Reading Around Kiawah

These following two books are very different from one another and will probably appeal to different readers. It’s always good to have a choice, isn’t it? The Beverly Hills Spy: The Double-Agent War Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbor, is a book by Ronald Drabkin about real life double agent Frederick Rutland. Rutland was a “James Bond-type” figure who had been a highly decorated

Three books of interest that will be adapted to TV in the future. Trust, Hernan Diaz I haven’t read this book, but it won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Kate Winslet will star in the tale of a financier couple, told in four parts, and their immersion into wealth and power. The movie will air on HBO Max–release date TBA. A Gentleman in Moscow,

David Schaeffer, a retired attorney who moved here from Atlanta, is a Kiawah Island resident with a hit book! Schaeffer has written several books, actually, about hiking and mountain climbing. The new book, Letters from Sweeden, is a different kind of book with a very interesting background. Remember when people used to write letters? I do. My mother saved letters that I wrote to her

FICTION WINNER Blackouts, Justin Torres NONFICTION WINNER The Rediscovery of America, Ned Blackhawk Books of interest that were finalists in the selection process: Chain-Gang All-Stars, Nana Kwane Adjei-Brenyah (mentioned in an earlier blog post, this book is a type of “hunger games” meets the private prison system.) The End of Drum-Time, Hanna Pylvainen This author sets her fictional story in 1851 Scandinavia and tells,with exquisite

Yes, and I don’t mean Christmas lists. I mean the ones that reflect on the best books of 2023. The New York Times has already come out with its list, so take a look: The Bee Sting, Paul Murray An Irish family pulls together to overcome the 2008 financial cirisis as well as their own individual demons in a book that is full of hopefulness

Remember these books–The Space Between Us by Thridy Umriger, Tuesdays with Morey by Mitch Albom and West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge? I have read two of these books for a book club, West with Giraffes just recently. The good news is that these were three very good and popular books. The better news is that each of the three authors has written a new

Right now, in Nashville, Tennessee, 150 authors are gathering for the 35th Annual Southern Festival of Books. I keep thinking I will go one of these years. As you know, I am a loyal fan of Southern Literature. Someone always asks ‘What is Southern Literature?’ Is it anything written by an author from the South about the South? What’s the big deal? Sarah Beth West,

Readers of this blog may think that I am obsessed with St. Jerome. Well, I am not, BUT I keep running into him on my limited travels. As you may recall, he is the patron saint of libraries; and, therefore, he treasures books and the knowledge they hold. So, I saw his statue in Washington, D.C. Now, perusing the National Gallery in London, which has

On a recent trip to Washington, D. C., I ran into this statue of someone obviously reading. It made me think about the Sandcastle Book Club and the blog. Upon further investigation, I realized this person is Saint Jerome the Priest. This particular statue was sculpted in 1954 by Ivan Mestrovic and sits in front of the Croatian Embassy on Massachusetts Avenue. Mestrovic was born

I have always marvelled at how so many people learn to read and write in Braille. On the surface, the system for visually impaired people looks very complicated. It seems astounding to me that “a blind person can read braille faster than a sighted person can read print.” This fact is taken from an article written by Kelli Finger and published in July 31, 2023,

Some people like to read ‘beach books’ in the summer. Others would rather use extra leisure time to tackle longer and more serious books. If you fall into the latter category, you might be interested in the following two books. They are both fiction, but they are far from ‘flights of fancy’, so to say. Take a look– The Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese Remember

We see it on a daily basis. We worry about it. We realize the damage it does to families and society at large. We try to help. What is IT? POVERTY. Headlines of the Washington Post , reviews in the NYT and features on NPR showcase a new book by Matthew Desmond entitled Poverty, by America. While this blog is never meant to be political,

I was reminded just now that Nora Ephron’s book Heartburn turns 40 this year. I don’t think I ever read it! An article by Tobias Mutter in Shelf Awareness reminded me that the ‘novel’ is a thinly veiled version of Ephron’s own life and her husband’s (THE Carl Bernstein of All the President’s Men) affair. A movie version of the book was released in 1986

