4.24.16 - Sunday Smatterings
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Happy Sunday, chickens!
Did you have a good week? I'm fresh off a whirlwind of travel, first a writing retreat in the desert followed by a weekend at one of my favorite annual signings, Southern Kentucky BookFest. I'm not sure which time zone I'm in, let alone which zip code, so I'm looking forward to a week of recalibrating . . . before we replace the flooring in the house because of a leaky dishwasher.
Oof.
Ain't no rest for the weary. But we'll soldier on, won't we?
Anyway.
Here's what happened on the Internets this week:
First of all, can we talk about Prince? I'm devastated. But I send him thanks: for always pushing parameters, for showing it's ok to grow and reinvent ourselves, for always reminding us that even though we may differ on a lot of things, we're all just trying to survive. You'll be missed.
Y'all. The ADD in me won't let me sit still sometimes; even when I'm writing, I'm compelled to check all the things—because I can keep all the plates spinning, right? Well. I can't. *sigh*. But thankfully, my favorite productivity tool, Freedom, has a brand new, major update: the Freedom app. When I turn it on, I can choose to block access to certain apps that I know will be a time suck (hello, social medias). It prevents me from becoming my own worst enemy and I love having it on my phone and iPad, in addition to the laptop.
If I were in England, I'd totally visit this exhibit: Books by earliest women writers in English on display together for first time.
Modern technology has changed the way we collect and distribute information; this can be seen probably most clearly in the way we use libraries. Check out how this young librarian is building a community of readers and thinkers for the 21st century.
Fellow Austenphiles: these 15 quotes from Persuasion will make you soon. Swoon!
On The Wine Vixen, I shared a $9.99 Syrah that's gonna pair beautifully with both spring and fall dishes (check out my pairing suggestion—all I can say is YUM!).
Twitterverse: wanna join the She Reads Twitter chat about NO ONE KNOWS? Join the conversation at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST on May 5, and use #srbkchat to follow along.
You and I both value indie bookstores. Like I've said before, walking down the street to a store owned by friends and neighbors, to have a gathering place for your local tribe, is vital. The torrential rains in Houston have flooded Murder by the Book and put quite a dent in their book sales. I'll be visiting in June, and I'd like to encourage you to purchase FIELD OF GRAVES (or any other book, for that matter) from them to offset their losses. Let's keep this indie afloat!
And on the Tao, I talked a little bit about my TV show, A Word on Words—and show you one of my favorite interviews so far: with All Souls Trilogy author, Deborah Harkness!
Are you signed up for my monthly newsletter? If not, you're missing out on exclusive treats, yummy recipes, the latest book news, and more! If you aren't signed up, now's the time to do it, because...
I'm giving away 3 ARCs of my new Taylor Jackson prequel, FIELD OF GRAVES, to my newsletter subscribers!
You can join the list here. Oh, and if you're already on the list, you're already entered into the contest. But hurry—I'll draw names on April 26!
Alright, y'all, that's it from me! Enjoy the spring weather, go pet a kitten, and I'll talk to you soon.
Xoxo,
J.T.
