Please Clap...

I swear I thought I was getting better at this. I write posts in my head all of the time, but they never seem to find their way onto the page. I can blame it on writing actual stories, which isn't a bad thing, but this place ends up pretty lonely. 

As an apology, I'd like to offer a very positive update... Drum Roll...

My glimmer of an idea for a feminine rage story (based on Taylor Swift's Who's Afraid of Little Old Me) has become a finished draft! I was hoping that in the last year things would have dramatically improved, and my story wouldn't have a place in the world... (insert delusional laughter).

So, I officially typed The End at the start of January, making this a record for finishing a first draft. I was also finishing edits on my second story at the time, so I'm patting myself on the back for this accomplishment. My job now is to sort through my outline and try to make it match up with what actually made it onto the page. I realize that sounds backwards, considering the book is written. But ever since I became a plotter, an outline is the easiest way to keep myself on track, versus wandering off the map that I've drawn. Even with that, plot lines move, new ideas are added, and the end product doesn't match the original outline. So, I go back and update the outline so that the chapters, scenes, and overall ideas match up to what is actually written in each section. Yes, it ends up being a lengthy process, but I have found that in transcribing the information, I've picked up on a couple of discrepancies that would have been very easily overlooked otherwise. It also makes it easier to see where things get boring or a main character doesn't appear enough. Once the outline is complete, I'll make notes on anything I feel needs to be fixed. Once I make the big changes, I'll go line by line to cut anything that doesn't add to the story (ugh, so hard.) I'll also analyze each line for word choice, anything to make the story flow better. Last will be grammar and punctuation....and then send it off to my critique partners, who I hope will love it while also finding ways to help me make it even better. 

Now the ways that I have been filling my well these past few months...

Music 

• Sofia Isella - I'm amazed at someone so young who is so unafraid to put it all out there in terms of lyrics and anger. A couple of her songs were on my playlist for my Who's Afraid story.
• Taylor Swift - Life of a Showgirl - All of the songs get stuck in your head, but especially Father Figure. 
• Hayley Williams - Ego Death at a Bachelor Party - I've loved her since Paramore, but this feels like a much rawer version. True Believer speaks volumes about our world.
• Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil Playlist - V.E. Schwab is my favorite author. If she shares a playlist for a book, you can be sure I'm adding it to my list. I'm embarrassed to say that I've yet to read this book. I bought it as soon as it came out, but her books are so big to me that I need to have the perfect space and time to read them. I'm hoping this next month will be it.  

Books

• I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me - Jamison Shea - This was on my list for my spooky reading season, but it took months for it to be available in Libby. As someone with two left feet, I loved learning the secrets of being a ballerina (and maybe thankful I never had that ability!) The writing was evocative in the creepiest way.
• Iron Flame - Rebecca Yarros - I started the paper copy months ago, and just as I would get into it, a Libby hold would come in. I'm about three chapters from being done lol. I'm amazed by people who can write trilogies and with other worlds and that much detail. I had resisted these books for a while, but glad I gave in...and now I want an orange dragon with a teenage attitude. IYKYK.  
• Yerba Buena - Nina LaCour - I've always loved the writing style of Nina's YA books. It's quiet but so powerful. This was the first adult novel that I've read of hers, and I was just as blown away by the writing.  

TV

• Stranger Things - I'm still in mourning that it's over. As a child of the 80's, this show was the literal definition of comfort. I'm also a sucker for found family stories, so I miss the kids and their babysitters. (God Bless the Duffer brothers for letting Steve live.) 
• Schitt's Creek - This is another one of my comfort shows. The passing of Catherine O'Hara was devastating, so this will continue to be what I turn to. 
• Derry Girls - My father-in-law was born in Belfast, and my husband loves all things Irish. We finally traveled there a few years back and talk constantly about going again. I'm only a few episodes in; the story lines are insane, but so incredibly funny.

Hope you're finding ways to fill your well and wishing you light and hope in the world. 

~ Adrienne

Tell the story....

Okay, so it's been months, not a year, so we're making progress. I wish I could say that my increased ability to focus was in direct proportion to the state of the world, but....

Dear reader, things have gotten progressively worse, but we have no choice but to keep going, right? 

In more direct terms, the horrors persist, nevertheless, so do I.

