Dear Gentle Reader,

Happy Fall, y’all. We are observing the official Banned Books Week and celebrating the fREADom to read what you choose. Swing by and check out our displays— you might be surprised at some of these challenged and banned titles. 

This Saturday at 11am, we welcome Minrose Gwin who will discuss her latest novel,Beautiful Dreamers. Pete really enjoyed this novel about a precocious teen and her mother, their gay best friend, and the con man who unravels their family.

Then Sunday, the 28th our series with the North Carolina Poetry Societycontinues. At 2pm, we welcome Ashley Lumpkin, Michael Gaspeny, and Steve Cushman.

Next weekend, McIntyre’s is hosting a doubleheader. On Saturday, October 5th at 11am, Michael J. Gerhardt will discuss his work, FDR’s Mentors: Navigating the Path to Greatness, and at 2pm Vanessa Woods talks about her latest work, Puppy Kindegarten: The New Science of Raising a Great Dog.

Saturday, October 12th we are hosting Cozy Con South for those mystery lovers who like the softer, less gory side of crime. Tickets are $10 and cover panels and snacks.

On Sunday, October 13th our favorite writing coach, Margot Lester, is offering two classes to get those college essays honed. If you have (or know of) a college senior, they might be interested in these classes. At 10am, she kicks it off with Pre-writing & Drafting Your College Essay: In this interactive workshops we discuss your prompt/question and learn a proven essay-writing strategy to plan your response. Then we have work time to produce a draft and get peer and instructor feedback. You leave with a strong working draft. This is ideal for students who have chosen a prompt or two but haven’t started working on their essays.

At noon, she will help with Revising & Finalizing Your College Essay: In this workshop we discuss the traits of good writing and effective admissions essays and learn a handful of revision strategies. We have class time to revise your work and receive feedback from the instructor and their peers. You leave with a stronger essay. This session is a good fit for students who have a working draft and want help making it stronger.

If you are interested in both workshops, sign up for the Combined College Essay Workshop: This hands-on session takes participants from first draft to revised essay. It’s best-suited for students who want to create a strong working document in a short amount of time. The workshops cost $90 for the individual workshop, and there’s a price break of $150 for both.

Thursday, October 17th at 6:30pm, we are reinvigorating Book Club Night. Tickets are $10 for this fun night. We will pour wine and talk great reads for your book club (or if you are not in a book club and want to add to your reading list– this is for you, too). For this night only, attendees will receive 20% off all book purchases.

Don’t hate us, but we have started tucking some Christmas/holiday stuff into corners around the store! If you are an early starter– come check us out or ask for us to show you what’s in stock. 

The Usual Suspects,

Pete, Johanna, Sarah, Tyler, Beth and Keebe