The Train of Days

This was yesterday morning’s sunrise, a brief glimpse of the sun between horizon and clouds before hours of rain. The walk two friends and I had hoped to take (while Bruce manned the bookstore counter) turned into four hours of indoor talk. (Not to say we didn’t enjoy the talk!) Inexplicably, clear skies returned today.

No, I haven’t finished STORM. A novel, THE WILD IRISH, by Robin Maxwell, distracted me. The story begins when a female Irish pirate comes to the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Talk about a literary device! Quite gripping! But then along came READING THE LANDSCAPE, by May Thielgaard Watts, so now I’ve got three different books going, and it’s anyone’s guess which one I’ll ride to the finish line first. And why not? The joy of having left academic life is that I have no required reading list and can pick up whatever calls my name loudest.

Today was a furniture-moving day at Dog Ears Books. My printer moved up into heatable space, and the stage was set for Erin Hartman’s reading on Saturday afternoon. We're making it an autumn party, with apple cider and pumpkin donuts. I think Hope Quinlan would approve.

Pumpkin Man and Me

Seeing the pumpkin man across the road every day (this picture taken on a sunny morning last week) adds to my anticipation of Halloween, a holiday I never liked at all until experiencing it in Northport. But that is still in the future--.

For now, fire in the fireplace, fresh coffee ready: guests in the house! Another morning begun with the ECONOMIC HIT MAN, John Perkins, and, consequently, many thoughts swirling around in my head. But I need to be on the road earlier than usual today, traveling first southeast to the little town of Lake Leelanau to deliver a hard copy press release and CD with photo, both relating to Erin Hartman's Oct. 27 appearance at Dog Ears Books. So I only bookmarked the Book Tourism blog address and will return to it when not so rushed.

Book Party in Three Weeks

I couldn't find it online, but there is a book review today (Sunday, Oct. 7) in the "Northern Living" section of the Traverse City Record-Eagle (p. E8) that I wish you all could read. The author, Erin Q. Hartman of Suttons Bay, will be at Dog Ears Books in Northport on Saturday, Oct. 27, to read from her memoir, HOPE FOR CARSONVILLE: A DAUGHTER'S MEMOIR. I agree with everything the newspaper writer said except for his tagging the story "gritty." That's much too strong and negative a word. There are some tough episodes in this family story, but there is no shortage of love. But come hear Erin read in three weeks, and you can judge for yourself. This is Hartman's writing debut. I'm predicting a big success for HOPE. And I'm sure that three weeks from now we will have seen the end of the unseasonable and enervating heat that has had some people today complaining and others jumping in the lake.