Play Book Tag discussion

Well, the initial re-voting poll quickly made it very clear that we have a winner so we don't need to wait until Monday to announce..

And that winner is:

history

Please share your reading plans and recommendations below.

Remember, for the regular monthly reads, the book can be shelved as history on Goodreads, or be a book that is not yet shelved that way but you feel should be.

One way to find books to read for this tag is to please visit:

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

I encourage people to link to additional lists below if they find them.

So I am definitely going to read non-fiction for this tag because to me, history denotes non-fiction. But I'm struggling with what to read.

Candidates on my TBR are:

The Fifth Risk - just came through for me from the library so tempting. 73 tagged it history, but it doesn't sound like history? Anyone read it?

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China - so long (frown)

Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History - history is its number one tag

Elizabeth I - sounds great, but long and more of a biography?

Leonardo da Vinci - same issue as Elizabeth

Ack! Any guidance?

I have not read any but you have put The Fifth Risk on my radar!

My first up is going to be a non-fiction too- Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, have been wanting to read this for a while now. I know so little about this President.

Also looking at:

Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler
Irena's Children: The Extraordinary Story of the Woman Who Saved 2,500 Children from the Warsaw Ghetto
White Rose, Black Forest
The Map Thief
Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America's Most Powerful Mobster

I can Recommend:

FICTION

The Kitchen House
Glory Over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House
The Winds of War
In the Time of the Butterflies


NON-FICTIONWe Were the Lucky Ones
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
The Storm of the Century: Tragedy, Heroism, Survival, and the Epic True Story of America's Deadliest Natural Disaster: The Great Gulf Hurricane of 1900
The Mathews Men: Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler's U-boats
The Jersey Brothers: A Missing Naval Officer in the Pacific and His Family's Quest to Bring Him Home
Queen Victoria's Matchmaking: The Royal Marriages that Shaped Europe
Twilight of Empire: The Tragedy at Mayerling and the End of the Habsburgs
The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris
The White Darkness
Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan’s Disaster Zone

Glad history won, but argh that Trim doesn't fit!
Tbh, there'll be one short story in Dead Simple that'll work, but I can't count the collection because the other seven won't!
I think Trim is going to have to go in the 'other books' folder again!

AJ, I might be reading The Grapes of Wrath too!
If you like time travel I can recommend Outlander - it doesn't help that this series is set in my favourite time period, although I've only read the first!

Joanne wrote: "My first up is going to be a non-fiction too- Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, have been wanting to read this for a while now. I k..."

This is one that has been on my radar for a while too! I don't think I am going with it for this month, but I will keep an eye out for your review!

I just came across a book the other day thanks to Leah K and I am definitely going to dive into it in April.

Unexampled Courage: The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of President Harry S. Truman and Judge J. Waties Waring

I first learned of Waties Waring when reading Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America's Struggle for Equality and have been curious about him ever since. He was a southern judge who really pushed Thurgood Marshall to finally attack "separate by equal" head on with Brown v. Board.

I cannot wait for this one!

Not sure if I want to read a Philippa Gregory novel, or The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession Glad we still have some time to decide!!

My trim doesn't fit so I might skip this tag this month. I have a few on my trim that fit, but I gotta save them for later.

So excited trim is already announce :) *happy dance*

AJ wrote: "Jenny wrote: "AJ, I might be reading The Grapes of Wrath too!
If you like time travel I can recommend Outlander - it doesn't help that this series is set in my favourite time period, although I've..."

The Scribe of Siena has time travel, history (14th Century Siena), and fits Horizons Italy! Triple header, it is really good and manageable length. I gave it 4 stars.

At first I was like 'hmpff. I really wanted rural!' Quickly followed by 'oh yay! My Horizons pick fits Theme - The Secret of Santa Vittoria - a double header and a book I have been wanting to reread. Score!

Sooo typical...first I whine, then I cheer!🤣🤣🤣

For awhile there I thought it was going to be a tight race. I really expected LGBTQ to win.

