Weekly Update

Welcome to my weekly update for March 13, 2022! My aunt and uncle visited us for three days last week and we had such a good time with them. We all love to travel so that's fun to discuss. But most importantly, we've barely seen them since 2019? Maybe late 2018? We had them all to ourselves last week and they were great sports to look at our travel pictures for what must have felt like eternity to them! We mostly just hung out at our camper and chatted because they've visited Charleston a few times before, but we did take a Hidden Alleys and Passages walking tour of downtown Charleston (If you ever visit Charleston, you have to take a walking tour. You simply can't see all the good stuff from a car, or even from a carriage). We all really enjoyed the tour. The verdant courtyards and lanes between the stately old homes contribute so much to the city's charm. I focused more on enjoying the moment than taking pictures that day, but here are a few. Slideshow: A carriage house in Charleston. I never get tired of looking at these beautiful old homes.Philadelphia AlleyOur guide told us these are handprints left by the enslaved children who turned the bricks as they were drying in the sun. I always wonder how many of the stories guides tell us are apocryphal and how much is true, but this sure looks convincing to me. They were scattered on bricks throughout Philadelphia Alley. It makes you sad, doesn't it? Posted: Nothing this week. Read: Nothing finished either. Currently Reading: I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.  Eleanor…

Welcome to my weekly update for March 6, 2022! I just realized that I never shared the results of the Cybils Awards with you. I was a round one panelist for high school nonfiction. We narrowed the list down from 25 nominations to five finalists. On February 14, the winners in all categories were announced. Punching Bag by Rex Ogle won the high school nonfiction category. Congratulations! I had to run some errands last week and put them off too late in the day. I realized I was going to get caught in some terrible rush hour/accident traffic. So I drove 10 minutes to Sullivan's Island for a walk on the beach instead. It was a beautiful evening, if a bit cool. I had to go back to the area the next day and went for another afternoon walk on the beach. Slideshow: Sullivan's Island Lighthouse at Sunset Sullivan's Island Sunset Ravenel Bridge over the Cooper River Posted: The Preservationist by David Maine: Book Review Ten Longest Books I’ve Ever Read Monthly Wrap-Up for February 2022 Read: I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.  Beach Music by Pat Conroy, read by Jonathan Marosz 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Currently Reading: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman The Princess Beard (The Tales of Pell #3) by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne, read by Luke Daniels  The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, created by Nikole Hannah-Jones The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry, edited by Jay Parini Up Next: My aunt and uncle are planning to visit us this week so I probably won't make much progress on any of these books. But we always have a great time with…

Welcome to my weekly update for February 27, 2022! We finally had warm, sunny weather this week. It felt heavenly! On Sunday, we went to the Caw Caw Interpretive Center, a county park that has trails through several different ecosystems. It's a wildlife refuge but in late winter, we didn't see many animals. Apparently there's an exhibit about the Stono River Slave Rebellion in the gift shop but we were in such a hurry to hit the trails, we missed it. Slideshow: A view through the cypress knees in the swamp I don't know if you can see it, but in the right light, you could see rainbows in the swamp water, created by oils from decaying vegetation Live oak and Spanish moss in former rice fields Alligators Posted: The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World by Andrea Wulf: Book Review Ten Dynamic Duos North American Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Continent by Matthew Bucklan & Victor Cizek, illustrated by Jack Dunnington: Book Review Read: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë 🌟🌟🌟🌟½ Stars Currently Reading:  The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, created by Nikole Hannah-Jones Beach Music by Pat Conroy, read by Jonathan Marosz The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry, edited by Jay Parini Up Next: One chunkster down, three to go! They're the only books on my horizon for a while. What did your week look like? Deb Nance at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon and Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer hosts Sunday Post. Kathryn at Book Date hosts It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Welcome to my weekly update for February 20, 2022! We went to the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site yesterday. Charles Pinckney was "a principal author and signer of the United States Constitution" according to the NPS website. He was very active in the Constitutional Convention and contributed roughly 28 clauses to the final document, some of which are very significant (Two chambers in the House of Representatives, one executive called the President, the "elimination of religious testing as a qualification to office.") He was also a slave owner and either a proposer or supporter of the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted each enslaved person as 3/5 of a person for the purposes of determining representation in the government (His role varies depending on the source I checked.) He also said "if slavery be wrong, it is justified by the example of all the world." So he's a mixed bag, like so many of our Founding Fathers. This site is also part of the Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor. The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of enslaved people who retained much of their African heritage because the plantations where they were enslaved were so isolated. Slideshow: Charles Pinckney's House at Snell FarmCamellia Bushes and the US FlagCamellia FlowerNew Testament in the Gullah Language Posted: Ten Excellent Books I've Never Mentioned on My Blog Read: I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.  Wild Rover No More: Being the Last Recorded Account of the Life & Times of Jacky Faber (Bloody Jack #12) by L. A. Meyer, read by Katherine Kellgren 🌟🌟🌟 North American Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Continent by Matthew Bucklan and Victor Cizek, illustrated…

