Mailbox Monday

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday!  I am so pleased to host in December because it just adds to my general giddiness this festive time of year.

MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event (details here).  Marcia is looking for someone to take over tour organizing duties.  Many people have volunteered, but I don't know that there is a final plan for 2014.

MY THEME THIS WEEK: HOLIDAY BOOK TRADITIONS

Do you have any book-related holiday traditions? Please share!

MY TRADITION: Everyone in my immediate family loves to read, so I've developed a little Christmas tradition of filling a gift bag with books for each of them.  It is so fun to have a big stack of books to play with on Christmas day and to anticipate a new year of reading enjoyment. 

With that tradition in mind, I went to my two favorite Friends of the Library used book stores in Oregon: Booktique in Lake Oswego and Second Hand Prose in Oregon City.  My family members don't mind that the books are used and getting them from the library stores means they cost so little everyone gets a BIG bag.

MY BOOKS: I can never hit those stores without finding something for myself.  Many somethings.  Including these:



Amarcord: Marcella Remembers by Marcella Hazan. I have several of her cookbooks and her life story of growing up in Italy during WWII sounds fascinating.



The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. I know this was hugely popular, but I somehow missed it.



Lulu in Marrakech
by Diane Johnson. I like her books and am in the mood to read fun stuff.



Vintage Murder by Ngaio Marsh. I am always in the mood for a vintage mystery and adore her Inspector Roderick Allyn series.

YOUR BOOKS

What books came into your house last week?  Leave your link below or in a comment.  If you don't have a blog but want to play along, leave a comment listing your new books.

24 Days to Christmas!

Every year, I count down the days to Christmas with vintage postcards. Here is the first for 2013. 

I love vintage postcards for all holidays. I am particularly fond of those with books in them, although they are not easy to find. 

Book Beginning: A Simplified Map of the Real World by Stevan Allred

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader now has a Facebook page. I plan to post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it, or click the button over there in the right hand column.  I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I am trying to follow all Book Beginning participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

MR. LINKY



MY BOOK BEGINNING

This all begins when I come home from visiting Mother in the rest home last week and taking her down into the Norse Hall for the monthly dinner. 

 -- from "His Ticky Little Mind," the first story in A Simplified Map of the Real World: The Renata Stories by Stevan Allred, published by Forest Avenue Press.

Curling up with this interconnected collection of short stories set in the fictional town of Renata, Oregon is the perfect, stress-free way to enjoy a long holiday weekend.

What do you read during the holidays?

Gobble! Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Teaser Tuesday: Bleak House by Charles Dickens

“A good deal is doing, sir. We have put our shoulders to the wheel, Mr. Carstone, and the wheel is going round.”

-- Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

This is a lawyer's response to his client's demand to know what is happening in the expensive, long drawn out probate lawsuit in which he is involved. The lawyer's answer is less than candid – pushing a wheel around doesn't move anything forward.

I used this and many other quotes from Bleak House when I gave a presentation last week on Ethical Lessons from Charles Dickens Bleak House. It was a Continuing Legal Education seminar for lawyers, who all got one ethics CLE credit.  I had a lot of fun doing it and met many other literature-loving lawyers.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.