by Laura DeNooyer | Aug 15, 2023 | Book Reviews
Decades ago, on my first trip to Southern Appalachia during college, I visited the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina. That’s when I fell in love with the Smoky Mountains, the surrounding area, and its people—as an outsider and a Northerner. But author Pepper...
by Laura DeNooyer | Jul 5, 2023 | Book Reviews
Whenever I visit new places, I often buy a piece of artwork by a local artist, usually a painting or drawing. In Maine, the lighthouses intrigued me the most. Of course I couldn’t decide among them, so I ended up with two framed prints. One of them is the Pemaquic...
by Laura DeNooyer | Apr 11, 2023 | Book Reviews
When I read Devil in the White City years ago, I was fascinated by the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Not just the World’s Fair and all its creativity, but the juxtaposition of evil running rampant at the same time. Four years later came the Tennessee...
by Laura DeNooyer | Mar 21, 2023 | Book Reviews
We all have memories associated with a place we call home, particularly ones we grew up in. Some memories are happy and pleasant, some might be sorrowful. But a house is much more than a place where we spend time growing up. At best, it’s a place of laughter,...
by Laura DeNooyer | Mar 14, 2023 | Book Reviews
My daughter and son recently got 23andMe DNA tests. Fortunately, no unknown relatives showed up. But we did learn a few things. I have a lot of Dutch on my side of the family, but it was confirmed we had more French in our background than expected. Besides my...
