Author Camille Di Maio started this creative challenge on Facebook’s Breathless Bubbles & Books group and we can’t wait to share a few! Each book in the “pandemic paragraphs” below is linked to our Bookshop page and offered at a discount (to be shipped right to your home!) So enjoy the guided scavenger hunt for these great titles as you enjoy the words! Read to the end as there’s a gift in it for you…
Said Camille, “One thing that especially made me smile was a trend to tell your quarantine story through book titles. Here’s mine!”
It feels like we’ve been Circling the Sun for A Hundred Summers, doesn’t it? It seems like we’re in a Two-Family House since we have six people squeezed under one small roof. To make this harmonious, we have to instill Rules of Civility. For example, I cannot be Mrs. Everything. There are lots of Lovely Little Things everyone in the family can – and does – do to Pay It Forward. At night, we pray for Those Who Save Us. The Promise Between Us is that everything won’t always be Roses, but there is A Ring of Truth that We Hope for Better Things. More Than You Know, I’d love to be able to spend Christmas in London. If you’d like to join me, be sure to sign The Guest List! But until my travel dreams can come true again, we need to remember that Life is Good.
Charleston author Kathleen Varn (Gardenia Duty and Ameera Unveiled) jumped on board with this poetic entry:
Social distancing leaves only The Ghosts of Charleston to roam the sidewalks of my colonial city. My family Lift and Separate so we don’t Trouble the Water of those more vulnerable. At 7:00, my husband and cat meet me on our porch watching those that have Permission to Fly. Purple martins, red wing blackbirds and one painted bunting flit to the bird feeders before sunset and we relish The Last Song. The jasmine wafts on the breeze and we wonder about The Secret Life of Bees. Soon I hope to enjoy freedom to refresh On Folly Beach and listen to the Beach Music of gulls and waves. For now, I am Praying for Strangers.
And here’s bookseller Shari Stauch, jumping on board with this less poetic submission: (But I had so much fun doing this!)
Another Two Weeks and It feels like there’s not One Good Mama Bone left in The Body. I’ve spent too much time vegging on the couch with Chocolat, musing on this weird Wrinkle in Time. The news offers no comfort; If It Bleeds, it leads. A Confederacy of Dunces prattle on, so off goes the television. Time to head outside and do some digging in the American Dirt, eager to return to Gardenia Duty. Out here The Sun Shines Everywhere and I Take Comfort in the fact that, at least for today, we live in a City of Peace. So let’s all forget those Bad Days in History and instead be The Lords of Discipline I know we can be. Wish upon a Second Star to the Right and remember, You Are a Badass!
So, are you ready to submit your own quarantine story? Just pick some of your favorite book titles and jump on in, The Water is Wide! Send your entries to mainstreetreads@gmail.com and we’ll publish them in our next post AND award you a $5 store gift certificate and published paragrah bragging rights!
Teacher Appreciation Week!
We APPRECIATE YOU, teachers! All teachers get 10% off any in-store or contact-free purchase this week – thank you for all you’re doing, especially as we engage young readers with virtual learning. Teachers ROCK!
This Week’s Events Begin TODAY
If you haven’t registered yet, send us a quick email to mainstreetreads@gmail.com so we can get the link and password to you. And on Sunday we’ll have previews to the next round of virtual events to come, including:
- May 12 / 5:00 PM Hello Summer / Mary Kay Andrews
- May 13 / 4:00 PM The Everlasting / Katy Simpson Smith
- May 14 / 4:00 PM Bells for Eli / Susan Beckham Zurenda
- May 19 / 3:00 PM On Ocean Boulevard / Mary Alice Monroe
Missed The Coyotes of Carthage?
If you missed Steven Wright’s discussion about The Coyotes of Carthage, you’re in luck; here’s a video replay of the event for your enjoyment:
