Personalized Books
November 14th, 2012
Buon giorno! Often, I mail books back to people who’ve mailed them to me for a personalized greeting. Now my local bookseller, Sharon Wheeler, has offered to save everyone trips to the post office. If you’d like a book signed for yourself or a gift, please order from her, I’ll stop by and sign, and she’ll send it to you for the cost of the book plus $4.00 for her trip to the post office. Win-win–and good support for Purple Crow, a new independent bookstore owned by a real reader! She has all my books, as well as the yearly agenda.
Let her know the name of the person the book is for and if it’s for a holiday or birthday or other special occasion.
You also can order books by my fellow writers in town: Michael Malone, Lee Smith, Allen Gurganus, Jill McCorkle, Hal Crowther, Randall Keenan, Craig Nova, David Payne.
Sharon’s address, phone and email:
Purple Crow Books
109 West King Street
Hillsborough NC 27278
Telephone: 919 732 1711
Email: purplecrowbooks@gmail.com
What a simply brilliant (win-win) idea. More bookstores should do that for authors based near them.
Hurray-a book about your growing up years! I enthusiastically read every memoir in your books about Willie Belle and your mother and their bringing up the family in true 1950′s style with homemaking skills inborn. They are a charming addition to your books, and remind me of my own years growing up Methodist in a small town.
This summer when my four and twelve year old grandsons visited from California we cooked up a storm. We made Ed’s soffritto, which I have used since I first saw the recipe in “Bringing Tuscany Home”. We made it as a base for spaghetti sauce and pizza sauce, using my home canned San Marzano tomatoes. The twelve year old asked for the recipe to give to his mom , who loves to cook and entertain. The children made meatballs together and children love making pasta.
My cherry tomato plant was gigantic this year with an abundance of tomatoes. Before frost hit I collected all the tomatoes and made the roasted tomatoes from The Tuscan Sun Cookbook. Delicious! I tried freezing it in containers and tested the results. Perfect! What a great way to use those tiny fruits and experience a little piece of summer in our snowy winter.
I made the red peppers melted with balsamic vinegar and this week, when fennel was on sale at our local Farm Boy, I made the honey glazed pork loin with fennel. That is a keeper. Next on my list to try is Fiorella’s red pepper tart.
This book is adding to the pleasures of cooking. Thank you.
Denise (Ottawa, Canada)
Denise–this is so lovely to hear. If I don’t have frozen soffritto, I get cranky. Love having the roasted tomatoes on hand, as you do. Before the frost, I whirred a ton of basil leaves with olive oil in the food processor and froze cubes. All these things are so usual in Tuscany and make such a difference when time is short. Frances
This is wonderful news Frances! Thank you for your kind offer to sign all of the books … I wish more authors would make themselves available to their readers as you do. Thank you.
What a lovely idea! More special than a signed book plate. You mentioned in your last post about using a dining room for more than one use (I loved the photos!) I’ve been homeschooling my kids for 15 years now and the perimeter of our dining room is lined in book shelves. One son keeps track of the books (last count was around 1500). A lot of our schooling takes place at the table, which makes our dining room the most-used room in the house. The table is about 40 years old but our chairs came from Italy about 10 years ago. It is a busy, happy room! By the way, I was wondering how you bring Tuscany home for Thanksgiving?
Enjoy – Kate
Kate, love the idea of dining room / schoolroom. For Thanksgiving, we go All-American, except for the fresh olive oil just in. We slather that over the roasted brussel sprouts with shallots, and the roasted butternut squash, and, of course, we have bruschette. Happy Thanksgiving! Frances
How nice to hear about a new independent bookstore! I love the name too. What a great idea for local authors to do personalized greetings! I work part time at Powell’s, and everyday tourists tell me how sad they are that all the bookstores have closed in their hometowns. I so enjoyed my visit in North Carolina in September and I will definitely stop by Purple Crow next time I am in the area!
Wonderful idea to offer personally signed copies of your books through your local bookstore. Thank you. A book note: I just finished A Tuscan Childhood by Kinta Beevor and loved it.
Hello Frances,
I always order a case or two of the olive oil, but did not receive any info about ordering it this year. I did get information about ordering the cans though. Are you not using the bottles anymore? I sure would like to order a case or two. Thank you.
