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Dear Friends-
The Phantom has come and gone in my neighborhood
leaving my flamingoes wondering where the *&?#
their Turkey suits are. Its funny how every year we
can't believe it's already Halloween, and then
Thanksgiving and then Christmas, but still never
learn to slow down and savor every ordinary day for
the holiday it is. So tomorrow, brew
the 'Company's Coming' coffee- and drink it yourself.
Let the kids write the Turkey
Day shopping list (you'll be reminded of how simple
the menu can be. I still have one Charlie wrote at
age 5!) Don't wait until the day is over
and you're in bed to let yourself read for awhile.
Little
luxuries don't have to cost a lot-
sometimes they don't even have a price tag. Every
day is a gift... every day is a holiday... keep that
thought in mind over the next month!
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Between the Lines
Reading Recommendations from the Cottage shelves
Some hot titles for November are John Grisham's
first
non-fiction effort, The Innocent Man, which
explores an unsolved murder, a blatant case of
injustice and the small town where it all happened.
Early reviews on this are good and Grisham's legal
background will surely help in making this a gripping
read. Having tackled the Civil War and the American
Revolution, Jeff Shaara, author of Gods and
Generals
and The Last Full Measure, is back- this
time with a novel of World War II. The Rising
Tide, first in a planned trilogy, traces with vivid
detail and four-perspective narrative the events that
pull America into this European war, highlighting the
fighting in North Africa and Sicily. Shaara is the
master of his craft and this latest work promises to
meet and exceed all expectations.
North Carolina native Nicholas Sparks is back with
another tale of love and longing called Dear
John. Adriana Trigiani has another chapter in the
Big Stone Gap story, this one called Home to Big
Stone Gap.
Nobel Prize
winner Orhan Pamuk's books are selling
briskly- his most recent book, Snow, spent
time on the fiction bestseller list and his memoir,
Istanbul has proven popular as well. (Learn
more about Pamuk and his recent charges
of 'insulting turkishness' by clicking on the link below.)
We just got in a new regional book called
Getting to Pine Island: An Outer Banks
Odyssey by Elizabeth Baum Hanbury. Using her
great-grandfather Joseph Baum as a central
character, Hanbury uses history and fact to create a
fictive missive that brings Outer Banks history to life.
Some new offerings in paperback this month...
The Lost Painting by Jonathan
Harr. I really like Harr's non-fiction work and this book
centered around the discovery of a long-lost
Carravaggio
painting is no exception. Harr (A Civil Action)
is a great writer who can give life to any subject.
Jodi Picoult's The Tenth Circle now joins
My Sister's Keeper and Picoult's numerous
other bestsellers on the paper shelf. Pawley's
Island, Dorothea
Benton Frank's latest, is also out in paper this week.
Jan Karon's last
book in the Mitford series, Light From
Heaven, is finally in soft-cover. Karon's
books are delightful and set in the little
North Carolina town of Mitford whose eccentric
characters, with their woes and worries, are ably led
through their seemingly normal small-town lives by
Father Timothy, their Episcopal priest. Be forewarned-
you won't be able to put these books down until you
finish all nine!!
I'm currently reading and enjoying
Everyman
by Philip Roth for our Reading Group- its a slim novel
dissecting man's sense of his own mortality; I'm also
finding Alison Weir's
The Six Wives of Henry VIII- a
welcome perspective since for once an author
focuses on the women of the Court and not the
man.
Advances for spring publishing releases are
starting to trickle in. I don't have time to read them
all, and have a sturdy 'review committee' of staffers,
loyal customers, friends and relatives who help me
out with the task. Thanks to Linda Nave, Fred,
Denver, Chris, Jim, Marge, Lucy, Caroline, Lisa, Allen,
Amy,
and anyone else who's read an advance and shared
opinions with me! I couldn't do this alone!
Orhan Pamuk, 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature
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One Stop Holiday Shopping!
Great Gift Ideas from the Cottage
PLEASE NOTE: We couldn't possibly fit
everything listed below on our web site SO.. if you
read about something here that you can't purchase
there, just give us a call here (252-261-5510) and
we'll do it by phone. Now on to the good stuff (in no
particular order)...
Just in, fabulous stained
glass sea creatures- lobsters, crabs, herons,
shells, pelicans, seahorses and, my personal favorite,
jellyfish- they're beautiful and all priced under
$20
Always a hit, the 2007 Nuns Having Fun
($11.95) wall
calendar featuring Sisters swingin',
drummin', scooterin'- everything but sisters sinnin'.
For the Ipod generation, grab the 2007 Page A
Day 365 Tunes Calendar ($11.95)- every day
has great
song and playlist ideas all downloadable from etailers.
A must for the shopaholic, 101 Things
to Buy Before You Die ($21.95, Maggie Davis)
previously mentioned in this newsletter, still
recommended. Gun Clubs and Decoys of Back Bay
& Currituck Sound ($19.95, Archie Johnson) not
only features a photo of Duck's Cottage back in its
Powder Ridge Gun Club days, but provides a full
hunting history of the area complete with countless
b/w photographs. We have the last paperbacks left
of this title as Archie isn't doing any more printings!!
Another one we told you about before is Duck
Hunting on Currituck Sound ($19.99, Travis
Morris)- Tales from a Native Gunner a terrific
new memoir for every northern Outer Banks goer. For
the kids
(and some adults) on your list- The End
($12.99, Lemony Snicket)- do the Baudelaire orphans
survive? do they die? I know, but I'm only telling for
the right price. The incredibly popular Series of
Unfortunate Events ends with this one. The
Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker ($35.00,
Robert Mankoff, ed.) is out in paper! Weighing in
at a respectable three pounds, it includes a DVD with
all 70,363 cartoons! Fish:77 Great Fish of North
America ($50.00, Flick Ford/Dean Travis Clarke)-
we
know, you're thinking fifty bucks for a book about
fish? Ford's watercolors of individual specimens are
gorgeous as is Clarke's narrative, a terrific gift for the
sportsman or naturalist.
