Inside Quail Ridge Books
Today’s post is the first from one of ITB Insider’s new authors, who had exclusive access to the grand opening of Quail Ridge Books a few weeks ago.
By now you’ve all heard the news that Quail Ridge Books has opened in a more suitable environment at North Hills. Special thanks to Bonner Gaylord for making North Hills literacy rates great again. It’s not too late to write in Gaylord/Finley IV this November. Pulling the indie bookstore version of The Jeffersons by moving on up to the big leagues of retail locations, Quail Ridge has solidified its position as the only bookstore in Raleigh that matters. I’m not sure why they moved, but as Father always says “Location, location, location,” so maybe that had something to do with it. Or maybe they just didn’t like having cars crash through their front door.
Many of you may have been to the already hallowed halls of Quail Ridge’s new location during their record setting grand opening weekend. I haven’t seen that many people in a bookstore since a midnight Harry Potter release – not that I go to those… (OMG 3 new books!). What all of you didn’t get to experience was the high profile soiree put on the night before the grand opening, featuring some of ITB’s most elite socialites and other VIPs.
It wasn’t publicized, but the VIP Soiree was for everybody who’s anybody, including ITB Insider™.
Upon entering Quail Ridge I was reminded of something you’d see in a movie about bookstores where they show a cool store that people hang out in, a la You’ve Got Mail, but you catch yourself saying “yeah those places don’t exist”. Well, they do and they’re right here in Raleigh. To be clear, this is not some “ITB’s Got A Lot” ad campaign (seriously people, stop moving here).
After checking out countless shelves of fiction, non-fiction, and the section devoted to future works of WNFIV, I began to mingle with the celebs in attendance. I had a gripping conversation with Webb Simpson on Mark Frost’s iconic golf work “The Match.” As we dined on lobster mac n’ cheese served in minuscule ramekins, I pitched Webb on writing the foreword for a new post titled “U.S. Open Winners: They’re Just Like Us!”. He was having none of it and walked over to speak to James Patterson who was signing random pages of his books in the mystery section. Good luck to anyone who finds those.
As the entire A-Team from WRAL wrapped up a reading of their new children’s book “The News Is Still Cool”, guests were treated to a truly once in a lifetime event. In a statement of bipartisan unity, Presidents Obama and Bush appeared through the secret bookcase to read an excerpt from the President’s “Book of Secrets.” I thought this was a myth made famous by Nicholas Cage in National Treasure: Book of Secrets, but boy was I wrong. Legally, I’m not allowed to disclose what I heard. But if Trump gets elected the world’s going to end anyway, so I’ll just tweet the secrets in listicle form from @WNFIV’s twitter feed – “The Five Biggest Secrets in American History, You Won’t Believe Number Three!”
“Reading, and drones, are FUN-damental.” – President Obama. “Ditto!” – President Bush.
The entire evening was a classy affair filled with hors d’oeuvres, A-List celebrities, and an elderly man who played his guitar for – I kid you not – three hours straight.
Energizer needs this guy when they finally kill off that RoboRabbit. Dude doesn’t quit.
The evening concluded with a serenade from Adele, who covered The Connells hit ’74-’75 as guests left with gift bags full of first edition copies of Encyclopedia Brown.
We’re truly ITBlessed to have this store in North Hills. I, for one, am extremely excited that I don’t have to navigate the Wade Avenue 500 anymore just to pick up my adult coloring books and fifth copy of “Atlas Shrugged.” Why do you need five copies of Atlas Shrugged? I don’t know, but I work for a burgeoning media empire and it just feels right. So go check out Quail Ridge on your way to lululemon or Thursday night Beach Music. Just make sure you take Lassiter Mill to get there.
This post brought to you by Quail Ridge Books.