Welcome to my weekly update for February 13, 2022! Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Or, if I have any fellow fans of What We Do in the Shadows out there, Happy Superb Owl Sunday! I'm honestly just here for the food but my husband will be watching and vaguely rooting for the Bengals. I spent a bit of time on Wednesday updating the cover and my mentions of the book George by Alex Gino after Helen at Helen's Book Blog very kindly pointed out that the publisher and author have officially changed the name. They're now being publishing it as Melissa. To quote an article from Publisher's Weekly, "Melissa is the name the character chose for herself at the end of her journey. [Gino] hadn’t intended to imply that a trans person should be called by their former name when they’ve chosen another one." I remember briefly wondering why the book was entitled George when I read it, so I'm happy to reflect the change here. I'm a big National Park geek and have a big, fancy National Park Passport book. I love to collect stamps and stickers for it. We were finally warm enough (and actually in Charleston) this weekend to head out to Fort Moultrie National Historical Park. We've visited the more (in)famous Fort Sumter before (It's where South Carolina secessionists fired the first shots of our Civil War). We happened to visit just as a Park volunteer was starting a tour so we jumped on that and learned a lot. Slideshow: Overlooking Fort Moultrie with Fort Sumter on the low island in the left of the frame. The US was using this version of the flag when the current fort was built. It has 15 stars and 15 stripes. The original plan was to add a star and…

Welcome to my weekly update for February 6, 2022! Today is my dad's birthday so we were able to go home to Asheville to spend the day with him. Happy birthday, Daddy! A few weeks ago I found myself pretty close to Sullivan's Island while running some errands. It was a beautiful weekday morning so I headed on out to the beach for a walk. I had it practically to myself. Slideshow: All images © 2022 Jennifer G. at Introverted Reader Dead tree stump on the beach Sullivan's Island Lighthouse. I think this is the most unimpressive lighthouse I've ever seen! It was built in 1962 as a replacement for the much more picturesque Morris Island Lighthouse, which has been in danger of toppling into the ocean for 60 years but keeps hanging on. I took a picture of these homes because they reminded me a bit of the Northeast. Then I realized that they're in danger of being swallowed by the ocean too. More frequent, stronger hurricanes are taking a very visible toll on our coastlines in the South. Horseshoe crab shell Posted: The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame: Book Review Ten Books with Names in the Titles The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner, read by Ana Clements: Book Review Monthly Wrap-Up for January 2022 Read: Hollow City (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #2) by Ransom Riggs--3 Stars Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World, written and illustrated by Rachel Ignotofsky--4 Stars The Feast of Roses (Taj Mahal Trilogy #2) by Indu Sundaresan, read by Sneha Mathan--4 Stars The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, edited by Caroline Kennedy--3.5 Stars Currently Reading: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë Wild Rover No More: Being the Last Recorded Account of the Life & Times…

Welcome to my weekly update for January 30, 2022! My mom loves reading all of your comments on my blog and she thanks you for the birthday wishes last week. She asked me to post this picture that summarizes how we deal with snow/ice in the south. Pay attention to the headline on the bottom. Bless our hearts! Posted: They Better Call Me Sugar: My Journey from the Hood to the Hardwood by Sugar Rodgers: Book Review Ten New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2021 Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask: Young Readers Edition by Anton Treuer: Book Review Read: I'd like to report something here but I didn't finish any books this week. I'm going to link to some poems I enjoyed from The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, edited by Caroline Kennedy "Sea-Fever" by John Masefield--Can't you picture the ocean on a wild, blustery day as you read this? "Portrait by a Neighbor" by Edna St. Vincent Millay--I think I would be friends with this free spirit. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost--Most of you are probably familiar with this one but it seems appropriate for a re-read at the end of January. Currently Reading: Hollow City (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #2) by Ransom Riggs The Feast of Roses by Indu Sundaresan, read by Sneha Mathan The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World by Andrea Wulf Up Next: I checked out Women in Science: Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky on my last trip to the library so I'll start it next. I have one cabinet in our RV where I tuck away all my projects, stationery, etc. Digging through it today, I realized that I have about ten books stashed away that I need to…

