Saturday, November 30, 2013

November Author in the Spotlight Wrap-Up + Giveaway

November Author in the Spotlight Wrap-Up + Giveaway

The Giveaway for Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day ends tonight at midnight.  So hurry and enter.

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving together.  Happy Hanukkah to everyone who celebrates.  As November ends, I am reminded how thankful I am for family and friends and also how thankful I am for books and the authors who write them.  I am thankful for having the time to read and time to enjoy wonderful books like Doug Mack's, Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day.

If you would like to win a copy of Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day please enter here:  Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day Giveaway

Please check out the my book review of Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day.  Doug Mack grew up reading travel memoirs and inherited the travel bug and from his parents, so he decided to travel to Europe using Frommer's Europe On 5 Dollars a Day book as his guide, as a sort of experiment to see if he could travel cheaply without the use of the internet. He also wanted to document how things have changed in Europe since 1963. Mack is a witty writer and Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day is well-researched and a interesting look into the history of travel, Frommer style.

Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day Book Review

Check out the author interview with Doug Mack.  Read this fun interview and you will learn the backstory behind Europe on 5 Wrongs Turns a Day.  Plus get some travel advice, learn about Doug's favorite city and favorite travel writers.  This interview is guaranteed to give you a case of wanderlust.  Fun Fact:  Doug attended and graduated from the high school I currently teach at.  How cool is that?

Doug Mack Author Interview


It has been a pleasure to work with Doug Mack this month and I would like to thank him for being the November Minnesota Author in the Spotlight.  I met Doug Mack at the Twin Cities Book Festival a year ago in October, 2012 and was surprised to find that we were connected through South High School.  I love reading travel books and memoirs and Doug's book is really entertaining and fun and has inspired me to get out there and travel more.   I'm so glad I was able to feature Doug Mack on BookSnob.  Please check out Doug's website at http://www.douglasmack.net/




Friday, November 29, 2013

Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day by Doug Mack

Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day; One Man, Eight Countries, One Vintage Travel Guide by Doug Mack

One day, Doug Mack is out with his mom scanning stacks of used books when he stumbles upon a worn copy of Frommer's, Europe on 5 dollars a day, written in 1963.  It just so happens that his mother used the exact same travel guide on her Grand Tour of Europe in 1967 and she was so excited that Doug found a copy of it, she was jumping up and down.

When Doug and his mom got to talking, he discovered that her trip was well documented as she had saved all her letters and postcards to his father and his return letters.  He grew up reading travel memoirs and inherited the travel bug and from his parents, so he decided to travel to Europe using Frommer's book as his guide, as a sort of experiment to see if he could travel cheaply without the use of the internet. He also wanted to document how things have changed in Europe since 1963.

Doug's European Grand Tour:

Florence, Italy:  First stop.  Full of awe and amazement. Visits Statue of David and has a museum overload.  So much art, architecture and gelato.

Paris, France:  Something's Gotta Give memorable moment.  Favorite place; Montmartre at sunset.

Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Anne Frank's house is a must see.  Beer drinking, bar hopping and people watching.  Must tour the red light district.

Next stops include;  Brussels, Berlin, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Venice, Rome and Madrid.

Mack is a witty writer and Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day is well-researched and a interesting look into the history of travel, Frommer style.  It also contains some of the post war history of the European countries and cities that he visits.  It is very entertaining and I found myself getting a strong case of wanderlust and reminiscing about my travels in Europe and wanting to go back, like, right now!  Mack includes lots of travel advice and of course his musing's on tourism and traveling.

Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day contains some of Doug's parent's letters as well as a few pictures of his travels.  It is full of entertaining stories of getting lost and almost killed and so much more.  He includes 5 lists in the back of the book on such topics as 5 things you can actually buy for 5 dollars in Europe today.

Traveling is a life changing experience and you learn so much about yourself and the places you visit.  I have only visited two of the cities out of the eleven that Doug Mack travels to and I have to say that I learned some very interesting tidbits from Reading Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day and I'm hoping to go to Rome and Athens this summer.  Fingers crossed.

