I kept seeing this book everywhere and ignoring it, until I finally read it. Immediately, the story transported me to a world not that far from where I live, but so different and real, I had to be careful.
My favorite place to listen to an audiobook is in the car, and I think I missed my turn several times. It wasn’t my fault. The beauty and vibrant life of the North Carolina coastal marsh and the “Marsh Girl” who lived in it and was part of it, spun a magical web. This is one of those rare books that will stay in my heart and mind.
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For years, rumours of the 'Marsh Girl' have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be…
Science fiction was my first love. I read every sci-fi book in the juvenile section of the local library when I was young and then snuck into the forbidden adult section and devoured that.
Thankfully, the librarian turned a blind eye. Since then, I have wandered widely into other genres, but my husband recommended this book and Weir’s first book, The Martian, was outstanding. I wondered how he could top that one, but he did.
There are some similarities in that an unlikely hero, a high school science teacher, has to use his wits to survive in the deadly environment of space, but this time he also has to solve a mystery that threatens the survival of our species and forms a friendship with a most unlikely alien.
Fun, educational, and thought-provoking. What more could you want?
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through…
A new friend and avid reader pulled this book from his bookshelf, pronounced it one of his favorites, and put it in my hands. One is somewhat obligated to read it, yes?
Along with that, I had met the author and read one of his novels, so I knew he was an excellent writer. But this book was different, and I wasn’t sure I would like it. It was a collection of portraits of famous and unknown people in my state, a place known for its rich and unusual characters. Some of them I knew, some I knew of, and others were strangers until Hoffman introduced me.
Engaging and eye-opening! I felt I had met the people he portrayed. His skillful, insightful, and elegant style brought these people alive. I am grateful he wrote it and shared it.
Alabama Afternoons is a collection of portraits of many remarkable Alabamians, famous and obscure, profiled by award-winning journalist and novelist Roy Hoffman. Written as Sunday feature stories for the Mobile Press-Register with additional pieces from the New York Times, Preservation, and Garden & Gun, these profiles preserve the individual stories-and the individual voices within the stories-that help to define one of the most distinctive states in the union.
Hoffman recounts his personal visits with writer Mary Ward Brown in her library in Hamburg, with photographer William Christenberry in a field in Newbern, and with storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham and folk…
Na’amah wishes only to be a shepherdess on her beloved hills in ancient Turkey—a desire shattered by the hatred of her powerful brother and the love of two men. Her savant abilities and need to speak truth force her to walk a perilous path in an age of upheaval and change. When foreign raiders kidnap her, Na’amah’s journey to escape becomes a quest to save her people from a disaster only she knows is coming.
I loved writing Noah’s Wife, which is loosely based on the biblical tale of the great flood that changed the ancient world. The intensive research required to learn about the time/culture captivated me for several years, as did experiencing that world through the lens of a neuro-diverse girl/woman.
