As you can tell from the lengthy amount of time between blog posts, we've been quite busy here at Foggy Pine Books. At the end of 2017, we acquired a larger space across the street from our location at the time and moved into it in January. We're so grateful to have the opportunity to move into this space and, now that we're settled, are looking forward to more involved community engagement. We hope you'll stop by to visit us in our new space at 471 W. King St, the Harmon House between Boone Saloon and the Turchin Center. 

We are also starting a children's story time series with Kindly Kitchen. The first event will take place on Saturday, March 17th (St. Patrick's Day!) and will continue on the third Saturday of every month for three months. The story times will start at Foggy Pine Books at 11:30am and will continue at Kindly Kitchen at 12:30pm. At Foggy Pine, parents will be able to get a free cup of coffee and at Kindly Kitchen a healthy snack will be available for children. The stories read will focus on food, community, and activism. Stay tuned to our Facebook page and the Events tab on our website for a list of the books we'll be reading together. So, bring your young ones downtown on the 17th to join in our brand new story time and stay to watch the parade!

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. 
​

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. ​

Happy New Year! You know what a new year means, right? Awesome new books! There are some books coming out in January that we're very excited about. I'll tell you more about them in another post this week. If you haven't checked out our reviews section, stay tuned for updates on books you won't want to miss! First though, I have updates about the bookstore!

Right now, we are hosting Noble Kava at the bookstore until they are able to move into their new location at Winkler Square. They will be running a booth in the store every day and will have kava, kratom brewskis & bulk, and kava candy/chocolate available for purchase. They are able to accept both cash and credit cards for purchases. The only thing we ask of Noble Kava patrons is that they please be respectful of the bookstore space. This is a drop-in booth and we do not have the space for people to hang out and socialize. Please be concious of the waste that you create and be sure to throw away empties or take with you any product that you've purchased. We also do not allow vaping inside the bookstore so please refrain from using your vape while purchasing product. If you are a bookstore patron and have never tried kava or kratom, feel free to talk to the staff member manning the booth. They will be happy to help you out in any way that they can. 

I also want to talk about the new book club program that we are offering. We have already posted about it in the book club section of the site but we want to make sure as many people know about this offer as possible. Foggy Pine book club members already receive 15% off our book club books. We would love to extend that offer to other local book clubs. All we need is a book list and the number of members in your club. We know that not everyone will purchase their book from us but we will keep a few books in stock for those members that do decide to shop local and support their communities. So, send a representative in or email Mary at foggypinebooks@gmail.com to start saving money on your book club's selections! If you are a member of the Foggy Pine book club, please click the book club link to RSVP for this month's meeting on Saturday, January 21st at 7:30pm. 

Finally, I want to tell you about the start-of-the-year sale we're having! During the month of January, we will be offering a 15% discount on all self-improvement books. Anything in that genre we don't have, we'll be happy to order for you for the same discount.

That's all for today, friends! We hope to see you in the store sometime soon and look forward to braving this new year with our loyal customers. Stay tuned this week for more info about the best books coming out in January!

Hello, everyone. We're a few days out from the election and it's hard to know the right thing to say. I'm going to try but I'm not perfect and I'm not immune to my own emotions on the topic. So, here goes. 

There are a lot of different emotions roiling around your hearts and minds. I know a lot of you are scared right now. Or angry. ​However, I want to take this time to make sure everyone knows they are loved and accepted at Foggy Pine. We don't tolerate hate speech and we support the rights of EVERY person. If you are scared, you can come be among the books and feel less afraid. If you are angry, you can come run your fingers along the spines and let the rows and rows of letters pressed together to make stories calm your mind. Books don't judge you. They don't ask who you voted for. They aren't going to debate with you. (Neither will I.) They will educate, entertain, and aid in your escape from this reality. They will expand your mind. They will deepen your empathy. Books, honestly, are a sanctuary and a weapon. You can choose what you need right now. Our doors are open. 

For me, books have always been a sanctuary and that's the place I've fled to in my mind the last few days. I've been thinking a lot about Harry Potter, which makes sense if you're a Potterhead like me. The theme that keeps returning to me over and over again is to not give up HOPE. Hope is the only thing that sustains us through dark times and, while it may be hard to grasp (or even reach!), we need it as much as we need love and acceptance. So, keep your wands on Lumos because we're going to need the light. 

