grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

  • Home
  • About
  • Media
  • Crafts
  • Farm
  • Food
  • Garden
  • Reading & Books
  • Sunday Letter
  • SHOP!
  • Privacy Policy

Austin Chronicle, BookPeople and how I spent my WINNINGS!

March 3, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner 18 Comments

Austin ChronicleBookPeople sponsored the Austin Chronicle Short Story contest complete with author readings, an impressive food spread, red wine and prize money. Sure, I would have turned a back flip had I snagged first place honors and the $800 prize money—who wouldn’t?—but I was thrilled to place in the top five (out of nearly 500 entries) and receive a $50 gift card from BookPeople. 

A gift card in the hands of a writer/reader feeds an obsession, an addiction. Brilliant move BookPeople.

From the moment the Austin Chronicle editor placed that gift card in my excited palm (and yes a palm can be excited), I thought about how to best leverage it, to get the most bang for the gift card buck.

Immediately, it called to me from the bottom of my messy purse. Use me before returning to Dallas, it said.

But what to buy?

Something significant like an artfully designed coffee table book to display as a permanent reminder of my contest victory? Something inspirational to build upon like a collection of poetry? A writing reference book to further hone my skill? Hmmmm. Huge decision. After all, books can be life-altering wielding power beyond the mere words on a page.

The next morning I hightailed it straight back to BookPeople with my gift card in hand. I wandered the aisles, strolled through each section, touched volumes, read dust jackets, and watched for any sign to help in narrowing down my selection.

I was there a while.

So how did I spend my $50? I bought $125 in books. I couldn’t help myself. (Like I said, brilliant move BookPeople. Next year you might consider giving gift cards to the top ten finalists or all entrants for that matter. You WILL make money…)

In no particular order, my purchases and thinking behind each:

  • Honky Tonk Debutante—the History of Honky Tonk Music as I Care to Tell It by Christine Warren. I couldn’t resist the title, nor the cover graced with an armadillo. Each chapter concludes with a honky tonk soundtrack. As someone who often ends blog posts with a musical pairing, I adore this. And as a girl who grew up listening to Waylon, Willie and David Allen Coe, I’m majorly annoyed I didn’t write this book.
  • The Parallel Apartments by Bill Cotter (signed first edition). Bill Cotter was one of the judges for the Austin Chronicle Short Story contest. Since he’d read my short story (and presumably liked it), it seemed only fitting I should read his. Right? Plus his first sentence hooked me.
  • This is How—Surviving What You Think You Can’t by Augusten Burroughs. I’m convinced I’m related to Augusten. At least a distant cousin. This book on the sale table was a no brainer. And once I read it, I’ll know how to survive everything I think I can’t, so there’s that.
  • How Best to Avoid Dying by Owen Egerton – Egerton is a local Austinite who writes zany, dark short stories which I enjoy. Supporting local writing is important. Plus once I read it, I’ll know how best to avoid dying, so there’s that.
  • The Letters of Ernest Hemingway 1907 – 1922. I’m a Hemingway groupie. My favorite place on earth to write is inside the Hemingway barn in Piggott, Arkansas, where he wrote a portion of A Farewell to Arms… yes…let that sink in… Reading letters penned by Hemingway himself is the ultimate voyeurism. And apparently he was a letter-writing machine because this is Volume One. This too was on the sale table. Score me.
  • I also bought a journal. I write each day and quickly fill up journals. Those with owls on the cover make me particularly happy.

BookPeople Books

So there you have it.

What would you buy with a $50 BookPeople gift card?

Grace Grits and Gardening

P.S. Check out the first, second and third place winners of the Austin Chronicle Short Story Contest HERE.

Musical Pairing:

Bad Suns – Cardiac Arrest

Even the bathroom stall graffiti is cool at BookPeople…

Hemingway graffiti

Filed Under: Reading & Books Tagged With: Austin Chronicle Short Story Contest, BookPeople, Ernest Hemingway

Wanna receive my monthly Newsletter? Sign up here!

Comments

  1. Jessica (Savory Experiments) says

    March 3, 2014 at 8:15 am

    That is great! Congrats!