I have ordered some books from the library. On my list will be
Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love which would also cover Horizon since it is Italy.

Leonardo da Vinci (also Horizon)
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

I think I'll read Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time. I highly recommend The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

I second The Boys in the Boat! I'm not a huge fan of sports, but I read it last year and it got 5 stars from me!

Barbara wrote: "For awhile there I thought it was going to be a tight race. I really expected LGBTQ to win.

I have ordered some books from the library. On my list will be
[book:Galileo's Daughter: A Historical M..."

It was so weird. Both LGBTQ and rural surged out of the gate and stayed neck and neck until the very end - - almost tied in points. But then, out of nowhere, about three days into the voting, history went like gangbusters. I'm not sure that's ever happened before. It almost won outright. The other two stayed very close, but only because the LGBTQ voters used a lot of participation points . . .

Ugh, I did not even think about the next Outlander!

For me, history is nonfiction and is different than historical fiction, so I am sticking with my nonfiction book.

BUT, I may use it as an excuse to start A Breath of Snow and Ashes after that 😉

Definitely going non-fiction here!
It might be the time to finally read
The Diary of a Young Girl

but also on my TBR Pile:
Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall
Isaacs Storm
Arabia Felix: The Danish Expedition of 1761-1767

Top 3 Recommendations
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier
The Killer Angels

but why not make it Top 5
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Rachel N. wrote: "I think I'll read Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time. I highly recommend [book:The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Th..."

I loved Longitude! A fascinating story.

Shelly wrote: "Definitely going non-fiction here!
It might be the time to finally read
The Diary of a Young Girl

but also on my TBR Pile:
Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall..."

Devil in the White City was fascinating and so well written. I considered Boys in the Boat but I'm leaving off WWII for a bit. You never know though, I'm fascinated by that time period.

Sigh. Well, at least I know I have stuff that fits.

The hard part will be narrowing down what exactly to read (unless - and it's very possible - I'll be reading something (or more than one somethings) that fits it, anyway). When I last checked, I had over 200 on the tbr tagged history.

Like Anita mentions above, I will definitely be reading nonfiction for this.

So glad history is the tag for the month because it just happens to be my favorite genre. There are so many great historical novels and narrative nonfiction to pick from. Number 12 on my TBR shelf is I Captured the Castle by Dodie Smith. I think it is fiction, but I'm not 100% on that. I know it's a first person narrative written in journal/diary format. It seems to me it's based on actual facts taken from the young protagonist's life. If anyone can help me out with determining whether it's historical fiction or nonfiction, I'd appreciate any help I receive. Whatever the final verdict I will be reading it as a tie in to the monthly tag.

As for a recommendation I suggest any of David McCullough's books: The Johnstown Flood; The Greater Journey:Americans in Paris; The Great Bridge: the epic tale of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge; Truman; Mornings on Horseback and many more. McCullough's books are highly readable nonfiction and very enjoyable.

Theresa wrote: "At first I was like 'hmpff. I really wanted rural!' Quickly followed by 'oh yay! My Horizons pick fits Theme - The Secret of Santa Vittoria - a double header and a book I have been want..."


I am going to try to get to this one too-have really wanted to read!

AJ wrote: "My top recommendations:


Definitely recommend Code Name Verity, I gave it 4 stars, and I know a few others around here loved it too

DianeMP wrote: "So glad history is the tag for the month because it just happens to be my favorite genre. There are so many great historical novels and narrative nonfiction to pick from. Number 34 on my TBR shelf ..."

Diane, I have it sitting here on my real life shelf, it is Historical Fiction.

Nicole R wrote: "I just came across a book the other day thanks to Leah K and I am definitely going to dive into it in April.

[book:Unexampled Courage: The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of Presi..."

I just added this to my shelf-looks great!