Ron Charles, Book critic for the Washington Post, asked his Book Club members to describe to him what most annoy them in books. I list a few of them below: –Dreams (Worked for Dickens and Shakespeare, but apparently many readers don’t like dream sequences.) –Typos and grammatical errors –Overused and pretentious words (lugubrious, lubricious and preternatural to name a few) –Excessive length (Of books, paragraphs,

“Truth is stranger than ficiton” is a worn out statement, but it can be remarkably true. Such is the case in the following two books. These books are NOT historical fiction. The first book was written by Ilyon Woo, a writer whose research for the book was funded by National Endowment for the Humanities. Woo received a PhD in English from Columbia University. Master Slave

Wylie and her husbad purchased a home on Kiawah Island in 2020. I recently met Wylie Small, a part time Kiawah resident who also happens to be an author! Her specialty is English history. Wylie sent me the following background information: My love of English history developed when I began to work on my family’s genealogy, about fifteen years ago. Both of my parents had

The House in the Pines, Ana Reyes Ana Reyes has just realized a writer’s dream. After her first novel was published, it was chosen as the Reese Witherspoon book for January! Amazing, right? Now, of course, it’s on the NYT best seller list. Who is Ana Reyes and what is her book about? Ana Reyes received an MFA from LSU in 2015, at which time

This book was written by Jens Andersen, a writer of biographies who was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1955. He had rare access to the inner workings of the global Lego company and interviewed members of the Danish family that founded it. The book contains rare photos that date back to the early days of the company when Legos were made in a small carpentry

Author Virginia Beach spoke at the River Course Clubhouse on Kiawah Island on January 11 at the annual joint meeting and luncheon of the Sandcastle Book Club and the Kiawah Island Club Book Club. Beach’s recent book American Landmark tells the story of Charles Duell and the rebirth of Middleton Place. Accompanying Beach and speaking with her is Brandon Stone, the Middleton Place Manager of

Today, November 4, 100 years ago, Howard Carter, British archaeologist, discovered King Tut’s tomb. The remarkable story of that discovery is told by Jo Merchant in a recent Smithsonian magazine. To read this story, click the link below. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-howard-carter-discovered-king-tuts-golden-tomb-180981052/ John and Colleen Darnell, a husband and wife Egyptology team, have authored a book about King Tut’s parents, Akhenaten and Nerfertiti. Sometimes overlooked, these two rulers’

Like most highly intelligent people, Ken Burns reads a lot! In an interview published in the Sunday edition of the New York Times, Burns admitted that he didn’t have enough time to read for pleasure and then went on to recite a very ecletic list of books that he is either currently reading or reading again. Of course he reads non-stop for his work, concentrating

For those of you in the Sandcastle Book Club, I’d like to give you an update on our year so far. In September, we discussed The Maid by Nita Prose. Even though the book wasn’t a literary masterpiece, members enjoyed the read. The protaganist Molly is neurodivergent. The author was somewhat uneven in developing Molly because, in some circumstanes, she acted too savvy to be

Be sure to check out this year’s Literary Festival. The speakers are varied and impressive. A few authors that stood out to me (copied from the downloaded program guide): For specific dates, go to the webpage featured at the end of the entry. IMANI PERRY with Dr. Tamara ButlerSOUTH TO AMERICA 5 PM-6 PM FREE / Circular Congregational Church • Live Event(Online Reservation Required)Imani Perry’s

What is your favorite David McCullough book? Mine is Mornings on Horseback, although I greatly value the other books he has written which I have read. I think my husband read all of his books. After McCullough’s death this month, New York Times contributor Daniel Lewis wrote an enlightening article about him in which he highlights what made his books so compelling. Lewis writes, “Deep