This is excellent book to read if you are planning a trip to Europe and even if you're just traveling via armchair, you will have a grand adventure and then get to sleep in your own bed.






Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Doug Mack Author Interview + Giveaway

Doug Mack Author Interview + Giveaway

Doug Mack is the Minnesota Author in the Spotlight here on Book Snob during the thankful month of November.  Read this fun interview and you learn the backstory behind Europe on 5 Wrongs Turns a Day.  Plus get some travel advice, learn about Doug's favorite city and travel writers, it will give you wanderlust.  Fun Fact:  Doug attended and graduated from the high school I currently teach at.  How cool is that?

Hi Doug,


1. Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I'm an Aries, an alligator wrestler, a Segway tour guide, a onetime Bon Jovi backup dancer, and a travel writer. Two of those things are not true.

I grew up in Minneapolis, majored in American Studies at Carleton College, and have since turned my attention to the rest of the world as a freelance writer, penning stories for places like Newsday, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Morning News, and World Hum. I especially enjoy seeking out unexpected angles on seemingly familiar places and topics, staying on the beaten path but looking at it in a new way.

2. What inspired you to write to Europe on 5 Wrongs Turns a Day?
Well, here's the first line of the book: “It began as most things in my life do. Awkwardly.” The full story involves a chance discovery of a 1963 edition of Arthur Frommer's seminal guidebook Europe on Five Dollars a Day by yours truly, along with a
giddy, dancing mother (my mother) and shoeboxes full of letters she'd written during her 1967 Grand Tour of Europe.

Curious about the family-history angle, I started reading the book and the letters and soon became even more intrigued by the broader picture and the jarring changes in the world in general and travel in particular over the course of the last generation. The low prices. Checkpoint Charlie. The careful explanations of now-familiar foods like gelato. The wide-eyed innocence of both Frommer and my mother, and the way they didn't hesitate to call themselves tourists—a loaded, often pejorative term today.

So I thought it would be interesting to revisit the Continent using only that outdated information—no modern guidebooks or internet research—and see what had changed and what hadn't, both in terms of the the places and the general tourist experience. And to try to connect the dots between the eras, telling the story of how the beaten path got so beaten, while having my own (mis)adventures getting lost with a seriously old guidebook.

3. How did you decide what cities to travel to and write about?
There were only 17 cities listed in my 1963 guidebook, so that limited my itinerary options. I also knew that trying to go to all of those cities wouldn't be financially feasible—I did all the travel before I had a book deal or an advance—and would simply make the book too long and unwieldy.

So I narrowed the list by considering logistics, budget constraints, and which places would make for the most interesting then-and-now comparisons. Berlin was in (for obvious reasons). Athens was out simply because it was far away from the rest. In the end, I went to the following cities, in order: Florence, Paris, Amsterdam, Belgium, Berlin, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Venice, Rome, and Madrid.

One thing that I found fascinating was that Frommer's list of featured cities was, even by itself, an interesting indication of political and cultural changes, and how the beaten path is ever-evolving. After I got back from Europe, tons of people asked if I'd been to Barcelona or Prague, two modern hotspots, and I had to explain that they weren't in my 1963 guidebook because American tourists just didn't go to those cities back then (due to Franco and a certain Iron Curtain, respectively). On the other hand, Frommer does give a chapter to Nice, which is arguably less trendy today than it was back then.

4. Do you have a favorite city?  If so, why?
Ooh, I hate this question, because my answer changes every day, and every city seems to have things I adore and things I just don't like. But I especially enjoy Amsterdam, with its  the canals and funky charm, and Brussels, with its grittiness and appreciation of the absurdities of life. I suppose I like low-key, weird cities more than the landmark-filled World Capitals like Rome or Paris or New York.

