This Week's Identify the Author Contest is Posted on Facebook

Become a fan of Burry Bookstore on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/login.php and enter this week's Identify the Author contest.

You might win a $20 gift card to Burry Bookstore!

When is the last time you got out your sewing machine?

Whether you just bought your first sewing machine or have been sewing for years, Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts will open your eyes to an irresistible range of ideas. A comprehensive visual reference, the book covers everything a home sewer craves: the basics of sewing by hand or machine, along with five other time-honored crafts techniques, and step-by-step instructions for more than 150 projects that reflect not only Martha Stewart's depth of experience and crafting expertise, but also her singular sense of style.

Encyclopedic in scope, the book features two main parts to help you brush up on the basics and take your skills to a new level. First, the Techniques section guides readers through Sewing, Applique, Embroidery, Quilting, Dyeing, and Printing. Following that, the Projects A to Z section features more than 150 clever ideas (including many no-sew projects), all illustrated and explained with the clear, detailed instructions that have become a signature of Martha Stewart's magazines, books, and television shows.

An enclosed CD includes full-size clothing patterns as well as templates that can be easily produced on a home printer. Fabric, thread, and tool glossaries identify the properties, workability, and best uses of common sewing materials. And, perhaps best of all, when you need it most, Martha and her talented team of crafts editors offer you the reassurance that you really can make it yourself.

The projects are as delightful as they are imaginative, and include classic Roman shades, hand-drawn stuffed animals, an easy upholstered blanket chest, a quilted crib bumper, French knot-embellished pillowcases and sheets, and Japanese-embroidered table linens, among many others.With gorgeous color photographs as well as expert instruction, this handy guide will surely encourage beginners and keep sewers and crafters of all experience levels wonderfully busy for many years to come.

Really Cool Bookstore

http://www.bit.ly/a0cFEj

Hartsville’s Burry Bookstore still ‘really cool’

By Jim Faile

There’s a story they tell at Burry Bookstore about a customer from out of town who came in one day and announced he had come to see “the really cool bookstore in Hartsville.”

After nearly 38 years in business as one of the Pee Dee’s premier book dealers, Burry Bookstore in downtown Hartsville is meeting the challenges posed to independently owned bookstores by “big box” chains and competition from the Internet and is handling them just fine.

“One of the biggest challenges is the perception that you’ll get a better price and bigger selection in the larger stores,” said Emily Burry Phillips, owner of the store.

The Internet poses its own set of challenges, she said.

“Years ago, when Daddy first opened the store, and really through about the mid-’90s, there were not that many venues where you could go to buy books,” she said.

Well that has changed now, she said.

Phillips said she grew up working in the store her father, Hartsville business and civic leader Charles Burry, opened in 1972.

It’s a family affair
Phillips came back to Hartsville to work in the store in 1988 and bought it from her father in 1994. Mr. Burry, for whom Burry Park in downtown Hartsville is named, died in 1996.

Family is important at Burry Bookstore, Phillips said. It is a family-owned business that caters to families with books for all ages. For years, the store’s motto has been “A World of Books for Young and Old.”

Phillips said the store’s success stems from the emphasis she and her staff put on keeping the focus on the customer.

“We try to provide the services and knowledge they need, so that if someone comes in and they can’t find what they’re looking for, we know what they’re talking about and know where to go to get it or to get information for them,” she said.

Like walking into your home
The store has long enjoyed the benefits of a loyal customer base in Hartsville. “We know our customers,” Phillips said. “And they know us.”

“I want walking into this bookstore to be like walking into a home, into a place you enjoy being. I want people to feel welcomed and appreciated,” she said.

In addition to its wide selection of books in stock, the store can special order books and offers a large selection of greeting cards, CDs and assorted gift items.

Keeping her sales staff informed about recent trends and developments in the book business is critical to providing good customer service, she said.

Each day begins with a staff meeting with employees, Phillips said. They discuss upcoming events, new books, the previous day’s activities and whatever else is needed to make sure everyone is focused on the customers.

“I really make an effort to make sure everyone knows what’s going on,” Phillips said. “I keep my staff very informed. We keep our focus on the customer. I want to make their visit here a pleasant experience.”

Changing with the market
During the last couple of years as competition and the marketplace have changed, Phillips and her staff have begun offering events featuring published authors such as book signings and author luncheons.

The effort started small, and it was tough getting a foot in the door with most publishers, Phillips said.

At some point she made contact with a publicist from publisher Harper Collins. “He spent time talking with me and said he would consider adding Hartsville to his authors’ tours,” she said.

“Publishers want to sell books,” Phillips said. “Hartsville’s a small town, but it’s close to some bigger cities; it’s close to two Interstates. It’s easy to get to if an author’s in one of the bigger cities.”

The first such event took place in 2008. Attendance varies with the popularity of the author, she said. “It’s ranged from 18 to 75,” she said.

