July 2005 Selection

Summer is the time when life slows down a little and we can languor, luxuriate and dream. Our book club’s mission is to speak directly to the heart of women’s experiences. With both those things in mind, I can’t think of a better time to read Marlena De Blasi’s “A Thousand Days in Venice”.

It’s the story of what happens to a woman who has the courage to dream that her life can be completely different from everything she has known. The book is the author’s real life story of what happened to her when she took a trip to Venice, Italy and met the man of her dreams. “The Stranger”, as she calls him, is nothing she ever imagined her soul mate would turn out to be. But ultimately, based on a desire to live a life more fully realized she gives up her home and business in St. Louis, Missouri and moves to Italy. Her exquisite details about daily life in Venice will make you feel like you’re there living each day with her. She talks about the challenges of living in another city where you don’t speak the language or know a single soul. Yet it is in the expansion of her comfort zone and the letting go of everything she knows that she gets a gift far richer than the life she’s had before.

Despite their very romantic beginnings, she and her husband, Fernando, learn to do what every couple, around the world learns to do: actually live with each other and create a life together, day-to-day. De Blasi was a professional woman who enjoyed a full life as a restaurateur, food critic and journalist. Her portrayal of her romance and ultimately marriage is very realistic and is at the heart of this enchanting story. She really looks at what it took for her as a highly independent woman to really let go of all of her defenses and allow love to come into her life. De Blasi describes her horror at seeing her amour’s home for the first time. The transition from leaving the comforts of her American home to the squalor of bachelor living will have you in tears of laughter. Their beautiful and realistic love story is wrapped in a confection of details of Italy and all its beauty.

Please join us for another sparkling event at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at SouthPark Mall later this month to discuss “A Thousand Days in Venice”. Details on date and time will be in a forthcoming issue of The Charlotte Weekly or check back at this blog for more information.

Happy Reading!
Alison

Meet Adriana Trigiani

Thank you to everyone who came out Monday night, June 27th for our inaugural event of Charlotte Weekly's Book Club. It was a smashing success!
Adriana Trigiani is one of the funniest, wittiest and most insightful people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. The evening was pure bliss.

She regaled the audience with quips about her life, her new books (she's currently working on the 4th installment of the beloved Big Stone Gap series!), and her family, who all serve as inspiration for all of her novels.

She also took time to talk about some relevant news of the day, like the current makeover by Prince Charles and Camilla.

Adriana was inspirational and delightful and took time with each fan to autograph their books and talk with everyone. Unfortunately, for the people who were waiting for her at the event right after ours, had to wait a bit longer than anticipated but by the time the evening was over, we hope everyone walked away feeling a bit more inspired by life in general.

On a personal note, I have to say it was a real thrill to meet someone whose work you not only admire but someone who is obviously so passionate about what they do and is kind and warm to everyone. Sadly, not every famous person is like that.

Thank you Adriana for making our event so wonderful!

Recommend Our Next Book Selection

Have a book that you absolutely LOVE and want to share?

Post it here and we'll find out if the author can come and chat with us! It may just end up being our next book club selection.

Summer Book List

What are you reading right now?

It always feels like we have a few more hours to langor and luxuriate. What better way to do that then with a great book?

Share what you're reading. You might find a great selection you never heard about right here!

June 2005 Selection

This month's selection is: "The Queen of the Big Time" by Adriana Trigiani.


This is an incredible and heartwarming story!

The book's heroine, Nella Castelluca, has dreams of a grand life away from her rural Pennsylvania home. But when her father gets injured, she has to take his place on their family farm. All seems to be settling down until she meets the love of her life. After being devastated when he leaves, she wonders if she'll ever find love again. Just when she finds a good, steady man, her first love returns which turns her entire world over. This a story about love and loss and the struggle between being true to your roots vs. going for your own dreams that you'll never forget.

The book is out in paperback now! So rush to Joseph-Beth or your nearest bookseller now. Please join us and meet Ms. Trigiani to talk about "The Queen of the Big Time" at 6:30 P.M. on June 27th at Joseph-Beth for an inspiring evening!

Let us know what you think about the book by posting here!

Welcome!

Hello!

Welcome to the best book blog ever!

My name is Alison Woo and I've been a passionate reader of books since I was two-years-old!

This summer, I'm launching a book club with the The Charlotte Weekly and Joseph-Beth Booksellers. I invite you to join us on this great adventure. We're going to be meeting monthly at the new and phenomenal Joseph-Beth bookstore at SouthPark Mall in south Charlotte. Each month, a new selection will be posted here on the site and we'll be lucky enough to spend some quality time with the author to talk about their book. We'd all love to have you come join us in person, but if you can't, you can come right here to this spot and tell what you thought about the book.

This space is just for the readers. It's here to help you share your passion, talk to other book-lovers, let us know what you're reading and share your favorite books.

Let the reading begin!

Alison