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
Comment from Rebecca Peace (beckyonbooks) As a lover of short stories let me recommend several collections that I have really enjoyed-You’ll Know When the Men Are Gone (Fallon)Five Tuesdays in Winter (King)Arranged Marriage (Divakaruni)Dream Children (Godwin)A Perfect Stranger (Robinson)Happy Reading!
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
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
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
The Dream Hotel is Jenna’s pick for March. Written by Laila Lalami, the book is something of a science fiction. The main character Sara has agreed to have an implant that will monitor her dreams. It is called a Dreamsaver, and Sara didn’t realize that the terms of use included a clause that gives the government the right to monitor her dreams. One day when
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
Today, as I walked down Fort Johnson Road to Fort Johnson, I thought about the Larsen book I am trying to finish for a book club. I featured it on this blog in 2024 and expected to like it as I did other Larsen books I have read. Well, I’m having a hard time with it, as it turns out. Of course, I was not
Seabrook resident Mary Fleck asked me to share the following announcement: Join us for an engaging discussion with Roger Jones, local businessman, philanthropist, humanitarian, and avid athlete!Roger will be discussing his debut novel, The Final Victory, a powerful story of resilience and unity centered around competitive dragon boat racing and the courage of cancer survivors. And you’ll hear from our special guest—the wife of “Tom,” one
Five books! That’s a lot to feature in one blog entry. It had to be done, however, because the volume of new books coming out these first few months of 2025 is overwhelming. In addition, with five authors represented here, you are bound to really like at least one of them, right? As you look at the covers of the five books, think about each