I'm still querying my first book and preparing to start querying my second. I'm trying to stay optimistic despite the reality of how difficult it was to break into publishing before (gestures wildly around me), all of this began. Add the issue of rising costs on everything, library funding being cut, and the increasing attack of book bans, and one might (should) ask why I would want to do this. Why would I want to persist? Because in times like these, art is one of the few ways we have to truly express how we are feeling. We use our talents to connect with others who are feeling the same way we do. If I had any talent with a paintbrush, I would be Van Goghing the hell out of a canvas right now. If I were an actor, I would be searching for roles that involve leading a rebellion. If I were Taylor Swift, I would be writing the next Who's Afraid of Little Old Me. 

I have a computer and a small ability to tell a story, and up until now, they've been quiet ones. My first is about a ghost whisperer who desperately wants to be a normal teenager. My second one involves undiagnosed anxiety, reincarnation, and redemption. I love my characters and the soft stories they have to tell. But this past year, an idea came to me that was outside my comfort zone. It links back to the first time I heard Taylor Swift's Who's Afraid of Little Old Me. I remember having a visceral reaction to the anger of the song. I wondered what would happen if the good person was pushed too far, and would the consequences really be their fault? So, last summer, I wrote a basic outline and a couple of chapters that explored supernatural abilities and bullying. I set it aside after that, planning to return when my second book was finished, but I have to admit that part of me worried. This isn't what I write. Thrillers, even borderline horror, are not something I thought I identified with. I can read those stories, but I didn't feel like I had it in me to write anything close...but ideas have been coming to me. I don't want to give anything away, but my outline expanded to include women's health, false Christianity, and feminine rage. 

Maybe, because of the current world, I do have it in me. I hope one day my story will connect with someone else....

In the meantime, I'm still absorbing as much art as I can.

Books I read:

Wilder Girls - Rory Power - An all-girls school under quarantine after a virus outbreak that alters them physically. I was looking for some inspiration for my female rage story, and this certainly gave some insight. 

Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show - Bethany Joy Lenz - Wow! An absorbing study of how someone can get pulled into a cult, as well as an examination of how someone's spiritual beliefs can be used to control them.

Books I'm reading:

When the World Tips Over - Jandy Nelson - Jandy's books are set in reality but infused with such magic. So jealous of her storytelling.

Our Infinite Fates - Laura Stevens - I've been patiently waiting for this book, especially since it was compared to my favorite, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. It also contains a reincarnation plot like my second story. Two souls who are destined to love and kill each other in a thousand lifetimes - what?? 

What I'm listening to: 

Cacophony - Paris Paloma - Pretty sure there's a reason her song Labour is receiving so much attention right now.

Mayhem - Lady Gaga - She's always reinventing herself, and I appreciate that her song How Bad Do U Want Me, is filling my Taylor Swift void for new music :) :)

What I'm watching:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Hear me out. I remember watching this in the 90s, but I had forgotten so much of it. For some reason, watching demons getting taken out in every episode is oddly comforting. 

The Handmaid's Tale - I'm not technically watching, as the final season doesn't start for another 4 days, but I am psyching myself up for it. I read the book in college and found it to be such a chilling and yet far-off story. The series debuted in 2017, which seems like 10 lifetimes ago. Unfortunately, the story no longer seems far-fetched. As the saying goes, objects in the rearview mirror may appear closer than they are....

I would love to hear how you're using your talents and gifts to connect with others, and as always, what are you reading?! :)

~Adrienne

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion....Albert Camus

In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act....George Orwell

I know, I know how long it’s been. I don’t need the lecture. In all fairness, I have been writing, editing, and querying. So yes, I have been doing all the writing.

Just not here.

But let’s just move on, shall we?

So, like I said, I have been doing all of the things related to writing and books…except for reading. I don’t know about anyone else, but for the last two months of 2024, my brain went into some kind of shutdown mode when it came to reading. Up until then, I had been rolling happily along, reading daily before it came to a screeching halt. I couldn’t pinpoint anything specific. It seemed to be gradual; one day, I would read a few paragraphs before realizing I couldn’t recall anything that I had read. Other times, I would feel physically exhausted the minute I started reading. It didn’t matter if I was in bed at 10 pm or in a chair at 4 pm. Everything would shut down. The last straw was heightened anxiety that made it impossible to focus on anything (except for doom scrolling). So I stopped, fully gave up, and didn’t pick up a book for the rest of the year. It was so bad that I didn’t make my reading goal for the year. Up to that point, I’d been on track to exceed my goal. I had only ever not met it during Covid.

