This is the time of year when I see list after list of “best historical fiction of 2025” or “best mystery Novels of 2025” or “Notable Books of 2025.” There are so many books published every week. Before we start looking back on the year, however, there are a few books I have not mentioned in the blog and want to point out below: Remember
Before I had a chance to post the finalists for the American Book Award in the Non-fiction catagory, I see that the winner has already been announced. The book featured below is the winner. Word of warning–not everyone will want to read this book. The author Omar El Akad has a very dim view of Western Society. Yes, that would be us, the society we
My new neighbor Barbara Sport sent me a wonderful list of books that her book club in Colorado is considering. Many of them have been on the Sandcastle Book Club List, as well as other club lists. Read and enjoy and consider putting a few on your list!! Thanks, Barbara. Aspen Glen Book Club Prospective Titles for 2026 (Updated 9/26/25) 1. Theo of Golden –
I have two men who follow my blog. One of them is my grandson, the only member of my family who actually appreciates the blog!! The other man is Tom Pinckney, a well-read friend who plays bridge with me and has an open mind about matters. The other day he gave me a list of books he would recommend so I pass them along to
Already an Oprah bookclub book, A Guardian and a Thief is a story set in the near future about an Indian family coping with survival in a world ravished by the climate crisis. Descriptions call the book “a ravishing novel.” The second of three fiction books nominated for the award is written by Augustina Bazterrica and translated into English by Sarah Moses. A description of
I have a friend who doesn’t think a person should write a memoir unless that person is old. “A twenty-something hasn’t earned the right to write a memoir,” she says. “They aren’t old enough. They haven’t lived their entire life yet.” She has a point, however, plenty of people write memoirs before they are old. Jen Hatmaker, an author and podcaster, wrote Awake after a
The man in the picture above is Calvin Duncan. I can’t believe he is smiling after all he has been through. At age 19, he was wrongfully imprisoned for 28 years at a Louisana Prison. While in prison, he studied law and began to help himself and other inmates file appeals and motions for procedural improvements. The woman in the picture is Stephanie Cull. She
The Woman at the Wheel, by Penny Haw How many of you have owned a Mercedes? I bought and drove a used one for many years. I loved that car. Most of us, however, had no idea that Bertha Benz, wife of inventor Carl Benz, secretly drove her husband’s invention on a long distance test drive to prove the car (if one may call it
Patrick Ryan has written a book that New York Times reviewer Jess Walter calls an old-fashioned American novel. That book is Buckeye, and the publisher has really hyped this novel set in a fictional town in Ohio. From all accounts, Buckeye lives up to its promise–well worth reading and more than. The author introduces us to two families brought together by the war and then
The 45 events of this year’s festival will take place at the Dock Street Theatre. People from around Charleston simply say The Dock Street! Having scoured the events thoroughly, and knowing how difficult it is to go to all of them, we have pointed out a few authors and their books that are of special interest to us. Tim Bouverie, author of Allies At War–November
