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Dear Friends-
First, my apologies for the lapse since the last
newsletter. All I can say is that summer in Duck was
one for the
record books! Lots of sunshine (very few rainy
days!)- lots of interesting visitors (not counting
Ernesto!)- lots of fresh veggies, cold drinks, hot
books and good times! Even with lines out the door
we cranked out lattes in record time making our
spot in Duck the spot for
relaxing which, after all, is why everyone's here
(could someone please tell all the people on their
laptops)! So now we're on to one of the most
beautiful seasons of the Outer Banks- Fall! Incredible
temperatures, lots of sunshine, fewer crowds- the
best time of year to be in Duck, a great time of year
to do some reading...
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Between the Lines
Reading Recommendations from the Cottage shelves
It's Fall publishing season which means lots
to talk about but there is one book in particular
whose
title I am shouting from the water tower....
ABUNDANCE!!! (Sena Jeter Naslund) I LOVE
this historical novel tracing the life of Marie
Antoinette from age 14 until her date with the
guillotine.. it's well written, richly descriptive,
captivating, and Marie Antoinette is a hot property
right
now!! Look for it starting October 3rd....A
Spot
of Bother (Mark Haddon)- the latest
entry from the author of The Curious Incident of
the Dog in the Night-time, Caroline and my
mother-in-law both read this book and raved about it
(I can't wait to get the advance back)... Mitch
Albom's new tome, For One More Day, is
proving to be his third beautiful book in a row (who
didn't love The Five People You Meet in
Heaven? Incidentally, if you missed the made-
for-TV movie of Five People, check your local video
store- I thought it was great)...
When Madeline Was Young (Jane Hamilton)
was a favorite advance of mine this summer-
Madeline suffers brain damage soon after marriage
and is left with the mind of a 7 year old; the
compassionate tale of how she is cared for by her
husband and his second wife is a study of empathy
and devotion... Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad About
My Neck is a series of essays on aging and the
lengths to which we go to try and make the clock
stand still- and she's funny!... selling briskly at the
store is 101 Things to Buy Before You Die
(Maggie Davis) a shopping list of 'essentials'- like
Manolo's!- including a coffee 'must-have'
blended from beans eaten and execreted by the tree-
dwelling Indonesian Civet- this book is a great gift for
the shopaholic on your list!... a new regional
offering is Duck
Hunting on Currituck Sound: Tales from a Native
Gunner by Travis Morris... Mr. Morris begins this
memoir with his first duck hunt in 1938 and keeps the
anecdotes coming through the 90's... lots of great
b/w photographs throughout... our Reading Group
just enjoyed In The Company of the Courtesan
by
Sarah Dunant which took place in 16th century
Venice-
I was ready to book my trip as soon as I finished but
will have to settle for reading about present day
Venice in The City of Falling
Angels by John Berendt (just out in paper)...
also new in paper is The
Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory (The
Other
Boleyn Girl )... this one focuses on Katherine of
Aragon (Henry VIII's first wife)... The Memory
Keeper's Daughter (Kim Edwards) is the number
one bestseller in paper right now... this disturbing
story of twins separated
at birth due to a father's split-second decision raises
all kinds of ethical and moral questions that people
can't stop talking about!... on my nightstand right
now is Washed Up:the Curious Journeys of
Flotsam
and Jetsam by Skye Moody... if you can't walk
on
the beach without picking something up then you
have to read this book! Full of interesting facts about
currents and gyres and stories of odd gleanings from
the world's beaches- for the inveterate
beachcomber, this book is like blue seaglass, you've
got to
find it!... Erik Larson (Devil in the White
City) has a new one coming soon-
Thunderstruck!- a profile of Marconi, the birth of
wireless telegraph and, true to form, transcontinental
traveling murderers... for the kids, The End
is coming! #13 in the Lemony Snicket Series
arrives on- you guessed it- Friday, October 13-
would something good please happen to the
Baudelaire orphans!... there's also a gorgeous
wordless children's picture book out right now called
Flotsam... the incredibly detailed illustrations
follow a boy who finds a camera washed up on a
beach, develops the film and marvels at what he
sees in the resulting pictures... I gave this one to
Sarah's teacher for her 3rd grade Writer's
Workshop...
