Two remarkably true stories!

“Truth is stranger than ficiton” is a worn out statement, but it can be remarkably true. Such is the case in the following two books. These books are NOT historical fiction. The first book was written by Ilyon Woo, a writer whose research for the book was funded by National Endowment for the Humanities. Woo received a PhD in English from Columbia University. Master Slave

Meet Wylie Small

Wylie and her husbad purchased a home on Kiawah Island in 2020. I recently met Wylie Small, a part time Kiawah resident who also happens to be an author! Her specialty is English history. Wylie sent me the following background information: My love of English history developed when I began to work on my family’s genealogy, about fifteen years ago. Both of my parents had

A Shoutout for Legos

This book was written by Jens Andersen, a writer of biographies who was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1955. He had rare access to the inner workings of the global Lego company and interviewed members of the Danish family that founded it. The book contains rare photos that date back to the early days of the company when Legos were made in a small carpentry

An Anniversary

Today, November 4, 100 years ago, Howard Carter, British archaeologist, discovered King Tut’s tomb. The remarkable story of that discovery is told by Jo Merchant in a recent Smithsonian magazine. To read this story, click the link below. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-howard-carter-discovered-king-tuts-golden-tomb-180981052/ John and Colleen Darnell, a husband and wife Egyptology team, have authored a book about King Tut’s parents, Akhenaten and Nerfertiti. Sometimes overlooked, these two rulers’

Ken Burns is a ‘Reader’

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

Sandcastle Book Club Update

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

Charleston Literary Festival

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

David McCullough dies at age 89

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