Call me homesick for a good read, but this favorite and familiar author – Alice Munro – came through for what ailed me. Her latest collection, Dear Life, was the recent selection for my book club and neither the book nor our discussion disappointed.
The primary section of Dear Life consists of ten stories – all typical of Munro’s style. She crafts believable characters in unremarkable situations to achieve thoughtful and real episodes of poignancy. Not unlike Flannery O’Connor who allows all of her main characters a moment of grace to accept …

No “Manners Monday” today. Instead, I’m gearing up for a big October about table manners. In the meantime, enjoy the past posts and send table manners questions to me at readbabbette (at) yahoo (dot) com.
Previous Manners Monday:
Manners Monday :: Addressing Familiar Names Properly
Manners Monday :: Making Introductions
Manners Monday :: Thank You
Manners Monday :: Introduction
Also, afraid you might miss a post? I’ve added a tool for subscribing at the bottom of the page. Just enter your email address, and you can receive Lit&Leisure straight to your inbox.
See you next Monday where …

Because it is Sunday and about this time every Sunday I begin to dread the work week, this is what I’d love to say:

Swestie and I were raised like cousins, so I’ve known & loved her literally my whole life. You can find more of her art here. (You can always find her as one of the links on the right.)
Thanks for sharing your art with me, Swestie!

We have winners! Congratulations to:
Lynne
Melissa
Julie
Hira
Joy 
All of the winners have been contacted & the signed galleys are on their way to their new homes. For the winners, I hope you all enjoy The Orchard and will come back here to let the rest of us know what you think!
If you were not a winner, please stop by your local bookstore to pick it up (or order from Amazon – look to the right). Or better yet, catch Jeffrey when he’s in your neighborhood. You can view his tour schedule here. I …

I was so excited yesterday when Jeffrey Stepakoff messaged me and offered to send several signed galleys of The Orchard – his latest novel due out July 5. I’ve slowed down on the ARCs that I request or accept, but after all the fun I had celebrating Fireworks over Toccoa, I have been anxious for this follow-up novel. It was recently named a Southern Indie Bookseller’s Summer Okra Pick!
I just received my copy of The Orchard, so I haven’t written the review, but I wanted to go ahead and announce …