Happy Coincidences: An Anniversary and a Giveaway!

(***Giveaway Closed***)
Happy 7th Anniversary Diggin' Around!

Seven years ago today, I started this blog.  I can't believe this ended up sneaking up on me again! I remembered last week (or was it the week before) and then promptly forgot about the anniversary again due to distraction.

On one hand, I can't believe it's been seven years already and on the other, it seems like so very long ago.  This blog has evolved over the years, much like I have.  I can't tell you all how much Diggin' Around has meant to me over the years and continues to mean to me.  And what you all mean to me! There are no words!

Usually, my blog-aversary comes and goes without much fanfare.

Not this year!

This year some exciting things have been happening which coincidentally coincide with my anniversary.  (Say that ten times fast!)  This year, I am prepared to celebrate and spread my love of reading at the same time!

A couple of weeks ago, I was approached by Twitter friend, author and SheReads guru, Kimberly Brock, about my teaming up with my Goodreads Southern Lit Lovers group and SheReads for a joint group read in March of Rita Leganski's debut novel, The Silence Of Bonaventure Arrow, which was just released on Tuesday, 2/26/13.

Since then, many wonderful things have happened including chatting with Rita online, (she's wonderful!) her sending me an autographed copy of her novel and arranging with Harper Collins to giveaway a total of 5 copies of The Silence Of Bonaventure Arrow!

Harper Paperback (c)2012 released 2/26/13 synopsis (spoilers possible):

"Conceived in love and possibility, Bonaventure Arrow didn’t make a peep when he was born, and the doctor nearly took him for dead. No one knows Bonaventure's silence is filled with resonance - a miraculous gift of rarified hearing that encompasses the Universe of Every Single Sound. Growing up in the big house oh Christopher Street in Bayou Cymbaline, Bonaventure can hear flowers grow, a thousand shades of blue, and the miniature tempests that rage inside raindrops. He can also hear the gentle voice of his father, William Arrow, shot dead before Bonaventure was born by a mysterious stranger known only as the Wanderer.

Bonaventure's remarkable gift of listening promises salvation to the souls who love him: his beautiful young mother, Dancy, haunted by the death of her husband; his Grand-mere Letice, plagued by grief and long-buried guilt she locks away in a chapel; and his father, William, whose roaming spirit must fix the wreckage of the past. With the help of Trinidad Prefontaine, a Creole housekeeper endowed with her own special gifts, Bonaventure will find the key to long-buried mysteries and soothe a chorus of family secrets clamoring to be healed. "

In honor of Rita's debut and Diggin' Around's 7th anniversary, I am giving away 2 copies of The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow here!  

Please Note: *If you are a member of my Southern Lit Lovers group on Goodreads prior to 2/28/13, you are not eligible for my giveaway here and you must enter the giveaway posted in SLL by clicking here for details & rules on how to enter - If you joined SLL as of 2/28/13 or after, you may enter my giveaway here - see below for rules).*

Rules:

 - Open to members with US mailing addresses only. (Harper is unable to mail them outside of the US).

- You must leave a comment that includes your email address and why you love reading fiction on this post by 11:59pm EST on Sunday, 3/3/13 to be eligible for the giveaway. On Monday, 3/4/13, I will use http://www.random.org/ to generate the winners of the 2 copies. I will announce those winners here as well as in private emails to the winners that day - you must reply to me by 11:59pm EST on Wednesday 3/6/13 with your mailing address so I can then email all of the names/addresses to Harper on Thursday so your copies can be mailed asap.

To find out more about our March festivities for The Silence Of Bonaventure Arrow, which is likely to be one of the largest online book chats to date stretching from blogs, to Goodreads, to Twitter to SheReads, please click here or follow Kimberly, Tamara Welch, myself and SheReads on Twitter.  More will also be posted here on Diggin' Around as well as on SheReads throughout March. I am so excited to be involved in all of this and can't wait to get started!  

Thank you for joining me on the journey that is Diggin' Around.  Good luck to everyone who enters the giveaway!

(*If no one enters the giveaway here, all copies will be given away via Southern Lit Lovers on Goodreads*)

Due to lack of entries here for The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow, I've decided to close down the giveaway here.  Thanks for understanding! ~Jo Sun 3/3/13, 2:51pm est

Can You Hear Me Now?

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I promise! Super busy one week, under the weather another week, a best friends wedding all make for time getting away from me.

I have lots of exciting things to share with you! Stay tuned!
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The Joy Of Home: Wordless Wednesday

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Off The Shelf: Rainy Day Reads

So far, 2013 has been a diverse and fulfilling reading year! I've since finished four books after The Language of Flowers (which I finished back in January, click here for my reaction) and now it's time to catch up on them with y'all!

(Spoilers are likely, so proceed at your own risk!)

Let's start with The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot: 5 of 5 stars.

From the BroadwayPaperbacks/Publisher paperback edition: "Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells - taken without her knowledge in 1951 - became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew."