The Fall reading forecast is
fantastic- lots of new submissions by established
authors with quite a bit of debut entries thrown in.
There's plenty to choose from and no excuse not to
always have a book with you- the best thing to have
when commuting, when waiting for- an appointment,
the end of soccer practice, water to boil... whenever
you need that little kick that gets your brain in gear,
the motors moving, the mind thinking, the heart
pounding and the soul searching- pick up a book!
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Food For Thought
Ideas for your Reading Group
I've been a member of countless 'book clubs' over
the years and have found that the biggest obstacle
to keeping a group together over time is lack of
variety- and I'm not just talking about the books!
Anything that becomes routine becomes dull which is
precisely why you need to shake things up from time
to time! Here are
some great ideas
for putting a fresh spin on stale meetings.
1. Take a break from reading! In July our
group didn't read a book. Instead, we gathered at a
member's
home (we usually meet in the store) and everyone
brought their favorite cookbook and a dish from the
same book! After sampling from a delicious
smorgasbord we all settled down with our books and
took turns talking about our choice- mentioning
favorite recipes and reasons why we liked it so much.
Not only did we get a break to work on our individual
summer reading lists, but we discovered lots of great
cookbook titles!
2. Read the movie, watch
the book? Two years ago, our monthly
selection was Nabokov's Lolita. I was able to
obtain a copy of the original film of the same name
(by Stanley Kubrick) and we met at my house for
wine, hors d'oerves and a brief discussion of the book
followed by a screening of the movie. It was
interesting to see some member's opinions of the
book change after viewing Kubrick's interpretation.
There are literally thousands of book/movie
possibilities out there- find one that suits your group!
3. Select carefully! Our Reading Group
selects six months of books at a
time. I present 12 suggestions to the group, then
everyone votes for the six they'd like to read and the
top six votegetters are our next books! Using my
bookseller experience, I try to include a range of
genres- short stories, classics, historical fiction,
contemporary fiction, non-fiction, etc.- so that we
don't feel like we are reading the same book over
and over. When considering a book, be sure to ask
yourself if there are topics and issues in it that will
generate a discussion. I love a good mystery, but
what is there to talk about for two hours? Some
books just can't go the distance for reading gorups.
Find the ones that can!
4. the Literary
Inspired Theme!
A local group whose meetings always include
food and wine tries to tailor the
menu offerings to their particular book of the month.
For instance, if Jeffery Eugenides' Middlesex
is your book, ask everyone to think Greek for the
evening's cuisine!
5. Study! Try to do a
little homework before
your meeting- this helps keep the discussion lively
and focused. If you are reading historical fiction, find
out just how much of the events unfolding in the
book are fact and which are fiction. When we
read The Other Boleyn Girl (Philippa Gregory)
I brought in all my English history books (I'm a
confessed Anglophile) to help everyone better
understand the progression of Henry VIII's six wives
and also to help decipher his court's cast of
characters.
6. Who is writing? Run a
quick google on your author to find
out more about his background- it often gives you a
much clearer picture of where they're writing from!
Knowing more about Salinger's horrific WWII
experiences
helps explain the anti-war, almost pacifist theme of
Nine Stories.
7. Find a guide!
Many printings are now tailored to discussion
and include potential questions, but what to do when
the one you're reading
doesn't offer any? Hit Reading Group
Guides.com- a
very helpful website managed by my friend, Carol
Fitzgerald. Here you'll find discussion guides for
hundreds of books- with new ones being added every
month!
Reading Groups are incredibly
beneficial- mentally, intellectually, socially- the pros
are endless! Ensure a stimulating experience for
you
(and your group!) by putting in a little extra effort-
you'll be amazed by how much it will add to the
discussion! (And if your group has any
unique ideas, please share them with me!)
More help at Reading Group Guides.com...
