Join Us in France Book Group discussion

Hello everyone,

Paul Shore has offered to give us 3 review copies of Uncorked (in addition to the one he already gave me and that I started reading).

If you're interested in reading and reviewing this book, please let me know. If selected I will ask you to read the book from cover to cover to give it a fair chance.

When we're ready to discuss the book on the podcast, I'll ask you to provide examples of what you liked and didn't like when we review the book on the podcast, so keep some notes. Thanks!

Annie

I'd love to!

I would love to read this book.

Patricia L McGuire

I'd be happy to read and review this book!

I'm looking forward to reading this book and joining in the discussion.

Linda wrote: "I'm looking forward to reading this book and joining in the discussion."
Hello Linda,

I need your email address so I can it in the hat. We have 3 free copies of Uncorked and 4 applicants, so I'll need to draw a name. Thanks!

Annie

Good morning from sunny Toulouse everybody!

The 3 group members who responded the fastest with their email address are: Calee Spinney, Patricia L McGuire, and Linda Newell.

The 3 of you should get your free copy of Uncorked directly into your email box. It will be a PDF that you can side-load into your Kindle. Let's start reading Uncorked and please take good notes!

Best,

Annie

Thank you Annie! Looking forward the read.

Thank you, Annie! It will go straight to the top of my reading list.

Thanks Annie! I'll make sure to start reading it as soon as I get it.

I would love to read along. We were in Provence, playing petanque, trying pastis and mangling French just last summer. Good times!

By when should we plan to finish this book?

I haven't received my copy yet, so not anytime soon, I suspect.

Purchased the Kindle version for $5 on Amazon

Paul Shore here, author of Uncorked... I have a question for you all...

Do you think I missed the mark with the subtitle of Uncorked or do you love it? I ask because I am starting to think that it may be too long and contain too many words that people don't recognize?... e.g. Petanque, Pastis, Chagall.

Maybe something more like these would attract more readers?...
“Uncorked - Provence Revealed” or “Uncorked - Popping the top off Provence”

Any input will be much appreciated!

Thanks,
Paul.

My family and I spent two amazing weeks in Beaumes de Venise last summer, and it was your subtitle that really caught my eye and made me want to read the book!

One of my favorite memories is watching a group of men play very serious pétanque late at night right next to the happy noise of the summer fair going on in the village square. Also, our host's very strong homemade pastis -- cough, gasp! And Chagall, well I love all things Chagall.

I would have had none of those associations with a more generic tag line like "Provence Revealed." I think being specific is always more evocative than being generic. Even if I had never visited BdV, but was merely interested about learning about Provence, the longer sub-title would pique my interest more.

If anything, the main title "Uncorked" confused me a bit -- because I associate that with wine books, wine documentaries and wine festivals here in the US and elsewhere. And it doesn't relate easily to the subtitle for me. I'm only a few pages in, so "uncorked" might prove to be totally fitting to the themes in the book ... but for me it was a bit confusing. Perhaps if the main title was a local expletive or expression common in Provence, followed by the subtitle that would have seemed even more "Provençal"to me ;-)

Looking forward to reading!

Thanks Sue... incredibly valuable feedback!

Paul, have you sent us our electronic copies of the book yet? If you have, I haven't received mine.

Hi Calee,
Yes and I CCed Annie on each one. Maybe yours went into a spam folder? If it didn't, I can resend... though then please reconfirm what your email address is.
Cheers,
Paul.

Hope you found the book Calee! I got my CC from Paul, I can cofirm that he sent it.

I read Uncorked a little bit while waiting for a doctor's appointment yesterday, they didn't keep me waiting long enough, but I re-read the opening scene with the pétanque. I loved the tone (--still with me? Surely not.) I was still with you, I have played pétanque a few times ;-)

"Bouchon" is also a wonderful sweet name for children or lovers (mon petit bouchon). It was also the name of a wonderfully grumpy guide dog for the blind in Toulouse who didn't want anyone to approach his master without his permission.

I can't wait to get back to the book!

Yes Annie, I contacted him directly (which is what I should have done from the start) and we sorted it out. I leave for my trip to Paris on Sunday so I'm planning to read it on the plane! Poking forward to it.

Paul, you also asked somewhere (in your newsletter perhaps?) for feedback on the cover design. I LOVE the cover photo--it reminds me of that dry, baking heat of Provence in the summer. Also, including the pétanque ball in the foreground helps out readers who don't know what the mention of pétanque in the subtitle means. Thumbs up from me ;-)

Thanks Sue! I'm looking at a small tweak to improve the readability of the sub-title when viewed online, and to better convey that the book is humorous / light-hearted. Sound wise?

I love the thought of this book! I've got it on my want to read list and can't wait to hear more discussion from you all!

Thanks Lori! I'm having a ton of fun in the early days, since the formal release on March 20th! Feel free to check out my website at www.pshore.com for more info... I hope it's ok to say that in this forum. Cheers, Paul.

I just bought it on Kindle this morning. Looking forward to the read! I'll be in Provence in May so it will be a fun book to read either ahead of time or while I'm there.

Thanks you Lorri! Enjoy Provence this May... we are envious!... drop in on Saint-Paul de Vence if you get the chance... you might even find Hubert playing Petanque ;)

Sounds delightful!

Sounds like fun.