General News from the World of Literature
Like most highly intelligent people, Ken Burns reads a lot! In an interview published in the Sunday edition of the New York Times, Burns admitted that he didn’t have enough time to read for pleasure and then went on to recite a very ecletic list of books that he is either currently reading or reading again. Of course he reads non-stop for his work, concentrating
For those of you in the Sandcastle Book Club, I’d like to give you an update on our year so far. In September, we discussed The Maid by Nita Prose. Even though the book wasn’t a literary masterpiece, members enjoyed the read. The protaganist Molly is neurodivergent. The author was somewhat uneven in developing Molly because, in some circumstanes, she acted too savvy to be
Be sure to check out this year’s Literary Festival. The speakers are varied and impressive. A few authors that stood out to me (copied from the downloaded program guide): For specific dates, go to the webpage featured at the end of the entry. IMANI PERRY with Dr. Tamara ButlerSOUTH TO AMERICA 5 PM-6 PM FREE / Circular Congregational Church • Live Event(Online Reservation Required)Imani Perry’s
What is your favorite David McCullough book? Mine is Mornings on Horseback, although I greatly value the other books he has written which I have read. I think my husband read all of his books. After McCullough’s death this month, New York Times contributor Daniel Lewis wrote an enlightening article about him in which he highlights what made his books so compelling. Lewis writes, “Deep
From the New York Times, May 9, 2022 FICTION ‘The Netanyahus,’ by Joshua Cohen (New York Review Books) Cohen’s book imagines Benzion Netanyahu, academic and father of the Israeli prime minister, arriving to interview for a job at a fictional New York college (modeled on Cornell) in the late 1950s. The book is narrated by Ruben Blum, a faculty member asked to consider Netanyahu’s fitness for
Charleston Friends of the Library (CFOL) is excited to host the fortieth annual “That Big Book Sale” on May 19 – 22, 2022 at Omar Shrine Auditorium, Patriot’s Point Road, Mount Pleasant.-Submitted by Charleston Friends of the Library
The person in the above picture is Reginald Dwayne Betts, and he is sitting in the National Building Museum in front of one of the specially designed book shelves he created through his Freedom Reads organization. Bookshelves like the one in the photo have been installed in two prisons, one in Massachusetts and one in Louisiana. By the end of 2023, Betts hopes to have
This year’s PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion is Oprah Winfrey. Board Vice President Mary Haft speaks of Winfrey in glowing words: “Oprah Winfrey is a literary force field. She has been like a lighthouse standing sentry and shining a beacon of light onto literature and into the lives of writers and readers.” The PEN/Faulkner Foundation is an independent non-profit arts organization dedicated to promoting writing. It supports
This post is a tribute to Thornton Wilder. April 17 was his birthday. He would have been 125 years old. Wilder was the only person to win a Pulitzer Prize for both literature and drama. He recieved the Pulitzer for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927) and the plays Our Town (1938) and The Skin of Our Teeth (1942). Do you remember
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
