|
|
Dear Friends-
'07? As in, 2007? Two-thousand-and-
seven? Didn't we just celebrate the turn of the
century yesterday?? In the blink of an eye we're
already closer to the end of the
first
decade of the 21st century than we are to the
beginning of it. Hopefully you celebrated the arrival
of this New Year in the best place possible; and for
those of you who didn't make it to Duck, we hope
you had a good time in the next-best place which is
anywhere other than here. December brought Duck
some much needed peace and quiet (felt
eerie) followed by a welcome burst of summer-like
holiday crowds (very cheery). We had a visit from
the Big Guy (see
above), some big blows, and a really big fire (see
below). Things will now taper off for
awhile, but we'll still be here all day (7am - 6pm),
everyday, all winter long.... it's a great time to stop
in, warm up by the fire, chat with friends and enjoy
the slower pace of Winter at the Cottage!
 |
|
|
Between the Lines
Reading Recommendations from the Cottage shelves
Probably the biggest news is the release of the title
of the seventh, and last, Harry Potter tome-
Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows; no publication
date has been confirmed but Potter fans worldwide
are betting on 7/7/07... I finally got around to A
Spot
of Bother (Mark Haddon)- and thoroughly agree
with
Caroline that this is a very funny look at one
man's realization (upon retiring) that, at some point,
he- like
everyone- will die. Panic attacks ensue, eczema
becomes cancer, his son is gay, his daughter's
marrying the wrong man and his wife is having an
affair- why wouldn't you have a panic attack? Read
it. Philip Roth covers the same topic, although in
much more elegant and eloquent fashion, in his
most recent release, Everyman, a
Duck's Cottage Reading Group pick we all raved
about. Last week, the Group favorably
discussed Saturday
by Ian
McEwan. Most reviewers place this book in the Post-
9/11 genre and rightly so as McEwan explores the
effect that one moment can have on our lives and
how the fear of public terrors has overshadowed the
much more real possibility of personal trauma ...
every foodie needs The
Mere Mortal's Guide to Fine Dining, a slim
paperback subtitled 'From Salad Forks to Sommeliers,
How to Eat and Drink in Style without Fear of Faux
Pas' (Colleen Rush)... the Queens are at it again in
The Sweet Potato Queen's 1st Big Ass Novel
(Jill Conner Browne), it purportedly details 'stuff we
didn't actually do, but could have, and may yet.'
Some other new releases we just got in are The
Saffron Kitchen (Yasmin Crowther) which I
predict will be as big as The Kite Runner. "A
passionate and beuiling novel about mothers and
daughters, roots and exile, from the remote
mountains and rioutous streets of Iraq to the rain-
soaked suburbs of London". Run, don't walk, to get a
copy of this one. (We're all fighting over it at the
store.) Sure to be a paperback hit is What
Would Jackie Do? An Inspired Guide to
Distinctive Living. Authors Shelly Branch
and Sue Callaway cover every aspect of life- from
make-up to marriage to money- and explore how to
do anything with more grace and sophistication.
Who doesn't want to learn that! In fact, I'm packing
a copy for an upcoming girl's trip and have a funny
feeling I'll be asked to share- which, of course, I'll
do with style... just like Jackie.
The Woman at the
Washington Zoo is popular in paper. Washington
Post editor Marjorie Williams' writings on politics,
marriage, motherhood and her own pre-mature
mortality have been brought together by her
husband, Timothy Noah.
Carol
Fitzgerald from The Book Reporter
network stopped in
over the holidays (I could talk to her forever!)- some
of her more recent favorites have been Setting
the
Table (Danny Meyer) and Kockroach
(Tyler
Knox). I just finished my Dad's copy of Never
Have Your Dog Stuffed, the very funny,
poignant memoir by Alan Alda. I love him as an actor
(I think Same Time, Next Year is one of my
favorite movies) and now I have a whole new
admiration for his intelligence and non-stop thirst for
knowledge; so good I read it in three days. I'm now
enjoying one of Chris' Christmas presents, The
Art of the Steal by Christopher Mason. This book
explores the Sotheby's-Christie's art auction scandal
and goes indepth to a world where people spend $36
million on a painting- engrossing! A popular book in
our house of late is Crap Cars by Richard
Porter. This small gift book details the worst 50 cars
of the 60's to the 90's; BBC writer Porter is a riot and
has no mercy when it comes to crappy automobiles.
February sees the latest book from Sophie Kinsella-
Shopaholic and Baby- I've read the advance
and I love it, I love Becky, I want to be Becky. Chris
just
finished The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry
(the
follow up to The Templar Legacy); this is
another
Cotton Malone
adventure, this time focusing on the lost library of
Alexandria- Chris gave it a big thumb's up! Still need
ideas? The Book Reporter recently asked its
reviewers for their top picks of the past year; use
the link below to find lots of great book choices!
Book Reporter's 2006 Reviewer Picks
|
|
|
|
|
Flotsam & Jetsam
Footnotes from life at a coffeeshop
Wow- December's been jumping in
Duck! The biggest event was the controlled burn by
the Duck Volunteer Fire Dept. of Herron's Family
Restaurant (that's the one across from
Kellogg's)...as we've mentioned before, the
property was purchased earlier in the year by the
Town of Duck and has been incorporated into the
Municipal Park project... after many training exercises
by DVFD, Southern Shores, Kitty
Hawk and Nags Head units, the final torching
occurred around 3 pm, Saturday, Dec.
16.... much credit goes to Duck Fire Chief Donna
Black for an incredibly well-planned and
organized burn.... on Sunday, Dec. 17, the 103rd
anniversary of the First Flight was
observed at the Wright Memorial in Kill Devil Hills with
a flyover of jets, helicopters, cargo planes
and more.... Duck Village Outfitters is
getting a new home... the existing building for DVO
was demolished late this fall and the new structure is
already up and roughed in... Santa visited
Duck on Dec. 16 and was ferried through Duck by
attendant elves making stops at the
Waterfront Shops, Scarborough Faire and even
checking on the firefighters at the Herron's burn...
Santa promised to return for a visit next year and,
incredibly, was well prepared for his visit handing out
Snowman and Santa Rubber Duckies.... Duck's
Cottage received a nice pre-holiday write-up in the
industry email newsletter Shelf
Awareness ... movies we've liked recently:
We Are Marshall, Eragon, Night at the Museum, In
Pursuit of Happyness.... best reason to watch TV
on Wednesday night: still Top Chef- finale
coming soon!... and our very own Allen LeHew
was the recipient of the 2006 Rookie of the
Year award at the annual Duck Volunteer Fire
Department banquet!!! You go, Allen!
More photos from the burn
|
|
Once again, Happy New Year from Duck's Cottage!
May you have at least one moment of every day of
this year that makes you stop for just a minute and
think 'Life is Good'!
|
|
Don't worry if you didn't get one of our adorable
starfish ornaments on your tree this year! We will
continue to carry the popular Santa Starfish,
Reindeer Starfish and Surfin' Santa Starfish all year
long!