But the luncheons and meet and greets continue to grow and bring people into the store and give them a chance to meet published authors, an opportunity not readily available in many small towns.

In July 2009, the store hosted a ticketed luncheon for bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank at the Black Creek Arts Center. The event sold out.

The store hosted nine authors’ luncheons last year and has events planned for March, April, May, June and September, Phillips said.

In July, South Carolina Poet Laureate Marjory Heath Wentworth will visit all four of Darlington County’s public libraries for readings and will also visit Burry Bookstore, Phillips said.

Appreciate your treasure
The authors appreciate the experience and meeting their readers, Phillips said. The most recent visit was by South Carolina author and historian Doug Bostick. “He really enjoyed it and said he would love to come back,” Phillips said.

“We had a time when things weren’t quite so busy and we were talking and he made the comment, ‘You’ve really got a treasure here. I hope your community realizes that.’”

In fact, the authors’ events have helped spread the reputation of the store so that now publishers call Phillips to see if they can arrange a meet and greet for one of their authors, she said.

One of the biggest events of the year for the store is its Christmas Open House. “That’s huge. That is really a big night for us. A lot of work goes into that, but it really is a lot of fun,” Phillips said.

Reaching outside Hartsville
While the core of her customer base is local, Phillips said she increasingly sees customers coming from areas outside of Hartsville.

“We see people from Cheraw, Camden, Bennettsville, Bishopville, Florence. Really it’s just amazing. We even see larger groups come in from other areas. They come here as a group to eat or something and spend time shopping with us.”

“When people come here from out of town, they come in the store, and they are always very surprised. They’re surprised at how big the store is for one thing. We get so many compliments from people. That makes everything worthwhile. I want people to be surprised and awed when they walk in here. It’s a lot of hard work, but it really is a lot of fun.”

Phillips said one thing she wants to do in the near future is highlight and possibly expand the store’s section of children’s books.

The store also has a Web site,

http://www.burrybookstore.com, and within the past year has begun offering online sales, Phillips said.

Phillips also makes use of social media to promote her business through Facebook, Twitter, a blog and constant contact e-mail that allows online registration for special events.

Boosting literacy
Last year the store partnered with Coker College to support the Chalok Literacy Project through which some 70 to 75 books were provided to English language students in Malaysia being taught by a Coker alum participating in a Fulbright grant program.

“We try to support the community with projects like that,” Phillips said. “I just want to make a difference in our community.”

The presence of a bookstore says a lot about the cultural life of a community, Phillips said.

“I’ve always said that one reason we’ve been successful is because of the culture of this area,” she said. “We’ve got Coker College, we’ve got the Governor’s School, Sonoco and other large businesses. Very few towns this size have that kind of literary and economic base. And that’s one of the reasons we’ve been able to be successful.”

Phillips said she appreciates the support her store gets from people in the Hartsville area. She said small independent businesses like hers will always rely on the support of the people they serve in their local communities.

“People have got to decide if they’re going to support local businesses,” she said. “Are you going to support that person who buys the high school yearbook ad, who supports the local softball team? That’s who supports your community.”

AT A GLANCE
WHAT: Burry Bookstore
ADDRESS: 130 W. Carolina Ave., Hartsville, SC 29550
ESTABLISHED: 1972
OWNER: Emily Burry Phillips
EMPLOYEES: Two full-time, three part-time, one to assist with special events
SPECIALTY: Books, greeting cards

Karen Robards has a new one that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Karen Robards - Shattered!

Secret, betrayal, and a mysterious family history plague the heroine in the latest novel from "New York Times"-bestselling author Karen Robards.

The past is never over. It just gets dusty.

Lisa Shewmaker was a rising star in a prestigious law firm in Lexington, Kentucky; that is, until the firm went bankrupt and she lost her job. With an ailing mother to care for, Lisa takes the first position she can find: research assistant to District Attorney Scott Buchanan. Lisa suspects the only reason she got the job is because of her privileged upbringing as the daughter of a wealthy federal judge.

While reviewing cold cases in the Fayette County courthouse, a particularly thick manila envelope draws Lisa's attention. The details of the case are engrossing: An entire family-father, mother, and two children-disappeared more than twenty-eight years ago. Except that's not all: The mother in the photo could have been Lisa's twin, and the toddler in the picture bears an uncanny resemblance to Lisa herself. Before Lisa can learn more about her past, a series of catastrophes strike close to home. Lisa confides in Scott, and their relationship develops into something completely different. Together Lisa and Scott unravel a terrifying web of criminal connections that could destroy the very fabric of Lisa's life-if she lives long enough, that is.

Just in - beautiful 14 inch ballerina dolls by Melissa and Doug

These elegant ballerinas can stand up, they have posable arms and legs, and are adorned in a beautiful, removable outfit with ballet slippers.

