Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Catastrophic Self-Promotion

Come get your book signed, and I will laugh and laugh, and you will be stuck there for the rest of your life!
My darlings! Thank you so much for loving me up and buying the book and coming to readings, and supporting me in the millions of ways that you do including bearing with me while I waffle on and on about this. Please know that I am so grateful for anything you can do to help me promote the book: Amazon and Goodreads reviews (pretty please), blog posts, social media mentions, and good old-fashioned word of mouth. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

Also: I am reading in Wenham, MA this Thursday (scroll down on this page for details). Will you please come, or tell your Eastern MA friends??? Otherwise it will be just me and the museum ladies, which is fine too. 

I will post a real post soon, with a recipe, and actual content, and not just this endless self-promotion. In the mean time (she wrote, self-promotingly), I have these new pieces online:

"My Son's Catalogue of Grievances" at the Washington Post
and "The Gift of a Lost Coat" on the New York Times Well Family blog.

Also, for Dinner: A Love Story Fans (all of you, I trust), please see Jenny's perfect post on Catastrophic Happiness. (Also, one post earlier, please see the poke bowls I made for dinner this past Sunday night. Yum.)

And for you long, long, long-time readers, please check out the lovely Joyce Slaton's short history of my entire career, including links to the old Ben and Birdy columns via the way-back machine!

Finally, I should mention: the audible version of the book? I read it myself! (Please let me know how it is. I can't quite bear to listen to it.)

I almost wrote "Have a good weekend!" Um, yeah.

17 comments:

  1. Catherine - I had to comment here about the article on the Well Family blog. My daughter lost her expensive LL Bean mittens with her name on the name tag. They came back to our house on her best friend's hands! The friend's mom (one of my best friends...) had fished them out of lost and found and stuck them on her daughter in a moment of desperation. Obviously they stayed at our house, despite the tears of the friend, distraught about the loss of "her new mittens." The story will have a happy ending in the fall, as said friend gets all of daughter's hand-me-down. All of which is to say, circle of life or circle of mittens, and thank you for writing a new book! Top of my summer reading list!

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  2. OH how I loved "My Son's Catalogue of Grievances." I'm so looking forward to reading the new book!

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  3. Got the book on Kindle and read it in one sitting! (or actually, one long night of co-"sleeping" with a toddler) :-) Good lord you're a brave woman to put your heart out there and I am grateful for it- can't count the number of times I've cried relieved "me too!" tears reading something you've written. When I read a negative comment on something you've written I always think "they just don't know her or they would never say that" (sorry, it must be creepy having total strangers feel like they know you- that's the beauty and the horror of writing so personally, I imagine?) I laughed out loud at "There are many schools of parenting thought right now, and so many of them have so much to offer." And geez do they offer it, loud and incessantly, whether you asked or not :-) Thanks for being a voice of reason and humor for those of us who maybe tend to take things too much to heart and need to laugh at ourselves sometimes.

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  4. OMG--that walk down memory lane just about killed me. Long time reader with a 13 year who I delivered shortly before you had Birdy. I too would give almost anything for another day of toddlerhood--holding their little hand stretched from their carseat while I drove with one hand and so many other lovely moments. I still have my signed copy of Waiting for Birdy and can't wait to read Catastrophic Happiness. Congratulations on your successes (and those beautiful kids!!)

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  5. Woo hoo! See you in Wenham! Excited you are visiting the North Shore. Loved reminiscing with the way back machine and am happy for your well-deserved success!

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  6. Anonymous12:29 PM

    Guess what! I think I'll be seeing you in Wenham! So excited.
    By the way, I have a lost winter jacket story too. When my middle daughter was younger she had tactile oversensitivity which made wearing anything (coats, clothes, socks, underwear) a huge challenge. I ended up spending half a day with her in a department store trying on coats (she was such a good sport) only to have her pick out the most expensive coat in the world. Then, the lady down the street tailored it so the squinchy things at the sleeves and the bottom of the coat were cut off. Well, my husband left it in the red wagon in front of the library. Days later, when he realized it (what was she wearing in the meantime? I just don't know)the wagon and the coat were gone. She ended up getting a hand-me-down that was stretched out and worn (more comfortable for her) which lasted her until spring and for the next year or two. All was well. (But, truth be told, I'm still not over it!)
    See you soon. --Cathy K

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  7. Catherine, I just had to tell you that I love your new book! It has me laughing out loud at some of Birdy and Ben's antics when they were littler. I had no idea she was such a handful! But in an adorable, passionate way, I mean. I love your style of writing, you totally crack me up! Wish I lived closer and I'd come to a reading. If you're ever down here in Virginia, we'd love you to have a reading down here.

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  8. I ordered Catastrophic Happiness last week, 4/14, and it STILL HASN'T SHIPPED! ARGHHH ... What's the hold up, Amazon?

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  9. Happy for you, Catherine! Congrats on the book. Can't wait to read it. And I'm having a lovely morning with my coffee and reading through all your latest posts - so thanks for those too :)

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  10. Anonymous9:39 AM

    Oh no! I got to Wenham at 5:30 last night and they told me you had just left. I was so close to being able to meet you! I had even shoved a bag of Fritos in my bag to give you as a gift (wow, that sounds really weird). If your in the North Shore again some time, I'll get there earlier! --Cathy K

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  11. Audrey9:00 PM

    I've been reading your columns and work since the very beginning babycenter days .... and I can't believe it didn't start until 2002! I thought it started much closer to Ben's birth since he's almost exactly the same age as my son Luke and I felt like I started reading you when I was pregnant. Did you write for them in 1999 too? Or maybe my mind is just playing tricks on me. Anyway, I've always been such a huge fan and I wanted to send all best wishes on the book. I ordered one but am saving if for the an unencumbered weekend (I have two much younger boys now am still exhausted most of the time!) We're actually coming out your way in July (I'm in Portland, Ore.) so maybe I'll read it in Mass. in the hope that you see me :)
    I hope that doesn't sound strange and stalkery. Oh have you read I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson? After reading TONS of your book suggestions over the years, I'm confident you'd like it.

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  12. Verity5:42 PM

    The columns are back in my life! I'm so happy I could cry (as I have happily and sentimentally while reading your new book which I am portioning out a chapter a night to keep the joy going as long as possible!) yay for always reminding me to attempt to be mindful, grateful and enjoy these long days/short years of pre schooler/ kindergartener and fierce toddler! Thank you

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  13. Jenniferruth12:20 PM

    Hi Catherine, I am also a long time fan from Babycenter. I bought the Audiobook and you sound great! And BTW, several narrators have irritated me so much I can barely finish their books, so I am picky. ;) I laughed out loud on the way to work. Thank you! Also, please ignore the unbelievably rude comments on the Washington Post article!! I was actually shocked at how crazy critical people can be. Wow.

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  14. I read your book and loved it, and guess what? Also got the audio and listen a little bit every day while I drive the kids to their million things.

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  15. I think I maybe just freaked out my friend's daughter-in-law on facebook this morning...she is reading your book and posted a recommendation, and I replied not-so-cooly by gushing how much I love you and your writing that I have been reading since it was a journal on babycenter blah blah blah. I was just so happy to know that she has found you. She has three wee ones and this is exactly what she needs to be reading right now. Not sure why I felt the need to come here and tell you that, but I guess it's just to say thank you for sharing yourself with us. XO

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