Happy Holidays! We know y'all are so busy this season so we've kept our December list short and sweet. We'll be giving them all away to one lucky winner! Leave a comment here or on our Facebook page and you'll be entered to #win. Contest closes December 18th at 8am PST. Good luck!
Elin Hilderbrand's 5 Do's and a Do-Over
I'm sure you're not surprised to hear that our close friends and family come to us for most of their book recommendations. Anyone who has stepped foot in either of our houses knows that we read A LOT of books. (And we have the overflowing bookshelves to prove it!) And we have a few picky readers on our hands that we only recommend the VERY best books. Liz has someone in particular that she always really want to impress with her awesome book choosing prowess.....her Mom.
So after she ate up Elin Hilderbrand's Silver Girl in eight hours flat over Memorial Day weekend, she felt totally comfortable giving it a double thumbs up to her Mom. And she thinks that you'll love it also!
That's why we're totally stoked to have the fabulous Elin sharing her 5 Do's and a Do-Over today. We're huge fans of all her fantastic books and think that Silver Girl should be on your MUST-READ list this summer.
In Silver Girl, Meredith Martin Delinn just lost everything: her friends, her homes, her social standing - because her husband Freddy cheated rich investors out of billions of dollars.
Desperate and facing homelessness, Meredith receives a call from her old best friend, Constance Flute. Connie's had recent worries of her own, and the two depart for a summer on Nantucket in an attempt to heal. But the island can't offer complete escape, and they're plagued by new and old troubles alike. When Connie's brother Toby - Meredith's high school boyfriend - arrives, Meredith must reconcile the differences between the life she is leading and the life she could have had.
Set against the backdrop of a Nantucket summer, Elin Hilderbrand delivers a suspenseful story of the power of friendship, the pull of love, and the beauty of forgiveness.
You're dying to read it now, right? Well, good thing we have FIVE copies to give away! Just leave a comment and you'll be entered. We'll choose the winners after 6pm PST on Sunday June 26th.
And now for Elin's 5 Do's and a Do-Over. We are lovin' her vices!
CHICK LIT S NOT DEAD PRESENTS...ELIN HILDERBRAND'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER
1. Do read the best fiction available. I always say that reading is as much a part of my job as writing. I am a very "nerdy" reader in that I have a list of books I plan to read and I do not deviate. I also read from beginning to end and I never give up on a book, no matter how difficult or dull I'm finding it. I get my book recommendations from magazines, just like everyone else, but I also have a few very close and trusted reader friends who feed me must-read titles. I go back and read the classics as well. This spring, I read The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. Do travel. I've traveled on six continents. Being in another country, and especially a country where the citizens are not thinking about your country, is a very elucidating experience. My favorite countries are Vietnam and South Africa. The place I've been where America and American culture is completely irrelevant was Chile. The Chilenos have their own fabulous thing going on, and it has nothing to do with us.
3. Do have a vice. Mine is sitting in the sun. It's as bad for me as smoking two packs of cigarettes a day, and I'm sure I look like I'm a hundred years old even though I'm only forty-one, but I love the beach, the ocean, and the sun and I'm not giving it up.
4. Do have two vices. My second vice is French champagne. I drink Veuve Clicquot. It's expensive and it gives me a headache, but I wouldn't want to live without it. Best enjoyed very very cold, preferably with some fresh oysters while wearing very high heels.
5. Do listen. We're only put on this earth once, and for a short time. The most important thing we can do is to connect with other human beings and to connect in a meaningful way, we have to listen to one another. This is especially crucial if you're a doctor, a divorce lawyer, or, like me, a writer who is constantly trying to emulate true human interaction on the page.
DO-OVER
If I could do one thing over it would be to learn to say no. My thirties especially were marked by me saying yes to everything and everyone, and running around like a crazy chicken because I was overcommitted and overextended. At one point, I was writing novels, raising three children, and sitting on three boards and two committees. Now when I think someone is going to ask me to do something or join something where I will have to do something, I just offer to donate money, and that usually accomplishes the dual goal of shutting the asker up and saving me time.
Thanks Elin! xoxo, L&L