Because it’s the month of Halloween, I thought our theme this month should be games that involve ghosts, witches, zombies, black cats, spiders, pumpkins, haunted houses, fortune telling, etc. So break out your somehow-Halloween-related games and let’s play!

If you have some folding chairs and/or a card table, please bring them.

Greed, deception, lost loves, fiendish bargains with the devil, and mass murders abound in Palmetto Ghosts, an audio book of South Carolina’s favorite haunted tales told by Charleston’s best storytellers and tour guides.

Storyteller Alada Shinault-Small, one of the performers on Palmetto Ghosts, will be at Here Be Books in Summerville on Saturday, October 11 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to sign copies of this chilling audio book. Just in time for Halloween!

About Palmetto Ghosts

Stories include: A Deal With The Devil, The Gray Man, The Unknown Voice of Kiawah, Miz Nollie’s Blue Bowl, Infamy At The Jones Hotel and more.

Alada is a Charleston native and graduate of the University of South Carolina and the Citadel (MA in History).  She is a storyteller and a City of Charleston Licensed Tour Guide.

You can learn more about Palmetto Ghosts and Alada at: http://www.cornbreadandcaviar.net/palmettoghosts.html.

To continue th’ celebration o’ Talk Like a Pirate Day we`ll be hostin’ Pirate Game Night on Satterdee, Septembree 20, 2008 from 6 pm until whenere (probably at least 9 pm). Nay only will th’ participants sound, an’ perhaps dress, like gentleman o’ fortunes, but all games ortin’ ta be somehow swashbuckler related, involvin’, ships, maps, buried treasure, pirates, buccaneers, dice, knuckle bones (does anyone ere be havin’ any?), etc.

Brin’ yer swashbuckler brogue, a pirate game t’ play (if ye be havin’ one) an’ foldin’ chairs if ye be havin’ `em. Feel free t’ wear yer best gentleman o’ fortune finery as well, if ‘t will help ye get in th’ spirit. (Costumes be nay required.) [translation]

Avast! Here be the chance to infuse yer everyday conversations wi’ romance, danger, an’ jus’ plain fun fer a day. It be called “International Talk Like a Pirate Day.” Arrr! I suppose ye be wonderin’ why thar be such a silly holiday. Well, the answer, me inquisitive friend, be in the question itself: because it be silly and fun.

Storytellin’ and Balloon Animals for All Ages from 3 to 5 pm

To help celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day, we thought we`d tell a few stories, maybe twist some balloons into parrots, swords, monkeys, palm trees an’ th’ like, too.  Tales include: How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long.

Come join us fer th’ fun an’ laughs.  Appropriate fer all ages.

Here Be Monetary Encouragement to Join the Fun

On Friday, September 19, the official Talk Like a Pirate Day holiday, to be encouragin’ ye further to join us in our day of fun, we’ll giv’ ye 10% off yer used book plunder if ye talk to us like ye’ve sailed the high seas. Avast! Ye can’t find a bett’r deal ‘an that if you sail the seven seas!

How To Talk Like a Seafarin’ Hearty Available Soon at Here Be Books

Tis yer pirate speech a wee bit rusty? Hav’ ye nerespoken like a sea dog before? Avast! We be havin’ some help fer ye. It be our FREE guide: How to Talk Like a Seafarin’ Hearty.  Available soon exclusively at Here Be Books.

Advantages of Talkin’ Like an Ol’ Sea Dog for a Day

Here’s some advice from syndicated columnist Dave Barry that will help ye see the advantages of talkin’ like an ol’ sea dog for a day:

To prepare for Talk Like a Pirate Day, you should practice incorporating pirate terminology into your everyday speech. For example, let’s consider a typical conversation between two co-workers in a business office:

BOB: Hi. Mary.

MARY: Hi, Bob. Have you had a chance to look at the Fennerman contract?

BOB: Yes, and I have some suggestions.

MARY: OK, I’ll review them.

Now let’s see how this same conversation would sound on Talk Like a Pirate Day:

BOB: Avast, me beauty.

MARY: Avast, Bob. Is that a yardarm in your doubloons, or are you just glad to see me?

BOB: You are giving me the desire to haul some keel.

MARY: Arrrrr.

As you can see, talking like a pirate will infuse your everyday conversations with romance and danger. So join the movement! On Sept. 19, do not answer the phone with ”hello.” Answer the phone with ”Ahoy me hearty!” If the caller objects that he is not a hearty, inform him that he is a scurvy dog (or, if the caller is female, a scurvy female dog) who will be walking the plank off the poop deck and winding up in Davy Jones’ locker, sleeping with the fishes…

New Meeting Day

Our still-without-a-name Book Club, will now be meeting the second Wednesday of every month at 6pm instead of the third Wednesday.

Next Book Pick

April chose the book for our next meeting: Watership Down by Richard Adams. Although we’re currently out of stock, we should be getting some in the store soon. More information to come soon.