Mountain Stores have more to offer

Should anyone doubt the value of locally owned and operated stores and shops, just take a few minutes to visit City Lights Bookstore in Sylva or The Compleat Naturalist in Asheville. Yes, they both have "stuff" for sale and you can probably even find some the same stuff at chain stores or online dealers. But, like most of the mountain shops,  you'll also find unique products by, about and for the local community. And even more important, you'll find local folks who truly know their "stuff" and share their expertise with both neighbors and visitors on a regular basis. They are making sure the good old days are still with us and the small mountain towns remain an oasis to think, commune and learn.

The Complete Naturalist is hosting a FREE party, Friday July 15, 6:30-8:00 PM. Celebrate the end of the week with drinks and snacks. This week the Naturalist Meetup welcomes Dr. Tim Spira, author of the new book, Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains & Piedmont. This book was the Naturalist's top seller at the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Smokies. Come and meet Tim and mingle with other naturalists - a fun way to kick off a summer weekend! Join the new Compleat Naturalist Meetup Group to be notified of upcoming events. Meet other nature lovers, outdoor enthusiasts, naturalists, and similarly inquisitive minds.

Stop by and stay for the whole time or leave when you wish. Please RSVP if you plan to attend so that the refreshments can be planned: Laura@compleatnaturalist.com. A portion of our proceeds goes to support the non-profit group, Discover Life in America (DLIA), which oversees the project that is helping the Great Smoky Mountains National Park manage its resources and tell its story through science. The Compleat Naturalist is located at 2 Brook Street in Historic Biltmore Village, Asheville NC.

         

City Lights Bookstore is hosting Hillbilly Tales from the Smoky Mountains on July 15th at 7:00 PM. Whittier resident and author, Patricia Graham, will be at City Lights to read from her book, Hillbilly Tales from the Smoky Mountains. The book includes several short stories based on the folklore of the Appalachian mountains.

Before the time of cell-phones, computers and television, family members would gather on the front porch and conjure stories through oral traditions. This endearing book offers hillbilly sayings and proverbs that go hand-in-hand with mountain medicine. Part two includes The Return to Green Cove, a short but dramatic story written by one of the original descendants of the Crowe family, Ms. Verna Humphrey. Facing the end of the Civil War, poverty and death take their toll on Charlotte, a young girl struggling to regain her birthright. When a young lawyer enters upon the scene, Charlotte's interpretation of heritage takes on a brand new meaning.

And just for FUN - stop by on Game Night, held every third Monday at 6 PM.   Bring the whole family for brainy games at the bookstore and less brainy games, such as Cornhole, Washers and more at the Cafe. Look for food specials and Kid's meals as well!

City Lights stated mission is: "to share the literature of the Southern Appalachian region with the world, and the world of books with our community." City Lights Bookstore is located at 3 East Jackson St. in Sylva NC.

Sylva Bookstore Now Offers Google eBooks

City Lights Bookstore in Sylva NC may be a small shop in a small town but it's a big part of a growing cultural community in the smoky mountains. The bookstore is a gathering place for locals and visitors alike with poetry readings, book signings and a friendly staff throroughly knowledgable about their excellent inventory.

And now Google eBooksTM has arrived! You can shop locally even for digital media. The ebooks have been available on the City Lights website for several years and the number now available through Google eBooks is huge. From New York Times bestsellers to old favorites, City Lights Bookstore now offers you one of the largest ebook collections available with Google eBooks. Shop for your next ebook and begin reading on just about any device.

With Google eBooks, you can read seamlessly on almost any device - the Kindle ebook reader is an exception.  Computers, tablets (such as iPads), Nooks, Sony's eReader, Droids, iPhones and other smartphones are all fine. Google eBooks stores your library safely in the digital cloud, so you can read anywhere you go, using just about any device with an Internet connection.  As you read, your page positions are saved across all the devices so you can pick up reading where you last left off. That means you can start reading on your PC, continue on your laptop, and carry on reading on your smartphone.

Explore thousands of titles instantly  in every imaginable category. From bestsellers to classics, top fiction to up-and-coming authors, all Google eBooks now offer instant availability and free preview before you buy.

So maybe the day to "have your cake and eat it too" has finally come. Well...at least it has in Sylva at City Lights Bookstore. You can shop locally with excellent and friendly service and still have the largest selection of ebooks in the world. That's technology even an ol' mountain gal can love.
Check it out at City Lights Bookstore, 3 East Jackson St., Sylva, NC or online here

Burnsville Hosts Carolina Mountains Literary Festival This Weekend

Sept 10 - 11 at the Carolina Mountains Literary Festival novelists, poets, historians, playwrights, journalists and storytellers gather to read from and discuss their works. Multiple events happening simultaneously in venues throughout the town (all within walking distance). Events for kids on Saturday. FREE and OPEN to the public

Poetry Reading from Thomas Crowe in Sylva

June 19, 7PM  City Lights Bookstore hosts Thomas Rain Crowe reading from New Collections of Travel Poetry. In recent years Crowe has traveled to different countries and continents and has written poems while on some of the more extended trips. Poems from some of these trips have been collected and recently published in three new books from three separate publishers. Crowe will discuss his travels, his poems, and what he refers to as "a new genre" of travel writing.

City Lights Bookstore is located at 3 East Jackson St., Sylva North Carolina,  http://www.citylightsnc.com

Book Signing and Reading in Sylva

May 28, 7PM, City Lights Bookstore, 3 East Jackson St., Sylva North Carolina. Emily Herring Wilson, editor of "Becoming Elizabeth Lawrence: Discovered Letters of a Southern Gardener", will be at City Lights on Friday, May 28th for a reading and booksigning. “Becoming Elizabeth Lawrence" is a book about the art of gardening, the lost art of letter writing, and the art of friendship—in sum, the art of living,” says Wilson, who discovered a treasure trove of Elizabeth Lawrence’s letters to her mentor Bridgers.