Hello Georgia!
Tome Con, a literary mystery, & I ate at Arby's b/c Gregor wasn't there
Hello!
I am back from a fantastic trip to Georgia - first time visiting the lovely peach state.
I was attending TomeCon where hundreds of students gathered to celebrate BOOKS (my kind of conference!) My panel presentation was called “Using Real Life to Write Blockbuster Fiction.” It was super fun and let me tell you, by the fifth time presenting I was no longer needing my notes.
The kids were pure JOY, and meeting so many authors I admire was a huge highlight.
Instead of flying back to New Hampshire right away, my mom and sister met me at the conference. We had a jolly good romp together in the state of Georgia and South Carolina (Martin Luther King jr. Civil Rights center, Harlem’s pizza & Laurel and Hardy museum, Savannah’s trolly tour + prohibition museum, food, St. Patrick’s Day, the ocean, an African Methodist church service).
Gregor was in charge of the MANY hours of driver’s ed classes and driving hours while I was gone and that was quite lovely, yes it was.
of note: for both of my flights, I sat next to adults who were watching Tik Tok videos. They did not look up to say hello. And here we’ve been blaming the kids...
Anyway, I ate Arby’s at the airport b/c Gregor couldn’t properly dissuade me. I have no regrets.
If you’re worried about my health, don’t worry, I logged many miles and ate fish and beans! (restaurant recommendation: The Old Oyster Factory in Hilton Head, SC).
The weather was perfectly wonderful and the trees…oh the trees…
The moral of the story is, read a lot of books and GRAB the moments you have with the ones you love. Relationships are the best things about this life.
And now I am back in New Hampshire, getting ready for another snowstorm on Saturday…woot.
That is all.
Except keep scrolling for Magic Mail Thank You’s and two book recommendations: a literary mystery and Thoreau!
❤️ Amy
Magic Mail
Ever since I wrote Happiness is a Handwritten Letter, my walks to the mailbox are ever so much more fun. THANK YOU Laurine, Patti, Ethney, and Autumn! Your notes were unique and beautiful and made me HAPPY. I will write back!
I’m considering getting a P.O. Box so I can be pen pals with the world…am I being overzealous? Can I keep up? thoughts?
Two Book Recommendations:
Book #1: I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU by Rebecca Makkai
Body (“Bodie” our female protagonist) comes back to the same boarding she attended as a student to solve the murder of Thalia Keith, her beautiful roommate murdered on campus the spring of their junior year.
What I liked: Great writing; the reckonings we have with privilege, boarding schools, race, consent, youth, cancel culture, assumptions; our obsession with beautiful dead young white girls. I loved how our main character suddenly says…”You…” and suddenly she’s talking to one person (a teacher she worshipped as a fragile teenager), and it really draws you in, feels so intimate. Oh, I loved that. This book is a true literary mystery.
What I didn’t like: I have grown tired of the drunk protagonist and alcohol culture in general. As a literary device(?) it’s useful. Your narrators become less reliable, which creates intrigue, but it’s also depressing and has me craving smart, sober sleuths who are more resilient than “damaged,” numbing themselves to LIFE.
Book #2: Thoreau at Walden by John Porcellino
"I am convinced, both by faith and experience, that to maintain one's self on this earth is not a hardship, but a pastime, if we will live simply and wisely." -Henry David Thoreau in 1845 when he began his famous experiment of living by Walden Pond. A graphic novel, it’s short but also deep; a jumping-off point to more Thoreau who really did discover the secret to a happier life: less.
Good News and Story Links (Oscar Style)
- ‘s latest post: My Plan To Draw Oscars Cartoons Was Derailed By Hours Of Crying. Zoe is a cartoonist for The New Yorker. I greatly admire her work. She linked to Daniel Kwan’s Oscar acceptance speech:
“Genius does not stem from individuals, but rather genius emerges from the collective. We are all products of our context. We are all descendants of something and someone. There is greatness in every single person … you just have the find the right people to unlock that genius.”
Michelle Yeoh saying:
Ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you’re past your prime!
And also, Ke Huy Quan for the win!!! Two of my brothers-in-law are Vietnamese refugees, and we have been reading about and watching Ke’s story (loved him as a child actor). I watched the Oscars for this moment:
Sounds like you had a wonderful trip with great interactions with students! And OMG, the food looks wonderful (especially that plate of fish & beans). Glad to hear that the journey was fun and full of family. Thanks for the book recs~ I used to carry a mini version of Walden around in high school and I can still remember a few quotes :)