My new website!

I am so excited to premiere my new improved website! Same address: www.annhood.us. Check it out!

Come to The Summer Book Bash in Westhampton!

Join bestselling authors Ann Hood (The Knitting Circle, The Obituary Writer) and Jason Mott (The Returned) at the Westhampton Library for a Summer Book Bash! Ann Hood will talk about her newest book An Italian Wife and Jason Mott will talk about The Returned. Both will be on hand for autographing. Attendees will have an opportunity to purchase and have signed An Italian Wife a week ahead of its official publication date.

Following the authors' talk, the festivities begin with a "shout & share" in which all are welcome to talk about their favorite summer reads as well as vote for their favorite book of the summer. Food, raffles, prizes and more prizes will add to the celebration of books and reading.

Ann Hood's new novel An Italian Wife spans the course of three wars and almost a century. It is a multi-generational saga chronicling the story of the Rimaldi family; from the first generation who immigrated to the United States from Italy on the cusp of the twentieth century, to their great grandchildren. This is the American experience writ small, explored through the lens of one immigrant family.

"I loved Ann Hood's An Italian Wife in the same way I loved Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge - and for the same reason. The interconnected stories that fan out from a central character - in this case, matriarch Josephine Rimaldi - illuminate important truths about the ways in which our families, our ancestry, and the era into which we're born shape who we become. An Italian Wife is a multi-generational masterpiece." (Wally Lamb, author ofShe's Come Undone)

"An Italian Wife is glorious. The life of Josephine Rimaldi is the heart of this multi-generational family saga with deep, fertile roots in southern Italy.  Reading this novel was like taking a luscious train ride through the last century.  Full of surprise and wonder, the writing is at turns poetic and sensitive, then dynamic and wise.  Ann Hood is a master craftsman.  This resplendent novel is a grand crescendo in a pitch-perfect career." (Adriana Trigiani, author of The Shoemaker's Wife)

Last year when the poet Jason Mott tried his hand as a novelist, he took the book world by storm with his dazzling, New York Times bestselling debut novel, The Returned.  This disquieting and wholly original story about the dead returning to live once more among their loved ones struck a collective nerve among readers. Praised for its "emotional delicacy" (People) and "singularly eloquent voice" (Booklist), the novel was routinely called "breathtaking" (Kirkus), "masterly" (Library Journal), "exceptional...[and] riveting" (Publishers Weekly). The Returned attracted an even broader audience when it became the basis for ABC television's biggest new hit series, Resurrection.

Registration for this event is required and space is limited.  To register, please call the library at 631-288-3335. 

Location: 

7 Library Ave.

Westhampton Beach

, 

New York

11978

United States

Event Location: 

Westhampton Free Library

Date and Time TBD: 

Use the Date and Time

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Last day in London...

...don't want to leave!

Yesterday we took in the mummies at the British Museum, strolled around Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, sat at a cafe and people watched, finished up with most delicious dinner at Nopi (twice cooked chicken, corn and polenta, rainbow chard). 

It's been rainy and from time to time we change our plans. Love the fluidity of these days, our morning coffees and hours at Foyle's Bookstore, riding the (double decker) buses, stumbling upon Carnaby Street. 

Today: Borough Market for certain. But then? Anything goes. 

Lying here awake, thinking about the novel in progress, realized I went in the wrong direction. Can't wait to turn on computer and hit delete! The joy of thinking. 

And the joy of tea time! At Tea and Tattle. 

Tower of London

Walked there from our hotel on a glorious cool afternoon. The poppies were impressive! And the Tower too, of course. Tales of Anne Boleyn's talking head, the mystery of the imprisoned princes, the armour and executioner's axe...what's not to love? Line for the Crown Jewels was almost an hour, so we skipped them this time. 

1AM now and Annabelle beside me reading, both of us wide awake. Jet lag should end just when we go home!

London!

Arrived in London today with Annabelle and buddy Jane. Beautiful cool weather! And already smitten with this city, as I am every time I visit here. 

We made the long schlep from Heathrow to our hotel, Bermondsey Square, in a very groovy part of town near London Bridge. After breakfast (Jane had something called an egg and bacon butty, which was good for laughs all day) and a swing on the plastic swing in the lobby, we went straight to the Tate Modern and the Matisse Cut Outs exhibit. Surely one of my favorite exhibits ever. For one thing, the art made me happy. For another, the audio guide was brilliant. For another, the show was so well curated. And I bought four Matisse inspired glass rings for 12 pounds! We snoozed the rest of the afternoon, then woke in time for cocktails in hotel bar before dashing across the street to meet friends at Antico for dinner, which was convivial and yummy. 

My roommates here are snoring away, which is making me a little crabby since I've been awake since 1:30. Ah! Jet lag! However even this isn't tainting our most perfect first day. 

Today we will go to the Tower of London where in addition to the usual stuff there's an art installation of over 888,000 ceramic poppies installed, one for every British soldier killed in the Great War. 

Read about it here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world

-war-one/11021743/Row-on-row-the-poppies-flow-at-the-Tower-of-London.html

Back to school

If you're like me, the year starts in September, not January. The smell of new pencils and chalk dust, Indian summer and that first red leaf on a tree. And school! I'm delighted to be teaching an online essay writing class through the Provincetown Fine Arts Center. Would love to see you there. 

http://www.fawc.org/24pearlstreet/workshops_new.php?session=Fall

Road trip!

Awake here in Charlston, SC because I've been eating glorious food, but too much of it. Wishing I had an Alka Seltzer! Sigh. 

But a good time to write about this most wonderful road trip with Cousin GJ and Annabelle. How I love a road trip! And this short one has me dreaming of planning a longer one. Maybe next summer? Thoughts of driving up to PEI, or through northern CA and up through Oregon, or around Portugal and Spain (can you drive to Morocco?!) are dancing in my head...

We left yesterday morning, stopped in Delaware for something called The Bobbie (a turkey sandwich of impressive heft), drove directly to Peter Chang's China Cafe in Short Pump, VA for Sichuan food (fried dried eggplant is now my new favorite thing), then slept happily in a Hilton before hitting the road again. Today our lunch stop was at Wilbur's BBQ in Goldboro, NC. It was fine, not mind blowing. Except the chicken gravy they serve you to dip your hush puppies in. That was revelatory. I was disappointed we couldn't stop at Ava Gardner's childhood home, but we had a 7:30 reservation at 82 Queen here in charlston so had to hit the road. Our room in The Elliot House is all southern charm. There's a courtyard below and I feel like I'm in Streetcar Named Desire. Champagne waiting for us. Two Bourbony manhattans, fried oysters, and shrimp and grits. Enter that Alka Seltzer I'm dreaming of. 

Biggest surprise? We are listening to the first Harry Potter book on tape and it is entertaining us all. I can't believe how much it makes me laugh. And it provided lively speculation at dinner tonight. Yes, it's true. I've never read the books or seen the movies. I started book 1, and Sam and Grace had no interest. So we moved on to other pursuits. Now I tracked down a copy of book 2 on tape to get us back to RI! A wonderful surprise this has been, and such good company these many miles. 

I've missed knitting my blanket, but as the driver I've time only to look for license plates to add to our map. We have spotted over  thirty, snagging Alabama and New Mexico today at last. The Dakotas, Hawaii, and Alaska are the plums. But we have all the way back home to spot them. 

Today we stay put in Charlston, eating dinner at Husk, the motivation for our trip here. It's right next door, so we have spotted it already. And after shopping and a sunset boat ride, it should be the perfect ending to our time here.