Last Light in Carolina

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatball

I've always loved this book when I was a little girl and now it's coming soon to theaters so I'm SUPER excited. Here is the trailer for any of you who love this book just as much as I do.

The Time Traveler's Wife

Read the book before you watch the movie!

Celebrate Your Independence with Independents

I challenge you to take the Indie Challenge – use Independents Week to explore your community’s independently-owned businesses. See how much of your purchasing for the week you can do with them.
IndieBound best explains the question

Why shop Indie?

When you shop at an independently owned business, your entire community benefits:

The Economy
Spend $100 at a local and $68 of that stays in your community. Spend the same $100 at a national chain, and your community only sees $43.
Local businesses create higher-paying jobs for our neighbors.
More of your taxes are reinvested in your community--where they belong.

The Environment
Buying local means less packaging, less transportation, and a smaller carbon footprint.
Shopping in a local business district means less infrastructure, less maintenance, and more money to beautify your community.

The Community
Local retailers are your friends and neighbors—support them and they’ll support you.
Local businesses donate to charities at more than twice the rate of national chains.
More independents means more choice, more diversity, and a truly unique community.

Now is the time to stand up and join your fellow individuals in the IndieBound mission supporting local businesses and celebrating independents.
IndieBound supports Independent Business Alliances around the country.

The White Queen by Phillippa Gregory

Release: August 18, 2009
Call or visit your local bookstore

BROTHER TURNS ON BROTHER to win the ultimate prize, the throne of England, in this dazzling account of the wars of the Plantagenets. They are the claimants and kings who ruled England before the Tudors, and now Philippa Gregory brings them to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women, starting with Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen.

The White Queen tells the story of a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition who, catching the eye of the newly crowned boy king, marries him in secret and ascends to royalty. While Elizabeth rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the missing princes in the Tower of London whose fate is still unknown. From her uniquely qualified perspective, Philippa Gregory explores this most famous unsolved mystery of English history, informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills.

With The White Queen, Philippa Gregory brings the artistry and intellect of a master writer and storyteller to a new era in history and begins what is sure to be another bestselling classic series from this beloved author.

Pout-Pout Fish

Deep in the water,
Mr. Fish swims about
With his fish face stuck
In a permanent pout.

Can his pals cheer him up?
Will his pout ever end?
Is there something he can learn
From an unexpected friend?

Swim along with the pout-pout fish as he discovers that being glum and spreading “dreary wearies” isn’t really his destiny. Bright ocean colors and playful rhyme come together in this fun fish story that’s sure to turn even the poutiest of frowns upside down.


This adorable book is our latest favorite. The illustrations are wonderful, the rhyming text is fun to read out loud and we agree..."Sometimes a kiss is all it takes to turn things aruond."

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Written by Stieg Larsson


The international bestseller is now available in paperback! The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.

“Wildly suspenseful . . . an intelligent, ingeniously plotted, utterly engrossing thriller.”
—The Washington Post

Cheney to publish his memoirs

From the New York Times:

Former Vice President Dick Cheney is working on a book. A spokesman for Simon & Schuster said Mr. Cheney would write a book for Threshold Editions, where Mary Matalin, his close friend and adviser, is editor in chief.

Mr. Cheney, who had been looking for a publisher for about two months, joins a roster of Bush administration figures writing memoirs, including President George W. Bush; his wife, Laura; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.; former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld; and Karl Rove, the former presidential political adviser. Mr. Rove’s book will also be published by Threshold.

Mr. Cheney’s memoir, which will focus on the past 40 years of his life, mostly in Washington, will be published in the spring of 2011. The deal was negotiated by Robert Barnett, a Washington lawyer who also represents Mr. Bush, former President Bill Clinton and President Obama.

The former vice president is working with his eldest daughter, Liz Cheney, on the memoir. Ms. Cheney is helping with research and “filling in the gaps.”

“He’s a student of history, and I think he never really planned to write a book,” Ms. Cheney said. “But I think because the job he just finished is obviously his last job he’ll ever have in government and because he cares about history and has been part of so many consequential events over the last 40 years, he wants to make sure that his story is told, and told in a way that his grandchildren will be able to understand and appreciate even 20 or 30 years from now.”

She said Mr. Cheney had been writing out his thoughts in longhand but had also begun writing on a laptop, working in homes on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, in Virginia and in Wyoming.

In addition to covering his roles in the administrations of Presidents Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, George Bush and George W. Bush, Mr. Cheney will write about his private-sector experience, including his time as chief executive of the Halliburton Company, the oil field services provider.

A person familiar with the negotiations said Mr. Cheney would receive around $2 million for his book. The spokesman for Simon & Schuster declined to comment.

Catching Fire

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.


We loved "The Hunger Games" and wondered whether she could do it again with "Catching Fire". The answer is a resounding yes and with another cliff-hanger ending, I can't wait for her third book in this series. Hurry and reserve your copy now!!!

Indie Bookstores

Quotation of the Day

Best Way to Help Indies: Visit, Buy, Spread the Word

"I began a story in the same place I always do--a feeling, a lump in my throat, a 'what if.' And then I took two of my favorite things--beaches and bookstores--and combined them into a story. . . . I have dreamed of owning a bookstore just like the Driftwood Cottage, but I am also realistic enough to know it is just that: a dream. I don't believe I could run a bookstore and continue to write novels. I've watched the commitment and dedication that it takes to keep an independent bookstore afloat, viable and interesting. . . . I believe many people love their independent bookstores but don't understand the problems the bookstore is going through. Readers are very upset when a local indie shuts down, yet they don't understand the things they could have done to prevent the bookstore's demise! I think the best things we can do to help save our local indies are to visit them, buy our books from them and spread the word about them. Buy local: It's not just a slogan, but a real way to save our indies and help the local economy thrive."--Patti Callahan Henry in an interview with the Fayetteville Observer. Her latest novel, Driftwood Summer (NAL, $15, 9780451226884/045122688), focuses on the complicated relationship among three sisters as well as the challenge of running an independent bookstore.