Reading for Perspective on Our Wintry Storms

As I write, it's a rainy day in Southern California, which is what passes for "a major storm" here but nothing like the paralyzing snowstorms in the Northeast. Wintry weather events are reminders of nature's power and our vulnerability despite climate-controlled environments, fossil-fuel-powered transport and electronically-dependent communications. But such storms were even more devastating in the past. For example, younger family members can gain perspective with a childhood favorite, The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder, which is one of the more exciting Little House books as well as a fairly accurate portrayal of the terrible "Snow Winter" of 1880-1881 in the Dakotas. Or they can read Blizzard!--The Storm That Changed America by Jim Murphy. It's about the East Coast blizzard of March 1888, when wind-driven snow accumulated in 50-foot drifts in some places and lead to 400 deaths, 200 in New York City alone. The disruption of above-ground telegraph/telephone and rail led to changes such as underground communications lines and the first underground subway in Boston. For adult readers, there is the moving The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin. This cautionary tale covers the tragic Schoolhouse Blizzard that suddenly blasted the Great Plains in the afternoon of January 12, 1888, after an unseasonal warm morning that had schoolchildren forgoing heavy coats and gloves. It was called the Schoolhouse Blizzard because so many of the 500 or so dead were schoolchildren trying to walk home from one-room schoolhouses through blinding snow, with many found frozen just yards from shelter. For more historical perspectives, read about some other surprising weather impacts on human events: http://www.weather.com/news/news/7-strange-ways-weather-has-changed-history-20130921#/1

What Do Celebrity Icons Show About Our Times?

My children follow the ups and downs of numerous "celebrity" lives: The whole Kardashian clan, of course; pop music divas and abrasive rappers; movie stars in love and sports figures in trouble; and reality "stars" from blushing bachelorettes to rich housewives. Who are these people and why should we care about them? What does it say about our society that Beyoncé has more ardent fans than any political leader or innovative thinker? An interesting book about the fame phenomenon came out in the late 1990s: The Frenzy of Renown: Fame and Its History, by Leo Braudy. Reviewing the lifestyles of the rich and famous over 2,000 years of Western culture, Braudy concludes that fame is actually a symptom of something deeper: our "ideas of what an individual is." Famous people as diverse as Alexander the Great, Abraham Lincoln, Walt Whitman and P.T. Barnum embody definitions, in sometimes quite revolutionary ways, of how an individual exists and expresses himself or herself in the world of the time. For example, contemporaries Augustus Caesar, notable during his life, and Jesus, more notable after his death, provided very different models for self-definition in their public vs. transcendental paths. But what about contemporary celebrity? Braudy sees modern American self-definition torn between our wish to embrace transcendence, uniqueness and private truths and our desire for public expression and performance that win general acclaim and acceptance. Now that's a troubling notion. Champions of "inner truth" are notably absent from the popular pantheon, I think. And consider the exemplars of public performances awarded fame today--namely "celebrities" who put glam and self-interest ahead of emotional depth and communal well-being. Are we missing more inspiring role models to crown with renown, or are we ignoring them in favor of shallow symbols of wealth, looks and pleasure? Let's hope new varieties of celebrity arise. I shudder to think of Kim Kardashian as the defining icon of the times! For Braudy's book, go to http://www.amazon.com/The-Frenzy-Renown-Fame-History/dp/0679776303

Read the Kirkus Review of 'Lies Agreed Upon'

Kirkus, a trusted authority in book discovery since 1933, has posted a review of my self-published debut mystery, Lies Agreed Upon, and it's a generally positive assessment of my Indie effort. Quoting from the review: "Sharma portrays New Orleans as beautiful, corrupt, complicated, secretive and tragic—far more than just an atmospheric backdrop for Tess’ genealogical investigations. She skillfully shows how the family betrayals, murders, lies and vengeance Tess uncovers are inextricably linked with New Orleans’ history, racial and sexual politics, and geography. The author handles dialogue (and dialect) well, which gives vitality to her large, varied cast, and she depicts Tess herself [my protagonist] as likable, enterprising and sympathetic." There is criticism for the extra effort required to follow the "complicated family relationships," even with the family tree supplied for reference (which unfortunately doesn't render as well in e-readers). That's something some readers have also noted in their review posts on Amazon and Goodreads. But the Kirkus reviewer still concludes, as do most Goodreads and Amazon review posts, "That said, Sharma paces the novel well, gradually unfolding layers of mystery until the final truth is revealed." The novel is summed up as "an often engaging New Orleans mystery with romantic and humorous touches." To address the one recurring point of criticism, I am mulling whether to scatter excerpts of the family tree at strategic points in the book. Would it overemphasize genealogy and drag at pacing further, or would it help? What do you think, readers? For the full review, go to https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/katherine-d-sharma/lies-agreed-upon/