A good book is an event..........

Today, I have a layout I have completed for a challenge over at Soul Scrappers.  For this challenge we sent a number of items that had to be included in a layout.  Warning - this is a long post.
First, here is my layout:

On 31st May this year I was out and about running errands north of where I live.  After I had finished I decided to drive home via the coast and called in at Toowoon Bay on the beautiful Central Coast.  It was a beautiful if somewhat windy day.  I purchased a toasted sandwich and a drink and found a lovely spot to sit, eat and read. The shadow selfie shows me reading.  More about the book later.

The challenge was to incorporate the following items I received into the layout:

What was required was quite simple - you had to add a photo/s of you reading a book/magazine, reading a book to a child, a stack of books, your favourite book...anything book or magazine related. The shipping tag was a must to use and had to incorporate a 'book quote' and it must be visible on your page.  I used all items sent to me. 
After a time of just looking and deciding what to do with this disparate group of items it came to me that I had to radically alter a lot of the items.  The red spot bag I turned into a tea bag - after all I was having lunch.

The book page was from Winnie the Poo - not all appropriate for my page - I decided to tear it, decoupage it and colour it with some red to match that bag.  The straw and paperclip proved the most challenging - I cut the straw down the middle and used it as embellishment down the side of my layout.  The final touch was to add a script stamp randomly on the pink background paper.
My quote is by Stendhal from his book, The red and the Black.
Now when I was googling quotes I found one that I thought was very appropriate:

Reader's Bill of Rights - Daniel Pennac

1. The right to not read
2. The right to skip pages
3. The right to not finish
4. The right to reread
5. The right to read anything
6. The right to escapism
7. The right to read anywhere
8. The right to browse
9. The right to read out loud
10. The right to not defend your tastes.

As promised the book I was reading and have now finished "Paris - Time Capsule" based on a true story by Ella Carey.  Several years ago a forgotten French Apartment that was abandoned at the outbreak of World War 11 was opened. The flat’s titleholder, a woman known only as Mrs De Florian, never returned to the apartment and never rented it out. Its existence only came to light in 2010, when Mrs De Florian died without issue at the age of 91 and experts were brought in to value the property.  The writer was inspired by this event to write a non-fiction novel. A quick read and one that asks the question - what would you do if you inherited this apartment?

Thank you for staying with me during this post - good reading everyone.   Margaret :)