And when it comes right down to it, I love Minneapolis, for those same reasons and because it's where I grew up and still live. The more I travel, the more I realize how good we have it here—the lakes and parks and bike trails; the brutal winters and glorious, festival-filled summers; the food and arts-and-culture scenes, which are genuinely world class, even if the rest of the world hasn't noticed  yet.

5. Do you like to read?  What authors or books influence you?
I'm always reading at least two or three books—they're scattered around the house,  forming a trail of clutter, much to my wife's dismay!

I was raised on a steady diet of travel books, most of them of the same humor-plus-history format that I now use in my own writing—they were more than a bit influential. Bill Bryson, Pico Iyer, Calvin Trillin, Sarah Vowell. My favorite travel books are Bryson's A Walk In the Woods and Bill Buford's Heat—I've read each one over and over, trying to reverse-engineer how they compose their narratives, craft their scenes, hone their voices, and so on.

And then there is The Things They Carried. I don't read much fiction. I especially don't read much war fiction. Yet this endures as my favorite book, hands down. The writing … it's just astonishing, so searing and evocative and carefully constructed and utterly captivating.

6. Can you tell us why or when you decided to become a writer?
My book is dedicated “To my parents, who taught me to love travel and books and travel books. Here's another one for your collection.” And as I said previously, quirky travel memoirs were just always around me, literally within reach as I grew up. So I always thought it would be fun to try writing that sort of story.

After college, I took a travel writing class at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. I workshopped a couple of stories in the class, and sent one of them off to a website called World Hum. They published it, and that opened some other doors and (fast forward through years of agonizingly slow progress, rejection, tears, rewrites and resubmissions, and general frustration interspersed with occasional triumph) … and … here we are.

7. Where are you planning to travel next?
I'm heading to the Key West Literary Seminar in January. I've been attending the Seminar for several years now, and it always helps recharge my writing battery, and has helped me meet other writers and editors with whom I've later worked. Also, did I mention it's in Key West? In January?

After that, I'm off to the Virgin Islands to work on my next book.

8. Is there another travel memoir in your future?  If so, can you tell us a little bit about it?
As it happens, I just started working on a new book a few days ago, after my agent gave the official
approval and a deadline for my proposal. Since it's all very early and somewhat tentative, I'm reluctant to talk about it in detail, aside from saying that my book proposal sample chapter will necessitate a trip to the Virgin Islands in January. (I know, rough life!)

But it's another travel memoir that will offer a new perspective on a seemingly familiar topic, with generous helpings of humor and history.

9. Do you have any travel advice for first time European travelers?
Don't forget to get lost! Do lots of research, of course, and take your guidebooks and know what you want to see and do. But then, when you're actually on the ground, put away that information, and your cell phone, and so on—for at least a few hours—and just wander, relying on your wits and your whims.

For first-timers on the Continent, I think Amsterdam and Paris are probably the best bets just because they're so history-rich and easy to get around. There's tons to do in each place but also many lovely, quiet neighborhoods where you can just go for a stroll away from the crowds. And if you do go to Paris, I insist that you go to a bakery called Gerard Mulot on the Left Bank. Get the pain au chocolat. Thank me later.

10. In one sentence tell readers why they should read Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day?

It's a funny and fascinating journey into the brave new Old World, and a disarming look at the ways the classic tourist experience has changed--and has not--in the last generation.

Thanks Doug!
If you would like to win a copy of Doug's book Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day please click here:
Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day Giveaway.  Open Internationally.


I'm back.

Hey Everyone,

Sorry I have been missing from Book Snob for over a week now.  I have been frantically getting ready for Thanksgiving.  I have been cleaning my house from top to bottom, shopping for turkeys and other essential food items and falling into bed exhausted every night. I can't forget to mention that I am teaching everyday as well as delivering wreaths and popcorn for Boy Scouts.  We are serving 31 people for Thanksgiving dinner but having about 34 people in total visit sometime during the day.

So now I am almost ready for guests.  Phew. Today I am finishing up the cleaning and shopping and will start making the apple dressing( my grandmother's recipe) and also making cranberry sauce (for the first time).

