Good Reads

Today I finished a great book, Ghost Riders by Sharyn McCrumb. I read several of her Elizabeth MacPherson books years ago, but I've come late to the Ballad series that focuses on the Appalachians. This is the first, and it won't be the last.

It's always a pleasure to (re)discover a great writer. The thing that makes McCrumb novels so good is their blend of excellent research, seasoned just so with humor and intriguing plotline. Ghost Riders is a Civil War story--or one about string theory, or justice, or historical figures (North Carolina Governor Zebulon Baird Vance and guerrilla fighter Malinda Blalock, to name two), or Appalachian culture. It's wonderful for its intriguing premises and for how much I learn about why it's important to have good back teeth if you're enlisting (you have to be able to tear the top off your powder load). See what I mean? I wouldn't have been scouting Wikipedia for that bit of trivia, but now it's in the cortex, so there you go.

All in all, Ghost Riders was a huge contrast to the big book I just finished for my book club (which I will comment upon Tuesday, after the meeting). I can tell you this--lots more of the literati will know the author of my Tuesday book. But they're missing out. McCrumb is by far the better writer, and Ghost Riders the better book. Too bad she hasn't been an Oprah pick. She deserves it far more than Mr. Tuesday Night.