Ooooppppsss.... I have made a mistake, I have by mistake ordered two copies of this book.
I mustn't surf in online bookstores when I'm tired. No harm done though, this seems like a very nice book. I will figure out something nice to do with this extra copy.



Synopsis
When Californians Yvone Lenard and her husband began to fantasise wistfully about owning a home in Provence, they made a hasty gamble. Purchasing a sixteenth-century wreck, they dubiously listened to the agent's promise to completely renovate the house within a year. When they returned to the picturesque hilltop village twelve months later, their rubble had been transformed into a dream house - fully furnished and beautifully renovated. To top it off, Lenard was immediately greeted by a prince who stopped in to welcome his new neighbours. After this enchanting beginning, Lenard draws on her unique insight into the subtleties of her native culture to tell the story of her joyous reunion with France, capturing the sights, flavours and faces of Provence in a way no outsider could. With verve and wit, she relates tales of the close-knit community in which she soon becomes a fixture, of her travels in the region, and of visits from American friends who find unexpected romance and magic in Provence. Incorporating succulent recipes, along with tips for entertaining in the Provencal style, and infused with the imagined scents of lavender and fresh herbs, The Magic of Provence is a delight for all the senses - and a journey to bliss.

This book will become a European bookring!

Guidelines:
PM me to join!
Last date to join: Friday 16th November 2007
You must live in Europe to join
You must be willing to mail internationally to join, surface/economy mail more than fine!
Make a JE when you receive the book
Read the book within a month
PM the person next in line for their address
Make a JE saying what you thought of the book
Send the book along

Questions? Please PM me!


Participants:
Chania, Finland
Bookgeo, Finland
Piiku, Finland
Kerriou, UK
Chich, France
QueenSissi, Portugal
Vainilla79, Spain
RubyBlueLady, UK
LyzzyBee, UK
Back to me, Sobergirl

The bookring will start as soon as I get Chania's address, you can however still sign up for the bookring until Friday 16th November 2007!

I now have Chania's address, the book is wrapped up and stamped and ready to go!

I have the book now and I will read it as soon as I've finished the one I'm reading now - shouldn't take long. This book looks lovely!

Oh, what a lovely book - warm, witty, funny, even sad in times. All you need from a good book! I loved some local characters in this book and most of all, the atmosphere!

A serious warning: don't read this when you are hungry - the recipes at the end of each chapter are way too delicious!!!!

Sending this to Bookgeo tomorrow!

The book arrived yesterday, many thanks Chania! It sure looks like a delicious read. I will start after finishing another bookring book.

I just came back from the lavender fields in my mind. This book offered French village life stories at their best, full of feeling and humour. Many interesting persons of whom I specially liked the duchess. Mouth-watering menus for all culinary lovers too.

I will send this book to Piiku tomorrow.

The book is here, thank you Bookgeo for sending it. Quite typically, I got another bookring today, too. I should be able to read them both within a month.

Thank you Sobergirl for checking the wish lists and telling me you are organizing this ring.

This kind of books always make me dream of a little house of my own in southern France, Spain or on an island in Greece. In this book the easiness of the buying and renovating the house sounded unbelievable - how come it was so much difficult for Peter Mayle even though he was at the site all the time? (Or was that exactly the reason why???)

Anyway, I could smell the lavender and all the delicious meals when I read this book. Even Bocuse's dog menu seemed wonderful! This was really a tasty read =)

Thank you for sharing, Sobergirl. I already have the address for Kerriou, I'll drop the book into letter box later tonight.

#62 in guinaveve's Keep them Moving -challenge.

Arrived safely in this morning's post along with a lovely postcard and some sweets. Thank you Piiku!
I have one bookring book ahead of this but will read and pass on ASAP.

I really liked this book. I've made a note of some of the recipes too.
After every book I read about Provence I say that I'll have to go there and I'm saying it yet again. Good food, fields of lavender and sunflowers...sounds good to me.
This was an enjoyable read with some good characters, humour and also a touch of sadness.

Thank you, Sobergirl. Posted off to Chich this morning.

Book received today, thanks a lot Kerriou!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL PREVIOUS READERS!!!

A very lovely read indeed! Being French, I always feel quite skeptical before reading books such as this one (but I rarely can resist reading them!) but "The magic of Provence" was absolutely delightful *and* very interesting, too! Chania is right, it's very dangerous to read the book when hungry, the recipes at the end of each chapter are fantastic:-]

I did some research because I wanted to find out what the actual name of the village was and came up with this website: The Magic of Provence. The village is Ansouis and you can take a look at some photos here (including before/after photos of the author's home in the village! Lovely place, when do I move in?!). Sadly enough, it turns out that the castle was sold by auction last summer because of a family dispute originated in 1973, which got worse after the duchess's death in 1988 (click here to read a newspaper article about this sale -sorry, it's in French!). For those interested in learning more about the castle and its history, the name of the family is Sabran-Pontevès.

Thanks for sharing this book with us Sobergirl, it's a great read!

I've PMed QueenSissi and will send her the book as soon as she gives me her address

Book sent to QueenSissi today, enjoy!



Entry #3 for the 2008 Keep Them Moving Challenge

Got it today! Thanks...

Provence sure looks like a nice place for a vacation. It was a wonderful story and I enjoyed travelling with the author... sending it to Vainilla as soon as I get an address.

Hello,
I received it two days ago. I will read it as soon as possible. Thank you so much!!

Nice book!! You just want to go to Provence after reading it!! It must be so beautiful...:)

I'd forgotten all about this book so it was a nice surprise when it arrived. I shall read it straightaway.

It was lovely to experience Yvone Lenard's adventures in the Provence of the 1980s-1990s. Some of her tales made me laugh out loud, I just had to read them out to my husband. Others were more poignant, more sad, just like life really. I found myself liking Yvone and her husband Wayne, her narrative style is so warm and lively, I just want to be invited round for dinner now!


I have LyzzyBee's address so will post on this week. Thanks for sharing!

Received today - thank you!

Lovely to see so many familiar names on the list of readers for this one *waves*

I don't have any bookrings in the house at the moment but do have my non fiction and fiction current reads to finish - once one of them is done, this is next up!

I do like an "expatriates settle in abroad" read and this was a good example. The author's style is nice and fresh and confiding without being twee or patronising the locals; I particularly liked the tales of her freezing in the house in winter and I'll complain a little less when we freeze in our big English terraced house - at least ice doesn't actually form inside the walls! The recipes were lovely and ah... I pine for the lavendar and actually for the South of France...

Sobergirl, do you want to PM or email me your address and I'll get this sent back to you within the week.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posting to Sobergirl on Saturday. Thanks for including me on the ring!

The book is now "home" again!
Thanks everyone for participating!

HGG surprise for someone.
This isn't "from France" , it's "about France". I hope it's OK :)
Happy Holidays!

Thank you Sobergirl! I'm so so happy and surprised!!! I really love Provence with its perfumes, its colours... I wish you a Merry Christmas and a gorgeous 2009! :)