Perfect idea for a springtime gift to give your favorite little ballerina!

Become a Fan of Burry Bookstore and you may win a $20 gift card

Become a fan of Burry Bookstore and join our Identify the Author contest - the winner receives a $20 gift card from Burry Bookstore www.facebook.com .

Queen of the Bittersweet Short Story - Lee Smith

A celebrated novelist, Lee Smith is likewise recognized as a master of the short story and has been compared with such luminaries as Katherine Ann Porter, Eudora Welty, and Flannery O'Connor. Now she collects fourteen stories-seven brand-new ones along with seven favorites from her three earlier collections. The result? A book of dazzling richness.

Famous for unmistakable voices and a craft so strong and sure it seems effortless, Lee Smith's stories strike dead center at the turning points of her characters' lives. Here those characters range from an eight-year-old boy obsessed with vocabulary words to a young bride who has married "way up" to Mrs. Darcy herself, an older woman making it through widowhood her own way. As the "New York Times Book Review" put it, "In almost every one of [her stories] there is a moment of vision, or love, or unclothed wonder that transforms something plain into something transcendent."

With this collection-her first in thirteen years-Smith reclaims her place as the reigning queen of the bittersweet short story.

Harlan Coben - Caught!

"Caught" tells the story of a missing girl, the community stunned by her loss, the predator who may have taken her, and the reporter who suddenly realizes she can't trust her own instincts about this story-or the motives of the people around her.

Wimpy Kid Movie Diary

Go behind the scenes with Jeff Kinney and the making of the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" movie!

If you've ever wondered how a movie gets made, you're not alone. Author and illustrator Jeff Kinney didn't know either, but when his bestselling series, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," was turned into a live-action movie by 20th Century Fox, he learned how a book gets adapted into a major motion picture.

Complete with photographs, script pages, storyboard sketches, costume designs, and original art by Jeff Kinney, "The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary" is the perfect companion to the bestselling series.

Very Talented Author - Winner of the 2009 Christy Award for First Novel

Joy Jordan-Lake - winner of the 2009 Christy Award for First Novel.

Meet her via her website http://www.joyjordanlake.com/ , then come in and grab a copy of Blue Hole Back Home .

Win a $20 Burry Bookstore Gift Card in this week's Facebook "Identify the Author Contest"

Become a fan of Burry Bookstore's on Facebook and enter our "Identify the Author Contest".

Last week Loretta Tiller was the winner of a $20 Gift Card to Burry Bookstore!

http://bit.ly/9kI3Gu

Karen Spears Zacharias Author Luncheon - 2 Weeks From Today

Karen Spears Zacharias is traveling all over the country promoting her new book Will Jesus Buy Me a Double-Wide?: Cause I Need More Room for My Plasma TV .

She will be in Hartsville on Tuesday, March 30th .

Listen to her video recapping her travel experiences while writing this book http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogBuURjxBzc .

Register here for the luncheon http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2q6zvbua615b0cf .

James Patterson's Maximum Ride #6 - Fang

Released today - James Patterson's Maximum Ride #6 - Fang

Being a kid with wings--constantly on the run--has never been easy, and Max and her flock are getting tenser than ever. First, on a trip to Africa, they meet a mysterious billionaire whose intense scrutiny of the flock makes her fear the worst. Then, a cryptic message from a young girl arrives, warning them "The sky will fall." And as if an impending apocalypse weren't bad enough, canny birdkid Angel makes a dire prophecy about Max's soul mate: Fang will be the first to die. Max's desperate desire to protect Fang brings the two closer than ever. But can the team weather the storm, or will the turmoil rip them apart for the last time?

Bella Butterfly Hopscotch Game

Just got in some fun spring "stuff" from Melissa and Doug, including a Bella Butterfly Hopscotch Game. Stop by soon and see this display of neat flashlights, butterfly nets, and other "spring" games.

Bright colors plus fun graphics add up to hoppin' good times with these 8 interlocking durable, easy-clean foam pieces, 2 markers and durable carry case. Comes with complete game instructions.

We Have a Winner !

Congratulations to Loretta Tiller - winner of this week's Facebook "Identify the Author" contest. Loretta won a $20.00 gift card to Burry Bookstore by correctly identifying Danielle Steel using the following clues:

• The author is female
• She wrote her first book at age 19
• There are 580 million copies of her books in print today
• 21 of her books have been adapted for television
• She is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records
• She has raised 9 children of her own

Become a Fan of Burry Bookstore on Facebook and enter our weekly Facebook contests.

Win a $20.00 Gift Card to Burry Bookstore

Become a Fan of ours on Facebook and participate in our "Identify the Author" contest.

The first person to come in and "identify the author" based on the clues given wins a $20.00 gift card!

Details on Burry Bookstore Facebook Page.

