Dear Gentle Reader,

It has been pretty warm lately– enough to take the starch out of you. But if you are still up for travelling, we have been sharing our staff’s summer reading recs.  We continue today with kids and middle grade recs from Johanna and Beth. Also please note we will be OPEN JULY 4th from 10-5.

Two more thoughts for summer: Johanna Banana is still hosting storytime on Thursdays at 10:30am! It is a great get together with other pre-k kids and toddlers for a song or two, some stories, and coloring.  Secondly, if you are on the road, still hungry for a book and unable to read– check outLibro.FM. They have a terrific selection of audiobooks, AND you can also choose your favorite indie bookstore to be your vendor. So if you love City Lights, Prairie Lights, Green Apple, Plott Hound Books or McIntyre’s, you can choose to support your faves with your audiobook selections.

This Wednesday from 2:30-4:30pm, Margot Lester is here to dole out her expert writerly advice. If you are working on a project and thinking about consulting Margot, come by this week as she will not visit us again until September.

Mark your calendars for our next mystery double header on Saturday, July 13th. At 11am, David Rosenfelt returns to discuss his latest in his Andy Carpenter dog themed mysteries, Dog Day Afternoon. Also in attendance will be our co-sponsor, the fine folks at CARE(Chatham Animal Rescue and Education). Then at 2pm, we are so excited to welcome a pair of Soho Press’s finest writers. Eli Cranor (Broiler) and Gary Phillips (Ash Dark as Night) will be here to discuss their books. Pete is sooooo in love with Broiler, a gritty Southern noir, that just scratches that itch. Gary Phillips is travelling from Los Angeles to talk about his Harry Ingram novels, the most recent being One-Shot Harry. 

Did you see us on PBS this weekend? WUNC’s North Carolina Weekend filmed this spring around our 35th birthday celebration. Keebe and Pete talked about what makes us special at McIntyre’s; if you haven’t seen it yet you can watch our clip here: https://www.pbs.org/video/mcintyres-books-ismfow/

And now our summer reading recommendationscontinue! We’re highlighting a few of our favorites for kids; you can find a bigger list on our website here. 

From Johanna: 

Juniper Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic by Sangu Mandanna I read this whole graphic novel aloud to a 7 year-old and 11-year old and we all enjoyed it! This is a great magical fantasy for fans of The Moth Keeper or the TV show Owl House. 

These Bodies Between Us by Sarah Van Name This is a like a great Sarah Dessen novel with a twist of science fiction. Callie and her friends always choose a big project to complete during their summer break together on the NC coast. This year they choose to learn a new talent: turning invisible. An excellent teen read and by a local author too! 

Coming soon / On my TBR list

Plant Pets by our friends Beatrice Boggs Allen and Belle Boggs! At only ten years old Bea is the primary author on this great new book about gardening and caring for houseplants. Maybe you can’t have an animal pet at home but anyone can have a plant pet, and Bea and her mom Belle have all the tips and tricks you need to do it. 

I also like to read (some) books for grown-ups, and this summer almost all of them fall into the categories of fantasy, romance, or fantasy-romance. Recently I’ve loved A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall, The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton, and Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis, which is the first in a trilogy of high-octane novellas (the second installment comes out this December). I’m finishing up a fun one called Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland and am looking forward to The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava which comes out in August. You can browse all of these titles and the others we mentioned in our last few newsletters on our website here. 

And from Beth:

Road Home by Rex Ogle I am halfway through this one. It is a hard memoir but it keeps you reading and is a reminder of the resiliency of youth and life. Rex Ogle is multi-talented! He is also the author of the Supernatural Society series and graphic novels including Four Eyesand Pizza Face. 

Looking forward to:

Moko Magic: Carnival Chaos by Tracey Baptiste and Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek by Kwame Mbalia These 2 books are the first from the brand new publishing imprint Freedom Fire, which is helmed by Raleigh author Kwame Mbalia and is devoted to stories about the Black diaspora from Black creators. 

The Usual Suspects,

Pete, Johanna, Sarah, Tyler, Beth and Keebe