Life with Dee

Creating a beautiful life...

Life With Dee Book Club!

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I’m so excited to tell you about the latest Life With Dee feature. I’m starting a book club! Each month I will recommend three books. In some cases these will be books I’ve read and can recommend to you. And some of the books will be ones I will be reading for the first time, right along with you.

I often have more than one book going at a time, usually each in a different genre. For instance, I usually have something fiction, something non-fiction, and something to inspire me. So most months, the selections will reflect that quirk of mine and will give you a variety to choose from.

I will provide links to Amazon for each of the selections (I’m an affiliate so if you purchase via these links I receive a small portion of the purchase price but it doesn’t cost you anything extra – and I greatly appreciate the support!) but I encourage you to first check your library or local, independent book store.

So, now that we’ve got all that out of the way, let’s take a look at our first selections!

LWD Book Club ~ March 2016

LWD March Book Club Selections

Gracious Living in a New World by Alexandra Stoddard

I am a huge fan of Alexandra Stoddard’s books. I own most of them and have re-read portions many times over the years. This one is currently on my bedside table. You may have noticed it in photos. I have the hardbound copy with a lovely, aqua cover. From what I found, that version is only available used but Amazon does have a paperback version. If you haven’t read any of Stoddard’s books you are in for a treat. She shares her thoughts on how we can live a beautiful and gracious life even in these busy and often stressful times.

Gracious Living

 

Living Forward by Michael Hyatt

Michael Hyatt writes and speaks on topics such as personal development, leadership, productivity, platform and publishing. This is his brand new book and my copy is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to reading this one.

Living Forward

 

Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews

I read her book, The Fixer-Upper, a couple of years ago and enjoyed it. Our library had this in audiobook format so I’ve been listening to it in the car. I’m about 2/3 of the way through. It’s a fun, light read (or listen, as the case may be!) and we all need something like that now and then.

Beach Town

If you read any of these I do hope you’ll leave me a comment or send me an email to let me know what you thought. And if you have any recommendations for future book selections, I’d love to hear those, as well.

Happy Reading!

Book Quote

We Met Jimmy Page in Paris!

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Sometimes you just end up in the right place at the right time. On our last day in Paris I wanted to see the Shakespeare and Company bookstore. Several friends who had been to Paris said it was a must-see for a book lover like myself.
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We walked perhaps a mile from our hotel in St. Germain, strolling through the Latin Quarter where we picked up a few souvenirs. When we arrived at the bookstore, David noticed this sign:
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That’s right. Jimmy Page was going to be there at 1:00 p.m. and it just happened to be about 12:30. Needless to say, we joined the queue. The Q&A took place in one of the small rooms in the bookstore and we just missed making the cut-off. But we were escorted to another room where the session was piped in via speaker. After we were seated in there, along with about 20 other people, they escorted Jimmy Page through to our room where the Q&A was held. He walked within about 3 feet of us.

The session was very interesting and when it was over we joined the line to get a copy of his new autobiography stamped. We had all been told in advance that no photos were allowed and that he wouldn’t be shaking hands. I assumed that meant he was not going to be very friendly but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

He was seated at a table with an assistant on either side of him. The first one opened our book to the correct page and placed it in front of Jimmy. He then smiled at me, extended his hand and thanked me for coming. He took almost half a minute very, very carefully positioning the stamp. The other assistant then placed a sheet of blotting paper over it, closed the book and handed it to me. Jimmy then offered his hand again, both to me and to David. He was as nice as could be.

Hand stamped by Jimmy Page himself
A photo of the stamp

 

I’m pretty sure that was the highlight of our trip as far as David was concerned. And I have to admit, I thought it was pretty cool, too. This picture doesn’t quite capture how huge the book is but let’s just say that by the time David had carried it through the airports in his backpack on our way home he was glad we had only bought one copy.
Jimmy Page book we bought in Paris
Oh, and on our way out I was interviewed on camera. I have no idea what it was for and since I didn’t have anything especially witty to say that’s probably just as well.
*This post contains affiliate links.

Jimmy Page in Paris

We have a winner!

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I apologize for not announcing the winner yesterday. I had a very busy day running errands and then we went out of town for our niece and nephew’s school Christmas program. By the time we got back to town, went out for a late dinner and then got home, it was nearly 10:30 p.m. and I was exhausted. 
So, without further ado…
I wrote the name of each person who entered on a slip of paper, folded it and put it in this glass container:
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I drew one of the slips and the winner is…(drumroll, please)…
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Joe Trail!

Congratulations, Joe! I will be contacting you for your address and will get the book in the mail either this afternoon or tomorrow. Thanks to all who entered. If you didn’t win I’d suggest you check out the book from your library because it truly is worth the read. 

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day 9 “Something You’re Reading”

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Photo-A-Day Challenge: Something You're Reading
This is one of the books currently on my bedside table. After watching the PBS special, The Dust Bowl, I was eager to read more about it. I well remember my grandmother’s stories about that time – wish I had asked even more questions. My parents are going to come watch it with me and I’m going to pick my dad’s brains about all the stories he remembers hearing. And I’ll be taking notes.