"Surveys show that surveys never lie.”
~ Natalie Angier
|
|
You're all getting ready for barbecues and awkward bathing suit photos today, so I'll just sum up our survey results, and let you get on with your celebrations.
I asked how many of you say lightning bolt or thunder bolt, and how many of you say lightning bug or firefly. My theory was that the speech patterns were connected. My theory was... drum roll please... totally wrong. No one says thunderbolts... well, ok, 5 people. Of those 5 people, 2 say firefly, 2 say lightning bug, and 1 said glow worm (thank you for tuning in from Australia!) So, my theory proved nothing about the relationship between those phrases and labeling of insects.
However, the experiment wasn't a total loss! I found something for which I wasn't on the lookout instead: The words firefly and lightning bug are based on where you live! I found a study that had a map and everything! There were just a few in each location who varied, and the only "dramatic" outliers we had were one from Daytona Beach who says firefly, and another from Posen who says lightning bug. However, if you look at the language map of the United States below, even those outliers are, well, not outliers! People in Northern Michigan say firefly, but the people around us say lightning bug. - For the most part. Our specific results from our email readers is below. See if your answers match up with the regional map!
A few of the results:
- 90% of the people in our survey who live north of the 43rd parallel say firefly
- 87.6% of the people in our survey who live south of the 40th parallel say lightning bug.
- The people who live between the 40th and the 43rd say a mix of both! (mostly)
- 54.7% of our readers say lightning bug.
- 37.3% of our readers say firefly.
- 88% of our readers say lightning bolt.
(Five of our respondants will receive an email from me later for free books!)
|
|
It’s a nontraditional happy ending, but perhaps that’s what makes it feel so right. ~ Paste Magazine
|
|
(yes, THAT Hilary Mantel)
It's a testament to Mantel's brilliance as an author that even though the moments in these stories are subtle, the book somehow feels epic in its own way. ~ NPR
|
|
...in telling this gripping narrative of one family divided by the 'bamboo curtain,' Li sheds light on how Taiwan came to be — and why China might one day risk everything to take it
|
|
... hilarious, poignant, controlled, a little nihilistic, and often disgusting ... Moshfegh’s work resists being read as an allegory. ~ Oprah Daily
|
|
...every organism perceives only a tiny slice of the world accessible to its senses. A tick searching for blood is exquisitely sensitive to body heat, the touch of hair, and the odor of butyric acid from skin. The tick doesn’t willfully ignore the surrounding plants and animals; it doesn’t know that they exist. ~ Kirkus
|
|
...an entrancing debut about how one family, at the mercy of a nation broken by legacies of power and oppression, forges a path to find a home once again. ~ Bookpage
|
|
Jorge delivers a dose of near-contemporary history tempered by a page-turning family saga and romance. ~ Kirkus
|
|
To those who assume women make the decision to abort rashly, the researchers found thoughtful deliberation. Required reading for anyone concerned about reproductive justice. ~ Kirkus
|
|
Marvelous, unique story about belonging and friendship. ~ Commonsensemedia.com
|
|
|
|
Click the Adult or the Kids/YA links in the images and get the jump on tomorrow's releases today!
|
|
No rsvp is needed for this Thursday author meet and greet. We adore this story and illustrations. It belongs in every cottage on the bay, and will be treasured for years to come. Get yours signed by the author! Click for event details and inside images.
|
|
30 Books To Celebrate 30 Years!
|
|
Two women visited our store last month with the most heartwarming bookstore story we've ever heard. We thought you'd like to hear it too:
Val and Alexa came to the first Booktopia hosted at the store back in May of 2015. It was a mother-daughter road trip, and they said they loved the recommendations from the staff so much that they signed up for the Monday emails and still read them every week. (Hi, Ladies!) They even came back again in 2016 for our second Booktopia, and decided we were "their" bookstore. (insert "awwww!" noises here)
They knew bookstores needed help during the pandemic, so they made sure to shop with us online so that we would be here for future visits and more memories. They decided the time to make more of those memories was in June, and since it was our 30th anniversary this year, they pledged to buy 30 amazing books based on staff recommendations!
One of them said, "We mainly planned our trip around visiting the bookstore. We went to McLean & Eakin two days where we succeeded in our 30 book binge. We also hiked, visited coffee shops, indulged in restaurants and wineries, went kayaking, and read at our hotel bonfire. We love Petoskey and the surrounding area. We will definitely be back!"
Wow. We're honored to still be a place where readers connect, make memories, and come back again and again. We're thrilled they felt this way about us, and the feeling is mutual. We thank them, and all of you for continuing your book buying traditions with us this summer and beyond. It is a responsibility we take seriously. -Well, that and dragon books. - We can't wait to see you all soon!
|
|
Feed Your Good Wolf
(pick a path, and path):
|
|
This charming novel by the author of The Chilbury Ladies Choir takes the reader from the Blitz of London in 1942 to a small village in the English countryside.
Rationing was not reserved for just food and gasoline, but nearly everything—including clothing. The local sewing circle was no longer just a place to gossip and set a stitch or two, it was now a place to refurbish old clothing into new and figure out how to make a dress or suit with only a very few yards of fabric. And, if you were to be a bride, the government recommended being married in a simple suit or the uniform that women were issued when they were called up to help with the war effort; trained as drivers, mechanics, or in any task that freed a soldier for the front.
Into this setting, Grace (a fashion designer of high-end women's garments) and Cressida (engaged to the local minister) meet and friendship and ideas begin to flow, along with the airing of secrets from both of their pasts.
If you are looking for an uplifting book, along with a glimpse of the war on the home front in England, you couldn’t do better than to meet the ladies of this local sewing circle. Click here for the full review.
|
|
Albert has been a postman in Toddington, England for nearly fifty years. In three months he will be sixty-five - which means mandatory retirement. He’s always held everyone around him at arm’s length, afraid to let them know who he really is, and if he continues down that road, he knows he will end up as a lonely shut-in, peeking distrustfully through the curtains any time someone comes up the walk.
Albert resolves not only to be more open with his colleagues and the people on his mail route, but also to see if the lover he sent away is still out there somewhere.
Albert’s search is also a search for his own identity and place, in a world where he doesn’t have to hide or feel ashamed or fear what might happen.
|
|
|
Baby Yo-daiquri, Blue Bantha Milkshake, Wookies and Cream, Emperor Palpatini, and Darth Mauled Cider. This is the way. To make great drinks. Click here for full details.
|
|
Shop with us any time of day at:
Visit us:
10am-7pm Monday-Saturday
11am-5pm Sundays
307 East Lake Street
Petoskey, MI 49770
or email us at:
background image credit: Patrick Tomasso @impatrickt
|
|
|
|
|
|
|