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Flotsam & Jetsam
Footnotes from life at a coffeeshop
This summer was phenomenal!! We absolutely could
not have done it without the help of Katie
Christiansen, Taylor Bishal, Jeanne Gavin, and Mary
Renwick, ... Taylor & Mary- Good Luck at
school! Katie &
Jeanne- have fun back in the real world!... To all of
you,THANKS SO MUCH!!!- PLEASE come back next
year! ... this was one of the best summer crews
ever- if you stopped by this summer, you'll agree this
was an awesome foursome!.... we'd
also like to welcome Shanna Clark to our
Cottage
team, she's a face you'll continue to see this Fall
(along with Betsy, Caroline, Mandy, Lisa & Allen!)...
the Duck
Fourth of July Parade (on 7/4/06) went off
without a
hitch and was so much fun!... there were
homeowner's association floats and people in
costumes, a large
(over 40!) contingent of patriotic dogs, kids on
decorated bikes, music, fire trucks- it was red, white
and blue-tiful!... mark next year's calendar, this is a
wonderful community event you shouldn't miss....
our second Harris Teeter opened in July in
Kill Devil
Hills... I personally had to stop myself from
genuflecting outside its doors on my first trip... if you
think I'm crazy, than you don't remember the days of
the Kitty Hawk Food-A-Rama... Mandy is
married! At a beautiful beach ceremony on Sept. 17,
she said 'I Do!' and took Sean Brophy as her lawfully
wedded husband... Mandy looked beautiful! (see
picture!)...
the Town of Duck completed the process of
purchasing the Herron's Family Restaurant property
and now owns the entire tract of land between the
Sound Feet shoes building and Nags Head
Hammocks... plans for the property include picnic
areas, nature trails, green areas, kayak launches,
nature trails and more... the possibilities for uses of
this park are endless and it's addition to Duck will
definitely make our town like no other on the beach-
possibly even on the East Coast... July 22
marked
the Fourth Anniversary of Duck's Cottage- we
celebrated with a really fun cook-out....
Thanks to all of our loyal customers who have
supported us all the way!... another totally cool
new place at the beach is the Coastal Provisions
Market at
Southern
Shores Crossing (in Southern Shores)... this is an
awesome gourmet market featuring a refined
selection of produce, meats (natural pork!), breads,
cheeses, olive oils and sea salts and herbs- oh my!,
sample from an array of delicious prepared foods to
take home, reheat and enjoy (Chris highly
recommends the guacamole)... and some very
interesting
wines (try the Chenin Blanc!)... CPM, my latest vice
and so cool that Charlie (age 11) put their sticker on
his
door; to learn more about CPM, follow the link below
(you can sign up for their newsletter on the site)....
that's all the news we can remember from
the summer of '06 and we.... are.... outta here!!
Check out my favorite new place...
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The Signings Series
Authors at Duck's Cottage
Summer book signings were a big hit and we had a
wonderful time hosting Wendy Howell Mills, Steve
Alterman, Dave Hollander, Richard LaMotte, Sheri
Reynolds, Jerry Radford and Jack Dempsey. We still
have signed copies available on our website from
Wendy Howell Mills, Jack Dempsey and Jerry
Radford. Remember that a signed book makes a great
gift!
We have several signings to look forward
to
this Fall! On Saturday, October 28th,
Carole
Marsh will be joining us from 11 am to
1pm.
Carole is a wonderful children's author and writes a
great series of mystery books featuring 'Real Kids-
Real Places' that take readers to locales like Disney
World, the Rocky Mountains, New York City, London,
Paris and more! Her biggest bestsellers at Duck's
Cottage are The Mystery of Blackbeard the
Pirate, The Mystery of Kill Devil Hills and
The Mystery of Biltmore House. Carole is
looking for more 'real kids' to feature in her books-
could a child you know be one? Come in on Oct. 28th
and find out more!
On Friday, November
24th,
we
welcome Judith Mercier, author of Duck,
an Outer
Banks Village from 10 - 1; Jack and
Judith
Dempsey will be joining us for an afternoon
signing
session of their books Cleo & Cindy and
A Tale of Two Brothers: the Story of the Wright
Brothers. Books for these signings will be
available on our website early next month- and just
in time for Holiday gift-giving!
Learn more about Carole Marsh!
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Summer may be over, but at Duck's Cottage
we never close for the season! You'll find us here
every day at 7 am until 6 pm! If you're lucky enough
to get back to Duck for a few days this Fall, then
you're lucky enough and we hope to see you while
you're here! Have a wonderful harvest season!
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