Have you read any good books lately?
 

Be it an actual book, Audible, or Kindle, a good book sure can help to pass the time.

I like biographical historical fiction. Recently, I have read two by Therese Fowler.

Z is the story of Zelda Fitzgerald. Wow. F. Scott sure was a jackazz.

Another one by Fowler that I liked a lot is A Well Behaved Woman. It is about Alva Vanderbilt and the family she married into. She had the pedigree. Vanderbilt had the money. I guess that was often the case in our country just like Downton Abbey.

Alva Vanderbilt was a woman trapped in time. She was an advocate for women’s rights. But she also knew how to play the social climbing game that was run by Mrs. Astor and the NYC 400 . Alva threw a masquerade ball in 1883 that was excessive beyond belief. It got her in and up the ladder.

When I read about real people, I always have to look up their pictures on the internet. I also looked up the pictures of the costumes worn to that masquerade ball. One woman wore a hat made out of a cat that must have been supplied by a taxidermist. Hideous.

The regular people lined the street to watch the costumed guests go by. The newspapers talked about it for weeks.

Mr. Boomer just finished The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz. That is a brand new book by Erik Larson.

Larson also wrote The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America , published in 2004. I never read about serial killers, but I could not put that one down. Larson weaves the maniac’s story with the story of the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.

How about anybody else? Book suggestions?

Boomer :read:

I am currently reading the maintenance manual for my Club Car which has severe transaxle problems. Gears on order. Once that job is over, I will read either James Lee Burke or Randy Wayne White, two of my favorite authors. I have already purchased a couple of their works to read on my motorhome adventures this summer but things change and who knows if that will even happen.

I inherited the book “The Lost Girls of Paris” by Pam Jenoff. A person on a tour bus I was on last September gave it to me. I finally got to start reading it this month and it makes for light, easy reading. It’s about girl spies during WWII.

No suggestions, but I liked yours and I intend to read the one on Churchill. Great thread Boomer, thanks.

I just finished A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell. It's about an unknown American female spy, Virginia Hall, who worked in France as a contact with the French resistance fighters. You get some background on the starting days of our modern day CIA. I am constantly reading about WW II.

I also just finished Dragon Tears written in the late 90s by Dean Koontz. He always makes me chuckle.

Just read Ken Folletts brilliant Kingsbridge trilogy.
The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, and A Column of Fire.
Very pertinent with todays problems and the present virus.

Thank your God we are not back in those days of plague!

We bought 25 books at the Savannah book sale. I thought it would last me til June. NOT. Have 8 left. No important titles, just time passing

Not sure if you are limited to historical "fiction", but I generally orient myself to biographies of famous and not so famous business people. The First Tycoon (Corneius Vanderbilt), The Tycoons (Andrew Carnegie, John D Rockefeller, Jay Gould, JP Morgan), TITAN (John D Rockefeller), Meet You in Hell (Andrew Carnegie and henry Clay Frick), Andrrew Carnegie by David Nasaw, Dark Genius of Wall Street (Jay Gould), House of Morgan (JP Morgan) give an interesting overview of the men,often called Robber Barron's that were part of the Gilded Age. As a new Florida Resident, I took interest in Last Train to Paradise, about Henry Flager's (John D's quiet number 2 man at Standard Oil) and his attempt to extend the Southeastern Railway to Key West. Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin is a great look at Lincoln and his 4 key Cabinet Members, none of whom liked each other.

Going further into the 20th centrury .. The Devil's Chessboard about Allen Dulles (John Foster's brother) and the beginnings of the CIA and the SWAMP. Some under the radar books are The Forgotten Man (great Depression) and Coolidge by AMity Shlaes. I was a Jack Welch fan, and Noel Tichy's book on him "Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will" was a great read. Also a big fan of Ken Langone, the third founder of Home Depot. His more recent book "I Love Capitalism" was a very interesting autobiographical sketch.

If you like Bill O'Reilly (his writing style) , his killing series of books are quick and interesting reads ..

Hope you can find something that you;re interested in here..

