Monday Give Away!
One of the perks of my profession is that I sometimes wind up with double copies of wonderful books. In the interest of sharing the joy (and freeing up room on my bookshelf), every Monday I’ll be giving away a new book.
This week? I have a brand new hardcover copy of Phaedra Patrick’s The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper
Here’s the official blurb:
Don’t miss this curiously charming debut! In this hauntingly beautiful story of love, loneliness and self-discovery, an endearing widower embarks on a life-changing adventure.
Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper lives a simple life. He gets out of bed at precisely 7:30 a.m., just as he did when his wife, Miriam, was alive. He dresses in the same gray slacks and mustard sweater vest, waters his fern, Frederica, and heads out to his garden.
But on the one-year anniversary of Miriam’s death, something changes. Sorting through Miriam’s possessions, Arthur finds an exquisite gold charm bracelet he’s never seen before. What follows is a surprising and unforgettable odyssey that takes Arthur from London to Paris and as far as India in an epic quest to find out the truth about his wife’s secret life before they met—a journey that leads him to find hope, healing and self-discovery in the most unexpected places.
Featuring an unforgettable cast of characters with big hearts and irresistible flaws, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is a joyous celebration of life’s infinite possibilities.
For a chance to win a copy of The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper
If you had a charm bracelet, what charm(s) would be on it?
One person will be chosen at random to receive The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper
I DO have a charm bracelet, and I have TWO favorite charms. One is the little gold boy, and one is a little gold girl — they represent my two children. My boy is now 42 and my girl is now 37!!!
A shamrock (Irish heritage), an anchor (for my father), an airplane (I’m a flight attendant), and an elephant (they’re my favorite).
My husband gave me a beautiful gold charm bracelet with two special charms. We got engaged on Martha’s Vineyard. One charm is in the shape of the island of Martha’s Vineyard and the other is the ferry boat we took to the island. I received the bracelet exactly 10 years after he proposed.
My charm would be a ribbon, since I’m a 6-month breast cancer survivor!
I would have a book charm on it 🙂 This story sounds so sweet.
I do have a charm bracelet with a Kansas (Land of the Wizard of Oz) charm for the state where I was born, a little Eiffel tower charm for Paris where I lived as a young child, a state of Alabama charm for where I went to college (Auburn), a state of GA charm for where I met and married my husband, a little cruise ship charm from our honeymoon, a tiny cable car charm from San Francisco to remember a trip with my husband and our youngest child, a pineapple charm from a wonderful visit to Hawaii, a Chattanooga Choo Choo train charm, a New York City Big Apple charm, a Mississippi riverboat charm, and a tiny airplane charm to always find my way back home again.
I have a charm bracelet from my grandmother, and it’s completely jammed with charms – the thing weighs probably a pound at least. It’s got charms from NYC and I think the Eiffel tower, a sewing machine, scissors, a shamrock, sunglasses, a tag engraved with (I think) her birth date, her initial, and all kinds of other things. It’s pretty cool to look at. My mom has a similar one. I never got into bracelets but my favorite charm on a necklace is a llama that my grandfather brought me from when he visited South America.
I got a charm bracelet for my 21st birthday. I have several charms from my semester studying abroad in the USA, an elephant from a trip to Thailand, a mortarboard from when I graduated from my undergrad degree, and several charms sitting in bag that need to be attached.
My grandmother has travel so extensively that she has two charm bracelets, both full, with more than a hundred charms total collected from all over the world. Each is beautiful and detailed and has a story attached – luckily she has written each charm and it’s purchase location down so that she (and we) can remember!
I do have a charm bracelet and I have charms related to the fairy tale theme <3 . Icing on the cake: all the charms are presents from my partner, and my parents. I cherish it. A lot!!!
I do have a charm bracelet. There are too many charms to name them all, but they commemorate my college graduation, wedding, pets, my favorite holidays, my home state, music, tea, and such.
I have charms! My 2 favorite are my Cubs baseball charm and my Mom charm given to me by one if my daughters! And the book sounds great! Thank you
The Dixie…a paddle wheel boat that travels my lake every summer. Represents history, summer and joy!
