Upheaval in Charleston

MUSC following the earthquake

Upheaval in Charleston: Earthquake and Murder on the Eve of Jim Crowe
Susan Millar Williams and Stephen G. Hoffius
Published June 1, 2011


In case you missed the memo, I love history.


On August 31, 1886, an earthquake struck Charleston, SC shaking a city still reeling from the Civil War off of its foundations.  Williams and Hoffius explore Charleston and its biggest egos as it struggles to rebuild itself and find its identity in post war America.  Looming over reconstruction is newspaper editor Francis Dawson, a South Carolina transplant that has become the embodiment of the "American Dream."   He started with nothing to become a wealthy man with amazing sway in a city where outsiders aren't often welcome.  Dawson's "liberal" views and political meddling run him afoul of the good ole boy network.  When Dawson is murdered, corruption reigns supreme as his murderer is acquitted.  Racial tensions run high as freed slaves struggle to establish themselves in a "white world."  The relief effort exposes the inequities between the races as well as a conservative view of welfare that is still prevalent in modern day South Carolina (and America in general).

Earthquake bolts

Didn't know about the Charleston quake?  Don't feel bad, neither did I, and I make it my business to know.  Seismic knowledge was in its infancy in 1886, so there isn't much known about the earthquake.  With an estimated magnitude of 7.3, the earthquake killed 60 people and caused millions of dollars of damage.  "Earthquake bolts" can still be seen in period buildings around modern day Charleston. 

As history books go, Upheaval was an easy and very interesting read (though it did take me longer than normal to get through).  Williams and Hoffius mesh multiple plot lines together seamlessly. As a historian, I feel too much credit was given to the accuracy of personal accounts of the earthquake.  I find it hard to believe that an amateur geologist could accurately time the duration and direction of an earthquake that jolted him from his slumber.  Still, that is my opinion.  It does not detract from the facts of the book on a whole. 

Look at the Birdie

Look at the Birdie
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Copyright 2009

 I was in my late teens when a boy gave me Cat's Cradle.  I never told Drew how much the book affected me.  I became a Vonnegut junkie.  I saw so much of myself in him.  Vonnegut was a sullen smart ass that the world loved (still waiting for my adoration).  I have read all of his books, have several signed books, and God Bless You Mr. Rosewater is still one of my favorite books.  Despite my voracious appetite for all things Vonnegut, Look at the Birdie sat on my bookshelf for a long time.

Look at the Birdie is a compilation of fourteen of Kurt's unpublished short stories.   For the most part the stories reveal the chink in the armor of human nature.  They are tales of paranoia, pride, envy, and loss.   I think most of the stories must have been written while Vonnegut was in a dark place, they have a pessimistic quality.  I felt intrusive reading them.  Some of these stories were written a long time ago, there must have been a reason he didn't publish them.  Maybe they were just his idea of therapy, never meant to be read.  He spent tedious amounts of time editing his published works.  But the stories in Birdie are rough, lacking the tale tell Vonnegut humor (though others claim to see it).  None of the stories really stood on their own, but together they certainly provide a glimpse of raw Vonnegut. 

Because I relate to Vonnegut so well, I think his pessimism struck a chord with me.  Especially in its harshness.  I saw too much of my own negativity in his stories.  Now, I must work up the courage to read While Mortals Sleep. 

Lies I Told My Children (and Other Stories)

Lies I Told My Children (and Other Stories)
Karen McQuestion
Copyright July 2009

A book of cute short stories that I think most every parent can relate to.  McQuestion's stories kind of reminded me of The Bloggess, just  on a more PG scale.  From the safety of Metallica concerts for teenage boys, to just realizing you can't control everything, I had a smile on my face most of the time.

And you may lend it out on the Kindle, so I will gladly share.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Kindle Edition 2009

True fact:  I hate Victorian romance novels.  Jane Austen and The Bronte Sisters bore me to death.  (This coming from a girl who reads historical papers for the heck of it.)  I'd be a pretty crappy librarian if I said I never read any of their works (not for lack of trying on my part).  And so, how better to hook me than to add in a few zombies here and there?  I had no idea if this would work, but it did.

I now understand and appreciate Lizzy and Darcy's love story and it also helps that they just don't lounge around the countryside, but rather bond over slaying the undead.  Elizabeth kind of reminded me of Uma Thurman's character in Kill Bill.  In fact, the whole book had a sort of Tarantino-esque vibe to it.  Does that make for good literature?  No, but it was entertaining.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
J.K. Rowling
Copyright 1999

Okay, so this one was a reread.  My five year old daughter has been asking about Harry and wants me to read it to her, but I had to reread it before I curled up next to her and took her down Diagon Alley.

No, this is not a book for five year olds.  At least not my five year old.  She is way too sensitive and easily spooked by "bad guys" for me to make this our bedtime read.  Nor was it the book for me when I read it all those years back.  Too be honest, I didn't like it and couldn't understand the hype (isn't that the way it usually is with things that are hyped up?).  But now, a decade or so later (wow), I can genuinely appreciate it for what it is.

So, what is it?  To me, it is a fun catalyst for the imagination and a book that turned a whole generation on to the joys of reading.  Doesn't every kid dream at some point that they are more than what others say they are? With the exception of maybe the prefects, everyone at Hogwarts was a misfit in some way.  Kids could find someone they could relate to.  (For me, it was Hermione.  And wow, I am annoying.)

Is it a masterpiece of prose?  Heck no!  But, I will keep reading the series, because it grows with and on you. 

The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Kindle Edition 2010 

I am enjoying the opportunity to catch up on these classic books I've never read.  And I must say I am pleasantly surprised by how good they are.  I was expecting to be bored, but find myself eagerly anticipating what the next page has to offer.

The Hounds of Baskerville is part of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes Series. It was genuinely a good story.  The ending wasn't a shock per say and I may not have been captivated by Holmes as a character, but that didn't matter.

Holmes and his genius play a minimal role (only to save the day in the end. Which I suspect may be his style) as we follow Watson to the estate in the English countryside.  Watson's duty is to protect the latest Baskerville as he attempts to reestablish the family's mansion following the death of his uncle.  The Baskerville family has been plagued by a curse for generations following the heinous behavior of one of its patriarchs.  Was the curse to blame for the uncle's death, or something more sinister?  Da...da..dum....

This is Where I Leave You

This is Where I Leave You  
Jonathon Tropper
Copyright 2010

First off just let me say, this book rocked.  I am not a mushy kind of girl, well I won't admit to being one at least, so you wouldn't think that a book about a man who has just lost his father and walks in on his cheating wife would be for me.  But, Tropper injected the story with such sarcasm and realism that it hooked me. 

This is Where I Leave You is a coming of age story for us 30 year olds.  The main character thinks he has settled into life, only to have everything turned on its head.  Yea, I know there are soooo many other books about the same thing, but they all lack the finesse of this book.  Trust me, they do....

Another note to fellow Kindle readers:  Three years ago when my husband bought me the Kindle for Christmas (Thank You)  it was with the promise that I would stop collecting books in every nook and cranny.  But, just how am I supposed to keep that promise when the paperbacks are cheaper???  Any solutions?