A Yard Sale, A Small World, & An Open Marriage
Isn’t it a small world? Especially with the World Wide Interweb at the center of it all. So we thought you guys might enjoy this funny story about where this crazy blogging train takes us sometimes.
The Backstory: Last spring I went to a local writing seminar because our friend Noah (who’s also a published author, award-winning blogger, and all-around-good-guy) was speaking and we wanted to show our support. Sadly Sherry missed out because she had a conflicting “make-up party” to go to with my sister. No lie. Anyways, on the panel was another Richmond-born author named Jenny Block. She was very funny and the story about getting her book published was very interesting indeed. Naturally it made me curious to read her book, so I made a mental note and headed back to pick up a sure-to-be-heavily made up Sherry from her party (she did not disappoint).
The Yard Sale: Fast-forward to June and I spot Jenny’s book, Open, at a local yard sale. Sherry seemed a bit worried when she saw me grabbing for a book subtitled “Love, Sex and Life in an Open Marriage” but I reassured her that my sole interest was in seeing how this witty speaker’s voice translated on to the page, NOT in opening our marriage to others (and I realize this sounds like a typical guy duping his wife, but trust me here – I’ve seen enough episodes of Big Love to nix that idea).
The Blog Post: After the yard sale we blogged about our finds in this post. Along with the post, we shared the picture above, where you can clearly see the titles that we purchased. The small worry that someone would recognize the title and start wondering if Sherry and I were becoming, um, “adventurous” did actually cross our minds…
The Email: Well, someone did recognize the book. A friend of the author’s emailed her the link which prompted an email back to us from Jenny herself: “It looks as if you bought my book at a yard sale! I’m not sure if I should be happy or sad since that means the original owner no longer wanted it. LOL. But I’m glad someone scooped it up! If you want to drop it in the mail to me, I’d be happy to sign it to you and send it back.”
So we did. And she did. And now we’ve got this:
Oh, and I’m about halfway through the book and it has been a very interesting read. And I can say with the utmost confidence that I’m more than happy to keep my marriage closed! So that’s our latest small world story. Do you guys have one to share? Or any other good reads that we should put on our list?
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What a funny story. How great that you were able to get it autographed and that the author saw the picture in the first place. You’re right, small world.
I set a goal for myself to read all the books that have won a Pulitzer Prize. So, I started this year on the list. So far the best that I have read is The Road. This book stayed with me for weeks after I read it. I saw where they have made a movie but I think they will have a hard time recreating the book. Great read!
I have also been working my way up and down the Pulitzer list. Every now and then, I find one before it wins and think “THIS one MUST win a Pulitzer.” And it often does. Are there bookies for books? I also browse the Agatha & Edgar award winners every year. These are mystery book awards. The Agatha award (guess who it is named after!) is great for those of us who don’t want too much gore when we are up late at night reading.
Books I highly recommend:
“American Cookery” by Laura Kalpakian – fiction
“The Titled Americans” by Elizabeth Kehoe – non-fiction
“The Help” by Kathryn Stockett – fiction
“People of the Book” by Geraldine Brooks – fiction
“Still Life” (and all its mystery sequels to date) by Louise Penny – fiction
“44 Scotland Street” (and all its hilarious sequels to date) by Alexander McCall Smith – fiction
“Maisie Dobbs” (and all its mystery sequels to date) by Jacqueline Winspear – fiction
“The House at Riverton” by Kate Morton
Looking forward to seeing other people’s suggestions, too!
Great post Young House Love. Love to ‘Burger!
That made me laugh out loud!
Funny story! I can totally picture Sherry being all “Um, John?” Haha.
