Book Swap Level Up!

I'm always game for trying a new book (though my progress on my Book Gap Challenge is less than stellar). So when the Teach Mentor Texts crew announced the idea of holding several Book Swap events this year, I jumped into the fray.

Our first mission, should we choose to accept it?

Send a "favorite" that would appeal to our bookswap buddy.

No sweat! I know tons of books, and I always have a standby favorite novel for anyone who asks, right? Well, it turned out to be not as easy as I thought.

What made it so challenging? My assigned partner's information showed up in my email and I squealed with delight. What nugget of bookish goodness could I share? What would she like to read?

I scanned down to the bottom of the form to see what she likes to read. My mouth dropped open. There, in plain writing, was the phrase:

"I absolutely love romance books."

Crap! While many of the books I've adored have at least a breath of love and longing within their pages, none of them could truly be classified as "Romance". I wracked my brain, desperate to find the perfect match for my buddy. What could I do??

Then.... I had it. The perfect book. It is one I often refer to as a "masterpiece", but haven't read it years. It's fantasy, but the sweeping love story within its pages would surely appeal to a romance reader. Or at least, I hope it will. I dashed out to the bookstore....

No dice. Not there. 

They didn't even have it available to order in a timely manner! I don't know if any of you have heard of Alibris, but I hoped it would be my savior. Alibris is a site that specializes in finding hard to find or out of print books. Would they have it?

Score!

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay

Having the book arrive safe and sound at my house wasn't the end of the saga, though. Oh, no. I shipped it off via my trust USPS office, slipped into a mailer envelope. 

Thankfully, I'd forgotten to take out the little slip of paper that had MY address on it, because it showed up back at my house a few days later. I have no idea what happened... maybe the envelope disintegrated? A second bookmark and hand written note later, and I was off to UPS this time. A bit more expensive, but the email I got letting me know that Tigana had arrived was worth it. 

So, Kara... I hope you love this book! 

And now... for the receiving end of the swap. 

I was thrilled to receive a book that looks amazing..

The Gathering Night

Thanks, Bev! I'll dive into it soon, once I get those pesky overdue library books finished. 

Goodreads Summary: Between Grandmother Mountain and the cold sea, Alaia and her family live off the land. But when one of her brothers goes hunting and never returns, the fragile balance of life is upset. Half-starved and maddened with grief, Alaia's mother follows her visions and goes in search of her lost son. Then a stranger from a rival tribe appears on their hearth seeking shelter. Are his stories of a great wave and a people perished really to be believed? What else could drive a man to travel alone between tribes in the depths of winter?

Hopes of resolution come when Alaia's mother returns home as a Go-Between, one able to commune with the spirits. But as all the Auk people come together for their annual Gathering Night, who there will listen to the voice of a woman?

The Gathering Night is a story of conflict, loss, love, adventure and devastating natural disasters. This utterly enchanting pre-historical novel is set deep in our stone-age past, but resonates as a parable of our troubled planet 8000 years on.

I'm participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge, hosted by the amazing educators at Two Writing Teachers. Stop by to see what others are posting!

Also - if you stop by and comment, and you are also slicing - PLEASE feel free to include your URL in the comments. With over 200 people slicing, it is often hard to go find your specific link on the Two Writing Teachers page, and I'd love to come read YOUR slice too!