From the New York Times, May 9, 2022 FICTION ‘The Netanyahus,’ by Joshua Cohen (New York Review Books) Cohen’s book imagines Benzion Netanyahu, academic and father of the Israeli prime minister, arriving to interview for a job at a fictional New York college (modeled on Cornell) in the late 1950s. The book is narrated by Ruben Blum, a faculty member asked to consider Netanyahu’s fitness for

Charleston Friends of the Library (CFOL) is excited to host the fortieth annual “That Big Book Sale” on May 19 – 22, 2022 at Omar Shrine Auditorium, Patriot’s Point Road, Mount Pleasant.-Submitted by Charleston Friends of the Library

The person in the above picture is Reginald Dwayne Betts, and he is sitting in the National Building Museum in front of one of the specially designed book shelves he created through his Freedom Reads organization. Bookshelves like the one in the photo have been installed in two prisons, one in Massachusetts and one in Louisiana. By the end of 2023, Betts hopes to have

This year’s PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion is Oprah Winfrey. Board Vice President Mary Haft speaks of Winfrey in glowing words: “Oprah Winfrey is a literary force field. She has been like a lighthouse standing sentry and shining a beacon of light onto literature and into the lives of writers and readers.” The PEN/Faulkner Foundation is an independent non-profit arts organization dedicated to promoting writing. It supports

This post is a tribute to Thornton Wilder. April 17 was his birthday. He would have been 125 years old. Wilder was the only person to win a Pulitzer Prize for both literature and drama. He recieved the Pulitzer for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927) and the plays Our Town (1938) and The Skin of Our Teeth (1942). Do you remember

I recently received an e-mail from Linda Malcolm telling me about a Mt. Pleasant author, Lindy Carter, whose new book The Rice Birds was published by Evening Post Books In Charleston. Below is a description of the book from the publisher: In 1849, twin sisters fleeing Ireland’s famine arrive at New York’s seaport. Only Nora is allowed to get on the boat to South Carolina

By Grant SniderMarch 18, 2022 Grant Snider is a cartoonist, author and illustrator. His next book, “The Art of Living: Reflections on Mindfulness and the Overexamined Life,” will be published in April.

Did you ever really love a book and want to read every book by that same author? What about the Nancy Drew series? I can’t imagine how many young girls were turned on to reading because of Nancy Drew. Notice the author’s name is Carolyn Keene. Well, that was NOT the real author of the Nancy Drew Books. In fact, there was no Carolyn Keene.

This cover image released by Butterfly Records shows “Run Rose Run” by Dolly Parton. The iconic singer also has a book co-authored by James Patterson releasing this week with the same title. (Butterfly Records via AP)Stacie Huckeba/AP Yes, as unlikely as it may seem, Dolly Parton and James Patterson have co-authored a book!! An article in the Parade magazine, Sunday, March 6, 2022, focused on

SAVE THE DATE FOR THE CHARLESTON LITERARY FESTIVAL NOVEMBER 4 – 13, 2022 SOUTH CAROLINA, USAWATCH ALL RECORDED CHARLESTON LITERARY FESTIVAL 2021 SESSIONS 22 sessions from Charleston Literary Festival 2021 are now available to watch online and they are free to view! WATCH NOWWhat does it take to write a Booker-nominated novel? Watch three of the four US nominees for the 2021 Booker Prize – Maggie Shipstead, Patricia Lockwood and Nathan Harris – in

An article in The New Yorker, written by Anna Holmes and dated January 31, 2022, discussed Margaret Wise Brown, the author of a beloved children’s book Goodnight Moon. I read the article with great interest because, of course, I remember reading Goodnight Moon to my children and grandchildren. Many a child memorized the book and many a parent almost went to sleep themselves while reading

Late notice about an important event for those interested in Marie Benedict, author of The Personal Librarian . Benedict will discuss her new book Her Hidden Genius, which tells the story of Rosalind Franklin, the British scientist who discovered the double helix DNA structure. Guess what? Two men took credit for her work in order to win the Nobel Prize!! To listen to the podcast,

