Clarinet
 

I have read several excellent books by Jeff Shaara. He writes historical fiction that is so realistic that you find yourself right with the characters. Some of the books are of various wartime events and you will see the viewpoints from the generals to the privates in the trenches. Highly recommend you give this author a try.

I have read Killers of the Flower Moon and A Gentleman in Moscow and throughly enjoyed both of them. Based on your recommendation my next selection will be Beneath A Scarlet Sky.

I have around 100 books that i am selling from my personal library
make an offer
great for someone who loves to read or someone who re sells on amazon.
would like to sell the whole lot to 1 person
all non fiction books. email sandyinthevillages@gmail.com
or call 763-784-2446
thank you

Sarah's Key, Tatiana de Rosnay - fiction. WWII German occupation of France.

MANY thanks for this thread! Have added many to my spreadsheet of "Books to Read" Appreciate the annotations re: book content & why someone read it.

I'm reading Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl. She became the food editor for Gourmet & this book is her 'food gourmet memoir" If you like cooking & how flavors come together, this book is fascinating. Got it from library. There's a few special recipes in here, but only a few.

Has anyone read “Little Fires Everywhere”?

I am tempted to skip the book and watch the movie tonight on Hulu.

We just finished watching “Defending Jacob” on Apple, but I thought the book was much better. When Apple turned it into a series, it seemed like the storyline was being stretched to run for 8 episodes. There were changes, too. The television version got a little unwieldy. The kid playing Jacob did not have to memorize a lot of lines. He mainly had to just look sullen and not say much. But it was interesting to see Lady Mary from Downton Abbey in a completely different role.

When my book club read “Defending Jacob,” it generated a lot of discussion, especially about “Nature vs. Nurture.”
I thought the book was a whole lot better than the movie.

But I don’t know anything, yet, about “Little Fires Everywhere” except that if I watch the movie first, I probably never will get around to reading the book.

Please, read the book first. Please! You will dive into it--you won't regret it. The series is slightly different from the book in a few areas. If you read it first and then watch the series, PM me your thoughts.

If you like Save Me the Plums, read some of her other books. They're all good. The one about her mother is rather short, so go for another one.


I wish Gourmet Magazine had not lost its focus and gone all political/earth friendly/sustain this/don't do that. It was such an elegant magazine about cooking.
I was a subscriber right up to the bitter end, but the changes that took place were unfortunate.

Thank you. I will take your advice. Book first.

I think you just rescued Mr. Boomer from watching the movie with me, tonight. He just finished reading “The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11” by Lawrence Wright. That’s the book that won the Pulitzer for Wright. It is also a Hulu series now. Mr. B. is watching it, but I don’t want to.

Lawrence Wright is the writer who just published “The End of October” that was mentioned earlier in the thread. It’s fiction, about a pandemic. He started it a couple of years ago and gave it to his publisher last year.

Mr. Boomer and I have very different reading lists. I try to keep him supplied with books I think he will like. I am always right, but I do think there is a good chance he would leave me for Doris Kearns Goodwin if she ever gave him a come hither look. :) I think he has read almost every book she has written. “Team of Rivals” is his favorite.

Celeste Ng's first book, Everything I Never Told You, is not bad either. Not as good as Little Fires, but a close second. She really has family dynamics down pat.


BTW... In Little Fires Everywhere, you're gonna wanna slap some people.

Re. The Only Woman in the Room — about a week ago, I came across a bio of Hedy Lamarr on PBS, American Masters. I knew that she was a famous movie star and among the most beautiful of women, but I had no idea that she was absolutely brilliant. Now, I know. You can probably find the PBS episode online. Fascinating.

Speaking of brilliant women, The Other Einstein is by the same author as the book about Hedy Lamarr. The author is Marie Benedict.

Turns out, Einstein’s wife, Mileva Maric, was studying physics in Zurich and was running circles around the male brainiacs in her classes. But, then, Albert Einstein noticed her, hit on her, made her his wife, and then overshadowed her. Was she “the wind beneath his wings”? How much of his genius was “inspired” by her? What did she contribute to Einstein’s theories, uncredited?