Let me see if I can understand this; the difference between history and historical fiction or if it’s just splitting hairs. Because when I looked up the original tag for history there was a lot of historical fiction on there. What are you into wooded, is that if your book surrounds a particular time in history like a particular war, or experience that was endemic to a culture, that it fits. Like tutor England if you are reading about the Regency, Marie Antoinette, World War II, all of these fit. But if a person is just kind of randomly sat back in time, but nothing really Important to the time is going on, that’s not quite history, that’s historical fiction not connected to any particular time in history. Do I have this right? Like Daisy Jones in the sex, that could be argued to be history but it’s pop culture history. Not that I’m looking for that one to count. But I just want to make sure I’ve got this right. Like when I was looking at the list, fall of giants spans eras in history. That whole trilogy counts is history. Highly recommend by the way. I would imagine the island of sea women which also spans a point of time in history, I am planning to save that one for history rather than South Korea, there by being able to read the caregiver in between my current book and the start of April. But just because the book is set somewhere in Time doesn’t make it history. Just double checking my thinking. Like the huntress would be history, because there’s an actual war going on. According to Teresa, the scribe of Siena counts as history although I don’t know what’s going on at that time. Which is good for me because that’s one of my Italy bucks. It’s possible that my number 12, the Emperor’s shoes takes place in China at a point in history but I don’t know if that point need to be significant. In any case, I welcome everyone start according to Teresa, the scribe of Siena counts as history although I don’t know what’s going on at that time. Which is good for me because that’s one of my Italy books. It’s possible that my number 12, the emperors shoes takes place in China at a point in history but I don’t know if that point needs to be significant. In any case, I welcome everyone’s thoughts. And now you know what I am up to these days.

Joanne wrote: "DianeMP wrote: "So glad history is the tag for the month because it just happens to be my favorite genre. There are so many great historical novels and narrative nonfiction to pick from. Number 34 ..."

Thank you Joanne. That clears it up.

Amy wrote: "Let me see if I can understand this; the difference between history and historical fiction or if it’s just splitting hairs. Because when I looked up the original tag for history there was a lot of ..."

When I was looking for books this morning I went with: If the Main GR Page says "History" or "Historical", I think like you that if says :Historical Fiction, I needed to see in the "blurb" exactly what is was about.

Recommendations:
Over the years I've been keeping track, these are the books that I've tagged history that have also made my favourites at the end of the year I read them:

Columbine / Dave Cullen
The Longest Day / Cornelius Ryan
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women / Kate Moore
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics / Daniel James Brown
Category 5: The Story of Camille, Lessons Unlearned from America's Most Violent Hurricane / Judith A. Howard
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania / Erik Larson
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage / Alfred Lansing
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette / Hampton Sides
Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History / Erik Larson
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption / Laura Hillenbrand

Joanne, sorry if I've misinterpreted your post but if you are talking about trim the tbr, then #34 is March's book - #12 is April. It's rather confusing as the announcement for April's trim does say 34 as well.

Just to clarify:

The April Trim # is 12.
The March Trim # was 34.

I'm going to read Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time. I didn't realize it was so short - only 191 pages, so that's a bonus! I might also try Salt: A World History but that's 494 pages so I'm a little daunted by it - we'll see!

I would recommend The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women.

AJ wrote: "My next question is if my Trim book is tagged “History” but not popular enough to be in the 25 pages does it still count? "

Yes, so long as a single person tags it history then it counts for Trim. BUT, if it is not readily obvious that it is history and that history tag is super buried, then will you please include what page of tags it is on? That way I can easily look for it.

Also, we do not prohibit it but we do ask people to stick with the spirit of the tag and if a single person tagged a book history and it is CLEARLY not history (something like a futuristic space opera comes to mind) then please consider not reporting that as fitting the monthly tag.

annapi wrote: "I might also try Salt: A World History

I have had that on my list forever, and I can see it sitting on my bookshelf as I type! Maybe that will be my second book if I get through my first.

LibraryCin wrote: "Recommendations:
Over the years I've been keeping track, these are the books that I've tagged history that have also made my favourites at the end of the year I read them..."

