by Katharine Brown

Hello fellow bookworms! Spring is here with grey mornings, soggy afternoons, and chilly evenings but don't you worry, we have some great opportunities to keep you from getting bored as we wait for the sunshine. We have our monthly book clubs, an open mic, author events and more. Or, if you'd rather stay inside and snuggle up with a good book, check out our staff picks and new releases. There's something for everyone at Foggy Pine Books!

We are always excited to be partnering again with Out of Your Mind, a local, non-profit mental health community, to bring you Foggy Minds Open Mic! This open mic will provide a space for our local high school students and extended community to creatively express themselves and socialize with other artists! Musicians, poets, comedians, and magicians are welcome. Foggy Minds Open Mic will take place every second Monday of the month from 5:30-7:00pm at Foggy Pine Books. Our next meeting is Monday, March 9th, TODAY, and we hope to see you there. You can learn more and RSVP here on our Facebook page.

We are continuing to host Silent Book Club and have meetings twice a month, the second Tuesday @ 1pm and the third Saturday @ 6pm. Getting involved is simple. Just show up with the book you’re currently reading, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and read for an hour curled up in one of our chairs or couches. When you're finished, you can chat with other members in the conference room or you can head out. No pressure. If you're interested in a more traditional book club, our Foggy Pine Book Club meets on the last Saturday of the month @ 7:30pm and a Fantasy & Sci-Fi Book Club that meets the last Thursday of the month @ 6:30pm. Check out this month's selections on the book club blogs where you can read author interviews, book reviews, and more.

Come join us for a community event featuring local author Meredith Leigh and Blue Ridge Women In Agriculture (BRWIA) in celebration of the second edition release of Ms. Leigh's book, The Ethical Meat Handbook. Foggy Pine Books will host a conversation between Ms. Leigh and BRWIA on assuming responsibility for the food on your fork, integrating animals into your garden or homestead, and the economics and parameters for responsible meat production. For more information or to RSVP check out our Facebook event.

Last month, we introduced you to Elly, our new professional writing intern. She has been hard at work researching literary news, writing reviews, and crafting blog posts. If you've read The Golden Compass you'll love her take on the award-winning YA book and, if you're a Gaiman fan (and who isn't?) you'll be over the moon when you read her piece about The Sandman. Take a peek, leave a comment, and let her know what you think!

As you know, we have partnered with Libro.fm to bring you the hottest new audiobooks at great prices that support your local indie bookstore (that's us!). They have everything you want to listen to, including a Foggy Pine Books Staff Picks list and a playlist for Women's History Month. Want to earn two free book credits? Switch from Audible & use the code SWITCH when you sign up to get your free credits! We want to reward you for choosing your local indie bookstore.

We do have a bit of housekeeping to cover when it comes to parking. We know how difficult it is to find parking on King St. but, with the amount of downtown traffic, we are having to enforce our customers-only parking policy more strictly. The 6 spaces marked by 3 signs on the Turchin Center side of the lot and the handicapped parking space are for Foggy Pine customers currently in the store ONLY. You may not leave your car & walk elsewhere. If you do this, we will have you towed, at your expense, according to the signs posted clearly in our lot. If your car has been towed, you may pick it up from Bill's Garage. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Take a peek at what we're reading behind the scenes this month. As always, if you've read any of these titles, we'd love to chat with you about them!

Before we wrap up this post, we have some sneak-peeks at events coming soon that we know you'll be as excited about as we are. April 25th is Independent Bookstore Day and we have lots of exciting things planned to celebrate. Keep your eyes peeled for a blog post detailing all the discounts, giveaways, and other surprises we have in store! Then, in May, we are thrilled to bring author Brian Panowich to Foggy Pine Books to launch his new book, Hard Cash Valley. Finally, keep your eyes peeled for an announcement later this week about a new series of low stress social events. If you’re an introvert, new in town, or just want to socialize in a casual, task-oriented environment, these events will be perfect for you. More details will be forthcoming so make sure you’re signed up for our newsletter! We can't wait to see you all there!

​Read on!

February is here and no matter how you feel about Valentine's Day (😍/🤮), we know you'll agree that everyone wants to feel loved. You have certainly made that feeling real for us this year as we were honored to receive the Startup Business of the Year award from the Boone Chamber of Commerce. We know this award is directly related to community nominations and we literally could not have done any of this without you so thank you, from the bottom of our hearts! We are grateful to be part of such a generous and open-minded community of book lovers and we look forward to serving you for many years.

If you're a lover of Valentine's Day, be sure to come by the store for our First Friday Art Crawl, Friday, February 7th, and create your own love notes to distribute to your favorite people. We will have a Valentine's craft station, free wine (with valid ID), and a great giveaway!  Plus, if you make a shelf-talker for a book in our store, you get a coupon for 20% off ONE BOOK.