    Reply
  2. Gary Henderson says

    March 3, 2014 at 8:19 am

    Congrats on finishing in the top 5!

    I’d probably do the same thing — spend my $50 and then some.

    Reply
  3. Pat Laster says

    March 3, 2014 at 9:30 am

    I’d like to read Papa’s book of letters sometime. Interesting post, as usual.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      March 4, 2014 at 11:12 am

      I’ll loan it to you!

      Reply
  4. Martha Orlando says

    March 3, 2014 at 10:41 am

    Congratulations!!! I think I would have done the same as you – spend as much money as I wished on books.
    Blessings!

    Reply
  5. Jennifer says

    March 3, 2014 at 2:04 pm

    Congrats!! I totally would have spent $125 too 🙂 Those books look like great reads!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      March 4, 2014 at 11:12 am

      I know you would!

      Reply
  6. Dot says

    March 3, 2014 at 4:21 pm

    Oh, Talya, I understand completely. I have more books than I can store but I’m always attracted to more. Can just imagine what I would do with a gift card. Congratulations on your win!

    Reply
  7. Dorothy Johnson says

    March 3, 2014 at 8:41 pm

    I am thinking again how impressive this honorable mention is. Congratulations again. I could easily spend a morning and $125 at bookstore but at the moment can’t say which books I’d buy. The Hemingway letters sound good.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      March 4, 2014 at 11:11 am

      Thanks Dorothy:)) You can borrow it after Pat:)

      Reply
  8. Cindy "Lu" says

    March 4, 2014 at 1:23 am

    Loved it – especially that you ‘hightailed’ it to the store! Congrats! So proud of my lil cousin! 🙂

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      March 4, 2014 at 11:11 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  9. Carol says

    March 4, 2014 at 8:29 am

    Congratulations, Talya! That is so exciting AND encouraging. Keep up the good work. Loved seeing and reading about the books.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      March 4, 2014 at 11:09 am

      Thank you so much Carol. This was very exciting for me. Austin is such a literary place:) Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Reply
  10. Christine says

    March 4, 2014 at 12:14 pm

    CONGRATS!! Am so happy you stumbled onto Honky Tonk Debutante and I really hope you enjoy the story. I am already knowing about your site! CHEERS! –Christine Warren

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      March 4, 2014 at 12:22 pm

      I am reading your book right now. I love it!!! Plus, I’m learning so much:)

      Reply
  11. Christine says

    March 4, 2014 at 12:15 pm

    “Loving knowing about your site”….

    Pardon the typos, they are my calling card 🙂

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      March 4, 2014 at 12:22 pm

      haha:) Thanks!

      Reply

COMMENT: Cancel reply

Talya Tate Boerner


Hi! I'm Talya. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

Click to BUY NOW!

Talya Tate Boerner books
Gene, Everywhere

Never miss a blog post! Subscribe via email:

Receive my Monthly Newsletter?

Most Popular Posts…

  • Chicken Tortilla Soup
  • SHOP!
  • Yum Yum Cake - old southern recipe!
  • Nana's Strawberry Cake (the real one)
  • Sunday Letter: 01.29.23

Most Recent

  • Chicken Tortilla Soup
  • Sunday Letter: 01.29.23
  • Sunday Letter: 01.15.23
  • Sunday Letter: 01.08.23
  • Sunday Letter: 12.18.22

Grace Grits index

Prior Posts

Search Categories

Tags

A to Z April Blog Challenge Autumn BAT Book Reviews childhood Christmas creative writing prompt Dallas Desserts Eureka Springs Fall Fayetteville Food Gracie Lee Halloween Hemingway-Pfeiffer home humor Johnson Family Keiser Lake Norfork Lucy and Annabelle Mississippi County Mississippi Delta moving Munger Place Nana nature Northeast Arkansas Northwest Arkansas Osceola poem Reading Schnauzer simple living simple things spring spring gardening Summer sunday letter Talya Tate Boerner novel The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee Thomas Tate Winter Wordless Wednesday
Follow on Bloglovin

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!

All content and photos Copyright Grace, Grits and Gardening © 2023 · Web Hosting By StrataByte