The Star Spangled Banner. Fire engine sirens and children laughing while chasing candy tossed from parade floats. Red, white, and blue flags, streamers, banners, and pennants. A sulfur tang in the air and God Bless America on the speakers as fireworks explode in the night sky.
Category Archive: Read
Let’s celebrate America’s independence by remembering the reason for the season. Fourth of July has become a fun summer celebration of cookouts, fireworks and pool parties, but it’s also a remembrance of how America unified and overcame great obstacles to free itself from England to become its own country.
Summer is a popular time to make short work of those to-be-read piles that have been stacking up all year long. And while some bookworms love to reach fun romances or women’s fiction set at the beach, some bibliophiles prefer the fast-paced, heart racing, page turning effects of domestic suspense.
“One thing she knows about lies – once they start to stack up, they can topple over, crushing you under the weight of them.”
There’s nothing like small-town drama, no? I grew up in one — a place where it feels like everyone knows everyone — but despite the sharing of recipes, chatter, and church pews, do we ever truly know our neighbors?
Some folks turn to books for comfort, others for inspiration. For me, it has always been about good, old-fashioned escapism. When the chaos of life comes nipping at my heels, I retreat to a hot bath with one of my favorite books. In Today We Go Home, two women also find comfort in the pages of a book — a diary.
Summertime is almost here, and if you love books as much as we do, we know you’re compiling your TBR stack for the summer. Well, guess what? We’ve done it for you, finding the perfect mix of romance, women’s fiction and mystery – all southern fiction, all set at the beach and perfect for reading by the ocean, the pool or in your home while you relax and sip an iced coffee.
Set in the tiny fictional community of Waves, North Carolina in the Outer Banks, is Jenny Hale’s newest romantic novel, The Summer House. As someone who loves to align her reading with the current season, I was so excited to pick up this book which is filled with new beginnings, friendships, and romance, all taking place in a beautiful beach setting.
Gardening and I have never been friends, and, thanks to my husband and his enviable green thumb, it’s a skill I’ve never really needed to master. In fact, so brown is my thumb that pulling weeds – in essence, killing plants – is the primary role I play in any gardening-related activity at our home.
by Rea Frey Helen Ellis is the type of woman you immediately want as your friend. A sweet, […]
To Kentuckians, it’s simply ‘The Derby’. You may also have heard it called ‘The Run for the Roses’ or ‘The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports’. It’s the first stop on the journey to the American Triple Crown, but The Kentucky Derby is so much more than just a race.
It wasn’t long ago when cookbooks started layering personal essays with recipes as a way to evoke our interest beyond just the ingredients and methods. Using a similar spin is Kerry Bogert’s expertly curated Coffeehouse Knits – Knitting Patterns and Essays with Robust Flavor, which provides a perfect combination of know-how and inspiration for knitters of all levels.
by Dianna Dames
I noticed Old Books On Front Street about a year ago. It’s nestled towards the end of the shops on Front Street, closer towards Cape Fear Community College. They had a chalkboard easel set up on the sidewalk in front of the store that said, No one loves that old Kindle smell. Of course, that joke brought me into the store.
When I recently came across the chance to review Geoffrey Fisher’s Slingshots & Key Hooks: 15 Everyday Objects Made from Foraged and Gathered Wood, it was nearly impossible to say no. This is quite a strange decision because I am not, nor have I ever been, a carpenter, a woodworker, or even a wood hobbyist. But, what I am, is a creative person who loves making things with her own hands. And that is just what Slingshots & Key Hooks is all about.
I love downtown Raleigh with it’s hustle and bustle, sights and the many spontaneous events that it hosts. Parades, street festivals, and arts and crafts shows are just a few that come to mind. Now that the weather is taking a turn for the warmer, I took my family and headed downtown this past weekend. We ran across a book store that had a Little Library out front. I was immediately charmed and decided to visit the shop.
Southern Lady Code by Helen Ellis is a literary cocktail of hilarious insights, snark, and shockingly good advice—best consumed with a vodka lemonade (and a shortbread cookie).
I’ve always loved books and I often seek the refuge of bookstores in my area.
There is a mixture of big-box chain bookstores and independent bookstores in the greater Raleigh-area and I thought I’d visited them all. So I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon an independent bookstore in Wake Forest, secreted away amongst a community theater and a dance school. I couldn’t wait to explore.
The capital city of Raleigh is host to good food, great shopping, interesting historical sites and a diverse collection of independent bookstores. Raleigh is fortunate to be able to sustain more than one bookstore and we’re happy to support them all.
Here’s a look at three of our favorite bookstores in Raleigh.
Don’t marry into murder.
No Good Tea Goes Unpunished is the second book in the Seaside Café Mysteries series by Bree Baker. Set in a coastal community, it’s a fabulous breezy mystery for anyone looking for a little fun with a side of danger.
North Carolina has so many wonderful bookstores, it was a real challenge to find the best of the best. But we’ve come up with an excellent selection of bookstores that are bound to please even the finickiest of book lovers. With curated book collections, helpful staff and creative spaces, we think you’ll agree these are some of the best bookstores around.
There’s just something about a nice cozy mystery. If you’ve read one, or two or three, you know what I mean. They are a bit addictive with the cute town, eccentric cast of characters and mysteries you want to solve for yourself. And let’s not forget the themes! It’s so entertaining to read a story that incorporates something you’re really interested in, whether it’s cooking, knitting or woodworking, there’s a cozy mystery for every reader. And there’s nothing we love more than to find a really good cozy mystery set in the south.
We’ve compiled a list of our favorite cozy mystery series set in the southern USA.
With so many good books to choose from, we wanted to keep it simple for you. Here are four of the best examples of southern fiction published in 2018. Well reviewed by critics and readers alike, these stories set in the south are sure to resonate with us. If you read one, let us know what you thought of our recommendations.