Saturday, May 16, 2009

Mystery Bestsellers

The following were the bestselling titles at member bookstores of the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association during April:

Hardcovers

1. Borderline by Nevada Barr (Putnam)
2. Look Again by Lisa Scottoline (St. Martin's)
3. Long Lost by Harlan Coben (Dutton)
4. Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster)
5. Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson (Morrow)
5. Wormwood by Susan Wittig Albert (Berkley)
7. Manna from Hades by Carola Dunn (St. Martin's)
8. About Time by Donna Leon (Atlantic Monthly)
9. The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
10. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon)
10. Dante's Numbers by David Hewson (Delacorte)
10. Life Sentences by Laura Lippman (Morrow)

Softcover

1. The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon (Penguin)
2. Winter Study by Nevada Barr (Berkley)
3. Nightshade by Susan Wittig Albert (Berkley)
4. A Date You Can't Refuse by Harley Jane Kozak (Broadway)
5. Death Walked In by Carolyn Hart (Avon)
6. Murder of a Royal Pain by Denise Swanson (Obsidian)
7. Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry (Ballantine)
8. Cheating at Solitaire by Jane Haddam (St. Martin's)
9. Grand Cayman Scam by Randy Wayne White (Signet)
9. Missing by Karin Alvetgen (Felony & Mayhem)

[Many thanks to the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association! and Shelf Awareness]

Paragraphs has most of these title in stock so if you are looking for a good whodunit to read on the beach or on the deck at Parrot Eyes stop by and let me make a recommendation.

Friday, May 15, 2009

The Shellebration Continues

Tonight the Turtle Days activities will continue with the Annual Lighting of the Tiki Torches on the bay side of the Island.

Nancy Marsden invites everyone to come and help us welcome the beginning of summer.
Join the flotilla of kayaks as they paddle down the bay lighting tiki torches on the way. Non-motorized vessels will be launching from Parrot Eyes. Meet at 6:00 p.m.

Meet the flotilla at the bay endings and celebrate the turtles and the beginning of Summer.

Turtle Days Shellabration with the Kings and Queens of Sargassum will follow at Mooncussers (205 Palm St.) Hula dancers, island drummers and the Saturn Street Strummers will perform.
Personally, the bookends and I will watch the parade from my street end bench on Cora Lee and then wander on down to Mooncussers and join the party. Hope to see you there.

For the non-Islanders check out the SouthPadre Network (see sidebar). One of the many live cams should catch some of the fun.

Oh and I want to remind anyone who doesn't have a Turtle Ball ticket, stop by Paragraphs today and pick one up. The turtles will thank you.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Time for an Update

Yes, it has been awhile and I found out today that a few lonely souls out there in cyber land do actually drop in on this blog to find some current information, so it is time for me to get back in the writing mode.

Paragraphs has been a busy place the last few weeks. We had a good turnout for the Poetry Festival and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.


This week we had the first meeting of the new Anonymous Play Readers group and JoAnn provided the background information as members took turns reading from Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward.


The Turtle Tea is a benefit event for Sea Turtle Inc. held during Turtle Days - which honors the nesting season of the endangered sea turtles - and Paragraphs was honored to host today's tea. Attendees were treated to a proper English tea served in lovely china cups and an assortment of tasty treats. Residents brought plant cuttings which added to the atmosphere and as part of the plant swap gave everyone a chance to add a little something new to their landscape. Many thanks to Nancy Marsden for putting this together and to The Beach Service for the use of their chairs.

I hope this summarizes what I have been up to the last month and I will be more diligent in the days to come.