Not sure which book to purchase with your 20% off? Why not snag one of our new releases? There are several new titles available this month and you're sure to find something you love. You can choose from the following: A Black Women's History of the United States by Daina Ramey Barry, Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller, How to Live on 24 Hours a Day by Arnold Bennett, When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald, The Third Rainbow Girl by Emma Copley Eisenberg, and Highfire  by Eoin Colfer.

Watching a show or texting with a friend and the name of a great new book comes up? Afraid you won't remember the title when you finally make it to the store? Jump online and order it while you're thinking about it! You can have it shipped directly to your home or order it for in-store pick-up.

When you're ready to recommend your new book to a friend, you can use Libro.fm's new service, Bookstore Link, to be sure those you love are supporting your local bookstore. Bookstore Link connects readers to their local independent bookstore for online book purchases. When you follow a link to a book on Bookstore Link, you'll choose your local independent bookstore and be connected directly to our website to complete your transaction. This ensures that Foggy Pine Books, not Amazon, is making book sales. It's a win for all of us!

Not only does Libro.fm provide thousands of DRM-free audiobooks and independent bookstore support via Bookstore Link, they also offer FREE ALC's (Advanced Listening Copies) for all teachers and librarians. That's right! If you are a teacher or librarian, you can sign-up and download the books everyone else is waiting to read! Get started here! 

Wondering what titles you can expect in your ALC's? Chances are, some of our most popular upcoming pre-orders will be available! These include: Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, If It Bleeds by Stephen King, Conjure Women by Afia Atakora, The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickles, Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi (Book 3 of the Pandava Series), and Stormsong by C.L. Polk. If you're wanting to get your hands on a hard copy of these titles you'll be happy to know that all pre-orders are marked 15% off the cover price. So browse away and, when you're ready to order, head over to the website to choose your favorite one(s)!

If you've been by lately, maybe for a book club or author event, you may have noticed a new face around the store. We would like to formally introduce y'all to Elly Murray, our newest staff member. Elly is interning with Foggy Pine Books as she pursues her professional writing degree at App State. She is writing content for the blog and newsletter and, closer to the end of the semester, will be doing an intern takeover of all our social media. Keep your eyes peeled for her exciting, literary content and be sure to give her a wave if you see her around the store!

Speaking of book clubs and author events, we are excited to be hosting/co-hosting a ton of amazing events in February. First up is Story Slam at Noble Kava on Saturday, February 8th at 7pm. Come out and tell your true, 5 minute story on the theme "Moral Dilemma". Not ready to share your own story? Come listen and enjoy this welcoming and supportive community storytelling event. Foggy Pine Books also hosts a monthly open mic in partnership with Out of Your Mind, a local, non-profit mental health community. We'll be meeting on Feb. 10 at 5:30pm at the bookstore. This open mic provides a space for our local high school students (& extended community) to creatively express themselves and socialize with other artists. Musicians, poets, comedians, dancers, and magicians are welcome!

We are, once again, hosting a TRIO Live event on February 18th at 7pm. TRIO is a testament to the way words, music and art can come together around the power of a single story. We will be hosting the following authors/songwriters/visual artists this year and we hope you'll join us for this free event brought to you by Working Title Farm and check out some of the books, music, and art promoted by TRIO: PJ Brunson, Mark Bumgarner, Kay and Patrick Crouch, Eric Erdman, Radney Foster, Joanie Gardner, Jim Hamilton (The Last Entry), Caleb Johnson (Treeborne), Liz McKay, Dale Neal (Appalachian Book of the Dead), Bobbie Pyron (Stay), Kimberly J. Simms (Lindy Lee: Songs on Mill Hill), Shari Smith (I Am A Town), and Terry H. Watkins (Darling Girl).

On the 20th we are thrilled to offer a reading/signing/Q&A session with Lees-McRae professor Scott Huffard for his new book, Engines of Redemption. In his book, Huffard examines the rapid growth, systematization, and consolidation of the southern railroad network, demonstrating how economic and political elites used the symbolic power of the railroad to proclaim a New South had risen. The railroad was more than just an economic engine of growth; it was a powerful symbol of capitalism’s advance. Come by the store at 6:30 to learn more!

Our book clubs will meet as usual this month. Silent Book Club will be meeting February 11th @ 1pm and February 15th @ 6pm. Bring any book you're currently enjoying for an hour of quiet reading in the company of other book lovers. If you want to discuss what you're reading afterwards, the conference room is available for discussion. If you want to read and leave, you can do that too! Whatever makes you comfortable.

Our Fantasy/Sci-Fi Book Club will meet on the 27th @ 6:30pm to discuss Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Foggy Pine Book Club will meet on the 29th @ 7:30pm to talk about My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithewaite. We'll share wine & conversation as we discuss the books. These book clubs are open to anyone & we want to hear what you thought about the book, even if you didn't finish it. Book club is an excellent way to meet fellow book nerds in your community!