Books
 

Historical fiction
The Nickel Boys by Colton Whitehead based on the Dozier house in Tallahassee
The Sandcastle Girls By Chris Bohjalian World War 1and the Armenian Genocide which I had never heard of


If you like true stories read Devil in the Grove and Beneath a Ruthless Sun by Gilbert King stories of nearby Groveland and Fruitland Park

Enjoy

A Higher Call by Makos. Non fiction

Knowing that the movie was coming out just for kicks I read "The Call of The Wild"...I find that it's easier for me to follow a movie plot if I've read the book...I haven't seen the movie yet. It will be interesting to see how they brought this one to the silver screen. It's an interesting 'guy book'.

My Dear Hamilton....authors....Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

I read the biography of Fred Rogers before the movie came out .... its by Maxwell King "the Good Neighbor- The Life and Work of Fred Rogers". I also the biography of Jim Henson by Brian Jay Jones.
I personally like detective-type novels. Love Dick Francis. Almost done with the Sue Grafton series. If you need more books I strongly recommend BookBub.com. They have reduced prices on many good ebooks; some are $.099 or even free ebooks.

Good Books
 

I loved The Only Woman in the Room-the story of Hedy Lamarr

Loving Frank - Story of Frank Lloyd Wright and his mistress

The Atomic City Girls

The Sweetness of Forgetting isn’t exactly historical fiction but similar and a good read.

how the heck did that happen? took the teeth right off

ran out of lube!

This is a great time to read or reread Stephen King’s “The Stand,” about a super-virus that kills 99% of the people on earth. Once it happens, things seem so lonely. What happens in New York City reminds me a bit of what is happening now.

I am reading The Jacobite Chronicles by Julia Brannan. This is a 6 book series set in England, Scotland, and France in 1745-1746 during the time of the wars fought between the Jacobites, supporters of James VIII of Scotland and III of England and the Hanoverians, the supporters of George II (the Elector). It is extremely well written and historically rich. Highly recommend this series.

Great Reads
 

I have read 104 books since I moved to the Villages in the summer of 2017. Maybe the favorite is Bel Canto by Anne Patchett. BUT . . . don't find out anything about it before you read it and plan to read it quickly, within a couple days. It's billed as a "love story," but it's much, much more. It will leave you breathless.
Others I really liked:
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley – Woman wakes up in a London park surrounded by dead bodies and no memory of who she is. But she (her former self?) apparently has left herself clues to her past, exactly as if she knew this was going to happen. Suspense, espionage and the supernatural. A real winner!
Between the World and Me by Ta’Nehisi Coates – “A bold and personal literary exploration of America’s racial history by “the single best writer on the subject of race in the United States” (The New York Observer)” A father’s message to his son about living as African American in a White world. It tells the story from such an incredible perspective that I bought a dozen copies to share.
Lincoln and Darwin: Shared Visions of Race, Science and Religion by James Lander (Lincoln and Darwin were born on the same day)
And especially for the Villagers:
Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell and Know by Alexandra Horowitz - The answers will surprise and delight you as Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist, explains how dogs perceive their daily worlds, each other, and that other quirky animal, the human. Horowitz introduces the reader to dogs’ perceptual and cognitive abilities and then draws a picture of what it might be like to be a dog. What’s it like to be able to smell not just every bit of open food in the house but also to smell sadness in humans, or even the passage of time? How does a tiny dog manage to play successfully with a Great Dane? What is it like to hear the bodily vibrations of insects or the hum of a fluorescent light? Why must a person on a bicycle be chased? What’s it like to use your mouth as a hand? In short, what is it like for a dog to experience life from two feet off the ground, amidst the smells of the sidewalk, gazing at our ankles or knees? Personal comment – You’ll never look at a dog the same way . . . ever again!

I am re-reading Frank Herbert's "The White Plague"

http://www.sciencethrillers.com/wp-c...te-plague.jpeg

Right now reading the Outlander series books. They are very good. Also Greg Iles. Clive Cussler is always a good read.

My book club read The Empress Romanov last month. Fascinating look at the lives of Russia’s czars and czarinas of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Was also eye opening in how imp it was for royals of European countries to marry each other even though politically the countries did not get along.

Bookbub.com is an amazing sight with lots of books for .99, 1.99 and up. Most I've paid is 4.99 since the virus started. You sign up for ebooks on whatever device you may have.

