Indie Thursday- Browseabout Books

Today is #IndieThursday, where we talk about the great indie bookstores we love. A few weeks ago, my husband's entire family went to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, where one of my favorite indie bookstores is- Browseabout Books.

Not only did I get to visit Browseabout, but they had two terrific signings- Dorothea Benton Frank and Hoda Kotb. Dottie gave a wonderful talk and Browseabout had wine, cheese and fruit for the happy participants. She was gracious and asked us all where we were from, and talked about how she got started in her writing, her process and the true story  she heard that she couldn't wait to put in a book. (It's in her new novel The Last Original Wife and it's a doozy. My review of the book is here.)

Dottie has very loyal fans, and many of the women there had read most of Dottie's books and talked about their favorites. Some of the women had driven more than a few hours to get there; now that is dedication.

Dottie Frank and me

A few days later, Hoda Kotb, who co-hosts the 4th hour of the Today Show with Kathie Lee Gifford, had a signing. There was a long line for one of their favorite part-time residents that started two hours before signing time. People had signs, boas and it was a party attitude. I met a lovely woman, a preschool teacher named Amy, who was so friendly and full of great tips for a vacationer like me.

My sisters-in-law came along and were pretty excited to meet Koda. She has such a bubbly personality and a great smile. She is really quite lovely, both inside and out.

Such a cute sign in front of the store for Hoda

The sisters and Hoda

I bought these signed books from Browseabout

If you ever get to Rehoboth, you must stop into Browseabout Books. Everyone is so friendly and it is such a lovely place to shop. It is the perfect beach town bookshop.

Browseabout Books' website is here.
You can find them on Facebook here.

Weekend Cooking- The Last Original Wife

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food!

I called Dorothea Benton Frank's The Last Original Wife the beach read for boomers in my recent review. I loved so much about it- the characters, the humor, the sibling relationship between Les and her brother Harlan, being introduced to author Josephine Pinckney, and the setting of Charleston.

My husband and I visited Charleston two years ago and we fell in love with the city. We ate in some amazing restaurants (my husband said he had the best meal ever at Hall's Chophouse), toured the city, wandered around and just relaxed.

Frank gave some great restaurant recommendations in her novel, and I immediately pinned them to my Charleston Pinterest board, which you can see here. I can't wait to go back to Charleston and try these new places.

There was also a paragraph in the novel that had me salivating. Les has just arrived at her friend Danette's new home. Danette's husband had left her for a younger woman, leaving Les as "the last original wife" in her social circle. Les brought over some snacks to share.

"I've got enough food for an army." I began unpacking. Imitating the voice of Rachael Ray, I said, "We've got pimiento cheese with pickled jalapenos to be served with crostini and EVOO, butterbean hummus presented with pita chips and EVOO, a baby spinach salad with sliced turkey and tahini green goddess on the side for you and muffaletta for me with balsamic and EVOO. Oh! And a brownie to share. Without EVOO. Ha-ha-ha."

This is the kind of friend we all want, and the next time I'm having a friend over, I am so stealing this menu.

Frank is signing books at Browseabout Books in Rehoboth, DE on July 2nd, and I will be there on vacation. I can't wait to see her again and tell her face-to-face how much I loved her book.