The History Book Club discussion

Carly, this is your thread for 2017. I have included the link to the required format thread and an example. If you had a 2016 thread - it is archived - but you can still add books to it for the last few days of December.

Please follow the standard required format below - I hope you enjoy your reading in 2017. Here is also a link for assistance with the required guidelines:

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Our Required Format:

JANUARY

1. by Winston S. Churchill
Finish date: January 2017
Genre: (whatever genre the book happens to be)
Rating: A
Review: You can add text from a review you have written but no links to any review elsewhere even goodreads. And that is about it. Just make sure to number consecutively and just add the months.

IMPORTANT - THE REVIEW SHOULD BE SHORT AND SWEET - THERE ARE NO LINKS OF ANY KIND IN THE BODY OF THE REVIEW ALLOWED. NONE. DO NOT REFER TO ANY OTHER BOOK IN YOUR BRIEF REVIEW. THE ONLY BOOK CITED IN YOUR REVIEW IS THE ONE YOU ARE REVIEWING - NO OTHERS. ALL LINKS TO OTHER THREADS OR REVIEWS ARE DELETED IMMEDIATELY - THERE WILL BE NO WARNING. WE CONSIDER THIS SELF PROMOTION AND IT IS NOT ALLOWED AND IS IN VIOLATION OF OUR RULES AND GUIDELINES.

JANUARY

1. by Jordan Fisher Smith
Finish date: January 5, 2017
Genre: history, ecology
Rating: A
Review: A riveting account of the history of wildlife management in national parks. Smith's passion for the subject really shines through. Great insight into battles over wilderness that still rage today.

Good job

2. by Justine van der Leun
Finish date: January 20, 2017
Genre: History
Rating: C ( high C/Low B)
Review: Justine Van der Leun does a good job explaining the racial and political climate in South Africa in the early 90's. You come away with a vivid picture of the country and the way of life of its citizens. However, the book was too long and contained a lot of unnecessary ramblings that left me bored at times despite the very interesting subject matter.

Carly wrote: 1. by [author:Jordan Fisher..."

Added to my tbr list, thanks!

FEBRUARY

3. by Marion Nestle
Finish date: February 24, 2017
Genre: Health/Politics
Rating: B
Review: It was hard getting through the dry rundown of numbers in the first few chapters. Other than that a good book! This book is a comprehensive explaination of the marketing and lobbying strategies soda companies (Coca Cola and Pepsi) use to sell an unhealthy product to consumers who are increasingly suffering the consequences (diabetes and obesity) of over comsumption of drinks full of sugar.

Carly, what an interesting and important book for consumers. As part of my admin training, I'm going to provide a little assistance to your formatting in Message #6. You just need to put the month of February in capital letters as well as in bold. Other than that, everything looks great. Thank you so much.

Here is an example:

FEBRUARY

Lorna (T) - Civil Rights - Supreme Court

MARCH

4. by W. Bruce Cameron
Finish date: March 3, 2017
Genre: Fiction
Rating: A
Review: a very charming, emotional story about a dog who finds his purpose through many reincarnations. Funny at times and sad at times, but most importantly a joy to read!!

5. by Pamela D. Toler
Finish date: March 9, 2017
Genre: History: American Civil War
Rating: A
Review: I bought this book because I am really enjoying the PBS show Mercy Street. A very informative historical account of the often overlooked heroics of the women who volunteered as nurses during the civil war. This account focuses on the experiences of nurses working at the Mansion House Hospital in Alexandria Virginia. These women like Dorthea Dix, Mary Phinney Von Olnhausen, and Clara Barton braved horrible dirty conditions (these hospitals were breeding grounds for deadly contagious diseases) and hostile male leadership to help the wounded soldiers.

6. by Margot Lee Shetterly(no photo)
Finish date: March 18, 2017
Genre: history
Rating: A-
Review: I still can't believe that this story is not common knowledge. I enjoyed the movie so I decided to read the book. Very inspiring!!! Made me wish I was good at math.