Welcome to my weekly update for January 23, 2022! This has been a low key week. Last weekend was cool and rainy here in Charleston. Back home in Asheville, they did get that 8+" of snow in the forecast so we're glad we cancelled that trip. As I prep this post on Thursday night, we're expecting freezing rain on Friday night/Saturday morning. Frozen stuff is rare this far south so we're not looking forward to that. My husband has to work all next week and he's on call next weekend so I'm planning a visit home alone for a few days to celebrate my mom's birthday (Happy birthday, Mama!). Slideshow: Charleston is nicknamed "The Holy City." That's either because of the many, many church spires or because of a history of religious tolerance. Whatever the reason, it's certainly refreshing to see these steeples across the skyline instead of huge, blocky skyscrapers. Here are a few pictures my husband and I have taken on our trips downtown. All images © 2022 Jennifer G. at Introverted Reader Citadel Square Church St. Philip's Church St. Michael's Church French Huguenot Church St. Matthew's Church Posted: The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks (Young Readers Edition) by Jeanne Theoharis, adapted by Brandy Colbert: Book Review Ten Anticipated Book Releases in Early 2022 The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, edited by Maria Tatar: Book Review Read: I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.  I had an unconscious theme this week! Hello, Star by Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic, illustrated by Vashti Harrison--5 Stars Navigate Your Stars by Jesmyn Ward, illustrated by Gina Triplett--4 Stars The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner, read by…

Welcome to my weekly update for January 16, 2022! We were planning to head back home to Asheville for another visit this weekend but the 5-8" of snow in the forecast for Sunday cancelled those plans. I know that's nothing to some of you but that's significant for us. If it happens, I expect officials will close school for the week. The Department of Transportation is already warning everyone that it will take longer than usual to clear the roads because of staffing shortages due to covid. Since my husband has to be at work on Tuesday, we decided to stay here in Charleston, where forecasters expect this to only be a rain event. We've spent so much time back home with family since we got to Charleston that we really haven't done that much local exploring. But here are a couple of pictures from a sunset walk on Hilton Head Island, where we welcomed the new year. Slideshow: All images © 2022 Jennifer G. at Introverted Reader Evening Sand DunesSea Foam at Sunset Posted: Ten Recent Additions to My TBR (To Be Read list) 2022 Reading Challenges I've Signed Up For--I hope you'll join me in some of these! 2021 Reading by the Numbers--I share my longest and shortest books, favorite cover, breakdown by book audience, my favorite books in a variety of genres and categories, etc. Read: I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.  A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey, read by Frankie Corzo--4 Stars The Preservationist by David Maine--4 Stars At the Crossing Places (Arthur Trilogy #2) by Kevin Crossley-Holland, read by Michael Maloney--3 Stars Currently Reading: The Wind…

Welcome to my weekly update for January 9, 2022! I hope everyone had happy holidays! I did not mean to disappear over the past month or so but life got busy. We spent several weekends at my parents' house near Asheville, NC and my sister visited us here in Charleston, SC. That left little time for blogging and I decided I was okay with that. Life is too short to let an unpaid hobby take over, no matter how much I love this community. I admire those of you who manage to juggle all your responsibilities and still post regularly! Since mid-October, I've read 19 high school nonfiction books and read at least half of five more as a round one panelist for the Cybils awards. We had a lot of fantastic nominations so it was hard to narrow the field to just five finalists. You can see and read about our choices on the Cybils website. I normally like to include pictures from my travel adventures with my husband but it's been so long since I posted, I don't know where to start. I'll take that back up when I get back into my normal schedule. Posted: Since my last update on November 28, I've posted My Top Ten (Plus Two) Books of 2021 I announced that I'll be hosting the 2022 Books in Translation Challenge and the 2022 Southern Literature Challenge Books I Added to My TBR during Nonfiction November Read: I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.  This is what I've read since November 28. Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor--4 Stars Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson, read by Marin Ireland--4 Stars…