I know you have heard the phrase ‘words matter.’ And yes, indeed, they do. Words can harm or charm, encourage or outrage, inspire or deflate. OK, enought of that!! Some words are simply overused, misused or useless, and the folks at Lake Superior State University have, since 1976, vented about the most tiresome examples of such. Each year they publish a list for The Banished

Peg Michel sent me the following NYT article about a little boy with a big imagination and a clever marketing scheme. Read the below excerpt and follow up by viewing the February 3rd 6:30 NBC Nightly News story about– An 8-Year-Old Wrote a Book and Hid It on a Library Shelf. It’s a Hit. Dillon Helbig, a second-grader from Idaho, wrote an 81-page book about

Click on the link below to hear (or read the script) as Imani Perry discusses her new book South to America. The book was featured in a recent blog post. (Click again once the article appears as an insert) Imani Perry on narrating her book, South to America.

Anxious People, by Fredrik Backman The movie is streaming now on Netflix It starts off a bit confusing but has a universal theme. Trust me on this! The Nightingale, by Kristen Hannah Release date?  Who really knows?  It seems that the movie has been made but not released.  It stars Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning.  The last information mentioned December of 2022.  Honestly, I’m not

Anyone who watches Lester Holt’s Nightly News knows there is usually a piece at the conclusion of the show that features some ‘good news.’ Last week he told the story of a teenage girl who is spreading hope and love with gifts of books. Hopefully you can see that clip by clicking below. Don’t forget to turn up your volume and enjoy! https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/maryland-teen-s-personal-tragedy-inspires-book-donation-drive-131477061690

In December of 2021, the literary world lost two very important women–bell hooks and Joan Didion. It’s painful for me to admit that I only knew a bit about Joan Didion and had never heard of bell hooks. The first image of this post is that of bell hooks. In 2020, she was named one of ‘100 women of the year’ by Time Magazine. A

One of the first posts of this blog featured the effects of reading on emotional intelligence. The entry referenced Jessica Stillman’s article about how reading a variety of different authors and genres can make one more emphathetic. Stillman has once again reported on findings having to do with the positive benefits of reading. In a newsletter entitled “Inc.” (February 22, 2021), Stillman cites research done

Editors at The Times Book Review choose the best fiction and nonfiction titles this year. Nov. 30, 2021 FICTION How Beautiful We Were By Imbolo Mbue Following her 2016 debut, “Behold the Dreamers,” Mbue’s sweeping and quietly devastating second novel begins in 1980 in the fictional African village of Kosawa, where representatives from an American oil company have come to meet with the locals, whose

Have you ever been to New York City during the Christmas Holidays? It’s quite a treat!! The decorated store windows, the carriages of Central Park, the skating rink at Bryant Park! And, in case you never noticed, the NYC Public Library is right there, behind or front of depending on where you are standing, Bryant Park. A recent article in the ‘untapped new york’ section

The following post is borrowed from the Seabrook Island Tidelines post of November 20, 2021–In 1950, the National Book Awards were established to celebrate the best writing in America. Since 1989, they have been overseen by the National Book Foundation (NBF), a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to celebrate the best literature in America, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place

Readers select books in a bookstore by the Xinglong lake in Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Oct. 28, 2021. (Photo: China News Service/Wang Lei) Located in Tianfu New District, the “underwater bookstore” has a glass curtain wall that extends into the water on one side of the bookstore, allowing readers to see water plants and fish in the lake. (from Shelf Awareness, November 2, 2021/Issue

Today I was priviledged to hear a talk from Jonathan Haupt, director of the Pat Conroy Literary Center in Beaufort, South Carolina. Haupt was a speaker for the ongoing Our World series held on Kiawah Island. In addition to being a polished speaker, Haupt also had interesting information about Conroy and how he became a writer. I know that my next trip to Beaufort will

