Heads Up! August 1 Will be a Great Day for Me!

• The movers will begin moving furniture to my new Studio, Gallery, and School of Art.
• I’ll launch my Free Book with a Movie Club: Throwback Thursdays.

Each month, we’ll read together an older book that has been made into a movie. On the final Thursday of each month, we’ll get together and watch the book/movie of the month. Because all of the titles chosen for this club are older, I’m calling this club Throwback Thursdays.

Throwback Thursdays is an adult-only club. I’ll serve tea, water, and coffee. If anyone prefers wine, he or she should bring his or her own wine. The event is free, but I am asking that attendees bring a snack, a dish, a salad, or a dessert.

I am also offering other free opportunities for children, but Throwback Thursdays is only for adults.

August 1 is also the day before Water Valley, Mississippi, celebrates the Watermelon Festival. Regardless of that fact, I’ll launch our study of Tuck Everlasting online on that day. Because of the following quote from the book, I always celebrate the book Tuck Everlasting on the first day of August:

“The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel….” Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting.

We’ll discuss the book Tuck Everlasting on August 21.

We’ll watch the movie Tuck Everlasting on August 28

On September 4, we’ll celebrate William Faulkner’s Birthday by reading and discussing his story A Rose for Emily.

In September, we’ll read together The Grass Harp by Truman Capote, and we’ll watch that movie. The movie is absolute magic–it is nothing like Capote’s In Cold Blood. The Grass Harp is sweet and innocent. In that it is semi-autobiograpical, it is an excellent read for memoir writers.

In October, we’ll read together Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. In my opinion, Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of the most masterfully written books of the twentieth century. Watching that movie during the season of Halloween is my tradition.

In November, we’ll begin celebrating the holidays by reading together The Velveteen Rabbit.

Short and Delightfully Precious, we’ll watch the Meryl Streep/George Winston version of this movie in November.

There is a free version of the book The Velveteen Rabbit online. I’ll provide that link later.

During December, we’ll read together The Christmas Carol, and at our Christmas party, we’ll watch the movie.

On January 25th, we’ll celebrate the birthday of Robert Burns and all things Scottish. Robert Burns was born in 1759. He was a poet/lyricist. Most of his poems [like Auld Lang Syne] have become songs.

In February of 2026, we’ll celebrate the excellence of the book and movie The Color Purple.

In March of 2026, we’ll honor women writers and the book and movie Secret Garden,

I’ll also mention the women children’s writers who changed my life:

In April, we’ll celebrate the birthday of Harper Lee by reading To Kill   Mockingbird and by watching the movie

.In May we’ll celebrate the birthday of L. Frank Baum  by reading The Wizard of  Oz and by watching the movie.

The book and movie for June of 2026 is Moorchild, a book about the old Celts, their culture, and their traditions–including Midsummer’s Eve.

The book and movie for July of 2026 is To Kill a Mockingbird.

The book and movie for August 2026 is Tuck Everlasting.

The book and movie for September 2026  is The Grass Harp.

The book and movie for October  2026  is Something Wicked This Way Comes.

The book and movie for November 2026  is The Wizard of Oz.