Two lovely new Mike Helsabeck puzzles from
Heritage Puzzles are Pintails at
Whalehead- need we say more? and Snows
at Bodie, featuring a snowy Bodie Island
lighthouse amidst flocks of snow geese. Both are 550
pieces and priced at $17.00 Don't forget Duck's
Cottage Signature gift items-
mugs, hats, tees and bags- make great stocking
stuffers! The Pure Sea Glass notecards, set
1 and 2 ($14.95), are great to have on hand for last
minute hostess or teacher presents. Give a gift for
the tree with our starfish inspired ornaments- choose
from the Beach Santa, Santa w/Surfboard,
Reindeer and the Currituck Lighthouse
Sanddollar, all a steal at $7.00 and selling like
hotcakes! For a photo collection you won't find
anywhere else check out The Outer Banks in
Vintage
Postcards ($19.99, Chris Kidder). Pirates
($19.95, John Matthews) has everything you ever
wanted to know about bandits on the high seas and
is great for Jack Sparrow-wannabe's of all ages. New
this fall are our unique bookends- three distinctive
styles- cast iron owls ($14.00), a
wooden chest of
drawers (great for the nightstand!) and the
chest in
a flag motif (chests, $28.00).
We hope
we've put you in the mood for the upcoming
Christmas Shopping season (ladies, start your
engines!) Need more help? Stop in or give us a call-
we always have a list of bookish ideas ready for all
the cool people on
your yule list!
On to shopping...
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Flotsam & Jetsam
Footnotes from life at a coffeeshop
Hmmmm... it's been such a quiet fall that I'm having
a hard time scuttling up any butt to put in this
column! I can report that we experienced several
big 'O's' at
the Cottage recently- Betsy hit the big
3-0.... John hit the big 5-0
and yours truly hit the big 2-0...(times 2)...
the Town of Duck held an official
groundbreaking on
Friday,
November 3rd at the site of the
future Duck Municipal Park. Over the past few years,
the Town of Duck has acquired all of the Soundside
property between the SoundFeet Shoes building and
Nags Head Hammocks. Phase 1 of the Municipal
Property Master Plan is now underway and will
have
a kayak launch, parking area, playground and gazebo
in place by next summer (for further details, use the
link below).... we'll keep you posted on events
planned for 2007 including the Columbus Day Jazz
Festival .... the first OBX Marathon took
place Sunday, November 12... over 4,000
runners
participated in the race (and in the half-marathon)
which began in Kitty Hawk
and finished up at Roanoke Island Festival Park in
Manteo... if you missed that, come cheer for the
runners in
the 11th Annual Advice Five Cents Turkey
Trot! This
5K takes place Thanksgiving morning in Duck and is a
lot of fun to watch!.... Tapas is back! Head
to Chili Peppers every
Thursday night to sample small-plate cuisine from
around the world- it's an Outer Banks tradition!... the
annual Chowder Cook-off is set for
November 19th at
Seagate North Shopping Center- for a nominal entry
fee, taste dozens of chowders from local restaurants
and epicures. A yummy way to spend a Sunday
afternoon! Wow, for November- there
really is a lot happening on the Outer Banks!
Check out plans for the Park...
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The Signings Series
Authors at Duck's Cottage
Continuing a Thanksgiving tradition at Duck's
Cottage, we are pleased to announce a full line-up of
authors both before and after the holiday! On
Wednesday, November 23rd, Lisa Jones Johnson
will be signing copies of her mystery, A Dead
Man Speaks, from 2pm to 4 pm. Bestselling
author Stephen Cannell pronounced the
book 'masterfully and uniquely plotted... don't miss
this one!' Post turkey day, we welcome Judith
Mercier, author of Duck: An Outer Banks
Village who will
be in the store on Friday, November
24th, from 10 am to 1 pm autographing
books.
Part personal essay, part oral history, Judith's book is
the perfect gift for all the Duck-lovers on your
holiday list.
Jack and Judith
Dempsey will be joining us in the afternoon of
the 24th (1:30 - 3:30) for a signing session
featuring
their books Cleo & Cindy and
A Tale of Two Brothers: the Story of the Wright
Brothers. Jack's book is a heart-warming tale of
his love for two dogs, and their love for him. Judith's
book is a must-read for all history and aviation buffs!
Books for these signings are
available on our website- remember, they won't be
shipped until after the signing and there is a box to
enter a personal inscription on the website. Only one
thing is better than giving just the right book for
Christmas, and that's giving it autographed!
Order your signed copies now!
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As the Holidays begin their approach, don't forget to
take a few minutes every day to find gratitude in
your heart, thankfulness in your head and kind words
on your lips. We hope Thanksgiving Day finds you
surrounded by family and friends and the special
warmth of the holiday. At Duck's Cottage, we'll be
giving thanks for the strong, continued support of
our customers scattered across the globe, the
friendships we've built with so many of you and for
the opportunity we've been given to work and live in
Duck, our kind of paradise. Have a Happy
Thanksgiving....
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The Original Duck's Cottage Tee-shirts are back in
stock- and in long sleeve! Our tees feature 100%,
pre-shrunk, pigment dyed cotton and come in three
great colors- periwinkle, sand and cabernet.