I’ve been heavily into travel literature lately since reading “Under The Tuscan Sun” (somewhat different from the movie based on it). I recently read “From Here You Can’t See Paris” which was an interesting look at a tourist-driven village in Southern France and gorgeous passages about French food and cooking. I’ll also read anything by Michael Pollan (have you read his house-building book? That’s next on my list)
Since you have already had the open marriage discussion LOL, I was totally sucked in by a book called Something Borrowed. I, like you, don’t agree with the open marriage topic, but was totally sucked in by this plot line. Its a pink book and more on the chick lit side. So, it might be one for Sherry more than John. There is a sequel book as well, though I have yet to pick that one up.
Anything by Mary Roach. She writes books about real-life odd topics, and they have great titles like Bonk and Stiff.
Just curious about this book? Did the author actually experience an open marriage or did she just research it by interviewing people and such? Also, what conclusions does she draw about open marriages?
For a fun quick read with several TASTY recipes built into the story read Brooke Parkhurst’s “Belle in the Big Apple”. (More on the girlish side but a very fun read.) For more of a fun guy’s read you can should check out Ted Bell’s “Tsar”.. its basically a book version of James Bond. And I know its become so incredibly over talked about, but “The Shack” is an uber quick read that gives encourages a new view of religion through an enticing fictional story. And if its non-ficiton inspiration you are looking for, read Lance Armstrong’s “Its not about the bike.” very impressive.
So what is BABYVILLE about? Is this a suttle hint of things to come at Casa P? :)
We love all this talk about books! What a fun little Friday afternoon departure.
As for Carmen’s question about Babyville, I’ll read anything by Jane Green so it’s more of a reflection of how much I love fluffy chic lit than my maternal clock. And Sarah V, John and I LOOOVE Mary Roach and have read Stiff, Spook and Bonk with glee. Julie, you asked about the book Open an we recommend tracking it down and reading it for yourself (you can even get it free at the library) but the author does in fact live in an open marriage (although she adds some research and interesting facts in along with her experiences). And Amanda, I loved Something Borrowed and Something Blue. Quality chic lit at it’s finest. As for all the other recommendations, thanks so much guys! Lots to add to our list!
xo,
Sherry
Heh, I know (or have met) Jenny Block too! She lives (or lived) in Dallas and was freelance writing about one of my clients. Haven’t read the book but I follow her blog. Interesting stuff though I’m solidly (happily) on the closed marriage train, too.
Like the idea of sharing names of good books. It will be great to share music for ipod at some point too!
My two cents:
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende.
Funny story! I continue to be amazed by what a small world it is! My favorite small world story ever is one that brought my best friend and I together. I met her at the local community college where we worked together and we ended up being roommates when we went to college out of state. She told her then boyfriend that she had met a girl named “Marie Elena … something, I can’t remember her last name” (it’s a unique one) and her boyfriend said it. Turns out he was my first love (in first grade). My husband and I are great friends with both of them, and I was even in their wedding.
Well upon reading about each person, I dutifully click on the links in their names and check out their websites…..that’s when my husband walks up and says “why are you on open marriage”? Heh Heh…ummmmmm
One more thing, anyone on http://www.goodreads.com? Amazingly cool way to share book ideas (my to-read list grows every time I’m on there!).
It really is a small world! Since you are both into being green and ecologically friendly, I highly recommend The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. It will really change the way you think about food and the how NOT eco-friendly our food system is.
Hey Heather H,
We love The Omnivore’s Dilemma! The crazy also-a-small-world thing is that I actually got to chat with Joel Salatin (the farmer featured in the book) on the phone back in my copywriting days (I was writing an advertising campaign for an organic grocery store that worked with his produce). Isn’t that cool? I was stat struck. And he was so nice!
xo,
Sherry
Here’s a little story about how reading a good book by your favorite author while serving on jury duty can actually lead to meeting her.
http://www.the7msnranch.com/2009/10/i-will-confess-to-being-just-tad.html
Oh I could discuss books all day! I’m beginning to think that when I retire I need to volunteer at a library since I love them so much. I would second the recommendation for “The Help”. I grew up in Mississippi in the 60′s so it really hit home with me and is very true to life there back then. I am now reading “An Echo in the Bone” which is the 7th in the series of “Outlander” books by Diana Gabaldon. If you like history, romance and time travel this this series is for you. But I read pretty much all genres and will look into the recommendations on here.
