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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:
All images © Jennifer G. at Introverted Reader 2022
- 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 a stripe for every state that entered the Union. Congress eventually decided to cap it at 13 stripes for the original 13 colonies.
- The fort was built with the labor of enslaved people “borrowed” from neighboring landowners. The visitor center has a powerful display about the slave trade.
- The fort is named after William Moultrie, who was in command of the first fort to be located here during the Revolutionary War. He and his men prevented the British from occupying Charleston. His burial site was lost for over 100 years but eventually found and he was re-interred with military honors at the fort. This is the version of South Carolina’s flag that was in use during his time. It now has a palmetto tree in addition to the crescent moon.
- Osceola (as we spell it now) was a Seminole leader who was a key figure in the Second Seminole War. He was captured near St. Augustine, Florida when he tried to parley with a general there. They moved him to Charleston, where he coincidentally died a few months later of a tonsillar abscess.
Posted:
Hello, Star by Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic, illustrated by Vashti Harrison: Book Review
Ten of My Husband’s Favorite Books
Notes from a Young Black Chef (Adapted for Young Adults) by Kwame Onwuachi and Joshua David Stein: Book Review
Read:
Nothing this week, although I am thiiiiis close to finishing my Humboldt book (below).
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.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
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
The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World by Andrea Wulf
Up Next:
My library briefly offered the digital version of The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, created by Nikole Hannah-Jones, to everyone at once in honor of Black History Month so I downloaded it. I honestly don’t know how far I’ll get before I have to return it since it’s taking me so long to finish my other books. At least it’s an anthology and should be easy to pick up again if I have to return it before I finish.
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?
37 Comments
I finished a lot of books and audiobooks this week, but didn’t visit any parks! Or spend much time outdoors at all, for that matter. Too much snow on the ground and then more yesterday!
Snow! Yuck! I’ve been complaining about gray skies and cool temps but honestly, this week feels like spring might be around the corner. It’s not here, but it’s coming. We’ve had those complete fluctuations from 73 to 53 and cool and cloudy to warm and rainy. I’m so glad. I hope it arrives in your corner of the world soon!
I have only recently heard of Anne Bronte, but have not read anything by her. We don’t get out enough visiting parks and stuff, thanks for sharing your pictures. I hope you have a great week!
I’m really impressed with Anne Brontë so far.
I love the pictures! I don’t know if I still have mine, but I had a National Parks Passport book when I was younger, too. I know I always loved collecting stamps for it, though the majority of mine were West Coast parks.
Mine were mostly from the Southeast before we started traveling with my husband’s job. It’s so much easier to visit the ones that are just a daytrip away.
Yes, very true! My family has lived on the West Coast my whole life, and so our family vacations were up and down the coast.
I read a few of the books in the Bloody Jack series as teen.
Have a great week.
I love Bloody Jack on audio.
Nice looking photos. I’ve been to very few national parks and am always interested in seeing more. Nice looking assortment of books too. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
I bet there are national parks closer to you than you think. It’s amazing how many units are in the National Park service. There are well over 400 now.
Yes I can see why the title of the book needed to be changed. Love how you like to visit various National parks. A hobby in itself.
Yes, national parks keep us busy when we consider the weather to be decent. They’ve helped us keep our sanity through the pandemic.
I bet, and you have so many glorious national parks.
I think the George/Melissa issue is so very interesting. The author paid such close attention to their character and story then realized they didn’t honor the character. I love that they changed the title and think it’s such a teachable moment.
Yes, I agree that the George/Melissa title is a teachable moment. I came across the term “deadnaming” this week and immediately thought of this book. I hadn’t heard the word before.
We enjoy the parks and are big fans of zoos. It’s great you can take them in on your travels.
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
Yes, we like zoos, aquariums, and gardens too. We have memberships to the NC Arboretum and the WNC Nature Center, which give us free or reduced -fee access to a lot of similar places across the country.
I hope you are enjoying your time at Fort Moultrie National Historical Park. I hope you are enjoying your current reads. I have always wanted to try The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Have a great week!
