Don't Mourn Summer *
s End; Catch Up On Your Readina
BY LYNN CARLSON
If you don't know about Robert
and Francesca, chances are it's
because you're still on a wait
ing list to read The Bridges of
Madison County, the slim, wildly
popular little volume by Robert
James Waller, the essayist-turned
novelist Literary Journal calls "the
sultan of saccharin."
While Waller's new book. Slow
Waltz in Cedar Bend, is sched
uled to hit the shelves in November,
Bridges continues to enjoy phe
nomenal success. In print for more
than a year, the bittersweet love sto
ry continues to attract new fans
who've discovered it through
sources as diverse as the "Oprah
Winfrey Show," National Public
Radio and the "Doonesbury" comic
strip.
"Ever since Waller was on
'Oprah' ? from that day on, we
couldn't keep it," says West
Brunswick Branch Librarian Fele
cia Hardy, adding that 50 people
are waiting to check out the
branch's four copies.
Sales are as brisk as ever, too,
says Jim Lowell of L'Bookworn at
Holden Beach. "Our top three sell
ers are Bridges of Madison Coun
ty, Bridges of Madison County
and Bridges of Madison County,"
Lowell jokes, adding that rentals of
the book are "going wild" as well.
While cartoonist Gary Trudeau
may find Bridges a little heavy on
schmaltz, readers can't get enough
? even "Radio Readers" who ... ^rd
Dick Estell read it on his NPR
show earlier this summer..
Next on the hot list? Everything
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Vacation time may be ending,
but reading a good book is
the best way to relax.
Choose from...
Tom Clancy's WITHOUT REMORSE
Robert Waller's BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY
The Kellys' CAROLINA WATERMEN
(Our local classic)
or
Michael Crichton's JURASSIC PARK
all at...
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*
Your Classic Bookstore ?
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Open 10-6 Mon-Thurs., 10-9 Fri & Sat ? 1-6 Sun ? 842-7380 ?
Holden Beach Causeway (at the bridge)
by Mississippi lawyer-novelist John
Grisham. With Tom Cruise starring
as Mitch McDeere in The Finn
and Julia Roberts soon to hit the
screen as Darby in The Pelican
Brief, demand for The Client ? al
so destined for celluloid ? has esca
lated, Hardy said.
Die-hard Grisham fans still love
A Time to Kill the best of all, and
someday soon there will be mil
lions of dog-eared paperbacks of it
in yard sales and on used bookstore
shelves everywhere.
Right behind Grisham is Chicago
lawyer Scott Turow, who continues
to keep eager readers' Itty Bitty
Book Lights glowing late into the
night with Pleading Guilty. While
not enjoying the critical acclaim of
Presumed Innocent and Burden
of Proof, Pleading Guilty is sell
ing well in hardback and is in de
mand at the library, too.
Margaret Shick, manager of
Little Professor Book Center in
Southport, says that while Waller
and Grisham are the sales leaders
there, the new Tom Clancy novel.
Without Remorse, has been "go
ing gangbusters ever since it came
in."
In addition, Shick says more and
more mystery and crime fiction
lovers are becoming fans of Patricia
Cornwell, whose Richmond-based
stories unfold through the point of
view of medical examiner Dr. Kay
Scarpetta.
Corn well's All That Remains is
about the search for a serial killer
whose victims may include the
daughter of the country's first fe
male drug czar. "There's a lot of de
tail about how evidence is collected
and the profile of a killer is arrived
at," Shick said. "They're really
good books."
No matter what people are read
ing, "more and more of them are
enjoying their vacation through a
good book," says Lowell, who adds
that business has been strong in
sales and rentals, in paperbacks and
hardbacks.
In demand are new books by the
perennially popular authors ? Dan
ielle Steele, Jeffrey Archer, John
Jakes, Larry McMurtry, Belva Plain
and John LeCarre. Gaining ground
are young authors such as Barbara
Kingsolver, whose new Pigs In
' ' :'>v:
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Heaven is sparking renewed inter
est in her two other novels, The
Bean Trees and Animal Dreams.