I do have other updates. 

We have a lot of events going on this month and we'd love for you to be involved. Tomorrow, 11/12, we have Baby Storytime at 6pm. Bring your child that's 2 years old or younger and we'll read a story together, sing songs and maybe play a game. There will be free coffee for parents. We'll have Toddler Storytime on 11/19 at 6pm with a similar program: story, songs, play, free coffee. This event is for children age 2 -5 years old. Also, this month is National Family Literacy Month and all children's books are 10% off!! Perfect time to get a little holiday shopping done!

We have an author reading and signing this month on 11/18 at 6pm. We will be hosting Sara Rich, our Spotlight local author, as she reads from her novel, Ligatures. You can read my review of it here. We'd love to see you at the event and you definitely won't want to miss Sara's reading. 

This month is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and we are hosting a write-in on 11/21 from 11am-2pm for any local participants that are looking to meet up with other writers or just have a space to write outside of their home for a while. We are hosting this on a Monday so the store will be closed and you can spread out, relax, and get some work done without worrying that you might bother shoppers or be in the way. It's being held during lunchtime so, if you still have your day job, you can come over during your lunch and add to your word count! That evening, we are also hosting a closed write-in for 4th, 7th, & 8th grade students from Two Rivers Community School who are participating in NaNoWriMo. This will be held from 4:30pm-7pm so parents have plenty of time after work to come by with their kid. There will be drinks & snacks during both events. We are *so* looking foward to it!

We're wrapping up the month with a couple things on the weekend after Thanksgiving, for which we'll be closed. First, we have Small Business Saturday on 11/26. We'll be opening early that day (and Black Friday!) at 10am to give you extra time to shop with our store-wide 25% off discount! Plus, the first 10 people to make a purchase will get a free reusable tote! The Black Friday discount changes throughout the day. 20% off for the first 3 hours and then 15% off during the rest of the day. Plus, we'll have a giveaway for a $25 gift card that you can sign up for all day! We'll do the drawing before we close Friday night. You don't want to miss these deals for your holiday shopping. 

Finally, our last event is this month's book club meeting. We are discussing Stuart O'Nan's West of Sunset, a book about F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. We'll be meeting on Sunday, November 27 at 6:30pm. We'll have drinks & snacks to share around and plenty of fun as we discuss this month's book. You can read more about it and RSVP here. 

The last thing I'd like to mention is that we now carry Out of Print literary themed socks for just $10/pair. Stay up-to-date by following us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. 

The leaves are changing color rapidly and the peepers are in town in full force to witness the beauty that is the Blue Ridge Mountains in the fall. If you haven't had a chance to go outside and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather we've been having, I highly suggest you take a breather from whatever you're doing and feast your eyes upon the glory that surrounds you. If you don't live here, well, you should probably come for a visit before all these colors fall to the ground and are blown away by winter winds. 

We have a lot going on this month and shared some of that in our newsletter. If you haven't signed up for our newsletter already, you can do so here. 

Finally, all our fall related and horror books are 15% off for the rest of the month! We look forward to seeing you around the store and hope you'll join us for #patconroyweek and all our other various events. 

​Read on!

P.S.--If you wanted to nominate Mary, the store's main bookseller, for one of the James Patterson Bookseller Grants, that would be totally cool. You can do that here. 

It's taken some work to get to this point but we finally have some good news for you. In the next few days, we'll be introducing you to our first featured local author, Lisa Muir. We are so excited to be a part of her journey as an author and can't wait to share more about her and her wonderful book of short stories. Join us on social media to get the most up-to-date news about what's happening at Foggy Pine Books--Twitter usually sees everything first! Stay tuned!

We are over-the-moon excited about our new local author but since it's not quite time to release the book, and we're jonesing for more local artists, we thought you might be too! So, we've compiled a list of excellent authors from or working in North Carolina. This state has played host to some really remarkable talent over the years and I have the fortune of being able to connect you with these incredible writers. This list consists of Appalachian literary fiction, nonfiction, young adult, science fiction, and short stories--summer reads for everyone. Click each book cover to view it's Goodreads page and discover a new favorite author. Now, without further ado, 15 books by NC authors you just HAVE to read: