Peeking Between the Pages

...escape into the pages of a good book

Waiting on Wednesday (Jan 20)

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Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.


My pick this week is Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life by Frances Mayes releasing March 9, 2010 from Broadway. This is apparently a sequel to Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany, both of which I loved so I am anxiously waiting for this one for sure! Here’s a bit about it from Amazon.com…

In this sequel to her New York Times bestsellers Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany, the celebrated “bard of Tuscany” (New York Times) lyrically chronicles her continuing, two decades-long love affair with Tuscany’s people, art, cuisine, and lifestyle.

Frances Mayes offers her readers a deeply personal memoir of her present-day life in Tuscany, encompassing both the changes she has experienced since Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany appeared, and sensuous, evocative reflections on the timeless beauty and vivid pleasures of Italian life. Among the themes Mayes explores are how her experience of Tuscany dramatically expanded when she renovated and became a part-time resident of a 13th century house with a stone roof in the mountains above Cortona, how life in the mountains introduced her to a “wilder” side of Tuscany–and with it a lively engagement with Tuscany’s mountain people. Throughout, she reveals the concrete joys of life in her adopted hill town, with particular attention to life in the piazza, the art of Luca Signorelli (Renaissance painter from Cortona), and the pastoral pleasures of feasting from her garden. Moving always toward a deeper engagement, Mayes writes of Tuscan icons that have become for her storehouses of memory, of crucible moments from which bigger ideas emerged, and of the writing life she has enjoyed in the room where Under the Tuscan Sun began.

With more on the pleasures of life at Bramasole, the delights and challenges of living in Italy day-to-day and favorite recipes, Every Day in Tuscany is a passionate and inviting account of the richness and complexity of Italian life.

Sounds positively wonderful to me and I can’t wait to read it! What about you? What are you waiting for this week?

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  2. This is going on my wish list. I read Under the Tuscan Sun a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. I'd love to know what Frances has been up to since that book : )

  3. It does sound wonderful. I promised myself to read more travel books to help me explore the world since I don't think I'll be travelling much 🙂

  5. I know it is a predictable chick flick, but I love Under the Tuscan Sun. I bought it and have it on my iPod, whenever I need a pick-me-up. If this book is half as charming as that movie, it's going to be a keeper!

  6. I really need to start these books – I heard that the movie for Under the Tuscan Sun was really good. I need to read more books set in Italy.

    Thanks for the heads up Dar!

  8. Someone ( can't remember who) reviewed this book this week. It sounds fabulous. I want to read it too.

  9. I was not a huge fan of Under the Tuscan Sun, but I did love the movie. The cover of this book is gorgeous, but I'm not sure I'll read it, as her writing style doesn't appeal to me much. I hope you enjoy it!

  12. Darlene, I'll have to check this book out. I enjoyed her other books alot. Thanks for the review!

  13. I loved the movie Under the Tuscan Sun but couldn't get into the book. I may try another time but I do like books set in Italy.

  14. I'm thrilled that Frances Mayes is writing another book! I loved Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany. Thank you Dar for posting about this book!
    Did you ever read "A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle? It's about the British author and his wife's first year living in Provence in a 200-year old farmhouse (that doesn't have heat!). He's a wonderful, witty writer and tells some very funny & interesting stories about neighbors, townspeople and experiences he had while settling in in the south of France! He followed this book with "Toujours Provence" and others. I highly recommend them!

  16. I would like to read this one too Dar. I read Under the Tuscan Sun. At the time it wasn't a fav..but it grew on me…I just know I'd love this one. I didn't know there was another one either.