Thank you! Great suggestions! I recommend America’s First Daughter. The story of Thomas Jefferson and his daughter.

Devil In The Grove
 

Great book about racism in Lake County, FL in the late 40's, early 50's, including rise of Thurgood Marshall as the NAACP fought segregation. You will recognize many locations near us.

I'm reading a Churchill biography now. Got it from the library before it closed. BTW, it's 1000 pages! Glad now that I can keep it until library opens again!

Since I can't tell from your email address if you are male or female, I highly recommend the Outlander series (8 books) if you are a female because I think a female would enjoy them more. (don't mean to be sexist- just giving my opinion)

Great read
 

“Requiem for the Dead” by Victor M. Alvarez is a fictional military thriller when a rogue general seeks vengeance on North Korea and the U.S. when the N. K.’s kill his son while the U.S. failed to secure his release. Many accurate facts on locations, weapon systems and military law enforcement. Kind of a read like Tom Clancy and James Patterson. Found it on Amazon.

Call of the wild
 

Just curious, have you seen the 1935 version with Clark Gable?
I like old movies and almost always prefer the original to remakes. This one has been done many times.

I like biographies, mostly of past Presidents. In no particular order:

1. FDR by Jean Edward Smith. Everything you needed to know about FDR.
2. Washington by Ron Chernow.
3. Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, (winner of Pulitzer Prize). Story of Abraham Lincoln.
Others are:
a. The Bully Pulpit, (story of the friendship between Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft).
b: No Ordinary Time, (story of FDR and events during WWII).

4. Franklin and Lucy, (story of FDR, Lucy Mercer Rutherford and other extraordinary woman in his life). By Joseph E. Persico who I met at a WWII club meeting.

5. Grant by Jean Edward Smith.

If you plow through all of those, Hamilton By Ron Chernow. Happy reading!!!

A book to read and pass along . . . .
 

Love Wins by Rob Bell. I have read it over and over and given away dozens and dozens of copies. Get a paperback copy or download on line, just do it.

For a quick, light read — Dave Barry’s Best State Ever: A Florida Man Defends His Homeland — each chapter is about a different place in Florida.

There is even a chapter about The Villages. Barry came to TV to do his research and writes about things very familiar to Villagers. His treatment of TV is fair and direct, not opinionated or critical.

As Florida writers go, I have been a fan of Carl Hiaasen for a long time. Hiaasen has created some memorable characters, especially Skink. Skink is a former governor of Florida who, when he could not stand it anymore, bailed to live by himself in the Everglades. Skink is known for his “appropriate” form of justice when it comes to making sure bad guys get what they deserve. Skink shows up in a lot of Hiaasen’s books.

In addition to Hiaasen’s off-the-wall books for grownups, he also writes books for middle school kids.

Nope.

Thank you! Love historical fiction as well!

Love Devil in the White City

"The Beekeepers Promise" and Fiona Valpy's other books. Her books are all very different, yet the connections between them are interesting.

Robot Check

Here are books I’ve read that I thought were EXCELLENT:

• The Heart Mender: a Story of Second Chances, by Andy Andrews (true story of Nazi’s off Alabama coast)
• Paris Architect, by Charles Belfoure (hiding Jews)
• The Tempting of America – the political seduction of the law, by Robert Bork
• The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown (2936 Olympic towing team)
• Sarah’s Key, by Tatiana DeRosnay
• Winter Garden, by Kristin Hannah (she also wrote The Great Alone, which was awful & didn’t finish)
• I Am Pilgrim, by Terri Hayes
• Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand
• The Devil in the White City, by Eric Larson
• Bonhoeffer, by Eric Metaxas
• 7 Women, by Eric Metaxas
• A Chance in this world, by Steve Pemberton
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Boomer, I think I have a good recommendation for you. Steve Berry writes international intrigue fiction, based around major historical events. At the end of the book, he spends several pages separating fact from fiction. Both his stories and his in depth research on the actual event are fantastic.

A couple more in the FDR era
 

Since you;re interested in FDR, I recommend adding Franklin and Winston by jon Meacham (I hate his current political rants, but this book is well researched and written).
Also, another plug for The Devil's Chessboard. Few people have heard of Allen Dulles but his reach over 3 or 4 decades of behind the scenes activities was remarkable.