Kmgsolver's fine writing is charac
terized by strong female lead char
acters with modern problems and
old-fashioned good hearts.
Among local and regional titles,
tops is Richard and Barbara Kelly's
The Carolina Watermen: Bug
Hunters and Boatbuilders, which
records the reminiscenses of Bruns
wick County boat builders, shrimp
boat captains and fish house own
ers. In the July-August Island
Living, reviewer Eric Carlson said
"this fascinating glimpse below the
decks and behind the docks of our
local seafood industry will be a
treasured addition to the library of
anyone who lives or vacations on
the South Brunswick Islands."
Lowell said L'Bookworn had
sold 60 copies and was expecting a
surge of new sales with the Kellys'
scheduled book-signing session
there on Aug. 21.
Also locally noteworthy is Pat
ricia Gurgel's Into The Hurricane,
written at Holden Beach, scheduled
for release Sept. 22 and reviewed
by Susan Usher elsewhere in this
issue of Island Living.
Books on Tape
While tooks on tape don't seem
to have become big sellers in this
market, they are extremely popular
with library patrons.
"We have lots of new titles, and
books on cassette are booming,"
Hardy says. In addition to offering
man" popular modern titles on
tape, the West Brunswick Branch
has a respectable collection of clas
sics, including Henry James' Daisy
Miller, Charlotte Bronte's Jane
Eyre and Kate Chopin's The Awa
kening.For a real treat, listen to Sir
John Gielgud reading Evelyn
Waugh's Brideshead Revisited
next time you take a road trip.
Children's Books
For the kiddies, this is the year of
"anything about dinosaurs or tur
tles," says librarian Hardy.
"All the teachers are coming in
looking for books to introduce
kindergarteners to school," she
added. Hardy especially likes
Kevin Henkes' charming book
Chrysanthemum, about a little rat
starting school and learning to deal
with classmates who make fun of
her name.
Parents continue to favor current
and past Caldicott and Newberry
Medal winners for their little ones,
while older children continue to de
vour Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys
mysteries.
At Little Professor, big favorites
among adolescents are R.L. Stine's
books which "go out like wildfire,"
according to Shick.
Shick likes to recommend Cyn
thia Rylant's books for kids about
4-8. "The Relatives Came is won
derful," she adds.
Seashore-based children's books
such as Nags Head author Suzanne
Tate's Salty Seagull and Tammy
Turtle continue to move well at the
library and local bookstores.
What's Ahead
Hardy provided a copy of the
"Prepub Alert" from the July issue
of Literary Journal to give Island
Living readers something to look
forward to. Among books sched
uled for release in November are:
? Margaret Atwood's The Rob
ber Bride. "Set in Toronto, At
wood's story explores the concept
of woman as villain."
? Carrie Fisher's Delusions of
Grandma. "In Fisher's next fling,
a very pregnant Vivian decides to
kidnap Grandpa Bill from the nurs
ing home."
? Garrison Keillor's The Book
of Guys. "These 20 stories ? only
five of which have been previously
published ? concern guys like A1
Denny, author of Rebirthing the
Me You Used to Be.
? James Michener's Creatures
of the Kingdom: Stories of An
imals and Nature. "This book col
lects nature stories found in classic
Michener novels, from Alaska to
Hawaii ? and throws in one unpub
lished piece for good measure."
So if you're mourning the end of
summer, get a grip! Lose your sor
rows between the pages of a good
book.
Give the little
dickens a little
Dickens.
Or Mark Twain. Even Dr. Seuss.
At Little Professor, you'll find
the children's books they'll love
now... and keep loving as they grow.
919-457-9653
Please call again.
River Run Shopping Center
Southport, NC
fjOO)
Little Professor
Book Center
Wc help you find txvoks you'll love
v member . >! trie I if tie I'fotevMif fastilv of locally o*ned htwk'tufes