A Lost Art??

The Art Spy by Michelle Young I cannot say enough about this book by Michelle Young about Rose Valland. I have tried to link an interview with Young, but my computer will not cooperate. If you have a chance, pull up one of her interviews and listen to Young talk about her book. She has done a tremendous amount of research on Valland, a French

Special People

Remember the book The Maid? In that book, Nita Prose introduces us to Molly Gray, a young woman who loves to clean but doesn’t have typical social skills. The term ‘neurodivergent’ seems to cover an array of symptoms that she has. In other words, Molly’s brain simply works differently from that of the majority of folks. So how does one deal with a person like

James Patterson writes a new genre

To some, James Patterson is a household name. Their bookshelves are lined with books authored by him. Patterson was born in 1947. His first job was in advertising. When he wrote his first book in 1973, it was rejected by 31 publishers. The book The Thomas Berryman Number went on to win an Edgar Award! His best known book is Along Came a Spider, and

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

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

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

Invitation from Seabrook

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

Ann Tyler

Ann Tyler has been writing books for 60 years. Her first one, If Morning Ever Comes, was published in 1964 when Tyler was only 22 years old. The first Ann Tyler book I remember is The Accidental Tourist. I hate to admit that I found the book difficult to get into, but my husband read it and liked it a lot! I read French Braid

100 Golf Courses in 1 Year?

Golfer and retired executive Jimmie James sat out on a remarkable journey in 2017 to play the Top 100 Golf Courses in the USA. He achieved his goal and wrote about the experience in an intriguing book. AND I got to hear him speak today at Our World on Kiawah Island. If you are a golfer and/or know a golfer, this book will interest you.