For more information on book clubs, author events, and featured events, check our our Facbook page or online calendar.

Take a peek at what we're reading behind the scenes this month. As always, if you've read any of these titles, we'd love to chat with you about them!

And last, but not least, our labor of love is finally ready to share with you! We have been fine-tuning our local consignment page and we are beyond excited to announce that it is open for submissions! If you are an author who lives in NC full time, who is independently published, and whose book is not published via CreateSpace, which is an Amazon-owned company, we would love to talk with you about stocking your book in-store. Please read our FAQ here and, if you think your book would be a good fit for the store, fill out the application and we will be in touch!

And that's a wrap for February. We can't wait to see you around the store for an event or just to chat about what you're reading. You can find more information about any of our events or readings on our Facebook page. Read on!

Well, it was harder than it should have been but we made it through 2019! Hugs, high fives, and hurrahs all around! If you're anything like us, 2019 made you take stock of your convictions and priorities. It galvanized you to be the change you want to see in the world. It motivated you to dive into this mess called life and do the right thing. We are so honored to be moving into this new year with passion and purpose alongside people like you.
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As you know, Foggy Pine Books is committed to providing opportunities for giving back, both in our local and global communities. If you've been staying abreast of the news, the fires in Australia are a countrywide catastrophe. Over 18 million acres of land have been burned and half a billion animals are injured, displaced, or deceased. When faced with such widespread destruction, it is hard to determine how we can be helpful, especially from so far away. But every little bit helps and that is why all proceeds of your purchase of a book from our environmental display will be donated to benefit WIRES and The New South Wales Rural Fire Service. Together, we can make a difference for the global community.

We all know that lasting change begins with ourselves. One of the best ways to effect change is to experience new things so we can look at our situation with fresh perspective. Luckily for us book worms, reading can aid us in that pursuit! It's truly amazing that just by sitting down with a good book, we can improve our capacity to understand other individuals and social situations. If you are ready to broaden your horizons, why not join our 2020 Foggy Pine Books Reading Challenge? You can find the challenge here or in the store. If you need a few suggestion, check out this list that Mary pulled together and don't forget to join our other readers via our Facebook group.

And even more good news - it just so happens that our Foggy Pine Book Club read for January will check a book off our reading challenge for you (you're welcome 😊)! Hope in the Dark is a collection of essays about remaining hopeful in a dark political climate. You can read all about this month's book pick (as well as browse past picks) here. And if you'd rather just escape from it all, take a peek at our Fantasy/Science Fiction pick, The Girl in the Tower, the sequel to Katherine Arden's bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale. You can read reviews, interviews, and find links to buy your very own copy here. We update these blogs each month so keep your eyes peeled for upcoming reads!

​It's a new year, so why not throw in a new read? We have some amazing titles coming to the store soon and you're sure to find something you'll love. We will have All the Great Territories, a new book of poetry by local professor & author, Matthew Wimberley; signed copies of Untamed by Glennon Doyle; and the third installment of the Nevermoor series (and staff pick), Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow. Remember, you can get 15% off the cover price when you pre-order any upcoming titles.

If one of your resolutions is to utilize your time more effectively, you're not alone and we've got your back! Can't sit down for an uninterrupted hour to get some serious reading done? Why not listen to a book while driving, running, or cleaning? You're not bored and the boring stuff still gets done - it's a win-win! Check out the incredible titles you want to read at Libro.fm, follow the simple steps to download, and plug into a great story. The best part? You can listen across all your devices because every download is DRM-free!

If you're still wanting to add a few titles to your TBR or you haven't found one yet to tickle your fancy, take a peek at what we're reading in store this month.

A few final reminders as you head into the rest of your day. We have a beautiful, shiny site all ready for your online orders. It only takes a few minutes to set up an account and you can order your books directly to your home or to pick up in store. If you're not able to find something online, don't hesitate to contact the store and let us find it for you.

Finally, if you haven't had a chance to check out our Silent Book Club you should come by next Tuesday, January 14 @ 1pm OR next Saturday January 18 @ 6pm. All you have to do is bring your current read, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and curl up in one of our chairs or couches with your book to read for an hour. Optional discussion group will follow and snacks and drinks are provided. We hope to see you then! You can learn more about upcoming events on our Events page or come grab a monthly event calendar at the store!

Read on!

Hello, everyone! I can't believe I almost let this month get away without giving you an update. We have so much to talk about!

I'll start with events first. We have two more February events left and both take place this week. Tomorrow, Thursday, February 23 we'll meet at Hatchet Coffee at 7:30pm for our first Hatchet Coffee Book Club. We'll be discussing Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and they will have Butterbeer Lattes available for $3, all day. I'm so excited for this meeting and to kick off this new book club in partnership with Hatchet Coffee. We still have copies of the screenplay available for purchase at the store. 