I've had this book on my radar for quite while, though I can't recall how I first heard about it. A member of my monthly Thursday evening bookclub selected it as our first read of 2013. What an incredible, thought provoking, emotional and utterly fascinating book! Well researched and well written, it is non-fiction that reads like fiction. It grabbed me right from the start. I didn't get bogged down with the medical side of Henrietta's story as I had originally feared. Nearly a month later, I'm still reeling from the enormity of all of these connected stories, the enormous and wide reaching domino affect of one doctor's decision that make up this book!  Henrietta's and her family's stories are as equally compelling as the medical aspect of her immortal cells.  I plan on purchasing a copy for myself in the near future and re-reading it.

Next up is The Richest Season by Maryanne McFadden: 4 of 5 stars.

From the Hyperion Books 2008 hardback edition: "After more than a dozen moves in twenty-five years of marriage, Joanna Harrison is lonely and tired of being a corporate wife. Her children are grown and gone, her husband is more married to his job than to her, and now they're about to pack up once more. Panicked at the thought of having to start all over again, Joanna commits the first irresponsible act of her life. She runs away to Pawleys Island, South Carolina, a place she's been to just once. She find a job as a live-in companion to Grace Finelli, a widow who has come to the island to fulfill a girlhood dream. Together the two women embark on the most difficult journey of their lives. Entwined is Paul Harrison's story as he loses his wife, his job, and everything that defines him as a man. He takes off on his own journey out west, searching for the answers to all that has gone wrong in his life. One thing remains constant: He wants his life back. Joanna, however, is moving further away from her old life as she joins a group dedicated to rescuing endangered loggerhead turtles, led by a charismatic fisherman unlike anyone she's ever met."  

This wasn't the light, quick read I expected and that is not a bad thing!  It ended up being more involved, (deeper if you will) and I was pleasantly surprised.  Since falling in love with South Carolina last February, I enjoy reading novels set there.  It also partially takes place in Northwestern NJ in an area I'm familiar with which I enjoyed as well. 

Last on the list is Miss Dreamsville And The Collier Country Women's Literary Society by Amy Hill Hearth: 4 of 5 stars.

From the Atria Books 2012 paperback: "A brilliant debut novel from a New York Times bestselling author about a transplanted wife from Boston who arrives in Florida in the 1960s, starts a literary salon, and shakes up the status quo.

In 1962, Jackie Hart moved to Naples, Florida, from Boston with her husband and children. Wanting something personally fulfilling to do with her time, she starts a reading club and anonymously hosts a radio show, calling herself Miss Dreamsville.

The racially segregated town falls in love with Miss Dreamsville, but doesn’t know what to make of Jackie, who welcomes everyone into her book club, including a woman who did prison time for allegedly killing her husband, a man of questionable sexual preference, a young divorcee, as well as a black woman.

By the end of this novel, you’ll be wiping away the tears of laugher and sadness, and you just may become a bit more hopeful that even the most hateful people can see the light of humanitarianism, if they just give themselves a chance."

I learned about this novel through Deep South Magazine's twitter and their tweets about their #SouthernLit chat with author Amy Hill Hearth on January 25th.  I happened upon the book at the library and picked it up but didn't have time to finish it before the chat.  Amy was gracious throughout the chat and feedback on her novel was so positive.  

Miss Dreamville was a quirky and very enjoyable read! I don't normally read southern novels set in Florida so this was one of the few for me.  I couldn't imagine where it was going or how it would possibly end and I couldn't wait to find out.

What have you read so far this year?         

Love Struck!

La Peppermint
Ancient Camellia japonica

Happy Valentines one and all!

Have you ever been bowled over by something and couldn't get it out of your mind?

I hope you'll join me over at Connect*Share*Grow for a special Valentines Day edition of my gardening memoir column, Adventures In Gardening, where I share how my love affair with Camellias began in South Carolina last year.

Click here!

The Joy Of Home: Wordless Wednesday

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Winters Beauty

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Wordless Wednesday: A Favorite Photo

La Peppermint

Ancient Camellia Japonica

1800's

The Joy Of Home: Comfort Food

As I wrote this last night, the world outside was turning royal blue as the sun set behind gray, snow filled clouds that were ready to burst any moment. The candle lamps brightened the windows with their warm, flickering glow the darker it become.

I've been missing my father-in-law a lot recently and this week I decided to make what I call his tomato garbanzo bean stew. He made it for us the first time during his visit in 2006 and left me his recipe. That tiny, handwritten slip of paper hasn't left the bulletin board just outside the kitchen since.

I've changed the recipe up some over the years, adding two cups of low sodium/low fat chicken broth and a palm full of parsley. I use whatever pasta I have on hand. I tend to buy pre-shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese because it's difficult & often painful for me to shred my own because of my arthritis. And this week, I added a few healthy dashes of curry powder.

It's not for everyone and I must admit I have to be in the mood for it specifically in order to make it, but it's comforting. He liked this dish, enjoyed making it for us. And I suppose it's a way to feel closer to him now that I can no longer pick up the phone and give him a call when I miss him.

Perhaps, though, we make/eat certain things when our loved ones are missing us, not just when we're missing them.  Whenever I crave coffee and Stela Doro breakfast treats, I say my Nana must be channeling through me again (because those were two of her favorite things which I normally don't eat).

What comfort foods do you make/eat when you're missing a loved one?

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