I refer to books like these two titles as being about women trapped in time. (sigh)

I never read fiction, I figured if I want a made up story, I'll just watch a movie and be done with it in two hours. PLus, I prefer to learn somthing, so non-fiction is it for me. The last book I read is 3 years old, it's Red, the Life of Sammy Hagar. I first saw him live in '84 when he opened for ZZTOP on the Eliminator tour. He put on one hell'va show. I watch his show on AXS TV when he goes on the road and interviews rock stars that have a worthy career.

The guy has been rocking for 50 years, he not a lightweight, he's been around, but he's not a tough guy, or a tattoo poser, he's a real rocker. Very interesting about his time in Montrose and his solo career and his time in Van Halen. If you like rock music, read it, I got it at the library at the Gold Dome.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....4,203,200_.jpg

Heheh. Talk about different drummers. Sounds like I float around a bit more than you do...

I enjoy reading non-fiction, but I often find when I get well into a book that I am reading one person's slant on a person or an event and I'm not necessarily getting an accurate, detached description. So I tend to be very careful and research non-fiction books before I jump in.

I read more fiction than non-fiction. The real world is staring me in the face every day, and I love a good book to keep it at bay for a while. Plus, I love science fiction, which by definition is not available in non-fiction, so there ya go.

And as far as movies...I love movies too. But the fact that a good book takes much longer than the running length of a movie is a plus for me, not a negative. Nothing better than immersing in a fictional world that isn't here and gone so fast! Love it. Example you say? There are many, but to pick one of my favorites...Asimov. Get into his universe and you have some wonderful story-telling to settle into for a very long time. :)

Mysteries set in earlier centuries
 

I've been a Sherlock Holmes fan for many decades and over the last few years have found a number of book series set as British mysteries in the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially the Charles Lenox, Ian Hamilton, Ian Lavendar, and Sebastion St. Cyr series. Not only are they well crafted mysteries, but they provide a fascinating view of life in Great Britain during that time, with strong emphasis on the inequities in the lives of the fifferent classes. I'm also reading Peter Ashers "The Beatles from A to Zed", and Mo Rocca's "Mobituaries". Both are very informative and interesting, and they have the advantage of being books you can put down and come back to sometime later without having to worry about where you are in the story!

I too love Sherlock Holmes, did you happen to watch the British TV show Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman? I think I've seen everyone at least twice. They were like mini-movies, each was 90 minutes and no commercials and took 28 days to shoot. Really good show, makes the American show "Elementary" seem like kid's stuff. If you haven't you should, I originally saw them on the public channel WUCF channel 24 and they they were rerun on BBC America and sometimes they have on demand. Unfortunately they only made about four a year since they took so much time to make.

I became a fan of Martin Freedman who played Dr. Watson, he was the original "Jim" character on the British version of The Office. I watched as many of those as I could on Netflix and he was a featured character on the first season of Fargo on FX Channel, excellent 10 episode series with Billy Bob Thornton as the antagonist. That's available on demand I believe. Of course Benedict Cumberbatch has become a big star, I think that part of the reason that the American show Elementary fell out of favor, it just didn't hold up against the British version.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20180407173034

I have read and enjoyed most of the books you listed herein including The Great Alone. It was an amazing story, quite sad in parts, as well as very descriptive about the reality and hardships of life in the Alaskan wilderness.

Antique Books
 

I’m an American history buff and frequent old book stores everywhere I go. I just finished reading America Fist published in 1953. It details the creation of the “America First Committee” established in1940 to keep America out of the European conflict that became the Second World War. Very interesting in depth study of the politics and the behind the Seen moves by President Roosevelt to get us involved. After Pearl Harbor their the movement fully supported the war effort. The powerful People behind the movement was and interesting list. Many WWI Generals, Hebert Ford, Charles Lindbergh, Igor Sikorsky, the list goes on.

“Those who forget their History are sure to repeat It”

The Lincoln Conspiracy -Meltzer

Have not seen them although I was aware of them. Will have to find them, thanks. We enjoyed Elementary also not because it tried to be authentic to Holmes, but because the writing and acting were pretty good for TV. I did watch the Holmes series from the 80's-90's starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes. Exceptional series and I agree with people who consider Brett's protrayal of Holmes as the definitive onscreen portrayal of the character.