My break from blogging is over and I'm back to posting today.  Yay!

Wishing you a wonderful day and a Happy Thanksgiving and a Happy Hanukkah.


Sunday, November 17, 2013

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Audiobook Review

In September, the Anoka-Hennepin school district, in Minnesota, banned author Rainbow Rowell from coming to speak about her book Eleanor & Park, during Banned Books Week.  The controversy caused a wave of opinions and the outrage of book lovers everywhere.  It also put Eleanor & Park on the radar of many readers, including me, as I went out and bought the audio book immediately.  Don't they know that if you ban a book, people everywhere want to read it?  I guess not.

Eleanor: New girl in town.  Insecure, a bit overweight, and has a horrible home life.  The first day, she climbs onto the bus and no one will let her sit down.

Park:  Reluctantly moves over on the bus.  Hopes no one notices.  Listens to his headphones and reads comic books.

Eleanor:  I wonder if he's Asian.  He is always reading these comic books, and he doesn't notice that I am reading them too. There are no books in my house.  I have lots of younger siblings and we all sleep in one room.  5 of us in one room.

Park:  Why does she wear those horrible clothes?  Maybe I should try and talk to her.  She has red, curly hair.  It looks soft.  Is she reading my book?  I think she is. Hmmm.

Little by Little, Eleanor and Park become friends and fall in love on the school bus in 1986.  What evolves is a sweet tragic love story, told in the alternating voices of Eleanor and Park.  This book brought me back to my high school days and my own first love experienced in the 80's.  These two characters have stolen my heart.  Eleanor faces bullying and an abusive step-father and through it all, she knows she can count on Park.  Park is in love and wants it to be forever, but Eleanor knows it will end someday as all first love stories do.

The audiobook has two narrators, one male and one female and they play the parts of Eleanor and Park extremely well.  I Loved it!  I would highly recommend this audiobook, it was definitely a great listening experience.  It kept my attention and brought the characters to life.  It will make you laugh and cry and cringe over the horrible things that Eleanor had to deal with.  The story is not sticky sweet but a real life type of love story.  Each character brings their own problems to the relationship and yet this relationship is Eleanor's only chance to escape the demons in her life.  Park exists to be Eleanor's serene, calm island, her safety net, in the middle of life's thunderstorm.

I recently heard Rainbow Rowell speak about her book and she stated that Eleanor and Park takes place in her neighborhood, on her school bus and at her high school.  It took her a year to write Eleanor & Park.

A note to the parents who banned Rainbow Rowell from visiting their school district:  I want to say thank you because it was you who caused me to notice and read Eleanor & Park and you, who made me want to see Rainbow speak in St. Paul and it was you, who inspired me to invite her to my high school to speak and it is you, I thank, as I continue to recommend this book to every teenager I know and teach.











Thursday, November 14, 2013

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett

Ann Patchett is a writer I admire.  She has released a wonderful, well-written collection of essays about her life and her writing.  Many of the stories were previously published in magazines because before Patchett was a novelist she was a journalist and a short story writer.  Her big break came when she wrote a book review of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club and was hired to write non-fiction for Seventeen magazine.  She has been writing for magazines ever since, The New Yorker, Harpers, Vogue, Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post mag and others.

Patchett included several new essays in This is the Story of a Happy Marriage as well and they are excellent.  Patchett explains her writing life and gives new writers advice in her essay "The Getaway Car, A Practical Memoir about Writing and Life."

"If you want to write, practice writing.  Practice it for hours a day, not to come up with a story you can publish, but because you long to learn how to write well, because there is something that you alone can say. Write the story, learn from it, put it away, write another story." pg 29.

Patchett's essays are deeply personal.  In "The Sacrament of Divorce", she writes about how and why she left her first husband after one year of marriage.  Her mother says that "the more lost you are, the later it got, the more you had invested in not being lost.  That's why people who are lost so often keep heading in the same direction." pg 65 And stay in unhappy marriages.

