Do authors still write biographies?

Of course they do and we all know it. It’s just that we may not hear so much about them right now. Below are a few I have been seeing in the publications I read: Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson is not a new book, and it was published before Musk rose to his current level of fame. Isaacson spent two years with Musk, going

More On Favorite Authors

Several readers responded about their favorite authors, or at least authors whose books they routinely enjoy. Linda Dove said she was a true Backman fan, and Becky Peace wrote, Anne Tyler is a favorite. She has the amazing talent of writing about daily life and ordinary people so that we both understand others better and see ourselves clearer. And she does that with beautiful, concise

Who Reads What?

At the Sandcastle Book Club this week, someone asked about the books on the best sellers lists. They wanted to know why few of the books we read are on the list. Another member asked, “What do people read now?” The book club likes to think we read literary fiction, but I’m sure that at times we read regular fiction or mystery or whatever. We

Three Novels Bring New Understandings

Happy Lands by Dole Perkins-Valdez Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a new author to me, but she has been producing award winning historical fiction since 2010. She seems to write about little known aspects of African American history. In her first book Wench, she tells the story of four enslaved women who meet their white masters each summer at a vacation house in Ohio. Of course, it

Short Stories

The Our World Committee on Kiawah Island has sponsored two mini-course sessions this spring. The topic has been, both times, short stories. Professor Emeritus Paula Feldman of the University of South Carolina has been the leader. For her first session, participants read stories based on nature, and Feldman donated the proceeds to the Audobon Society. She presented the check at a showing of Pam Cohen’s

California, Here We Come!

Few can resist the lure of California. Such a diverse state, extreme beauty and, at least lately, extreme weather! After a trip to California last summer, I can personally attest to its charm. In fact, I have a few photos to share!! I have come across several recent novels set in California and want you to know about them. You can make up your own

Finding Your Roots and Writing About Them

When Georgia Hunter was 15, she learned that her grandfather and his entire family of 22 people were Holocaust survivors. Her first book We Were the Lucky Ones is about their journey to escape the Nazis. Hunter spent years doing extensive research including interviews with many members of her family. The book has been made into a series on ‘Hulu’. One Good Thing is a

Do You Know Who These Women Were?

As you know, I like to read books about women who were previously overlooked by historians. I have found three books, all non-fiction, that introduce us to seven women who made important contributions during and/or after World War II. Now, let’s see if you recognize any of them: Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer, Hildegard Stucklen, Josephine Baker, Etta Shiber and Kitty Bonnefous Uness you