I heartily second the recommendations of The Radium Girls, The Boys in the Boat, and Unbroken! (I've not read the others on your list.)

AJ wrote: "Does anyone know if goodreads caps a tag selection at 25 pages? On the 25th page it still is listing books with over 200 people shelving it as history. My next question is if my Trim book is tagged..."

If you are talking about the "Popular "History" books" ... i.e. the list of "all" books with that tag.... YES, goodreads has recently (within the last year) capped the view at 25 pages. I don't know why.

However, you can always look up an individual book's tags / genres / shelves. If you find "history" on it, you could include a link to that page to help the moderators verify.

Nicole R wrote: "annapi wrote: "I might also try Salt: A World History

I have had that on my list forever, and I can see it sitting on my bookshelf as I type! Maybe that will be my second book if I get through my ..."

That was on my list of possibilities too!

Ok, I skimmed through part of my list of over 130 "history" tagged books that are also tagged "nonfiction". I've picked out a few that are my top picks to choose from to read in April:

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland / Jim DeFede
Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 / Stephen Puleo
Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 / Sally M. Walker
Sister Queens: The Noble, Tragic Lives of Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile / Julia Fox

My recommendations (I've tagged "history" and rated 5*)

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson
In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis by Douglas Stanton
Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville
The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai by John Tayman
Unbroken: A World War II Story by Laura Hillenbrand
Flags of Our Fathers by James D Bradley
Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by Elizabeth M Norman
Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa by Keith B Richburg (NOTE: this one is not on my Goodreads account as i read it for my F2F book club in the mid '90s and it was not recorded here, but I remember it vividly.)


As for what I'll read
Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill is for my F2F book club in May, so seems an easy choice.
And my TBR # 12 IS tagged "history"

I may also read a fiction book that relies heavily on history (not just set in an historical timeframe).

I will be reading “And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out) Wall Street, the IMF, and the Bankrupting of Argentina” about the monetary crash in Argentina in 2001. This is history although pretty current history.

LibraryCin wrote: "Ok, I skimmed through part of my list of over 130 "history" tagged books that are also tagged "nonfiction". I've picked out a few that are my top picks to choose from to read in :

I recently read a different book about Halifax:The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism, was really interesting

LibraryCin wrote: "Recommendations:
Over the years I've been keeping track, these are the books that I've tagged history that have also made my favourites at the end of the year I read them:

[book:Columbine|5632446..."

I can't recommend Columbine enough, completely illuminating.

Oh my TBR . . .so many of these recommendations sound great.

My recommendations for non-fiction history (all 5 star reads for me):

Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West by Hampton Sides

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson

In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette by Hampton Sides

In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors by Doug Stanton

I will likely read one or more of the following:

The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Anne-Marie O'Connor

The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism by John U. Bacon

Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea by Gary Kinder

Amy, my personal definition of history is anything factual that has happened in the past. My definition of historical fiction is an imagined story where real past events or people are a significant part of the narrative. For me, history is factual and I'll be reading non-fiction.

Jenny wrote: "Joanne, sorry if I've misinterpreted your post but if you are talking about trim the tbr, then #34 is March's book - #12 is April. It's rather confusing as the announcement for April's trim does sa..."
I feel the need to clear up a misunderstanding. Joanne didn't confuse the TBR numbers, that was my doing. I meant #12 (which is what I corrected in my post) and not #34. Joanne was assisting me with identifying whether my #12 is fiction or nonfiction. My mistake, not Joanne's. I won't be using it for a match to the tag history. I agree with the general opinion that history is non-fiction.

Joy D, your recs reminded me that Hampton Sides has a new book out as well, One Desperate Ground.

I mix up numbers all the time! I just wanted to make sure everyone was clear on Trim. I find that if I jump in with simple clarifications that I save myself a confused mess down the road!

I just put in a bunch of suggestions and my cat stepped on my keyboard in her quest for lovies and erased it before I could post.

I'm sure you will be waiting in anticipation.

I have a book to read for my F2F Book Group that is history, so I will be reading Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI