More on Ukraine

Three books are that are relevent to the crisis in Ukraine are worth mentioning for those of you who like to explore situations in depth. (See blog entry on The Gates of Europe.) Two of the books are non-fiction and the third is considered historical fiction. Lessons from the Edge was written by Marie Yovanovitch. Remember her? She was the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine until

Just in from Linda Malcolm

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

Kate Quinn’s new book

Today at the Sandcastle Book Club meeting, Martha Zink led the discussion of The Rose Code, by Kate Quinn. The novel was based on real women who worked as code-breakers at Betchley Park during and after World War II. Martha printed photos of the ‘real’ people who were featured in the book. Several club members shared their experiences touring Bletchley Park. Quinn has a new

Spoiler Alert

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.

Parton and Patterson

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

Nostalgic For The Nineties?

The 90’s were probably the happiest decade of my life. One of my daughters got married and another one graduated college. My husband and I celebrated our first AND our second grandchild. I worked harder during the nineties than I had ever worked before. I don’t remember ever being idle or having a difficult time falling asleep. The Olympics came to Atlanta, GA and I

Ukraine

While we are watching the Ukranian people fight Russian soldiers and dodge Russian missles, a few of us may be confused about the country itself. World leaders have bantered around different narratives about the nation for the past decade. To get a broader scope on the current conflict and to understand the roots of the issue, one needs to go back in history to a

Lahnice Hollister introduces Resisting Jim Crow

Today at the Sandcastle on Kiawah Island, Lahnice Hollister introduced a book called Resisting Jim Crow The book is actually an autobiography written by Hollister’s great-uncle Dr. John McFall. Dr. McFall was a Charleston pharmacist who worked for civil rights his entire life. His story is very important for several reasons: It gives a detailed account of the life of an extraordinary man who grew