Mary Jo Davis-Grant Author's Reading

What an honor to introduce my dear friend and mentor, Mary Jo Davis-Grant, as 30 attendees listened as she shared her journey of healing by way of her waking dreams. Her book, Dream Power, is the published version of her doctoral work on the integration of archetypes and chakras in her waking dreams.

In spite of the heavy snowfall ...and Democratic caucus...we were amazed at the number of people who turned out to hear her read from and discuss her book! In fact, Watermark shared that the attendance was as good as that from events they've hosted for national authors. Impressive! They offered Mary Jo yet another night to read and sign books, so we're 'taking it on the road again' the evening of March 25th.

Watermark Books in Wichita presents....

What a terrific way to spend a Sunday afternoon....! I can't think of a better group of people than booklovers ...and a bookloving hairdresser!

Not only did I enjoy hearing author, Kathy Patrick, share her love for books and book groups....I was the winner of a 'make-over' and a Pulpwood Queen 'big hair' do! I know....some people have no pride!

Thanks, Sarah Bagby, and staff at Watermark...the best independent bookstore around....

To add to a wonderfully enjoyable event, I purchased and gave a dear person, Dr. Jacqueline Vietti (our college president) a copy of the book, because she grew up, as did the author, in Eureka, Kansas...of all places. Imagine my astonishment when I told Kathy Patrick who I was giving the book to and to whom she should inscribe it and she exclaimed, "Oh, my! Jackie Basham's father delivered me and her mother was my French teacher! In fact, her mother is in the book!"

Needless to say, I was so anxious to give the book to Dr. Vietti. It meant alot to me to have her rush up to me at our large all-college meeting and hug me...and thank me....for sharing the book with her.

Umberto Eco

The Christmas holiday is a wonderful time to appreciate a snowy day and great books like this one, The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana.

Philip Pullman

Sssshhhhh! Don't tell her....I'm giving my daughter, Molly, the His Dark Materials trilogy and am reading a guide to Philip Pullman's books, Discovering the Golden Compass. Hopefully, Molly will share with her mom after she opens them Christmas morning.

Gordon Parks

This book is a beautiful photo history by Gordon Parks. Our "One Book, One Community" read last spring was The Learning Tree, by G. Parks. Each year, our community enjoys a week of activities (book discussions, author readings, visiting author in the schools, etc.) around a particular book. What a delightful way to meet up with kindred spirits! This year, I was lucky enough to be hostess to our featured author, Ann Parr, who wrote a young adult biography of Gordon Parks...a man she had the fortune of meeting twice, in person, when she flew to New York to interview him. The name of Ann's delightful book is No Excuses.

What is the most unusual book you ever bought?

I rather obsess about reading books...books about books....about bookshops...about authors...When I happened upon Abebooks' website, I found an afternoon's distraction in their booksellers' profiles. The piece below, by the owner of Yankee Book & Art Gallery, deeply moved me.

"...the one that I found the most interesting was a book whose title I can't remember and was not particularly significant.
It was a religious book published in 1854 in Richmond, Virginia. What made it so unusual was the hand writing in the book. The hand writing was by a Union soldier who wrote "This book was captured while the battle raged. Taken from a dead confederate soldier's body. At this battle my best friend went down. If you should find this book on or about my body please return it to my mother (an address in Pennsylvania was given) and tell her that I died gallantly on the battlefield."

One of my own experiences many years ago was at an independent bookshop in Wichita, Eighth Day Books. Browsing through the shelves while sipping a cup of coffee (is there any other way to enjoy a bookstore? Books bring to mind coffee...coffee brings to mind books), my hand landed upon a book with a completely nondescript spine...What caught my attention, I'll never know. However, the title of the book was intriguing - Working in a Small Place: the making of a neurosurgeon. As I read the back cover where it described this surgeon's work with, I realized that this was exactly the type of information that a friend needed to pass along to her mother, who was suffering from excruciating facial pain known as "Tic Douloureux". I promptly paid for the book, drove to my friend's home, and presented her with it. She, in turn, gave it to her mother....who contacted the neurosurgeon...who set up a date for surgery. Within the month, she was flying across the country to have the operation - which was a complete success. I will never forget the awe I later felt at such a profound sense of intuition. Books have that sort of effect on me...alot.

Broken for You, by Stephanie Kallos

My book group's January read....

I relish stories such as this...an 'intergenerational set of characters' who seemingly meet by 'chance'. The story of Margaret and Wanda brings to mind the way in which I met my own dear friend, Mildred... Looking for my toddler son one early summer morning, I began to panic when he was neither upstairs nor downstairs. I ran through the neighborhood, fearing the worst. As I walked past the large, kitchen window of an elderly couple we had not yet met, I saw my precious little guy (minus his diaper)....perched, naked as a jaybird, in the center of their kitchen table! They were trying to figure out where he belonged ;-)...and that was the beginning of a two-decades long friendship.