Coretta Scott King Award Winning Author - Sharon Draper

From multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner Sharon M. Draper comes a story full of heartache and hope. Get ready to meet a girl whose voice you'll never, ever forget.

Out of My Mind - Sharon Draper - released today!

Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there's no delete button. She's the smartest kid in her whole school--but no one knows it. Most people--her teachers and doctors included--don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows . . . but she can't, because Melody can't talk. She can't walk. She can't write.

Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind--that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice . . . but not everyone around her is ready to hear it.

Clive Cussler's Oregon Files - newest adventure released tomorrow

The Silent Sea - Clive Cussler and Jack Du Brul

Clive Cussler's tales of the Oregon and its crew - "the clever, indefatigable Juan Cabrillo and his merry band of tough, tech-savvy fighting men and women" ("Publishers Weekly") - have made fans of hundreds of thousands of readers. But the Oregon's sixth adventure is its most remarkable one yet.

On December 7, 1941, five brothers exploring a shaft on a small island off the coast of Washington State make an extraordinary discovery, only to be interrupted by news of Pearl Harbor. In the present, Cabrillo, chasing the remnants of a crashed satellite in the Argentine jungle, stumbles upon a shocking revelation of his own. His search to untangle the mystery leads him, first, to that small island and its secret, and then much farther back, to an ancient Chinese expedition-and a curse that seems to have survived for more than five hundred years. If Cabrillo's team is successful in its quest, the reward could be incalculable. If not . . . the only reward is death.

TODAY - Author and Historian Doug Bostick

On Friday, March 5, 2010 Burry Bookstore is hosting an Author Meet and Greet from 4:00 until 5:30 pm.
Doug Bostick will be speaking, reading, and signing copies of Historic Photos of South Carolina.
This event is FREE and open to the public.

Always fiercely independent, South Carolina has been a republic twice in its history: once prior to the Revolutionary War, and second prior to the War Between the States. From the immense wealth of the Colonial period to the debilitating poverty of Reconstruction and the early twentieth century, South Carolina's history has always been compelling. One South Carolinian offered, "We had our love of family, our love of history, our resistance to change that was both for and against us." Blessed by the attention of photographers for more than 150 years, this fascinating collection of photographs brings the stories of the people and history of the Palmetto State to life. Join historian Doug Bostick as he chronicles the history of his home state since 1860, viewed through the lens of a camera.

Doug Bostick is a native of James Island and an eighth generation South Carolinian. He is a graduate of the College of Charleston and earned a master's degree from the University of South Carolina. Bostick is a former staff and faculty member of the University of South Carolina and the University of Maryland. The author of eleven books on Southern history, Bostick has a knowledge of history enhanced by a raconteur's gift for storytelling.

When Will We Be There?

How many times have you heard that question before you can even see your neighborhood in the rear view mirror? If you have a trip coming up keep the kids occupied with one of our "Flip to Win" travel games by Melissa and Doug. Shown here is "Hangman". We also have "Bingo" and a "Memory Game".

This "Hangman" is a Classic word game with a twist! Think of a word and try to stump your opponent. Includes one game board with erasable whiteboard, self-storing dry-erase marker and eraser. No loose pieces.

FREE BOOK! - Become a Fan of ours on Facebook and Enter the "Identify the Author" Contest

Become a fan of Burry Bookstore's on Facebook and enter the "Identify the Author" contest. You could win a free book!

Jodi Picoult - House Rules - released today

The astonishing new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult about a family torn apart by an accusation of murder.

Jacob Hunt is a teenage boy with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject -- in his case, forensic analysis. He's always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do...and he's usually right. But then his town is rocked by a terrible murder and, for a change, the police come to Jacob with questions. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger's -- not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, flat affect -- can look a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel. Suddenly, Jacob and his family, who only want to fit in, feel the spotlight shining directly on them. For his mother, Emma, it's a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it's another indication of why nothing is normal because of Jacob. And over this small family the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder?

Emotionally powerful from beginning to end, House Rules looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way -- and fails those who don't.

Allie Finkle is back with a new book!

Meg Cabot's series for younger girls has taken off and she's back with a new Allie Finkle adventure - Glitter Girls and the Great Fake Out - due out this week!

When her parents announce they're going out of town, Allie is convinced she's going to have the best weekend ever with Uncle Jay in charge...until Allie's mom announces that Allie has to go to Brittany Hauser's birthday party.

But Allie doesn't even like snobby Brittany Hauser, or want to go with all her snooty friends in a stretch limo to her big blowout birthday bash at the Build-a-Bear store, and then spend the night in a deluxe hotel suite in the city. Allie's going to miss all her real friends.

Besides, Allie knows Brittany only invited her because Mrs. Hauser made her, since Allie's mom is the star movie reviewer for Good News!, the local cable news show. What's Allie to do?