Mailbox Monday - July 13

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

We survived the beaches of North Carolina despite Jaws trying to attack people. One afternoon, we arrived to discover they had pulled a shark from the waters a mile from us just a few hours prior to our arrival that day. What fun.

As always, vacations are too short. I also worked on vacation a bit. Overall, we had a superb time. I should have some photos to share soon.

I picked up an autographed copy of Voices from the Outer Banks edited by Stephen Kirk at Books to Be Red, an independent bookstore on Ocracoke Island. Kirk had book signings scheduled in Manteo and Duck while we were at the Outer Banks, but I didn't get a chance to meet him. I let the kids dictate our schedule while we are away. He is the editor of John F. Blair, Publisher.

While visiting, I also got a chance to recommend the books of Karen White to someone looking for Southern fiction. She picked up one of her books, which I hope she will enjoy as much as I did.

John F. Blair, Publisher, continues its Real Voices, Real HistoryTM series with Voices from the Outer Banks. This volume presents the actual words of the people who lived the uncommonly rich history of this chain of barrier islands stretching from the Virginia border southward through Cape Lookout.

Readers will enjoy contemporary accounts of the first British settlement in North America and the birth of the first English child on American soil. They ll read 18th-century letters, articles, and poems about the bloody death of Blackbeard, arguably the most famous of all the pirates. They ll read the news account of the first powered airplane flights in human history. And the editorial that created America s first national seashore. And the words of family members who once inhabited the nation s most iconic lighthouse part of a matched set of four.

Topics include the Graveyard of the Atlantic, in a nod to the rough waters that over the centuries have claimed hundreds of vessels, and Torpedo Junction, site of the Great American Turkey Shoot, the latter nickname bestowed by German submariners during World War II.

The volume includes first-person accounts of Civil War battles, a freedmen s colony, hunt clubs that drew the first wealthy tourists, and lifesavers who used horses to pull surfboats to the water and fired lines by cannon to wrecked vessels. Readers will even hear contemporary stories of the Boy Scout troop that rode ponies descended from ancient shipwrecked animals.

I also picked up several Kindle books while browsing Amazon's titles:

Learn more here!

Learn more here!

Learn more here!

Learn more here!

Learn more here!

That last one I picked up to read with my online book club. You can learn more about it here.

Finally, when I returned home, this book was waiting for me--a gift from an author whose book tour I am hosting.

Trying to be a normal 12 year old is going to be hard but Jania is certainly going to try. Being the Princess and having to compete to become a Warrior Maiden is just the beginning of her problems. Looks like someone tried to kill her but got her guards instead. Now she and a small party must travel to a city that few people escape and return with a special flower to save her guards. Did I mention, it all has to happen within 24 hours or they become trapped forever. Like I said...just a normal 12 year old. 

What did you receive this week?

And, We're Back!

North Carolina was wonderful. Though we had more rain than usual, the family still managed to have a nice time. We went to the beach, ate some great food, and finally took the ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke Island, where we walked around the village area. We stopped by the Ocracoke Preservation Museum, checked out the British Cemetery, enjoyed ice cream at The Slushy Stand, and visited the Books to Be Red bookstore. If you're on the island, you really need to check out this neat bookstore. It's much larger than it looks from the outside and has a slew of interesting titles and gift items, as it shares space with Deepwater Pottery.

I picked up a journal for each of the girls and treated myself to Portsmouth Divided: Portsmouth Island and the Civil War by James E. White, III. This is just one of a series of books the author has written about Portsmouth.

We had never been to Ocracoke in all the years we've vacationed on the Outer Banks, so this was a nice day trip. Next time we go, we'll rent a golf cart to travel around. The island isn't very large and it's much more peaceful than Kill Devil Hills, where we stay on the mainland. I would love to visit one time with just the hubby and take the boat out to Portsmouth.

In addition to this day trip, we visited Manteo a few times. The first was to take in the fireworks on July 4th, but toward the end of our first week we stopped at the Island Gallery Christmas Shop, which is probably my favorite place on the Outer Banks. I usually buy myself a new Christmas ornament, but this year books were on my mind. At a 60% discount I picked up a copy of Tom Wolfe: A Writer's Life edited by Ted Mitchell. I recently heard of this book, even though it was released in 1999. It was a recommendation, so I figured I would check it out. The editor is an authority on Tom Wolfe.

As for books from my TBR Pile, I reviewed Anasazi Intrigue by Linda Weaver Clarke here on July 1st. I also started The Queen's Vow by C. W. Gortner, and I am almost done with Strong Rain Falling by Jon Land.