The 362 pages - including the epilogue - are handwritten and illustrated by Susan.
It's a fast and pleasurable read, and was hard to put down once I started. It was so good that I almost felt sad when I finished it. So I went to my bookshelf and took the second book in the trilogy, Fairy Tale Girl, and reread it.
I traveled to Grand Rapids in the fall of 2013 for Susan's book signing for the first book in the trilogy, A Fine Romance. You can read my blog post about the signing here. Unfortunately, she didn't do any book signings in Michigan for Isle of Dreams or The Fairy Tale Girl.
Susan wrote her very first book in 1986 [which she talks about in Isle of Dreams]. It was a cookbook called Heart of the Home - Notes From a Vineyard Kitchen. To commemorate the 30th Anniversary of her first book [which was a huge success] it's been revised and expanded and is now back in print. I ordered a copy and can hardly wait to make some of the recipes.
If you haven't read Susan's books, I highly recommend them. She has a great blog too. You can find it listed on my sidebar. She's a tea lover, so there's always lots of references to tea in all her writings.
Thanks for the review. I need to put this one on my list.
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading "Isle of Dreams", too, and I am going to re-read "A Fine Romance" now. When I read about the book-signing you attended I was sorry to see she wasn't coming close to me on that tour - but this time she DID, and I drove a couple of hours to Woodstock, GA, to meet her and have my book signed. Even though it was 102 degrees there that afternoon, it was worth it! (but I was glad to get back to my mountains afterward. Susan is a wonderful artist and author, and her books are treasures.
ReplyDeleteI am a huge fan of Susan Branch, too. When I read Fairy Tale Girl, I read it in one sitting. You are right, you can't put them down. Since they were written out of order, I want to go back and read them IN ORDER! I will need a cozy spot, unlimited cups of tea and maybe some scones and a lot of quiet time to savor. I really feel we are all her "girl friends". I haven't ordered the NEW Heart of the Home, but I will. I have two copies of all her cookbooks, my own and the ones I bought for my late mother.
ReplyDeleteAren't those just the BEST books? I reread the first two before I got the third one and it was just as exciting as the first time! A few weeks ago, my husband and I drove 4 1/2 hours to see Susan at Book People in Austin, Texas. My sister is a huge fan too and she and her husband met us there. It was so fun to hear her speak and that Joe, he was just as friendly as can be!
ReplyDelete