Two locally owned, independent stores dedicated to providing our customers with an interesting, eclectic selection of books and the finest coffee available. |
Spring has officially sprung and with Easter/spring break season over we can look towards the upcoming season (an anniversary year in Duck!)
and what we need to accomplish before it arrives!
Top of the list is a total revamp of our website; we'll also be introducing a new logo, finetuning the Manteo store, reconfiguring shelves in Duck to incorporate new genres like graphic novels (adults & kids), journals and more.
It's 'to-do' list time and time to get to it! |
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Between the Lines
 Well, we've never sold a book before that moves a customer to demand a brown paper bag for their purchase, but if we've sold one copy of Fifty Shades of Grey, we've sold three dozen. E. L. James erotic trilogy has been the talk of the publishing world. The second and third books were just released- Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. Sure to be seen on beach chairs eveywhere this summer. New titles in paperback: Robopocalypse by Daniel Wilson, The Snowman by Jo Nesbo, YA title Where She Went, Gayle Forman's follow up to If I Stay, and The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Several titles of local bent are James E. White III's Paradise Lost: An Oral History of Portsmouth Island. White took tape recorded interviews with Portsmouth Island residents from the 1970's, transcribed them and then divided them up into categories for an easy to read collection of first-hand memories and anecdotes. Not new in print, but new to our store is Carolina Flare by Neal, John & Jim Conoley. A beautiful coffee table book chronicling the Outer Banks boatbuilding and sport fishing heritage.
Our book club just read The Art of Fielding and most reader's opinions matched the favorable reviews this baseball/campus novel has garnered elsewhere. Next up for us is Running the Rift, Naomi Benaron's novel set in Rwanda during the height of the Hutu-Tutsi tensions that revolves around the Olympic dreams of a young Tutsi.Other local book groups are picking up The Paris Wife (McLain), The Sugar Queen (Allen), She Got Up Off The Couch (Kimmel), Cutting for Stone (Verghese) and Ann Patchett's phenomenal State of Wonder (soon to be out in paper).
Other hot paperback titles right now include Joshua Foer's Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art & Science of Remembering Everything; River Jordan's surprise hit Praying for Strangers, The Weird Sisters (still) and, on my list, What Alice Forgot (Moriarty).
World Book Night titles are selling steadily- The Book Thief, The Things They Carried, Just Kids and, of course, The Hunger Games, all doing quite well at our store.
 Workman just came out with three adorable small kid's books based on their story collection, Unlikely Friendships, which tells the story behind a lot of those pictures circulated on the internet documenting friendships between animals like the elephant and the dog, the hippo and turtle, and for these three- The Leopard and the Cow, The Monkey and the Dove and the The Dog and the Piglet. Charming, lots of great photos- sure to please.
Spring is a big publishing season, so try to make time between getting the yard ready and your life summer-friendly, to squeeze in some good books; and don't forget to start putting together your summer reading list!
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A Big Night for Downtown!
 On April 6, we held the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting for Duck's Cottage Downtown Books. It was the first First Friday of the year for the downtown Manteo area and despite the chilly temperatures live music was available, restaurants were busy and people were out and about! Much thanks to the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce (of which we are now an official member!) for their help in coordinating the ribbon cutting. Long time Chamber president John Bone was on hand and delivered some meaningful words remarking on how grateful everyone in the community is to have a bookstore back in Manteo. Lots of friends, family, neighboring merchants and loyal customers also attended including Carol Fitzgerald, of the Book Report Network, and artist Christaphora Robeers who signed copies of her beautiful book, The Quiet Voice of the Outer Banks.Christaphora is the artist who painted the picture of Duck's Cottage (Duck) that appears on our t-shirts. We couldn't believe when, leafing through her book this winter, we discovered she had also painted the Manteo building that houses our store!! She is a wonderful person and graciously agreed to allow us to use her work (again) for the Downtown Books shirts which will soon be available on our new and improved website!
After closing the door on a great day of business, many friends returned to lift a glass of bubbles and toast the new venture! It was a wonderful evening and the official beginning of a new era for Duck's Cottage: thanks to everyone who came and enjoyed the night with us! |
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Duck & Wine Festival Signings
The fourth annual Duck & Wine Festival is coming on Saturday, April 28. Tickets for this tasty event are SOLD OUT however, there still some fun things going on here at the Cottage that you can take advantage of. During the festival hours, 12 noon - 3pm, we will have several authors on hand signing books: Steve Alterman, whose beautiful photography captures the true essence of the Outer Banks in both Outer Banks Edge: A Photographic Portfolio and in Coastal Wild (co-authored with Mark Buckler); Travis Morris, Currituck Native and memoir writer whose anecdote collections include Currituck As It Used to Be, Duck Hunting on Currituck Sound, Currituck Memories & Adventures and more; and Anne Parsons whose most recent cookbook- Food N Fun: Kids in the Kitchen- is both a collection of kid-friendly (and nutritious) recipes and fund-raising tool for Food For Thought OBX.
