Sunday 4 March 2012

Solare e passionale

I need some help. In two areas. Firstly, as the Beloved of the Day is not treating me right (same old, same old) I've taken my young brother's advice and gone online. My younger brother lives in a hip city and owns a yacht and rakes in chicks by the dozens. He just can't decide. But here in the countryside where tractor collections and apricot exterior house paint are signs of prowess or success or both, the gents who crop up on my screen are rather frightening. How can a 40-50 year old man describe himself in terms of a lovesick sixteen year old? Or show a photograph wearing Blues Brothers sunglasses and bare summer holiday shoulders while clutching a mobile phone? Hellup!

I was stunned by the amount of men who are married and make no bones of the fact, their serial-killer faces there for all to see. I know I'm not game enough to show my face, but shopping around made me wish I lived in a huge city where the profiles might vary a little. If I read another Sono solare e passionale - I am of sunny disposition and passionate..., well I did and I shutdown. Back to book promotion for me. Heels and prosecco, my affair with Scarlatti, they will have to do.

But the book is promo is where I really need some help. Bookmarks or postcards? Publisher and I cannot decide, or writer cannot decide is more like, and friends and family are vague and vaguer. What do you think? I realise a bookmark is more practical and sets out some clue information. But the postcard would be so snappy.


What do you think? Please assist this solare and passionale writer.
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23 comments:

  1. Elizabeth4 March 2012 at 09:14

    I say postcard because it can also be used as a bookmark.

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    1. Averil Dean4 March 2012 at 17:50

      Exactly my thought.

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    2. The Divorced Lady's Companion to Living in Italy4 March 2012 at 21:55

      Thanks Averil. I'm hoping it's sexy enough for you. You've set the bar rather high. Xx

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  2. Axemum4 March 2012 at 09:41

    Postcard definitely. I have lost count of the number of bookmarks I have lying around whilst I use a postcard as a bookmark. Also could send on to a friend if they might be interested

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  3. Di4 March 2012 at 10:14

    A postcard. I'm a photographer (a wild attempt at having my opinion taken seriously) :) and, for me, a postcard would just be perfect. Bookmarks don't tend to get pinned up on office noticeboards or stuck on the fridge.

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  4. The Divorced Lady's Companion to Living in Italy4 March 2012 at 10:17

    Really? Thanks Elizabeth! I think it shows off the cover too. Ciao cat

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  5. The Divorced Lady's Companion to Living in Italy4 March 2012 at 10:20

    Axemum thank you. Interesting, I have huge collections of both all over the house! Yes will also be much more chic to send out, you're right.

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  6. The Divorced Lady's Companion to Living in Italy4 March 2012 at 10:21

    Grazie Di! A photographer's opinion! That's great. Stuck on fridges everywhere! Ciao cat

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  7. Hannah4 March 2012 at 19:28

    Postcard, because I could (and would) stick it on my fridge for all to see, whereas for all my good intentions, I never use bookmarks.

    P.S. One day, when I'm further away from the experience, I'd like a section of my future memoir to be about my online dating exploits last year...

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    1. The Divorced Lady's Companion to Living in Italy4 March 2012 at 21:58

      Yes I think we all have some chapters to add there. My bottom line used be No marsupial bags! (you know, bum bags, is that what they are called? In Italian they are called 'marsupio')

      I promise there will be a postcard on your fridge some day soon.

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    2. Hannah5 March 2012 at 18:49

      Yes, bum bags. Although mum used to call them by the American name of "fanny pack", which was always mortifying to me as a kid, seeing as the fanny is the front-bottom here in Australia...

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    3. The Divorced Lady's Companion to Living in Italy5 March 2012 at 22:41

      Let me reveal my total ignorance! I did not know 'fanny pack' was front-bottom in Australia. When did I get so out of the loop?

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  8. Talli Roland5 March 2012 at 08:51

    Bookmarks are more practical as giveaways and book swag, I think, because they're usable. Most of my postcards usually end up cluttering tabletops because people leave them behind.

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    1. The Divorced Lady's Companion to Living in Italy5 March 2012 at 09:07

      Hmm confusion reigns! Initially I thought the same thing: bookmarks are practical and give more info. Postcards are postcards at the end of the day. More visible graphically, useful for invites or messages. So far my blogger friends seem to prefer.

      Still undecided!

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  9. Sara5 March 2012 at 20:11

    Hmmm. This is a tough one. I love bookmarks and I always need more because I'll often mark a favorite part of a book even after I'm done reading. But I do hear what people are saying about the benefits of a postcard...

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    1. The Divorced Lady's Companion to Living in Italy5 March 2012 at 22:44

      I hear you. My ex still gives me bookmarks and I have a truly international collection - in books all over the house! I'd prefer to use a bookmark while reading (or bus ticket or receipt when pickings are thin) but perhaps a postcard is more useful in terms of advertising, visibility and invites?

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  10. macdougalstreetbaby6 March 2012 at 03:18

    I tried posting a comment a dozen times yesterday. Let's keep our fingers crossed today works.

    I much prefer a bookmark, provided it comes with a tassel. Gotta make it worth keeping.

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  11. The Divorced Lady's Companion to Living in Italy6 March 2012 at 04:51

    Really? I don't know why it's difficult to comment. I can't comment on yours on my iPad and I haven't worked it out either. I am useless with these things sorry..

    Bookmark with silky tassel would be excellent. I am so confused now. Perhaps a batch of each? There are quite a few continents to cover haha

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  12. Downith7 March 2012 at 02:18

    I would've said postcard, but Talli's comment has me wondering...

    I know Laura Walter did bookmarks for Living Arrangements.

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    1. The Divorced Lady's Companion to Living in Italy7 March 2012 at 06:12

      Me too! I was quite convinced of postcards. But now I have doubts. Laura's bookmarks are lovely.

      Confusion reigns here in Veneto.

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  13. Anonymous9 March 2012 at 05:47

    Cat,
    You need to look at the personals in the back of the New York Review of Books. I'm fascinated by them as most start out with "book lover" so you limit the amount of men who would write "lovesick 16 year old". Geography is nothing.
    My vote is for postcards. They can be used for bookmarks, and yet throw a stamp on that puppy and it can travel the world which is really perfect for your book.
    Every now and again, my husband sends me a postcard, so maybe I just have a weakness for seeing that small private note so public, wondering how many eyes read it before it got to me.
    -Lyra

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    1. The Divorced Lady's Companion to Living in Italy9 March 2012 at 11:52

      'Book lover'?! That is something I haven't seen in a while. I will keep my eyes peeled.

      I also have a weak spot for postcards. Been sending them for years although a little less lately. My ex still sends me postcards when he goes to faraway places, also my old travelling BFF who travels more than I do these days. Love them.

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