Many of her essay's revolve around her books.  In "The Best Seat in the House" Patchett discusses her love of opera and how that love was born during the time she was working on her novel, Bel Canto.  In "Fact vs. Fiction"  Patchett writes about her friendship with Lucy Grealy and both of their books, Autobiography of a Face and Truth and Beauty.  These two books should be read as companion reads.  (Incidentally, this is how I read them, back to back.  First, I  read Lucy's book and then Ann's.  I read them several years ago and recommend them to my students all the time) In her essay, "The Love Between the Two Women", conservatives try to have her book, Truth and Beauty banned from being read by the freshman class of Clemson University in South Carolina.

Ann has not forgotten that many of her readers are bibliophiles and she recommends authors and books throughout her collection.  In "The Bookstore Strikes Back" Patchett gives readers an essay on the bookstore she co-owns in Nashville called Parnassus books.  Let me just say, I need to take a road-trip to Nashville to visit this bookstore.

I'm a big fan of Ann Patchett's writing.  I have read her fiction, Bel Canto and State of Wonder, and her non-fiction, Truth and Beauty and now the collection of essays, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage.  I frankly, couldn't put this book down and did not want it to come to an end.  The reading experience was like having your best friend in the room, telling you a story about their life, over a cup of tea.  This is the Story of a Happy Marriage spoke to me and made me reexamine my life.  I love this collection of essays.  Yowsa, their good.  Ann Patchett is a writing rockstar.

I think the best way to read this book is to limit yourself to one essay a day, that way you can savor the experience.



Monday, November 11, 2013

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?  by Jeanette Winterson

"Books, for me, are a home.  Books don't make a home-they are one, in the sense that just as you do with a door, you open a book, and you go inside.  Inside there is a different kind of time and a different kind of space.  There is warmth there too - a hearth.  I sit down with a book and I am warm.  I know that from the chilly nights on the doorstep." pg. 61

Jeanette Winterson grew up in an unhappy, abusive, and religious Pentecostal family.  She was adopted at a young age and her mother planned to mold her into a missionary of God.  Yet Jeanette heard time and time again that her parents were led to the wrong crib. Jeanette grew up with the knowledge that she never really belonged.  She didn't belong to her adoptive parents, she didn't belong to her birth parents, she didn't belong to her public school because she was so religious and she didn't belong to her church because she was a lesbian.  She spent many nights outside, alone on her doorstep.

She was kicked out of her home at the age of 16 and was homeless living in her car.  Growing up, books were forbidden in her house and so the library became a haven and she began to read every author from A to Z in English Literature.  She applied to Oxford and to her surprise got in as the "working class" experiment.  Jeanette then writes her first book, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, when she was 24.  Some words of advice:  Read Oranges are Not the Only Fruit before you read this book.  It will make a big difference.

I once heard that if you don't deal with the trauma of your past, that the trauma will find you and make you deal with it.  Well that is what happened to Jeanette.  She sunk into a type of madness, became depressed and emerged forever changed.  When Jeanette decides to go on with her life she then makes the decision to find her birth mother.

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal is an amazing memoir.  It is not told in a linear fashion but it is full of life and passion.   Complex, yet simply told, Winterson bares her soul, telling her readers that she never learned how to love nor how to be loved.  Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal is an explanation of her book, Oranges and a confession of a very painful past.  She divulges her tumultuous past with style, wit and grace all the while showing her readers, wisdom and the strength to endure.  I was so inspired and riveted to Jeanette's story and have many passages of wisdom marked in my book.  This memoir is deeply personal to Winterson and to me, as the reader.  I felt I was looking into the window of her soul.

"Nobody can feel too much, though many of us work very hard at feeling too little.
Feeling is frightening.
Well, I find it so."
Pg. 187


Friday, November 8, 2013

Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day Giveaway

Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day Giveaway


Doug Mack is the November Author in the Spotlight here on Book Snob and he is giving away two copies of his book, Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day, One Man, Eight Countries, One Vintage Travel Guide to Book Snob followers.  This contest is open internationally. Yay!