I’ve had several charm bracelets throughout my life. My first included charms from vacations with my parents including Disney World’s castle. My next was a Brighton one from friends and that included a purse charm for shopping. My one now was a Pandora given by my family on my Christmas Eve birthday. I have Mickey ears(my niece works for the Mouse), a love charm, an Epcot globe (we spend time there for my birthday) and a boat one. The boat reminds of the first disney cruise when I took my niece and nephew. It made me cry since it came from all of them. I wear it proudly and it reminds me I am loved on those cruddy days.
Three whippets for the three whippets we’ve owned, a greyhound the greyhound we own, a butterfly for my daughter, and a duckling for my son.
I have a family charm on my bracelet that my daughter, sister and I all have that match. We got them after my dad passed away recently.
As much as I love my charm bracelet, it’s tough when you’re on a keyboard so much. I do have charms for Texas & Louisiana, plus some sweet baby boy ones. I now favor more charms for pendants, too! Always appreciate your giveaways and I do need a new fall read.
I would want a heart charm to remind me of all those I love.
I do have a charm bracelet but I would love a charm of a lighthouse. I am planning on getting one just haven’t found one yet.
A book, a dog, a cat, and a cup of tea. Which pretty much sums up my life, and maybe a video game controller in honor of my husband.
I have a charm that represents every place I’ve traveled to. As a person that has lived in many countries, I find it impractical to get big items as a memento. Instead, I get charms that represent the country that I am in. Sometimes it’s obvious (Ireland is a harp), but sometimes it’s a bit more obscure and personal(Greece is a sailboat).
I’d have one with as many different cupcake charms as I could find. Maybe other baked goods too.
I do have a charm bracelet but my ideal one would have all my favorite things! A boy for my wonderful son, two dogs for my sweet fur babies, a book for my favorite pastime and a Marine Mom charm to show my pride for my amazing son!
Flowers. Wild flowers from the places I’ve spent time.
Hummingbird and books!
My mother started one for me when I was a little girl. It has a mad money dollar folded into a tiny clear cube with a hammer that says use in case of emergency. I have the Unisphere for the 1964 NY World’s fair, a ballet
slipper, a nurse’s cap a pin from the National Honor Society, and a few others, happy memories.
An old-fashioned key. You never know when a door comes along that needs unlocking.
Birthstone charms for my husband and daughter, a Bermuda flag because it’s the most beautiful place I have been so far. A seashell or seaglass for love of the beach. A book, a bead (love to do beadwork), and maybe a sun and moon, oh and a butterfly and flowers.
It’s funny to look at my childhood charm bracelet to see which activities I still do (tennis, reading) and which I have dropped (piano, unfortunately!) Now it would probably be a suitcase to represent traveling!
If I had a charm bracelet, I would have a small airplane to represent my husband, a pilot who loves to fly, and my daughter Piper, named after an airplane. I’d also likely have an angel to remind me of my mom who is fascinated by them.
I have three favorite charm bracelets, one a reading books theme, another with charms from my favorite beaches and one with charms from high school and college.
A Starbucks cup because that’s what’s fueling me right now with a 2 year old and 10 month old. 🙂
I almost got a charm bracelet with my kids’ initials but opted for a necklace with the same instead.
I have multiple charm bracelets with charms representing everything from high school until now. Some of my favorites are a hula girl from Hawait when my husband and I went on our honeymoon, comedy/tragedy masks for my theatre involvement and a Bible. I love charms!!
I would have a Michigan State University Spartan charm!
Let’s see…..
Cinderella’s castle, yarn, pineapple, cupcake, sand dollar
A book, a boy, a girl, a cat, a Brutus Buckeye, and an anchor.
I would like to have a key, a book, a cat and Greek Acropolis in it.
My curious charms would be reminders of my favorite stories of the ones I love. One would be a four leaf clover; my mother’s aunt would pay silver dollars (to buy time with her sister and busy the children) for every four leaf clover found. Another would be a piano because my grandfather could play any song by ear but never knew how to read sheet music nor their placement on the keys. And a third would be a coconut pie, it may be my favorite pie but every one in the family envied how high my grandma could make her meringue peak.
I had a charm bracelet in high school that had a hope chest among the charms. More recently, my granddaughter gave me a necklace with a heart that holds charms. She put an angel, my birthstone, and the word grandma inside.
Sounds like an interesting book!
I would have a pig for my herd of American Guinea Hogs, and the initials of my two children.