If you ever need a book recommendation…any genre….I’ve got a million + a few more.
I love a good yard sale for great and inexpensive books ($5, leatherbound copy of Idylls of the King/$4 early edition of Emerson essays), but I can’t imagine you have the fun of picking through a pile of books left out on the sidewalk now that you’re no longer in NYC!
That’s a funny story…weird small world! Made me crack up…you know what else made me crack up aside from the book story and hearing about Sherry’s make-up party (been to wayyy too many of those)? The fact that I looked at your picture about 10 times trying to figure out why the bird on top of the books had horns. LOL…TGIF…wow!
What a great story! Did you see Jenny Block on Nightline about a month ago??? It was a very interesting “town hall” type thing talking about marriage.
When I was in elementary school we had Gary Paulsen come and speak to us… he changed my reading habits at the time from Babysitters Club to Hachet and Popcorn Days&Buttermilk Nights. Noting greater to a kid than influencing their book picks!
I also once had a Brady Bunch book signed by Barry Williams. Weird, huh? He thought he was pretty groovy. My husband always asks if we can get rid of it… Hello?!?! It’s autographed!
Too Funny!
Thanks for putting this out there.
For those reading their way through Pulitzer Prize winners, look at Booker List winners and finalists… some gorgeous literature to fall into!
Regarding Open… um, not my cup of tea. AT ALL. It just seems so dysfunctional to me – where is the trust and intimacy?
I recommend three mystery series:
* Commissario Brunetti series by Donna Leon – these are all set in Venice. Start with Death at La Fenice – but you don’t have to read them in order to have them make sense.
* Inspector Ikmen series by Barbara Nadel – these are all set in Istanbul. Start with Belshazzar’s Daughter – you don’t have to read these in order but it makes more sense if you do. Most of this series is not published in the US of A – amazon.com has used copies that skip from the UK.
* A little closer to home – Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan series, set in Baltimore! Start with By a Spider’s Thread, because it is set in the neighborhood where I live, Pikesville! All the restaurants and stores mentioned in the book are real places.
What an interesting post :) I can tell you my holds list at the library has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few minutes! One of my favorite books is called “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Luiz Zafon. It is a thriller originally written in Spanish and apparently the most successful novel after Don Quixote. I read it in English of course. Could NOT put it down until I had finished it. It’s brilliant!!
great story!
here’s my small world encounter…about 12 years ago i backpacked around europe for 4 months with a good friend of mine. we had just arrived in berlin and were walking up the stairs from the train station and we turn and practically bump into her ex-boyfriend…in germany! we were all from seattle at the time and she hadn’t seen him in about a year. the conversation went something like this: “what are you guys doing here?!” “we are traveling. what are you doing here?!” and then we stood in amazement for a minute and went our separate ways. seriously crazy.
I recently moved from southern CA to WA. A few months after my move I saw a girl behind the sales desk at a Harley Davidson store. I kept on looking over at her because I thought it was a girl that I had gone to high school with back in CA. The many times I did look over at here I tried to be discrete about it because I did not want to be rude; plus, I didn’t even think it was her & that it was a girl that just looked like her- I mean what were the chances!
I finally got the courage to ask her if her name was Rachel and it was her! She was just ask shocked as I was to run into someone over 1,000 miles from our hometown. (Little side note to our random encounter- we now both live in the Puget Sound area because both our husbands are stationed in the area)
I was interested in an IKEA wardrobe on craigslist. After the first email, I realized I went to high school with the person selling it. Umm yeah, did I mention that was 20+ years since then. I picked up the wardrobe, which she ended up giving to me for $10 instead of the original asking price. We are now facebook friends and she is excited to see the the wardrobe after I’m done modifying it.