I started thinking back on that time and realized the cause was extreme anxiety over not knowing what was coming. At that time, it was so bad that I also couldn’t write. However, something did change after a few months, and the desire to read came back in full force, followed by the writing. I can’t pinpoint exactly what changed back then, but I think it had to do with realizing the world wasn’t going to fix itself miraculously and I wouldn’t have to worry anymore. If anything, it would most likely remain a dumpster fire. Books were one of the few things that could bring me true happiness, even if for only a few hours.

I think I also let the holidays be an excuse. There’s so much to do during that time, so many distractions, things to take us away from the news of the day. When the holidays ended, there were no more distractions, just a startling sense of reality and how soon things would be changing again. Around that time, I noticed a lot of artists online talking about using art (music, painting, crocheting, and obviously writing) as a form of rebellion, even protest, against the darkness of the world. It wasn’t an immediate ah-ha moment, but more of a “yeah, why the F&$!#% am I letting them take joy away from me along with everything else?”  

I wish I could tell you that I don’t doom scroll anymore or worry about every little thing. But I stopped watching or listening to the news and tried to watch more videos about art, music, books, etc. I walk a fine line between needing to stay informed and not losing my mind. Some days, I do better than others. More than anything, I’ve made it a point to do something creative and absorb something creative. I’m proud to report that I have read four books since the first of the year. My hope this year is not that I’ll meet my reading goal but that there will be more minutes spent reading than doom scrolling. I hope the same for you, my friends.

If you need any inspiration, here’s what I’ve been reading:

·       The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement – Sharon McMahon – Boy, if you need some inspiration during these times, this is the book for you. Especially if you feel like only powerful people can change things.

·       How it Feels to Float – Helena Fox – I’ve been looking for stories to use as a comp for the book I’m currently editing (YA/Anxiety/Reincarnation), and this story felt right: grief, severe anxiety, and just being a teenager in today’s world.

·       The House in the Cerulean Sea – T.J. Klune – This book has been on my list for months, and my hold finally came in a week ago. After I finished it, I wrote an Instagram post for a particular quote and how this was the book I needed during this time. I don’t even know how to describe it other than - cozy fantasy, found family and the antichrist thrown in. Just read it…..

·       The Magician’s Assistant – Ann Patchett – I am a HUGE Ann Patchett fan, but there are a few of her older books that I somehow missed, and this was one. I have to be honest – some of her books I don’t know that I would have ever read based just on the description…Thankfully, I learned to ignore the blurbs years ago and have never looked back. I’m telling you right now - I will read the phone book if she ever comes out with a new version of it. No one writes about relationships and everyday lives like she does. I didn’t expect to be invested in a former magician’s assistant living in LA who found out that her late husband had a family she never knew about. Nor did I expect to care about that family living in the middle of Nebraska. I suspect I wouldn’t have either if it was anyone but Ann telling the story.  

Please let me know what you’ve been reading! We need to share all the stories…

“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” – Ray Bradbury.

“Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.” - Fernando Pessoa

“Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know.” - Alberto Manguel

 

Be well….

~Adrienne

Curses, Snacks, and Lots of Words......

I think I curse myself inadvertently. Every time I say "Pheww, I'm glad we got through that. Now I can get back to work," the universe literally laughs itself silly. It's been another year. How is that even possible? It's because I keep telling myself, I'll write a new post as soon as X, Y, and Z are over. The problem is that A, B, and C always follow.

I need to stop waiting for things to calm down, get easier, be normal, etc. This is the normal and I just have to figure out how to keep writing in the middle of the storm.

I'm still writing. I have been all along. Book number one has been completed for what seems like forever now. I queried a few people, entered some contests, made some changes here and there, but let's be honest, I stalled. Why? Who knows. Maybe deep down I know that if I don't actually send anything out, then I can't really be rejected. It makes complete sense when I step back and analyze it, but it's still a little bit insane. I'm doing my best to push through this.

In the meantime, I have been working on my next WIP (the idea that created itself a couple of years ago while on vacation. (See Patrick Swayze). It's a YA, completely different than my first book, other than the ghost idea. Yeah, I never actually told you about book number one, did I? Well, of course not. I'm hoping/wishing/praying, that someday you'll be able to find it on a store shelf somewhere.
In the meantime, I've been rolling right along with book two. I love the characters, and the story makes me smile to myself just thinking about it. It also breaks my heart just a little....and I hope it will break yours someday, in the best possible way.

