All That Life May Bring: BOOKSHELF

Reading List & Reviews:

This is my favorite book of the moment. Actually, it's the best one I've read in quite some time. I especially appreciate the story and the characters now that I live in the south where all of this went down, and there are still mostly-un-talked about tensions between the white, Junior League, debutante type ladies and the black folks who've historically been their servants. GO READ THIS BOOK.

This guy is seriously twisted and I don't want to know how he came up with the plot. This is the only one in the series I've read so far. He really knows how to build suspense and keep you turning pages, but there are also a lot of parts you flip through really quickly because they have nothing at all to do with the story...like all the self-indulgent computer specs he rambles on and on about. Okay, we get it, you're into computers. Hey, at least he was a Mac man. After I finished this one, I was so disturbed that I didn't think I even wanted to read the next two in the series. But after giving it some time...I'd give it a go.

Tepid plot to begin with, hoped for an interesting spin or two but never really got it. The only reason I actually finished this one is that I had already invested too many hours of my life to give up. The tricksters in the publishing PR department littered the front and back covers with raving reviews...of Elizabeth Berg's other novels. I hate it when they do that

I'm kind of on a Southern lit kick right now, so I picked up this fast, easy read that is set in the low country of South Carolina, in Colleton County. I do love living here, but find a lot of the history and the clinging-to-past-traditions somewhat strange as well, so it's interesting to have an old-money SC family portrayed by someone who grew up here and has known people like that her whole life...actually, she's probably one of them. It's like watching through the window to see the real lives of people you see all the time around town, but really know nothing about. A good mindless read--won't be winning any awards.

Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years by Sarah and Elizabeth Delany with Amy Hill Hearth

This was the choice for One Book One Columbia. It's an oral history of two spunky centarian sisters who grew up throughout the whole spectrum of the civil rights movement. It deals with race issues and the way of life both in the south and in NYC during the Harlem Renaissance. These women, along with their entire family, were highly successful in an age when Jim Crow laws and social mores emphatically attempted to hold black Americans back. It's a fascinating glimpse into the lives of people who have really lived the history most of us only read about in school. The Delany Sisters are full of wisdom and keen insights into our society, and are excellent examples of how to succeed in the face of diversity. They are role models for everyone, not just black Americans.

The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown: Civil Rights, Censorship, and the American Library by Louise Robbins

My Diversity in Libraries class is reading this together. It's the story of a public librarian in Oklahoma who ran into a lot of controversy and trouble in the 40s and 50s after she stood up for civil rights and against censorship in the library. Her story is a microcosm of our society during McCarthyism and the era of suppression, fear mongering, and prejudice.

I had the pleasure of moderating a panel discussion with John Claude Bemis and Caroline B. Cooney at the SC Book Festival, and wanted to make sure I read something by the authors. This YA fantasy adventure based around American folktales like John Henry is a great read. It is the first book in the Clockwork Dark trilogy and I highly recommend if you're looking for something fun.

This is the second book in the Clockwork Dark trilogy, and I read it in just a couple days since I could not put it down. I've come to love the cast of characters and can't wait to find out what happens! Fortunately, the final book is coming out in just a couple months.

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