Ha! Yeah, I was once in an “open” marriage. Except he was the only one allowed to be open. The things we do when we don’t know we deserve better. It ended in divorce 3 years layer. And I still have 3 or 4 books on the subject ;)
I love fluffy, pink cover, chick lit too. But currently I’m reading the 3rd book of Twilight. I have to power through a lot of it though… When I’m done with them I think I’ll start on the True Blood books.
This is what I love about your blog, it’s never boring.
I read your blog daily and just had to share my small world story. Recently I was on a girls trip to Jamaica where I ran into a couple on their honeymoon. I work at a men’s clothing store and had actually sold the groom his wedding suit the month before in Cincinnati, OH. We were staying at the same resort!! Now that is a small world.
Hahaha! That is funny! But neat that it worked into a personal book signing ;). I have that happen with craigslist and freecycle all the time!!! I end up talking to the person for a few minutes and realize we’ve literally been next to each other before without knowing or we know of each other through someone else! Cute story!
If you’re ever stuck for something to read, try http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com.
I’ve read everything by Jill Conner Browne – HILARIOUS.
My favorite chick lit author is Marian Keyes. (I’ve read the ‘Something Borrowed’ books as well…haven’t read ‘Baby Proof’ yet, though.)
I just finished The 19th Wife – AMAZING. Right now I’m reading ‘The Girls From Ames’ – I’m really enjoying it so far.
Yay, books! :)
I LOVE Jane Green! It’s so sad, I’m an English major and would rather spend my time reading fluff than the classics :)
Anyway, just a tip for other book obsessives like me, try PaperBackSwap.com. It’s a great site that allows you to share books for basically free! This is great for people like me who sped waaaayyy too much money on books.
i noticed you like malcom gladwell! i do too! you can’t beat an author who is intelligent, witty, and incredibly interesting looking :) here is a list of some of my favorites that i think you’ll like. i seriously recommend all of them. they are all mostly nonfiction but i tried to throw in a few fiction for sherry’s sake.
in praise of slowness
hunger: an unnatural history
the end of poverty (seriously the BEST book ever – i never knew an economist could be my hero)
the poisonwood bible (fiction)
the power of one (fiction)
einstein’s dreams (fiction)
what is life worth (this is about 9/11 and the guy who had to decide how to )
listening is an act of love (the story corps project – i think bloggers would love this)
true notebooks
no future without forgiveness (this is an autobiography of a girl who hid during the rwandan conflict/civil war – i LOVE autobios)
Small world stories: My husband is the person who always knows something. OUr first year at the University of Texas (we were doing doctoral degrees, moved form Ohio), he looked over at a car in the next lane at our credit union drive thru and said, “That’s Marty Doody; I went to high school with her.” I scoffed, Yeah, right.” We went home, he checked the UT directory and she was in law school at UT. A year later, he walked with me to class, looked in the room and said, “That guy is Chuck Tracy. He was the lead in the school play in my junior year, and then moved away.” I scoffed again, but went and sat by the guy and, yes, he was Chuck Tracy, and yes he had starred in the school play that year. Now when this happens, I no longer scoff. The hubster is always right when he ids people!
Great story, and as a marriage & family therapist for years, I couldn’t agree more with you about open marriage! I think you would be interested in reading my little book just released, “A Short Guide to a Happy Marriage.” Find at amazon, borders, barnes&noble — http://www.ashortguidetoahappymarriage.com
Maybe you guys should write a book.
“Six Degrees of Yard Sale Separation” or something like that.
I just stumbled across your blog and think it’s fantastic! Thank you for providing so many interesting tidbits and great ideas!
Backstory: Last May my boyfriend of two+ years was given the ultimatum “a puppy or a ring.” I got the ring.
