Sunday, August 24, 2008

Good Friends and Good Books

I had a wonderful weekend visiting my best friend in Philadelphia. We went to some amazing restaurants, had great talks and walks, and just caught up on each other's lives. She and I have been best friends since the third grade, and we laugh about how, after being friends for so long, we literally have our own language! I feel sorry for people who try to listen in on our conversations!

I always like to bring a little something when I go visiting, and I brought my friend a copy of the adorable book, Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart. It looks exactly like something we would love, and I was thrilled when she hadn't already bought it! It is the story of two friends working at Tiffany and Co as young women during the summer of 1945. The hardback book is very compact and gorgeous Tiffany blue, so I think it makes a fun gift.

When we were 16 years old, my best friend and I went to France together on a brief foreign exchange trip. Before we left, we read One Special Summer by Lee and Jacqueline Bouvier, that's right, the future Jackie Kennedy. This precious book was written by Jackie and her sister, Lee, during their trip abroad in the summer of 1951 when they were 18 and 22 years old. They wrote and illustrated the entire book to capture their adventures, and it is really delightful. This book was also unavailable for awhile, so I keep wanting to buy more copies in case that happens again!

One of the last books that my best friend gave me was a wonderful gift. Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman at first seems like a light little book about one woman's love of fashion. However, halfway into this tiny book, you realize that Ilene Beckerman is writing her life story in the form of the dresses she wore; a dress for each page and simple prose about her life. I found myself laughing out loud and then swallowing a lump in my throat while reading about this remarkable woman.

Happy Reading!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

So glad you read and loved Summer at Tiffany!

All of my best wishes,

Jennifer
(Marjorie's editor)

Lauren @ Adventures of a Southern Newlywed said...

I want to read Summer at Tiffany too. I am glad to hear that you liked it!

Muffy said...

Summer at Tiffany's looks great! I'll have to check it out!

Petunia said...

Each book sounds very good! I'm going to check them out next time I'm at B & N!!