MAY

7. by Lauren Oliver
Finish Date: May 17, 2017
Genre: young adult
Rating: A-
Review: Mean Girls meets Groundhog Day. It started a little slow but overall an enjoyable book!

Good progress Carly

8. by Diane Ackerman
Finish Date: May 19, 2017
Genre: History WWII
Rating: A-
Review: A wonderful acccount of the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo who used the zoo to hide escaping Jews. It was great fun to read about all the eccentric characters, human and animal, that used the zoo as a refuge. There was less about World War II and the Holocaust than I would have liked so I would like to see what an actual World War II historian would have done with this story, but overall, a great book.

9. by Chelsea Handler
Finish date: May 30, 2017
Genre: memoir, humor
Rating: B
Review: This books was ok. There were some funny stories, but really in general the material is better suited for standup comedy.

JUNE

10. by Chelsea Handler
Finish date: June 2, 2017
Genre: memoir, humor
Rating: A-
Review: Chelsea Handler is ridiculous and I am saying that with love. Her outlandish vacation stories were really funny. The last chapter "Trapped in Bel Air" seemed out of place in this book since all the other chapters were about her vacations, but overall a good entertaining book.

Thank you for following the rules and guidelines.

11. by Garson O'Toole(no photo)
Finish date: June 17, 2017
Genre: nonfiction
Rating: B
Review: This book explains why and how some quotes have been attributed to the wrong person. It is well researched, however, the extensive listing of the evolution of the quote could get quite tedious.

JULY

12. by Jessica Fellowes
Finish date: July 31, 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction, entertainment
Rating: A
Review: A fun little book with funny and memorable lines from the wonderful television show Downton Abbey! It also includes some photos from the show too!!! Of course, the Dowager had all the best quotes!!!

AUGUST

13. by Jessica Dupuy(no photo)
Finish date: August 3, 2017
Genre: Cookbook
Rating: A
Review: Beautiful pictures!!! I have tried several recipes in this book. Monument Cafe Chicken Fried Steak, Corn Bread, Longhorn Green Salad with cilantro ranch dressing. These were all very good. If you ever find yourself in Georgetown Texas just north of Austin, you have to stop by Monument Cafe. I am happy to see James Beard Award winning Houston Chef Chris Shepard featured. His restaurants Underbelly and Hay Merchant are really good.

Carly wrote: "August

13. by Jessica Dupuy(no photo)"

It sounds like I may just have to add this to my cookbook collection!

14. by Sara Donati
Finish date: August 6, 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A-
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It did have a little bit of a slow start but it picked up after a few chapters. Sara Donati does a great job transporting us back to New York city 1883. This book has a lot going on as it follows two female doctors in a time when that was rare and in some circles frowned upon. There are two sweet love stories, a city wide search for missing orphans and a little murder mystery. The part that i am confused with is the ending. There is no closure with the murder mystery or Sophie and Peter's story. Maybe the author is planning another book and making this into a series like her Wilderness series.

On message 19 - capitalize all of the letters of the month like this:

AUGUST

15. by Brian Kenny(no photo)
Finish date: August 22, 2017
Rating: A
Review: What a well researched book!!! I will admit I know nothing about baseball besides the basics, however I really enjoyed the book. I am glad he put in glossary of the alphabet soup that is baseball stats so I can find out what he was talking about. Brian Kenny is a big believer in sabermetrics so throughout the book he points to all these non traditional stats that he believes is proof that baseball is played the wrong way. Basically, herd mentality and tradition are standing in the way of good baseball. Extra brownie points for talking about my beloved Astros!!!


Won this book in A Goodreads Giveaway.

OCTOBER

16. by Abigail Tucker(no photo)
Finish Date: October 28, 2017
Rating: A
Review: All cat lovers should read this book!! A very entertaining account of how house cats have taken over the world and our hearts. What I took away from this book is that cats own us not the other way around.

My mum would love this once it's translated :-)

Carly you are next in the queue for set up after Paul

Carly - your 2018 thread for 50 Books Read is now set up and ready to go.

Here is the link to your new 2018 thread:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...