Books to be Red

10/05/2026

Thinking about making a quick trip to Ocracoke this weekend? The island is quiet, the ferries are running, and I hear the fish are biting. Restaurants and shops are wide open, ready to welcome you.

10/04/2026

I am headed off island tomorrow (October 5) so the shop will be closed. I will re-open Tuesday morning at 10 AM for our regularl hours. If you are on Ocracoke, I am open today from 10 to 4 pm. Head in and choose that next book to enjoy.

10/02/2026

Today is the start of the Ocracoke Red Drum Shootout. It is a great day on the water catching fish and then telling stories about the ones that got away!
Be sure to stop in Books to be Red and take home a Karen Rhodes Art red drum! We have aprons, tea towels, coasters, oven mitts, and hair clips.

09/27/2026

It is a glorious day on Ocracoke and the beaches are wide open for vehicles (you must have a permit). The Hatteras ferry is running an amended schedule and the Swan Quarter and Cedar Island ferries are moving people to and from the island.

09/25/2026

My corner is high and dry! Find your boots and slosh your way out of the house. I am here at the shop if you want to stop in. I will be here for a few hours at least.
Don't drive through the water and if you do go through slowly!

09/25/2026

My boots are on and I am headed to try to take a scud to see road conditions. I am not opening at 10 today but will head up to Books to be Red in awhile in case you are ready for a new book.

09/23/2026

Cloudy, windy, rainy nor'easter is taking over for the next day or so. Stop in and grab a new book or puzzle! We just got a new Outer Banks lighthouse puzzle in the shop. It is a 1000 pieces and will keep you entertained for the afternoon.

09/23/2026

Thinking about ordering for the holidays or for that loved one's fall birthday? Now is a good time to start thinking about it. The price of shipping through UPS goes up in about 3 weeks, not sure if USPS will raise their prices for the holidays or not. Updated to say, USPS will be raising prices for ths holiday. Their new rates begin Oct. 4.

09/16/2026

I closed yesterday to go have lunch with some wonderful women booksellers and bookstore owners. We laughed, we commiserated, and we had some serious discussions.
This is the reason to shop local and shop small. We all live here on the Outer Banks. We employee residents and college students coming for the summers. We shop local and participate in our various communities.
Our shops are the same but DIFFERENT and that is how we like it. Long live indie bookstores!

Turns out when you put the five OBX bookstore owners at the same lunch table, you get a lot of laughs and some seriously cool ideas. 🌊📚

There is nothing quite like swapping stories and brainstorming with women who just get it. We’re so incredibly lucky to have this community of independent bookstores supporting each other here on the Outer Banks.🫶📚

Go show some love to your favorite local indie this week!💖

Left to right: Jamie Hope Anderson, Duck's Cottage Coffee & Books; Susan Sawin, Island Bookstore - OBX; Lynanne Wescott, Buxton Village Books; Leslie Lanier, Books to be Red; Chloe Roy, Downtown Books.

09/13/2026

Any of you that work retail know there are many highs and equally as many lows. My day started by realizing a book had been taken from my shop yesterday. As I was still grumbling over that, I had the chance to meet J.S. (she asked me to just put initials). She is a wonderful young woman that told me about her firat visit to Ocracoke. It was in 1955
0, her sister (maybe aunt) was a teacher at the school in Avon. Her family came down to bring her grandmother to visit the teacher. They decided to travel to the small island, Ocracoke. J.S. was 8 years old, they piled in the car and went to catch the ferry. They had to drive over wooden ramps to get on the boat, I am guessing it was the Frazier Peele ferry. She was in the 7th grade, when a librarian came to her and asked her to read a new book being considered for the library. It was the Goerche book, written in 1956. The librarian said, "i know you have been there. No one else knows a thing about this place." J.S. approved and the book was made part of the collection.
Have a great visit, JS. I am so glad to meet you, this is what makes owning a small business on a small island absolutely wonderful!