Many many thanks to Julie J. for hosting our annual Holiday Book Swap, it was just so much fun and the tree was just beautiful. And the food was great! I am so glad we are able to celebrate together.
I did not get all the information of who brought what and the sequence of swaps, but needless to say, there were favorites among us. The most swapped was Mona's Eyes by Thomas Schlesser which came with a stunning book cover and a really effective book blurb. Here is the whole list with thanks to Wendy for capturing this electronically:
The Paragon Hotel - Lyndsay Faye
Tequila Mockingbird by Tim Federle and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, accompanied by a (small) bottle of tequila. Now that is the holiday spirit! As you might have guessed, Tequila Mockingbird is a book of cocktails.
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. We should all go see the movie, I hear it is good.
Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser - as mentioned, our most coveted book. There was more than one copy so we all promised to share.
The Correspondent by Virgina Evans - somehow I thought this would be swapped all around, but it wasn't. We made it our January book as there was a lot of interest in it, and we wanted time to pass around our copies of Mona's Eyes.
Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks - the subtitle is "Tales of Music and the Brain" which sounds fascinating to me.
The View from Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani - this Lake Como is in New Jersey but it sounded good anyway.
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai - this book got lots and lots of love `from book critics including the NY Times and the Booker Prize committee.
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker - Jenna Bush picked this one for her book club.
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles - a best seller that revolves around books can't be bad.
North Woods by Daniel Mason - a big book in 2023, this one is centers on a house in the woods and everything that happens in an around it over centuries.
We got our schedule worked out for the next few months, so here is my take on that, let me know if I got anything wrong:
January 20 - the book is The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. We will meet at Karen Wimbish's house at 6:30, note this is a Tuesday.
February 18 - in a departure, we are going to a book launch for our meeting at the ICA on Broad Street. Virginia Pye (River of Dust) will be there talking about her new book, Marriage and Other Monuments. I do not know when the book will be available but I do have an advanced reading copy if anyone wants to read up in advance.
March 16 - Our book will be Mona's Eyes. I think we are at Wendy's but will check.
I think that is all we decided on, again, let me know if I got anything wrong.
Here is to another great year of reading and friendship!
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