Saturday, February 25 we'll meet at the store for the February meeting of the Foggy Pine Book Club. We'll be discussing the beautiful novel, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. We'll also be finalizing our book choices for the next 6 months of reading! And, as always, we'll have wine and snacks to share. 

​There are also some March events that I'd like to go ahead and tell you about. We'll be jumping back into Spring with our First Friday event. It begins at 7pm on March 3rd and will last until 9pm. We'll have free wine. a giveaway, 10% off the entire store, and a Thirty-One vendor available for questions and orders. 

We'll also be returning to our children's story time. This event will take place on Saturday, March 11 at 3pm. We'll read a story together and have some kind of activity related to the story. This event usually lasts about 30 minutes and we'll have free coffee available for the parents. 

Finally, on Saturday, March 18 at 6:30pm, we have an author reading and signing with Lynn C. Willis for her book, Tell Me No Lies. This event will take place at the bookstore and books will be available for purchase beforehand at 10% off their list price. ​

We will also be sending out a new email newsletter in partnership with the literary website: Shelf Awareness. Currently, if you have signed up for the store e-newsletter, you are signed up for the Shelf Awareness e-newsletter. If you would like to be removed from the Shelf Awareness mailing list in advance, you can email Mary to have that done. If you check it out but decide that you don't want it, there's an unsubscribe button in the e-newsletter that you can click to have yourself removed. That said, we're really excited to send this newsletter out to our customers. Not only does it keep you up-to-date with the most current releases in hardback/paperback/children's books, you'll also find author interviews, book reviews, and links to other interesting articles on literary sites around the web. Plus, if something sounds so great that you can't live without it, you can click right on the "add to cart" button to buy it from us online. If you would like to register for this newsletter, please use the newsletter sign up. It has been adjusted to let you make a choice of which newsletter you'd like to have delivered to your inbox. 

One of the things we believe bookstores exist to do is to function as a community space. Right now, we don't have the space to do a lot of the things that we'd like to do but that doesn't mean that we can't start to offer more community events. So, in the spirit of community interest, we want to know which events you would be the most interested in participating in at the bookstore. We've created a quick, two question survey for you and would really appreciate you taking the time to answer it. We will definitely be reading and acting on responses so the more we have, the better we can serve the Boone community. Since it's such a short survey, we thought we'd just post it here:

The program we're most excited about offering is the Foggy Pine Ambassador Program. We love our customers and we love that our customers love us back. So, we've created an ambassador program for those that want to spread the good news about Boone's new bookstore. Here's how it works: starting in March, you will have the opportunity to become an Ambassador. We will include a signup link in the March newsletter, across social media, and on our website.

To be an Ambassador, you must agree to:
-be vocal about supporting FPB--word of mouth is the best form of advertisement
-write reviews for the store online or write book reviews for the Our Community Reads project
-give interested parties the FPB business card
-volunteer in at least one event every 6 weeks

In exchange, we will:
-give you a 10% discount on all purchases
-let you choose 1 ARC/month (doesn't have to be one we already have! Mary will ask publishers for you!)
-create a private Ambassador page on Facebook to connect Boone's most dedicated bibliophiles
-make sure you're the first to know about upcoming events, store changes, and community updates

So, stay tuned for the signup link coming soon!

​We're also extremely excited to tell that we are now able to offer digital audiobooks to our customers! Just go to the Libro.fm website to shop for audiobooks. They start as low as $5 per book and include new releases and children's books! Once you've made your purchase, you simply download the FREE Libro.fm app to your iOS or Android device and sign in. You'll be listening in no time. If you prefer to download your book and listen from your laptop or desktop computer, it's a very simple process. Every purchase you make supports Foggy Pine Books. So, shop away and please let us know if there's anything we can do to help you with this new program. 
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Last, but not least, we want to talk about Black History Month. We've had an excellent time sharing our favorite authors of color with people celebrating BHM. Though we are dedicated to promoting the voices of marginalized people through literature every day, this month has been a special time to reflect on the contributions that black people have made to literature and to the world. We have thoroughly enjoyed the warm, friendly conversations that we've been able to have with our customers about Black History Month. So, we wanted to take this moment to let you know that we are always okay to have those conversations. We want you to feel comfortable, regardless of race/gender/ethnicity/sexuality/religion/citizen status expressing yourself at Foggy Pine Books. We want to help you find your favorite book or a new author you heard about. We want to help you find the stories and the information that you long to see. We're here to support you. So, please, don't hesitate to make our store your space. Bookstore's belong to community. Let's make sure Foggy Pine Books belongs to Boone. 

Thanks for being a part of our community. ​