So, as I said it has been a year. You know what that means - Pennwriter's annual conference. The time when I'm surrounded by people who get me, who motivate me, and who remind me of why I love writing. Sure enough, the magic happened again and I came back twice as motivated.

And, good news -I pitched to two agents, who BOTH requested to see part of my story!
Bad news - one of them has asked that I try to lower the word count before sending it.
Good news - I have a three day weekend ahead of me, and a house all to myself. The plan is to stock up on essentials (Food, coffee, snacks, vodka(?)) and barricade myself at my desk until Tuesday morning. I'm a little overwhelmed, a lot nervous, and a whole lot of looking forward to the challenge. Wish me luck.....

If I don't answer your call/text/email, you'll know why.

~ Adrienne

PS - Writer friends - what do you have to have in order to be productive? Specific snacks, fancy pens, particular music, lucky socks.....?

Which Comes First? Reading or Writing?

I have an ongoing battle with myself. It’s called there are not enough hours in the day for all the reading and writing there is to be done. It’s always been an issue, but since starting my early morning writing ritual, it’s increased tenfold. As I said previously, I created a monster in giving life to my creative side. The need to write gets stronger every day. The only thing taking a close second to it is my love of reading. It makes sense right? I love words and stories, and reading the work of others is inspiring.

And therein lies the problem.

Reading another person's work triggers a creative spark in me – it makes me want to write something equally amazing. Now. Obviously that feeling then disrupts my reading. So I go back to my writing, to getting the words down as quickly as possible. But, all too soon the call of my books comes back to me and I step away from the keyboard for a chapter, or two. And the vicious cycle continues. It doesn’t help that I’m a (slow) serial reader, typically having about four books going at once, along with an overstocked library just waiting for me to pick them next. (My book obsession has been chronicled before).  Currently this is my reading stack. 

Paper Towns – John Green

The Secret History - Donna Tartt

The Glass Castle – Jeannette Walls

Under the Tuscan Sun – Frances Mayes

The Awkward Path to Getting Lucky – Summer Heacock

Now, before you start laughing there is a method to my madness in so many books. The book I read depends on the situation, locality, environment, and even my mood. Let me explain.

Paper Towns is taking me so long because it’s on my Kindle so I need to be somewhere conducive to electronics. 

The Secret History I started back in June on vacation and I’m sooo close to being done. It’s an amazing literary read – translation: I need absolutely no distractions when reading it. So a crowded waiting room, busy coffee shop, or even my house sometimes, is not the place to read it.  

The Glass Castle I started two weeks ago. The book has been on my shelf for a couple of years now, but I was compelled to start it when I saw the movie trailer. I’m sorry it took me so long to start. Ironically I will probably finish this one first. (Confession - I wrote this last week and have since finished this book. Spoiler - the book was so much better.) The resiliency of this character has me mesmerized. It reminds me of Mary Karr’s The Liars’ Club, which I couldn’t put down either.

Under the Tuscan Sun is my fun, escape read. Days when the pace of life is overwhelming, the 9 to 5 grind, suffering from technology overload – this is what I reach for. Maye’s description of her life in Italy renovating a Tuscan villa brick by brick makes me want to sell everything and book a one way ticket to Italy. I’ve taken to leaving for work a half hour early so I can stop for coffee and read a chapter. It’s like a decadent dessert I need to savor in small bites.

 

The Awkward Path to Getting Lucky is a new release by a friend of a friend. I’m only a chapter in, but I can tell this is going to be my comic relief, which I think we can all agree we need more of right now.  

So until someone finds a way to stop time, or add more hours to the day, this will be the pattern that I follow. Is anyone else out there a serial reader? (Or invented a way to stop time?) 

Footnote – while writing this someone stopped to comment on my copy of The Glass Castle. “Such an amazing book.” I bet she’s a serial reader too…

~ Adrienne  

I've Created A Monster......

Vacation....

That word brings such joy to my heart. To me it has always meant a time out, time off, time for my brain to truly rest. Hubby and I recently returned from a week in Florida. Nothing strenuous. We visited family, hung out at the pool and beach, and ate some fabulous food. One of my main goals was to read in the sun and for lack of a better word, veg. This is how I’ve always viewed vacations. I certainly would not be writing – my brain needed a break, a real break. This plan has always worked perfectly in the past. 

In the past….

