I’ve been out and about soaking up the sun and loving every minute of it. EXCEPT, I do not love Spring Forward at all. I’ve been battling a tiny head cold all weekend and although it’s just a head cold, I am going in for a test that will have to be canceled IF I cannot ditch the cold so waking up to the sun, streaming into my bedroom window was a bit jarring to my NyQuil induced state. I do feel much better though, now that I’ve adjusted to the time change a bit. It will take me all week to feel like normal though.

After doing a few chores around the house, my family and I drove to Old Town Pasadena and had a lovely brunch at Russell’s. It was really good! I had breakfast while everyone else had lunch but it was really nice to just sit down and enjoy a nice, leisurely meal. You see, people were still stumped by the time change so waiting for a table only took about ten minutes. That’s the plus side to Spring Forward.

We did some window shopping, sampled a sweet treat (or two) and then headed to Vroman’s Bookstore. Sigh. Going to Vroman’s is like dying and going to heaven. I picked up a few items:

Ethan Frome (for book group later this year. It’s scheduled for much later this year but for some reason I had to buy it today).

The Dead and the Gone (Hello! This is the follow-up to Life as We Knew It. Had to have it since book three comes out soon).

Rules (My son starts junior high in August and this is the book that they need to read over the summer!).

The Book Thief (This is my club’s pick for April. I won’t be there for the discussion since I have open house that night, but I’ll read it anyway as I’ve always wanted to).

Someone at a Distance (Yes! It’s a Persephone Book! I’ve not read any of Whipple’s work so I was excited to find this).

I think I scored! I mean, they weren’t on sale but when you walk into a store and find everything on your list, you sort of feel good about it.

We just finished dinner so I’m about to curl-up with the last 20 pages of The Help. That is, if I can tune-out Miley Says Goodbye which has been seen in this house FIVE times since we got home. You’d think that the “goodbye” in the title would actually mean GOODBYE but nope. I’m not that lucky.

AWARDS

I also want to take a moment to thank Kristin from Always with a Book, for the awards that she’s passed to me:

I am horrible with the rules for each award but I always appreciate getting them. Thanks so much for sharing them with me!

Today is Oscar Sunday. I love the Oscars. Actually, I love the red carpet stuff more but this year, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are hosting so you know it’s going to be fun. PLUS, it’s a reason to make some really good eats and just hang-out. So, I am making a wonderful seafood chowder with a crusty loaf of french bread for dipping, and because my daughter got hit with some weird bug, I am also making homemade chicken noodle soup for her. It’s the only thing that makes her feel better.

On a reading note, I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately. When my computer was on the fritz, I was forced to schedule posts and you know what? Because everything was scheduled, I managed to get a lot more reading in. That sort of surprised me but I guess being without a computer forced me to budget my time better.

Yesterday, I finished If You Follow Me, which is for a book tour later this month. I also hit the bookstore to buy The Dead and the Gone but they didn’t have it in stock (the story of my life). This disappointed me because it poured Saturday and would have been the perfect day for a book like that. So instead, I picked up my copy of The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott which I am reading for this reading series. Sounds like fun, huh?

Today, since my little one is not feeling well and has attached herself to my side, I plan to spend the day on the couch with a pile of books. Hopefully she’ll be up to watching the Oscars with me later.

Oh, and in case you missed it, I’m giving away a SIGNED copy of Impatient with Desire. Click here for details. I also received an invite to the Impatient with Desire book party, straight from the author no less! I am going to try to attend but weekday events are brutal for me. I’m crossing my fingers though.