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:  

When Doug Mack picked up a 1963 edition of Europe on Five Dollars a Day, he stumbled on an inspired idea: to boldly go where millions have gone before, relying only on the advice of a travel guide that's nearly a half century out-of-date. Add to the mix his mother's much- documented grand tour through Europe in the late 1960s, and the result is a funny and fascinating journey into a new (old) world, and a disarming look at the ways the classic tourist experience has changed- and has not-in the last generation.

After a whirlwind adventure spanning eight countries-and costing way more than five dollars a day-Mack's endearing account is part time travel, part paean to Arthur Frommer's much-loved guide, and a celebration of the modern traveler's grand (and not-so-grand) tour.

Contest Rules:
Fill out the Rafflecopter form.
Open Internationally
Ends 11/30 at Midnight.
Good Luck!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thursday, November 7, 2013

Fall Reading Retreat

Fall Reading Retreat

On October 24 to Oct. 27, I attended a Fall reading retreat in Collegeville, Minnesota.  I go almost every year and I figure this is probably my 9th reading retreat.  The location has varied over time but the sustenance I receive at this event continues to nourish me each year.  Glenda Martin and Mollie Hoben, founders of the Minnesota Women's Press and BookWomen magazine, are the organizers and creators of this wonderful event.  We each read 7 books in preparation for the retreat, all around the theme, Our History is What Shapes Us, What Do You Know About Yours?

The seven books we read are:
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
Original Fire: Poems by Louise Erdrich
Going Blind. A memoir by Mara Faulkner
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Why Be Normal When You Could Be Happy by Jeanette Winterson
Pieces of a White Shell by Terry Tempest Williams
When Women Were Birds by Terry Tempest Williams

I arrived at St. John's University around supper time and settled into my private room at the Episcopal House of Prayer.  I was excited to see friends from past retreats and eager to meet all the
new women in attendance.

This year, 15 women attend from 6 different states, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Rhode Island.  We ranged in age from 21 to 70 something.  Normally I am the youngest but not this year.

On opening night, Thursday, we sat in a circle to discuss a question about the importance of our 18th year of life.  The range of experiences are incredible and what we find out is that we are all educated and many of us are teachers.  We talk about time and how Everything is Connected.  After a great discussion, we hurried off to bed to continue reading and reviewing our books to get ready for the tomorrow's discussions.

Friday:  In the morning we met to discuss land and one of my favorite authors, Louise Erdrich.  The Round House won the National Book Award and in my opinion it is well-deserving.  We also read some of her poems from Original Fire.  Wow, Erdrich poems are powerful.

After lunch, author Mara Faulkner met with us to discuss her book, .  The theme for the afternoon was spirit.  Mara writes about how her father slowly went blind and refused to acknowledge his blindness.  Her family has a genetic disease called retinitis pigmentosa and her sisters and now Mara also suffer from this degenerative disease.  Faulkner's book is a testament to her father and a history lesson on blindness that was never taught in school.  It was a pleasure to meet her and I'm hoping to attend one of the creative writing workshops she teaches, someday.
Going Blind

After Mara Faulkner left we had some free time to explore the land and grounds of the college.  Guess where I went?  I went to the student bookstore and bought a book called The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe.

After dinner, we read aloud a children's book by Louise Erdrich called The Range Eternal and then watched an excellent documentary called My Monster and Me about author, Jeanette Winterson.  We cozied up to two different laptops in two different rooms and many of us were riveted.  This is an excellent documentary and if you have read her books, I think it would be beneficial for you to view it.

Saturday:  In the morning we met to explore gender and discuss the books by Jeanette Winterson.  Winterson knocked my socks off with her intelligent writing and her experiences in many ways mirror mine.  I was really worried I would cry during this discussion as I have gone through similar experiences in my life, but I held it together.

After lunch we had a two hour break and I decided to spend it alone, reading in bed and relishing my time.  I don't get a lot of free time and it was wonderful to just read without interruption.