There was just a slight problem with this plan. My brain. After months of my new routine of writing once, sometimes twice a day, going cold turkey was not going to go as easily as I had hoped. It started on the plane on the way there. My brain started nagging me to get out the notebook I’d thrown in at the last minute and start jotting notes. But since our flight was at 5am I told my brain to hush and took a nap. The first day we were on the go all the time so it wasn’t too bad. The next day was our first full pool day and I settled in with my book, excited to just disappear for a couple of hours. Then it started.

Brain: Hey, um mm we're not at work.
Me: Yup, that’s right.
Brain: Hmm, we um normally would be writing in our free time.
Me: I know, but we’re on vacation and need a break. And I don’t have my laptop
Brain: You put a notebook in your bag – I saw you.
Me: Siggh…I know that, but no. We need a break and we’re just going to read.
Brain: But…
Me: its one week. We’ll come back refreshed and more focused.
Brain: …

This worked for a couple of hours. I floated in the pool, read, and actually interacted with people. I thought my brain and I were on the same page. I thought we understood each other. I thought wrong.

Brain: OK, so we’re not actually going to do any physical writing?
Me: Right, no actual writing. Now, if you don’t mind I’m –
Brain: OK, no problem. You go back to reading and I’ll just sit here and wait.
Me: Okay….
Brain: Hey, remember that new MG/YA story idea you had? I have some fabulous ideas. I’m just going to mull them over. I’ll be over here. Perfectly quiet. I won’t say a word. (Proceeds to mumble ideas for the next hour.)

I meanwhile proceeded to read the same pages over and over again until I gave up and just sat and listened. I didn’t give in and write, but I definitely zoned out. I went far into my head; so far that hubby actually asked if I was okay. He gets me. He gets that I do this and that nothing is wrong, but I don’t typically (try not to) do this when we’re with other people. I do my best to be present. So I felt really bad about this, but my brain literally would not shut up. 

It got progressively worse from there. No matter what we were doing my brain kept throwing ideas at me. The only time it left me alone was when I was sleeping. It was always there, like a child, tugging on my arm, begging for attention. Going for a walk on the beach was the worst.

Brain: You enjoy your walk. I’ll just be over here… Hey! Look at all these people! What kind of stories can we come up with about them?
Me: No, no…. listen, I just want to walk. Please, just zip it.
Brain: Okay…. Psstt, look at that guy there. What’s going on? What’s that bottle he’s holding? How comes he’s holding his hands like that? Is he praying, or meditating? I bet he has a great story. Oh, oh! Look at this lady. A dog and three kids and she looks sad. What do you think –
Me: Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!
Brain:…

Silence for about two minutes and then we passed a group of older woman, sitting in those small chairs that go right in the water. They were having a lot of adult beverages and laughing hysterically. You could see the years of friendship and fun between them. Brain literally exploded.
Brain: OMGGGGGG!! LOOK AT THEM! LISTEN TO THEM! WHO ARE THEY????
I Just about ran to get away from them.

I made it through the rest of the week, but just barely. I was beginning to feel like Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost when Patrick Swayze’s ghost wouldn’t stop bugging her. I’m trying to view this as a positive thing. My brain fully believes it’s a writer. Writer’s write. Therefore going without writing for a day just doesn’t work. It’s my own fault. This was my goal after all; to train myself to write as much as possible so I could become better at it, and actually accomplish something. In a way I wanted to become addicted to I and I did. I created my own monster. So for future vacations I will need to schedule time for some kind of writing. 

Otherwise I’ll need to buy a plane ticket for Patrick Swayze.  

~ Adrienne

PS - This was how I imagined vacation would go.....

Miss me?

I shudder to see the last dated entry on this blog......I didn't just drift out of the picture. I dropped off the cliff. I'm not sure what exactly did me in. There isn't one specific thing I can point to; more  a combination of too many balls in the air and one of them had to drop.

So I dropped this, and for that I am extremely sorry.

When we last we spoke (well I spoke and hopefully you read), I was writing furiously plodding along, in an attempt to actually write a complete first draft of my book. The problem? I seemed to be doing many more things related to writing (including this blog), than actually WRITING THE BOOK! 

Seriously, what was the point of a writing blog, if I was doing more writing here than anywhere else? So I guess I went cold turkey? I needed to get my act together and finish the book. Even if went no where else than to my hard drive, at least I had done it. So that's what I did.......

I WROTE A BOOK! 

Yes, after many stops and starts, baby steps, pecking away at the keys for hours, and sometimes just a few minutes, it is finally done. Well, at least the first completed draft....ugh.

