darling, if it makes you feel better, let's call it a sabbatical.

currently blog of joan is on a break.
it's not you, it's me.
not to worry, however: i make occasional appearances on the social networks. you may find me there.
hogs and quiches, joan

PS you may read some of my works here, here, here here, here and here. Or just google me, darling.

i [heart] books.

image courtesy of Parada Creations on Etsy.

i really love books. i think i like the nightly reading sessions with the boy more than he does. here's what we're reading:

do you have a summer reading list?

books are amazing.

i know i've been talking about cupcake-palooza a lot lately. but the reason for it all is this: books.

books open the mind. spark the imagination. and cause children (of all ages) to dream big dreams and discover a world beyond their own.

here's one of my favorite books from childhood, the fire cat by esther averill. i recently found it in a vintage store and had completely forgotten about pickles the cat, whose big paws destined him to do big things.

when i started to read it again, every image and word came back to me. my older sister sat between my twin and i and read to us when we were small, and that is when my love affair with books began.

what about you? what's your story?

the advantages of books over e-readers.

when you drop a book, it doesn't crack. it never runs low on battery power or gets stolen, and your child doesn't constantly ask for it so he can play "angry birds."

books give you a reason to spend more time at the library ...

... and the last time i checked, digital downloads aren't usually free. just sayin.'

when you spill tea on a book, it's no big deal. no need to panic.

and books stand up well to cappuccino foam.

books look handsome lined on your bookshelves ...

and stacked on your nightstand.

and you don't have to power down a book when the airplane is taking off or landing. books are handy like that.

you could fall asleep hugging your e-reader, but it wouldn't be the same.

best of all, books look nothing like an office computer screen.

do you love books too? tell me why!

Bits of my weekend volume 19

the weather was fantastic. early saturday morning we headed over to the frist center for the visual arts for one of their amazing free art classes.

can't wait to see the impressionists this week!

this building is an architectural wonder. it is the former city post office, and much of the original ironwork and marble have been restored.

the kids heard a story about the mexican holiday dias de los muertos ...

... and made a skull mask.

there were feathers and sequins, markers and glitter glue.

the boy took it very seriously.

oooooooooooo, scary!

then we dashed straight to baseball and made it just in the nick of time.

he's really getting good at baseball. the learning curve at this age is amazing.

a few weeks ago, these kids didn't know which way to run after they hit the ball. now they're catching balls and tagging each other out.

i'm loving being a baseball mom.

after baseball, i skipped the family nap time and headed straight back to downtown nashville for the southern festival of books. it was held in the legislative buildings at the capitol.

there were loads of publisher booths, book signings, and even mad men's bryan batt was there with his new biography.

and it wouldn't be a southern festival worth its salt if they didn't have a hot chicken wagon.

don't know what hot chicken is? it's a southern thang.

i caught a panel of short story writers, and was really inspired to start writing in earnest. i made contact with a publisher that i think could be helpful down the line. now i just have to do the work.

oh, and i got to see madeleine.

how was your weekend?

books!

we went to the library last night for our weekly giant stack of books.

oh how we love books.

new ones.

old ones.

any kind will do.

especially if they are about dragons.

what kind of books do you and yours love?

look what came in the mail.

my twinnie is trying to tell me something.

or is it the universe? hmmmmmm.....

over the moon

i saw this sasek title this is the way to the moon, and had to send it to my nephew isaiah in california.

he received a junior astronaut space suit for his fourth birthday, and i thought this would go with it nicely.

isn't he a cutie?

i'm kind of addicted to these classic books. fabulous.

i [heart] this book. i think i will have to buy it.

i just ran across miroslav sasek's classic children's book 'this is new york' at anthropologie's web site and fell. in. love.

first published in 1960, it tells the story of the original purchase of manhattan.

love love love.

i'm afraid my obsession with 1960s children's books is not a passing whim.

it's also available at amazon.

superstars

last night i attended the most amazing event. it was a cocktail reception and dinner with the authors featured at the southern festival of books, which is going on this weekend in nashville. seated at the tables with us mere earthlings were authors like roy blount, alice randall, and john seigenthaler to name a few.

you may worship actors or athletes - authors are my superstars.

seated at our table was A. Manette Ansay, a new york times best-selling author who had a book on oprah's book club. we each got a copy of her new book: good things I wish you: a novel.

she barely got a chance to eat the luscious dinner as we picked her brain for writing tips. oh, and the dinner: a salad of poached pear and fall greens; a wild mushroom stuffed breast of guinea hen with a bourbon demi glace; and a fabulous maple glazed pumpkin tart with a bittersweet chocolate crust, bathed in a creme anglaise. heaven.

what could not be more appalling about the whole thing is my photography. i didn't bring a decent camera and my blackberry is pathetic in dim surroundings. i regret not being able to capture every moment of it in pristine detail:

the exquisite calligraphy on the place settings.

the tree centerpieces decked with tiny birds.

tiny books atop stir sticks for the signature cocktail ("the page turner," of course,") served in silver mint julep glasses.

it was a dream. guess it's time for me to stop dreaming and start writing a book of my own. i may succeed or fail but there is only one way to find out.

the one where joan buys a book on impulse

i saw an awesome book by dallas clayton on a friend's facebook page and within 60 seconds of seeing the silversteinesque drawings of sendakian characters and reading the delightful story about the very wonderful notion of dreaming, i clicked "buy it now." just like that.

not much more to say. just look up this enchanting book and see if you can resist. i dare you.