Love notes, books & fried bologna sandwiches: THE MOMENT OF EVERYTHING

This week we’re celebrating fellow Deb Shelly King and her amazing debut novel, THE MOMENT OF EVERYTHING!

Shelly’s book was one I wished I could devour in one sitting, but due to deadlines and LIFE, I was forced to read it in more bite-sized chunks … and in so many ways I’m glad I had longer with this story. It’s about Maggie Duprès – a woman on the hunt for her meaning of life after being “involuntarily separated from payroll” at her Silicon Valley start-up — books, a used book store along with a zany cast of characters, and mysterious love notes left on the pages of a copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

So without further ado, here are 5 things that will happen to you when you read THE MOMENT OF EVERYTHING:

1. You’ll laugh.

Not once. Not twice. But oh, so many times. Maggie, the book’s protagonist, is self-deprecating in the best way, and finds herself in situations that left me chuckling – like being unprepared for an  über important book club meeting (yes, there is such a thing apparently), and cussing openly – in front of children – at the park’s fountain, and trying to get her mother to stop sending her furniture via courier, and using the phrase, “Jesus Christ on a cracker!”

 2. You’ll cry.

I teared up more than once while reading Shelly’s book. There were the more obvious moments, like when tragedy strikes (no spoilers), and when her mother utters a declaration Maggie, and I, didn’t expect. But there were also those quietly emotional moments, which sneak up on you and are the ones that always stick with me long after turning the last page.

3. You’ll want to go into a used bookstore and look for love notes in the books’ margins.

THE MOMENT OF EVERYTHING is in many ways, a love story. And not just between people, but also through books. The used books in the cozy, cluttered, and eclectic Dragonfly – the story’s used bookstore at the center of it all – are painted as more than just a compilation of words and pages bound together; they become a way for people to connect to one another.

 4. You’ll want to read your beloved books of the past.

The books in this story aren’t just titles, they are integrated into the characters’ lives and stories, and it made me want to dust off the boxes of books in my basement. I’ve also never read Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and after reading Shelly’s book I feel compelled to at least give it the first 50 pages.

 5. You’ll want to eat a fried bologna sandwich.

This one surprised me. Yes, I ate bologna and yellow mustard sandwiches as a kid, but I thought my bologna days were behind me … until I read about Maggie’s best friend, Dizzy, and his famous fried bologna sandwiches. Something about the way she describes the sandwich in the book – the fried bologna topped with melted cheese, the mayonnaise, the squishy bread – made me want to immediately go buy some thick-sliced bologna and consume more calories than anyone should in a lunch sandwich.

Congratulations, Shelly!