In the afternoon we met to explore war and discuss Terry Tempest Williams books.  This is the first time I have read a book by Williams, who is a fierce environmentalist and a Mormon.  I find her books about the land, women, Natives and history compelling.  I will definitely be reading more books by Williams.

After dinner I got a call from a hospital in North Dakota.  Turns out my son was in an ATV accident.  Luckily, he is going to be OK but I was visibly shaken and worried and many horrible possibilities flashed before my eyes.  No broken bones.  Just a sore and swollen body.  Thank God he was wearing his helmet.

The rest of the group started a movie called Real Women Have Curves.  After I talked with my son, I joined the group and was able to relax and enjoy the movie.  Then I went back into my room and poured all of my emotions into a poem.  I haven't written a poem in a long time and it felt good.

Sunday: The weekend always goes so fast and I woke up disappointed that the reading retreat was already coming to an end.

In the morning before we left we met to look at children's books, Between Cattails by Terry Tempest Williams and The King of Capri by Jeanette Winterson. We also revisited the theme, How has Time, War, Land, Gender and Spirit shaped you?  Then Glenda read to us from a book called My Bookstore and I thought, wouldn't it be fun to visit all the bookstores in the book? I just might have to do that.  The last thing we did before we hugged goodbye was to pick our Great Book for the weekend.  I chose Why Be Normal When You Could Be Happy by Jeanette Winterson.  I had marked more pages in this book than all the others.  It was a poignant, emotional, beautiful read.

What a great reading retreat.  I am counting down the days until next year.









Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Sugarhouse Contest Winners.

Sugarhouse Contest Winners.

We are expecting our first snowfall tonight of about 5 inches.  But I'm not ready for snow yet.  It has been six months since it snowed in Minnesota.


Hometown Track, Minnesota Author in the Spotlight for October, Matt Batt is giving away 3 copies of his memoir Sugarhouse, to Book Snob followers who live in the U.S.  I am excited to announce the winners of this home improvement adventure.  And the winners are...

Tia from Indiana
Jeanne from Alabama
Pam from Minnesota

Congratulations Ladies and enjoy your new book.

Here is an excerpt from my book review of Sugarhouse:
Matt tells the story of his fixer upper with humor and style.  Batt is witty and insightful, with a little of bit of He-man thrown in (insert a Tim Allen grunt).  He includes the everyday family drama of his life, which I found pretty interesting, as his grandpa is quite the wild man.



Saturday, November 2, 2013

November Author in the Spotlight

November Author in the Spotlight.

I'm sorry to say, I am a day late with this post.  I had one heck of a stressful and busy Friday and now I have a busy weekend of grading papers ahead of me.

November promises to a wonderful month.  My daughter turns 13 on the 13th in 2013.  How cool is that?  So we are having a big birthday party for her.  I also host Thanksgiving at my house and we are expecting around 30 people this year.  So that means cleaning the whole house (which is good) and in my down time, I plan to read and read and read some more.  I am looking forward to reading the book, Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day by November Author in the Spotlight, Doug Mack.

Here is the synopsis from GoodReads:


Prepare to Get Lost on the Beaten Path...

When Doug Mack picked up a 1963 edition of Europe on Five Dollars a Day, he stumbled on an inspired idea: to boldly go where millions have gone before, relying only on the advice of a travel guide that's nearly a half century out-of-date. Add to the mix his mother's much- documented grand tour through Europe in the late 1960s, and the result is a funny and fascinating journey into a new (old) world, and a disarming look at the ways the classic tourist experience has changed- and has not-in the last generation.

After a whirlwind adventure spanning eight countries-and costing way more than five dollars a day-Mack's endearing account is part time travel, part paean to Arthur Frommer's much-loved guide, and a celebration of the modern traveler's grand (and not-so-grand) tour.

This month you can expect a book review, an author interview, a contest and a hopefully a guest post.  Check out Doug Mack's website at http://douglasmack.net/