While living in Sandy Springs, a suburban area adjacent to Atlanta, GA, we experienced excitement throughout our neighborhood when Trader Joe’s moved into a space, right up the street, that had previously been occupied by Kiddie City. I don’t remember the exact year the store opened, but spreading neighborhood events via e-mail was not yet popular so we heard about the new store at garden

Interest in iconic American millionaires and billionaires never seems to wane, whether they are currently wealthy or were people from the past. Cornelius Vanderbilt and his descendants have captured the limelight for years. In doing some preliminary research, I learned that Cornelius and his wife (also his first cousin) had thirteen children. Cornelius had little use for his ten daughters. When he died, most of

We are coming to the end of “Banned Book Week.” This year’s theme is “Books unite us. Censorship Divides Us.” Libraries love this week, not because they are glad that books are banned but because they like to advertise the books that are banned. There is nothing like promoting a banned product. Why? — people (especially children) ask themselves. Then they read the book to

Next Monday, members of the Sandcastle Book Club will meet at the Sandcastle to discuss Of Women and Salt, a novel by Gabriela Garcia. The novel has received rave reviews from critics, much to the surprice of Garcia. She wrote it as the thesis for her MFA at Purdue. In interviews, Garcia claims the book is not so much an historical fiction as it is

The Johns Island Library has recently reopened after having been closed for renovations amid closures for Covid!! I went up there one day last week, and Lisa Williams, Circulation Manager, gave me a tour. Linda Stewart is the Branch Manager. The entire place has a new look–bright, modern, shiny and welcoming. Every good library has a special children’s section, and this one is HUGE. In

An article in Palmetto Politics, a newsletter published by the Post and Courier and written by Thomas Novelly, notes that the year 2021 is the 150th anniversary of federal attempts to prosecute members of the Ku Klux Klan who were terrorizing freed Blacks in South Carolina. In April of 1871, President Grant sent federal troops to arrest those who sought to deprive former enslaved Africans

From Cindy Standen Billie Jean King’s new autobiography “All In” should definitely be on this list. The work she did for women’s sports is unsurpassed. It’s a great story that I highly recommend. From Marty Drake ‘ditto’

Did you know that August 26 is Women’s Equality Day? I just found out about it. It isn’t a Hallmark gimmick as perhaps Grandparents’ Day may be. One doesn’t need to send cards for this day. It could be a day, however, that you would like to find out more about women’s equality in the United States–the history and continuing struggles–by getting a special book

I have to say that the term ‘summer reading’ elicits mixed feelings for me. As a parent, I found myself, by August, exhausted in efforts to coax my girls to finish their summer reading assignments for school. Passive resistance was their strategy for making me crazy. As a former educator, I see the value of summer reading assignments but not if the only follow-up is

On Tuesday, July 27, from 7:00 – 8:00, Marie Benedict, author of The Personal Librarian, will interview Kristin Harmel about her new book The Forest of Vanishing Stars. Remember the book about Jews who hid in forests from the Nazis the entire duration of WWII? Remember the blog entry on Kristin Harmel? If you were interested in this author or her new book, the program

You may be too young to remember when Jimmy Carter was President, or you may have just been too busy to have cared. I was pulling for him to do a good job because Georgia is my ‘adopted’ home state, and I was sick and tired of people making fun of him because he was from Plains, GA and had a Southern accent. Some very

 taken from the Pulitzer Prizes website (pulitzer.org) PRIZE WINNERSThe 2021 Pulitzer Prize Winner in FictionFor distinguished fiction published in book form during the year by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000). The Night Watchman By Louise Erdrich NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WASHINGTON POST, AMAZON, NPR, CBS SUNDAY MORNING, KIRKUS, CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY, AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING BEST BOOK OF 2020 Based on the extraordinary life

Most of us saw and/or read Hidden Figures, a truly remarkable and endearing story of formerly overlooked female NASA scientists who played a vital role in the United States’ space program. Now, a book entitled My Remarkable Journey, Katherine Johnson’s memoir, reveals a more complete picture of Johnson, the main character in the book/movie. Johnson was a precocious child and always had a love of