Laura–The info is on the website thetuscansun.com I think there’s still time to order the bottles, which will arrive in Feb. Thanks, Frances
Boun giorno!
My husband’s extended family and I (17 in all) are lucky enough to be spending a week at the Villa Laura in Cortona over New Year’s … I hope to be cooking a few recipes from your book! Can you tell me whether I will be able to purchase a bottle or two of the Bramasole oil to use while I am there? If you have any insider thoughts for New Year’s Eve in Cortona, I’d love to hear them.
Many thanks, Shelby
Shelby–Hope you have a wonderful time. Check thetuscansun.com for our olive oil info—but I think you’d be taking it over there. You can buy great oil in Cortona. Ask Marco at the enoteca on the piazza. Or, near where you’re staying the great little grocery store, Lunghini. For New Year’s, I’d suggest Locanda del Molino–really fun. Or for a more formal evening, Il Falconiere. Buon viaggio–Frances
Okay, I’ll admit two things quite publicly:
ONE: I love Purple Crow Books. The owner is a wonderful woman (I’d read profiles of her and the store in several magazines before actually encountering them in person), and I’ll be doing all my book-shopping there. Suffice it to say that it takes a LOT to persuade me (as has happened) to stop being an Amazon-com cheapskate and to deliberately spend money where it’ll go towards keeping a very fine store open.
TWO: I went down to the market and bought some fresh, good bread last week. Then?….I sat down, all on my lonesome at noon in my kitchen, and opened my very-own bottle of Bramasole olive oil…..from the most recent harvest.
Quite frankly?…..
I’ve often wondered what all the fuss was about when it came to olive oil, and I’ve quietly (ignorantly, to be more precise) assumed the fuss was mostly affectation….right up there with the babblings of amateur wine “experts”.
I was wrong. This oil was wonderful (who knew olive oil could be complex & “peppery”?), and I can now see why folks go on and on about fresh olive oil (what would I know?…I grew up in Tennessee and never even saw olive oil until I was at least thirty, and I never saw an olive tree until I was forty). To be honest, I had my first taste, and I found myself suddenly recalling that Gershwin song “How Long Has this Been Going On?”.
So, my first christmas present for this year has been to learn something new…..which is a Good Thing.
Level Best as Ever,
David Terry
http://www.davidterryart.com
- Have watched out little New England town lose its bookstores and florists – So, we drive an hour to shop at two fabulous bookstores (Oblong in Millerton, Bookloft in Great Barrington) because they are wonderful people, will order any book we need, carry an assortment that inspires, AND it’s important to feel the book, look at the type, the cover, before taking it home…. Too many on-line book purchases turned out to be cheap for a reason – even on new printings, faded ink, cheap paper, ….. Always love the bricks and mortar bookstore near you…If you don’t, you’ll miss it when it’s gone
Buona Sera from South Florida. I just finished reading Every Day in Tuscany and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. My first trip to Italy consisted of finding my family in Castlenuovo Parano, then on to Cosenza for two weeks of Italy, southern style – all friends and family visits and not one lick of English !! I found it very difficult to leave Italy and your book brought out those emotions all over again. Only a few will ever get to visit, experience the culture, and find a real connection that is difficult to express, yet you easily do this through your writing! I am looking forward to reading more of your books so that I may vicariously enjoy the motherland. E stato un vero piacere!
Dear Frances,
Just recieved my autographed copy of your cookbook, intended for Christmas gift for mom and friend- beautiful, as always!
Thanks so much to you and the Mr. and to the good lady who runs the bookshop…My mom is going to love it!
Best regards from a long time fan
Ms. Mayes
Thank you for taking time for this question.What Mediterranean plants
have you or any friends grown in the U.S,if any?And was one of these cold tolerant?I really would like to have a special kind of jasmine that I saw when I was traveling.I have’nt yet found the official name for it.
If you can reply, I will be grateful.
Laura, the US has SO many climates. I think all Mediterranean plants would flourish somewhere! Many do not love humidity–and, as you say, cold. Best get a good gardening book on your particular area and look up plants you like. I’ve babied a key lime plant here in NC and may give up. It just does not like its winter sojourn in the sunroom. Frances