It's a new swap; we had one last spring, & there was some interest, but I was over-obligated & didn't follow up in the autumn. Then someone asked the librarians when the spring swap was going to be, & they gave her my #! Since I'm thinking that people will bring their children, I'm taking some good, easy, fragrant things like mints, garlic, oregano, etc. don't know what I'll come home with... probably library books!

Stacy, I really appreciate your weeky book reviews. I love to read and I'm always looking for recommendations of things I normally might not have heard about. Interestingly, I picked up The Sense of an Ending at the local FOL a few weeks ago, but haven't gotten to it. I knew it had won or been short listed for the Man Booker Prize, so I thought I'd get it. After all, $2 for the book isn't that much of an investment. I have read two of Barnes' other books and one I liked and one I couldn't understand. Another friend working in the library at the time said she and her husband had read The Sense of an Ending and couldn't understand it at all. I did hear part of an interivew with Barnes on NPR and thought the book sounding interesting. We'll see when I get to that book while working through my pile of TBRs. Do you ever wander over to the Reading Forum? I've learned of some interesting books through them, although I must say that they seem to all like 'series' books, which I don't, and mysteries, which I also don't (unless they offer someting unique in the plot). Keep up the reviews!

Thanks for posting the list. The only one I've read is The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which was brilliant. Selznick also illustrated The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins. I've at least heard of all the Non-Fiction, but I'm really surprised that not a single Fiction finalist is familiar. Hmmm, I guessed I'm not as plugged into the publishing world as I thought. By the way, Hugo Cabret is a great book for reluctant or novice readers. It looks like a huge tome, but it is easy reading and quite a lot of the story is told through illustrations. And the story is a page turner. At the end of the book, Selznick writes about the inspiration for the story, which is fascinating in itself.

There are also a number of festivals that may coincide with your travels along the coast. These two come to mind: http://gilroygarlicfestival.com/ http://centralcoastoysterfestival.com/ The Exploratorium in SF is in a new location now and I haven't been there but the old place was great. I imagine the new space is even better. http://www.exploratorium.edu/ There is always something to do/see at Golden Gate Park. http://www.golden-gate-park.com/ On the Peninsula below SF is Filoli Mansion in Woodside. Beautiful gardens and mansion. http://www.filoli.org/ Here is a link that might be useful: List of food related festivals in CA. This post was edited by barnmom on Fri, Jan 30, 15 at 12:36