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Give An Hour
Volunteers are needed for the Dare Literacy Council's Book Sale Fundraiser! This wonderful non-profit offers tutoring to adults who want to learn to read, learn english or get their GED. The Sale is scheduled for Saturday, April 28, at the Dare County Recreation Park in Kill Devil Hills from 9am to 3pm. Want to donate books? Drop them off at any Ace Hardware or Gateway Bank location in Dare County as well as the Baum Center and the Dare Center (in Manteo). This event also requires numerous volunteers:
Are you detail oriented? Help with coordination!
An avid reader? Help sort and organize books!
Physically fit? Move and transport books!
Active? Set up and break down the sale!
Organized? You could maintain sale tables.
For more information and to volunteer your time email DLC at dareliteracy@gmail.com or call 252-216-7773. This is a great fundraiser- not to mention a great chance to score some inexpensive reads! |
 Flotsam & Jetsam Our first Friday in Manteo was a ton of fun and since I was working Saturday, Chris and I decided to say in town for the weekend! Got an adorable little cottage, the Wright Getaway, through the Island Motel (see quicklink). It is laid out perfectly, your every need is thought of and taken care of, it definitely earned four stars from us! A great escape, only a few blocks walk from downtown and on a nice quiet street. At the movies... do I need to say it? Hunger Games.. it was great, we all thought it was a well adapted screenplay and can't wait for #2- it sent me back to re-read Catching Fire and Mockingjay! On TV... Game of Thrones: Season 2. Chris got hooked on season one, I read book one last summer and have book two atop this summer's list. We've also been enjoying Frozen Planet in our household.
New Italian spot on the beach- Cafe Franco's at the Dare Centre is delicious, we will be going back often. Charlie and I recently ran out to Raleigh to check out State (yep, its that time!) and had an awesome lunch at a place called Greek Fiesta- don't know if it is a chain or just a Raleigh thing but it was delicious and someplace I would definitely stop if I saw it again! The Manteo Farmer's Market starts in two weeks and I can't wait! Am already hoarding recipes that utilize fresh seasonal ingredients. Also looking forward to Chef Wes Steppe's healthy cooking class at Outer Banks Sports Club next week!
The Town of Duck has posted the summer schedule for the upcoming 2012 season and it looks awesome! To check it out visit Town Of Duck.com |
IMPORTANT NOTE!!!We are in the process of converting our website- www.duckscottage.com- to an American Bookseller's Association IndieCommerce site! You will still find everything you need to know about our store(s), links to our newsletter archive and facebook pages. What will be new will be an incredible shopping experience that will allow you to order anything from coffee to t-shirts to ANY book you want, 24/7. Shopping with your favorite Independent bookstore will be as easy as patronizing those big guys online. In fact, you may never use that 'A' word again!
As of now, our online store is closed for business. However- we are ready and willing to take your order via telephone! Just call us at 252-261-5510, let us know what you need and we will get it to you!
We will send out an email as soon as the new and improved www.duckscottage.com is up and running! And thank you for your patience as we strive to serve you bettah!
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Atop the stack...
 I've been putting together my 'Get Ready for Summer' reading list. This is not to be confused with my actual Summer Reading list which was begun months ago. These are some books that I'm going to look to to start get in the right frame of mind for summer. First up is The Outdoor Shower by Ethan Fierro. I'm not planning on totally remodeling mine, but am just looking for some tips and ideas to make it more of a fresh air spa experience instead of just a post-boat washdown. I'm hoping Max Burns's The Dock Manual will inspire us to get a bit more creative out on the creek and turn that spot into an outdoor living space as well. To get ready for lighter summer meals, I'm turning to Salad for Dinner by Jeanne Kelley which promises Complete Meals for All Seasons. Last but not least, Summer: A User's Guide by Suzanne Brown covers everything from rules for outdoor games to clambake instructions to what to do with all those seashells! I'm giving this one out for late Spring gifts, too. 37 days to go to Memorial Day Weekend! |
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