May 15 @ 12 noon: Lunch with Mary Alice Monroe
June 29, 5 to 7pm: Booksigning with John G. Sauls
July 6, 5 to 7pm: Wine & Cheese party with Diane Chamberlain
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Upcoming Author Events!
May 1, 2012 by Lori
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Latest Staff Book Pick
May 1, 2012 by Lori
The latest Quarter Moon “staff pick” is The Lotus Eaters, written by Tatjana Soli. Ms. Soli crafts a rare and insightful novel about the clash of Vietnam’s two diverse cultures that led to the American involvement in Vietnam. This well-written tale portrays the conflict through the lenses of one of America’s first female photojournalists. Ms. Soli presents a poignant vision of a country, its people and the conflicting cultural differences that brought Vietnam to war. As we near the 50th anniversary of the American years in Vietnam, many books will be written about this era; Ms. Soli’s novel should be on the top of that list! -Claire
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Upcoming author luncheon with Mary Alice Monroe!
March 27, 2012 by Lori
Plan on joining us Tuesday, May 15 at noon at Quarter Masters restaurant to enjoy lunch and conversation with best selling author Mary Alice Monroe! She will be discussing her new book, a sequel to The Beach House, titled Beach House Memories. Tickets are $40.00 and include lunch and a copy of the book.
Please call or stop by Quarter Moon to purchase your ticket!Quarter Moon Books & Gifts
708 S. Anderson Boulevard, Topsail Beach
910-328-4969
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The Madonnas of Leningrad
February 22, 2012 by Nicki
The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra DeanI read this because my mom made me.(Not that she had to try very hard, I’m drawn to books about art, museums, paintings, artists, Russia, war…) She wouldn’t be quiet about this novel of an elderly Russian woman remembering her days in Leningrad during the war. There is a scene where she, a tour guide for the Hermitage, leads a group around the halls, giving them the tour of all the paintings and works of art. Only the walls are bare, the halls empty, since the art had all been taken away for safe keeping to protect it from the Germans. This doesn’t deter her, however, and she leads her group from piece to piece, describing what had been there, what she still could see in her mind’s eye. I mean, how can you pass a scene like that up?
I think this would be a great book for book clubs.
Category Book Reviews | Tags: , art, artists, book clubs, Leningrad, museums, paintings, Russia, war | No Comments
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An African in Greenland
February 20, 2012 by Nicki
An African in Greenland by Tete-Michel KpomassieA young man from Togo decides to run away from home to live with Eskimos. I’ve become something of an evangelist for this book–having written extensively about it –not to mention practically forced it into the hands of various people, including my mother (who loved it, I knew she would).
This is not your usual arctic adventure story. In fact, this book–with its lovely language and contemplative, engaging approach, pretty much spoiled me for any other kind of adventure reading. He-man tales of white people conquering exotic lands and enduring ridiculously extreme hardships now all sound brash, testosterone-fueled and arrogant to me, placed next to the tale by this gentle and ever-curious African.
There are an endless series of beautiful moments in the story, like this one:
Towards one o’clock in the afternoon, we spotted the first ice floes. These were ice blocks of varying shapes and sizes, drifting here and there as the waves took them. The smallest looked like swimming swans, and some were like crouching camels rocking gently from side to side. Some were white, others green or blue. A brilliant sun, cold as steel, glittered on them and transformed the sea into a fairy-tale world: a vast ice-blue expanse strewn with great chunks of crystal. A dazzling glitter seethed and multiplied.
I find myself wondering, with all the interest recently in arctic and antarctic exploration stories, how did this book get overlooked?
Category Book Reviews | Tags: , arctic exploration, travel | No Comments
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The Evening Hour by Carter Sickels
February 14, 2012 by Nicki
In one of those serendipitous, the universe must be talking to me moments, I came home last fall from the North Carolina Writer’s Network‘s annual fall conference to find an advanced copy of Carter Sickel’s book The Evening Hour waiting on my door step. It seemed like a “pay attention” message. At the conference, the keynote speaker had been Silas House, and one of the subjects he spoke about (when talking about oral history) was the pressures and conflicts felt in the mining communities in which he was raised.The Evening Hour is set in just such a community–Dove Creek, West Virginia, where the only industry is the dangerous and destructive one of mining. Through the eyes of its protagonist, Cole Freeman, we come to some understanding of the impossible situation of the community. Where the only real work is with the mining company, but where “mountain top removal” (doesn’t that phrase just evoke a horror?) mining destroys the very land underneath and overhead of the town itself. The people feel backed into a corner, without options, forced to watch their way of life sacrificed to big industry, yet dependant on that same industry simply to survive.
There is a lot of David and Goliath in this story, and a lot of big bad corporate types versus simple, desperate, (and very poor) townsfolk. But Sickels presents a nuanced and heartfelt picture of a community in crisis. He doesn’t give simplistic judgments because there are no simple answers.
And Sickels writes beautifully:
“Cole double-locked the trailer door behind him, then stood on the top rickety step for a moment, still waking up.. Gunmetal sky, with the faintest hint of light rippling at the edges. There was a tight chill in the air on this early April morning, and he shuddered, rubbing his bare arms. The air smelled like sulfur and scorched earth.”
Basically, if you are a fan of Silas House (Clay’s Quilt) or Ron Rash (Serena) then Carter Sickels is your new favorite author!
Category Book Reviews | Tags: , appalachia, mining, okra pick, southern fiction, staff picks | No Comments
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Announcing our new Wine Bar!
February 6, 2012 by Nicki
Category Gifts | Tags: , events, wine | No Comments
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New Jewelry!
October 25, 2011 by Lori
We have added a new line of fun rings to our jewelry collection. They are created by Babb-co, two local artists who love vintage. Each beautiful ring is made from resin, recycled and re-purposed ephemera and images. Silver, copper or brass are also incorporated into the designs. The one-of-a-kind rings each have their own story!
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