Instead of Coffee, Let's Have Dinner

A Conversation over Sunday Dinner

Welcome to my dinner party! Since we cannot gather at a real-life dinner party, I invite you to a virtual meal today!

Today’s dinner party is extra special. It is Scholastic Book Fair themed today!

What are your memories of the Book Fair?

Not only was the fair exciting, but the book flyers were something I poured over when they showed up on my desk in elementary school. The first book I ordered in kindergarten was The Night Before Christmas with a record. When played, a voice read the book and there was a lovely chime that let me know to turn the page.

When I was at Ball State University for my education undergraduate work, we ordered from the flyers to start our classroom libraries. Some of those books I still had when I stopped teaching last June.

When the book fair was in the building I taught in, I made a pile and spent my paycheck each time. Having a bookstore in my school was heaven!

What is a book you have enjoyed lately?

I read Ada Zhang’s short story collection and loved it. I am also reading The Last Animal by Ramona Ausabel.

I finished reading Yellowface by R.F. Kuang yesterday. I think this is the perfect book to have a book club with writers. There are ethics questions and details about the publishing industry that are prime topics for conversation. I read it quickly. It pulled me back in over and over to find out what obstacle was next in the plot!

If you are reading this book I would love to hear a thought or two about it in the comments!

The food is fun today as well!

Our appetizer is DisneyWorld Pretzels with the plastic cheese! (Don’t ask how I got them…)

During the appetizer, I would tell you I have a writing class today about the MICE quotient taught by Mary Robinette Kowal. I have been careful with the classes I am signing up for lately. I do not want them to be distracting from my own writing time.

Our main course tonight is pizza!

During dinner, I would tell you my amazing husband (who drove all 19 hours back home from Florida) and I got back to our house on Saturday night. Then we left on Monday to go to his work where he had 2.5 days training. Because of the length of the drive and the long days, we stayed in a hotel. I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed for more than 2 nights this week!

Our schedule has been crazy. I am sure we are not the only ones. But right now it feels like it has been crazy since February! I have taken a few things off my plate for the summer but writing is not one of them.

Our Sunday ritual of going out for breakfast continues! It was a great outing as always.

For dessert, we are having Mickey beignets. There is caramel or chocolate sauce if like as well. I prefer mine plain!

During dessert, I would tell you I had an amazing chat with a writing friend this week. I am thankful for these honest conversations I am able to have with intelligent, talented and interesting people. I also am spending some time with my son this weekend which always makes me happy. Next week is my birthday and he has a gift he wants to give me.

Thank you for coming today! All the purchases made at the Book Fair will be donated to a local school!

Want to read my writing? Click here!

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I have been posting part of my Bradbury Trio reading lists lately. If you like this concept and would like to dig in deeper with a group of people please stay tuned for details about a reasonably priced Bradbury Trio course beginning this fall.

This reasonably priced 12-week course will provide you with a curated list of poems, stories, and essays to fuel your reading and writing life.

• Weekly emails with text suggestions will come to your inbox.

• Assignments will be weekly for you to dig deeper into the material and apply to your writing.

• Discussions and assignment posting will be in Slack private channels.

• Three Zoom meetings to debrief about what you are reading and how it is influencing your writing.

• Foster deep literacy conversations with other intelligent people!

Click here to get on the list! (This list does not obligate you to the course. This list is for information about the course when it becomes available.)

As always, thank you for reading to the end!