Closer story: The ring was shiny and all, but not very snuggly and did not greet me at the door so I started begging for a puppy. I was given the ultimatum “if you bring home a dog- I get to name it whatever I want.” I picked up my wonderful puppy that afternoon.
Enter: We are planning a wedding, at our house, our puppy Cheezburger- who we call Burger- in tow and writing a blog about the whole DIY journey and side projects along the way.
Finally: a friend of mine makes a facebook comment about this blog about a dog named Burger and a DIY wedding… And I found your wonderful blog! Thank you so much for the inspiration. Not really a small world, but great minds think alike!
Wow! Now that’s a coincidence. Good luck with the wedding and hi to Burger from Burger!
xo,
s
Awesome, I love book talk! In the spirit of Halloween, one excellent book I read awhile ago is “The Historian” by Elizabeth Kostova. Not only is the plot engaging, but it’s also very well-written. The “Time-Traveler’s Wife” is also very good. I can’t vouch for the movie, though, as I haven’t seen it yet.
A great source of cheap popular fiction, especially John Grisham novels, is Goodwill. I’ll pick up a book, read it, and then donate it back. I think of it as renting the book for $2. I love the library, too, but sometimes it takes me more than 3 weeks to read a book.
P.S. Where are the little white birds from? Sorry if you’ve already told us…
Hey Sarah,
The white birds are actually from the local yard sale where we got all those books on the cheap! And we love the idea of books from Goodwill too!
xo,
s
We were at our local county historical societies summer fair.
And in the pink elephant barn among all the books they have,
they have some other knick knacs and stuff. Usually a rack of
media that includes vinyls, CDs, VHS movies and some DVDs.
I was looking through the CDs and I gasped.
I turned to my then fiance (now husband) and dad and said…
ONE OF MY CDs IS HERE!!!!
It was an older release that was unopened and in perfect conditioned…
I know because I did all the 100 % DIY packaging.
I have a feeling I know how it got there. And all the CDs are $1.00
My husband insisted we buy it because he doesn’t have that
particular edition (I later released a limited and expanded edition
in a double album set about 4 years later).
Before we left, I showed the lady who is in charge of the fair,
whom I’ve known a long time, and told her how I thought it
got there. We got a laugh.
Anyway, I can understand how Ms. Block feels.
But in many ways, its very amusing.
Such a small world. I love the internet. I have met so many wonderful friends online and I hope to meet more now that I have started my own blog. I love to read and will read just about anything. I haven’t been reading much for the last 4 months because of the huge move coming up. I know that when we get settled it will be really cold up there (& I am from Florida) so I will have plenty of time to read. I will gladly read her book but will stick to a closed marriage, thank you very much:)
Hey! I love a good book too. I thought you might enjoy the book, “A Pattern Language” since you are designers. In short it is a book about the psychology of design. It answers why we as humans feel a certain way when we enter a room, or a house, or even a neighborhood or city. I recommend reading the intro, then peruzing the rest of the book as it intrests you. (It is kinda’ thick, but don’t be scared! The chapters are short, and it is well written, not dry and boring.) I think it was written in the 60′s, and I’m sorry I don’t remember the author.
Happy Reading!
What an awesome story and makes us remember that in fact the world really is a small one!
I have a garage sale book story: My son’s daycare provider picked up some books for a garage sale for reading to the kids. When she opened one of them and began reading she noticed that MY NAME was written in the front of the book (and my childhood phone number which is how we knew it really was my old book)! It was so insane! She gave me the book and who know where, how or when it it made it rounds back to me but somehow it did!
Great Story! I’ll just tack on a couple of reads that are well worth it (if you haven’t read them already!). They are: A Thousand Splendid Suns and Kite Runner by Khaleed Hosseni. Anything by Octavia Butler, very interesting stuff.
JESUS LAND
…amazing what this author and her brother went through in the “name of God”. I emailed her and she responded…shes in SF and would meet up for coffee. Shes rad, read her memoir…you wont be sorry! (not a christian book BTW)