I did edit for another couple of months, until it came to the point that I could no longer see the things that needed to be corrected. You stare at the same words over and over and it all becomes a blur. I know it needs more, or maybe less. It needs editing, analyzing, and probably some big time changes. So I finally sent it out to some people with writing backgrounds and whose opinion I trust. So now I wait (patiently), for their feedback, and work to thicken my skin. I'm hoping the good of the story will outweigh the bad, but I'm also very aware of how insanely difficult the whole process is. So I'm doing my best to keep my expectations realistic. But for now, I am allowing myself a minute (ok maybe 5), to just be proud of myself for completing it.

I have a group of writing friends who inspire and motivate me to keep pushing. I know they are part of the reason I was able to finally finish the book. Three of them have books out or coming out (insert sound of clapping), so this just inspires me even more to keep pushing. Check them out....

Dee Romito - The BFF Bucket List

Kate Karyus Quinn - Down With The Shine

Alyssa Palombo - The Violinist of Venice


So that's that - the self imposed exile is over. Hopefully it won't be long before you're hearing from me again. 

~ Adrienne

Sharing the love.....

As a writer and a book lunatic enthusiast, today was what one would call a really good day. Today is the final day of our church's annual lawn fete, where one of the long standing attractions is something called Attic Treasures. It's basically a giant garage sale, and in the middle of that garage sale are hundreds of books. On top of that the cost is, $.50 for a soft cover and $1.00 for hardcovers, but the best part actually happens today. For $2 you buy a paper grocery bag and whatever books you can fit into it are yours......cue the angels singing. 

I make it a point to go each day and spend at least an hour or more going through every box. I have many goals during these searches; finding that book I've always wanted to read, adding to an author collection, and in some cases just a random book I picked up that turned out to be a great surprise. Below is a picture of this year's loot. 22 books and I believe the cost was about $6. Last year's sale netted me a couple of Anne Tyler and Anna Quindlen books, and I was able to add to that this year. Under the Tuscan Sun is something I've wanted to read ever since seeing the movie. A Thousand Splendid Suns is the sequel to the Kite Runner, so I'm sure that will be another extremely emotional read. Alice Hoffman is another author I collect, Neil Gaiman is someone I've been hearing a lot about lately, and The Fountain Head is one of those extreme books that I challenge myself to read now and then. Dave Eggers wrote one of my favorite books, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, so I jumped at this copy of What is the What. 

While I was there today I ran into some family members, also in search of a good story. One wistfully commented that they would love to have more time to read. I don't think any of us have the luxury of reading as much as we want. As I put it, I'm storing them up for the future. I will get to them all....someday. Again, I'm not kidding when I say that someday I'll need a bigger house for all these books. What can I say...I LOVE BOOKS. I get giddy just discussing books with someone. All weekend I caught myself pushing books I had read, and own, at random strangers. 

"This was a good book, but a hard story," I said pointing out Jane Hamilton's A Map of the World to a woman standing near me. She smiled politely, as I walked off to point out another book to someone else. 

Even today as I walked with my family, I was literally throwing books into their bag that I felt they should read. 

"Have you read this," I asked pointing out a copy of White Oleander by Janet Fitch.
"I did see the movie," my cousin said. "Book was so much better," I replied and pushed it toward her.

"Have you ever read this?" I asked her mom, holding up a copy of Judith Guest's, Ordinary People.
"It sounds familiar," she said and I pretty much tossed that into her bag.

"Oh my gosh, this is such a great book," I gushed, grabbing a beat up copy of Pat Conroy's Beach Music. I don't even think I gave them a choice before it went into their bag too. Incidentally, I had a conversation about this same book a couple of weeks ago with a fellow book addict enthusiast, who I met randomly at my hair salon. We had both read it years ago and we were still in awe over his ability to describe the streets of Venice down  to the smallest detail, and don't get me started on his descriptions of southern life. Seriously, go get a copy. 

So....now it's time for me to go rearrange some bookshelves and find a home for my new friends. This is the fun part too, as I'll come across a book I bought at last year's sale, but still haven't gotten to read yet and I'll get excited about it all over again. Or I'll come across one I read years ago and loved, but haven't (shudders at the idea) gotten rid of. 

Oh, and if you happen to see me at a future book sale, you may want to head the other way, unless you plan on buying A LOT OF BOOKS.

Adrienne

PS Are you like me? Do you tell random strangers about books? Which ones??