Daily Archives: August 16, 2015

Of Birds, Bees and Birthdays

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My darling daughter’s birthday is in August. A lot of my relatives and friends have August birthdays. My curiosity about this apparent birthday boom led me to research which months are most popular for birthdays; they are September, August and July, in that order. Actually, once you do the math, it’s really about which months are most popular for baby making. Not surprisingly, winter weather and holidays lend themselves to cozying up with someone and letting nature take its course.

This blog post is about “b”s. Not about the bird and the bees, but about birthdays. Birthdays are such potent symbols in our lives, for good or ill, for celebration or sadness. Birthdays represent, in a single day, the connection between yesterday and tomorrow. Farewell and hello. What a great source of inspiration for memorable literature. Here is a list of books where a birthday lays the groundwork or becomes the catalyst for a great story:

Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins
The Three Sisters – Anton Chekhov
The Fellowship of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien
The Birthday Party – Harold Pinter
Wise Children – Angela Carter
Atonement – Ian McEwan
Bel Canto – Ann Patchett
The Line of Beauty – Alan Hollinghurst

Want to treat a child to a good birthday-themed book? Consider one of these:

A Bear Called Paddington – Michael Bond
Happy Birthday, Moon – Frank Asch
Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday – Mélanie Watt
Mr. Badger and the Big Surprise – Leigh Hobbs
The Secret Birthday Message – Eric Carle

For those of you reading this on your birthday, Happy Birthday. And to the rest, a very Happy Un-Birthday!

Recommended

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BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™ is delighted to welcome NY Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster to a book signing and wine tasting at TASTE Food & Wine, 1506 W. Jarvis Avenue, Chicago, from 5-8 p.m. on August 20th to celebrate her newest book, The Best of Enemies, published by NAL on August 4, 2015.

Jen’s books, including Bitter is the New Black, The Tao of Martha and I Regret Nothing, received rave reviews from The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, InStyle and many more.

The Best of Enemies is told from the alternating perspectives of two women who define the term “frenemies”. It is a story of friendship, rivalry, road trips, and the glue that holds it all together—a mutual friend. Books will be available for purchase and signing. On-site book sales will be handled by The Book Cellar.

Reflecting the road trip aspect of The Best of Enemies, the wines to be featured are quality bi-coastal selections: “a voluptuous California chardonnay and a scintillating New York riesling,” announced wine maven Phoebe Snowe, owner of TASTE Food & Wine. Both selections, and others, will be available for sale.

Click on video to see the cute promo video introducing BOOKS ‘n’ BOTTLES™.

Quotable

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I grabbed a pile of dust, and holding it up, foolishly asked for as many birthdays as the grains of dust, I forgot to ask that they be years of youth. — Ovid

With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come. – William Shakespeare

God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well. — Voltaire

The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been. – Madeleine L’Engle

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! — Dr. Seuss