I’m really enjoying Tenant of Wildfell Hall so far. It feels quite forward-thinking for the time.
Thanks for sharing the pictures! I haven’t been to Charleston in far too long and I’ve never been to Fort Sumter. I’d love to do the National Park Passport. I looked at that a bit ago and was amazed by just how many National Parks there are. Have a wonderful week!
I am amazed by how many national park units there are. We always have ideas for things to do, wherever we go, just based on that list. I’d recommend a visit to Fort Sumter the next time you’re in Charleston. It’s very well done and a beautiful ferry ride out.
What an interesting post today! I’ve visited Charleston briefly a couple of times, but had never heard of Fort Moultrie. We visited Fort Sumter on our first visit, and will visit Ft Moultrie the next time. Had no idea Osceola was buried in SC either.
Thanks for letting me know that Melissa is the new title of Alex Gino’s book. I have it on my list for Banned Book Week when it rolls around again.
Glad to know you enjoyed Notes from a Young Black Chef. I do enjoy a foodie lit and plan to get to this eventually. Hope you have a good week, Jen!
Fort Moultrie is a fairly small park but if you’ve already seen Fort Sumter, it’s definitely worth a visit!
I think you’ll like Notes from a Young Black Chef. I read the Young Adult version for the Cybils Awards but the original was written for adults. I don’t know what the difference is.
I really enjoyed looking at your pictures. Thanks for sharing them.
The one thing I’ve always been grateful for with my husband is that he’s not into watching sports. It’s nice because my dad always took over the TV growing up to watch whatever game was playing. I hope you enjoy the food and maybe you’ll see some entertaining commercials. 🙂
My Sunday Post
I don’t mind when my husband watches football. At least it’s mostly one day a week. And it gives me a chance to work on my own projects. If he watched baseball, where they play every night, we might have a problem.
I love the parks too! We have 5 in Utah but they are soooo busy right now. We’re hoping they clear out a bit this year??? maybe. We’d love to make it to some again soon. We’d love to visit out there someday. I need pick the Humboldt book back up soon. I’m getting through two books on audio before I get back to that one. I’ll be looking forward to your thoughts.
Super Bowl is for food! We have some friends coming over so it’ll make it worth it this year. Yum. And I’ll also be kind of rooting for the Bengals. They look evenly matched so I’m hoping it’s a good game, at least.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
We’ve been to Bryce and Zion and loved them both. Zion is one of our favorite parks ever. Overcrowding has been a problem at most national parks since the pandemic started. I hope it thins out soon too.
Humboldt took me much longer than it should have. I did finish it early this afternoon. I may try to get my review scheduled for this week.
My husband is mostly just hoping for a good game, but since he has family in the Cincinnati area, he’s kind of rooting for the Bengals.
Hi Jen! I always love watching your photos. I don’t know the American History as well as I guess I should, so it’s always interesting to learn new stuff.
Love your post on your husband’s favorite books – so clever!
Have a good week ahead!
Elza Reads
I promise you that you know more about American history than I do about South African history. I tried to write about the fort and fill in gaps for my non-American readers. We can all only hold so much history in our heads!
We were able to get a lifetime national parks pass when we turned 62 (I think), and we have plans to visit as many as we can. The two best books I’ve read recently about the national parks are Subpar Parks and Leave Only Footprints. I’m always on the lookout for good books about the parks.
I feel like I’ve been waiting and waiting for you to finish the Invention of Nature book. I am wondering if I should read it, and if I would like it if I do.
Thank you for sharing the photos!
I think you’ll like The Invention of Nature. It was different from what I expected. I finally figured out the seemingly tangential structure of the book toward the end and it all clicked for me. I’ll *try* to post my review this week.
I really want to read Subpar Parks. Her Instagram feed cracks me up.
Thanks for sharing your trip to the Fort Moultrie
Wishing you a great reading week
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing the pics! I love parks too. Charleston looks like a beautiful city visit and I haven’t been there but it’s definitely a place I’d like to go.
Hope you guys have a great weekend!
Thanks! Charleston is a beautiful city. We’ll be happy when we start having sunnier days though.
I hear you! It’s so grey here…