There’s still time to join us in planning “the week ahead”, and to enter to win a Page-A-Day Book Lover’s Calendar. Find the details here:
A snapshot of what may, or may not, happen in my life this week:
Monday – We were away this weekend, so much of my day will be spent recovering from that – laundry and 
grocery shopping! We were down the Cape visiting with friends at their family’s beach “lodge” – thank you Hilary and Tony (et al!). The original structure of the Lodge was built as a fishing shack in the 1700s, it has been extended and updated throughout the years and has quite a bit of character. As soon as we pulled down the gravel driveway and saw the building I said, “It’s The Big House!”, which was met by my children eye-rolling “of course it’s a big house”. No, it reminded me of my mental picture of The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home by George Howe Colt.
Tuesday – TuesdayThingers, in which the Boston Bibliophile poses a question, somehow related to the LibraryThing site. I also hope to have my review for Christopher Meeks’ short fiction collection, Months and Seasons, ready to post.
Wednesday – I’ll post the next installment in my SOBs series, a photo and short blurb about R. Franklin Pyke Bookseller in Avalon, California, which was discovered by Lisa at Books on the Brain while on vacation recently. We don’t have a lot of information about this bookstore; if you can add anything, feel free to Contact me or Comment on the post. If there’s a special bookstore that you’d like to spotlight, please let me know!
Thursday – Tonight Book Club Girl will interview Debra Dean, author of The Madonnas of Leningrad. If you
have a quesion or comment for the author, you can call in (or e-mail your question to Book Club Girl ahead of time).
Friday - Today’s the last day to enter the drawing for a copy of Andrew Davidson’s The Gargoyle. The winner’s name will be posted on Saturday.
Here’s mine for the week.
http://thethingsweread.blogspot.com/2008/08/this-week-ahead.html
I should definitely win the ARC of The Gargoyle because, ta dah–it is my birthday August 19 (same as Coco Chanel’s who invented #19 to celebrate that–we won’t go into Bill Clinton here)–and I did want to read that book–love all things gargoyle–and my book allowance is spent for the month. I have fingered the hardcover with great interest at Barnes and Noble, but didn’t dare start the first page less I walk out with it (after paying, of course) before September 1.
P.S. (Private message to Dawn)–I found you (well, first I had to find your addressI stashed in my “little” only for events purse that holds my comb and dental floss)–so, it being my b-day last night, we went out to a lovely dinner and I dug out the lbp (little black purse)–and, voila, I found you! I didn’t know the title of your website referred to Louisa May Alcott–and I am a huge fan of her writings and life. You already know I love to read letters from my favorite authors writing about the mundanities of their lives from our conversation at The Lace Reader event (the Hawthorne “please don’t visit us” letter). Well, the one I read from Louisa accompanied her hand-written manuscript to her publisher Little, Brown in Boston–describing why it appeared there were two different penmanships in the chapter she was enclosing: because she was paid by the page submitted, and because daylight was only so long, she taught herself to write with BOTH hands, so she could send more material and collect a bigger check! (In her words, of course). I do believe that letter concluded with a matter of fact statement to the effect of –so, I shall expect a return check for x dollars. Can you imagine? We all know she was supporting her entire family. Her Brahmin editors–or more likely, their secretaries, probably harrumped and marked the letter for payment–and the manuscript may have been Little Women or Little Men!
Now that I found your site, I will definitely be following your reviews. Great work!
Laura