Good Books
 

I tend to read a wide variety of subjects, but just finished a historical fiction I stumbled across on amazon. "A Matter of Corruption: Revenge can turn you into the person you despise". Pretty good read especially if you like New York City history.

I just finished The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson.

It is one of the most memorable books I have read in a long time.

It is a novel based on the real story of the Blue People of Kentucky. A recessive gene caused a blood disorder that made their skin turn blue. The main character, Cussy Mary, is one of the blue people.

Cussy Mary is a Packhorse Librarian. These were brave, smart women whose job it was to carry books into remote areas of the Appalachian Mountains between 1935 and 1943. The project was a part of the WPA.

As every librarian knows — the right book, in the right hands, at the right time can make a big difference.

The setting is in 1936 and its story of time and place and people makes the book a treasure.

I guess I could sum this book up faster by saying it is about humanity and inhumanity. It gives the reader a lot to think about — past and present.

Boomer

"Shock of Gray" by Ted C. Fishman. Kind of scary...

I mentioned this, a few weeks ago, in the thread about books set in Florida, but I thought I would put an update in here.

I have been listening to A Land Remembered on Audible. There was a time when I did not like listening to books — mainly because I had to keep rewinding because my mind always went wandering around. I usually use Kindle or an actual book. But lately, I am getting hooked on Audible.

A Land Remembered takes a family back to the time of the Civil War and brings them through generations. The things they have to go through to survive and make their way to success engages the reader (listener) in quite a saga.

The person narrating the book does an excellent job.

If it has been a long time since somebody read a story to you and you think you would like to try that — maybe to take your mind off 2020 — you might like listening to A Land Remembered.

Boomer

For you Sherlock Holmes fans out there...

I’d like to start reading Holmes novels. Any particular ‘best’ way to get started?

Currently reading the book “Why We Swim” and very much enjoying it.

“Book Concierge” is back. There are more than 380 titles for 2020.

What I like best about using “Book Concierge” is that it catalogues the books by subject, making it easy to find what you are looking for, and it gives you a quick summary of the book.

“Book Concierge” can be found at npr.org

Boomer

Yes. I know. I know it is gauche to quote myself. But just this morning I was thinking about the readers who might be out there wondering what to read (or listen to) next so here I am, repeating myself, pushing “Book Concierge.”

I have used “Book Concierge” twice this week. Once to buy a cookbook gift for a millennial who is a serious cook and is now a full time vegetarian. The book is “Cool Beans” and is reviewed in the cookbook section of “Book Concierge.”

“Cool Beans” arrived at my house today. I looked through it and saw a couple of recipes I might try. I will scan those recipes so I do not sticky-up the gift book. One of them is the “Root Vegetable, White Bean, and Mushroom Cassoulet.” (I picked this one because I recognized the ingredients and because it looks like comfort food without the beef.)

Carnivore/Omnivore Me would like to add more meatless meals to this now constant cooking, but tofu makes me want to gag. I like beans though so this cookbook might give me the protein answer I have been looking for.

Amazon gave “Cool Beans” some rave reviews, but other reviewers said the ingredients in some of the recipes would not be easy to find. But in the back of the book there is a list of online sources for unusual types of beans and for spices.

At first glance, I see that there is forgiveness in some of the recipes that say canned beans and store-bought vegetable broth can be used. (I do perhaps sense a withering sneer behind that statement by the probably quite sophisticated author, but I don’t care. At least, it’s there.)

Some of the Amazon reviews grumpily pointed out that this is actually a vegan cookbook and needs more pictures.

Anyway, “Cool Beans” will be a Christmas present for a millennial in our life and just might change the repetitive menu that Mr. Boomer and I are cooking — cooking — cooking. Aaaaugh, how I miss those dinners out.

And, now, damn, damn it — for the rest of the day, I will have that song from camp in my head. . .

”No matter how old a bean may be
It’s always full of energy,
A baby bean is like its dad,
But it’s not fired up quite so bad,
We have beans for every meal,
Later on, the effects we feel.”
— (Then start over and sing the same thing again and again and again.)

Geez. I just segued from writing about book reviews to writing about farts. Oh well, that was my mental exercise for today — which tells you something about how I am missing real life. (sigh)

Boomer