The Book Challenge discussion

Well, I certainly crashed and burned spectacularly in my 2014 challenge. I went for twelve and managed four, I think. I'm still determined to make time for non-fiction, though, partly because it makes me feel smarter but mostly because I genuinely love it. Going for twelve again!

I'm starting 2015 on the right foot with my first book already finished:

1. (January): As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes.

I don't usually read celebrity memoirs (the only other one being Katharine Hepburn's autobiography), but I adore this movie and couldn't resist. I loved the behind-the-scenes stories, and found myself laughing out loud more than once (and one time laughing so hard my stomach hurt). I completely devoured this in a day.

Here's hoping for more good reading luck this year!

2. (January): Lindbergh by A. Scott Berg.

2015 is definitely off to a better start.

As a pilot's daughter, I was already pretty familiar with many of Lindbergh's contributions to aviation beyond his famous transatlantic flight. I had no idea of his other work, though, including his medical contributions and conservationist work. I think Berg did a good job of separating the myth from the very flawed man without over-emphasizing either aspect.

3. (February): North to the Orient by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

I chose this because I just finished reading the biography of Charles Lindbergh, which included references to this book.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote a short account of a trip she and Lindbergh took across Canada and Alaska, then down along Siberia to Japan and China in the summer of 1931. I found her conversational writing style to be refreshing and funny at times, and it was nice to get a glimpse of Lindbergh without the Super Slo-Mo Hero Lens. I liked the matter-of-fact poetry of her descriptions, and appreciated her sense of humor.

4. (March): A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Nonfiction by Terry Pratchett.

I enjoyed this collection of essays on writing, reading, more writing, and his feelings about his Alzheimer's diagnosis and the highly emotionally-charged topic of assisted dying. Just like his fictional works, he writes with humor and a great deal of feeling, made even more poignant since his recent death. But just like the Sir Terry I've loved, he left me chuckling. And he left me with a fresh list of books I need to find.

5. (April): Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples by VS Naipaul.

6. (May): Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII by Chester Nez.

This was kind of a random, not-on-my-list purchase during my last binge. I'm not usually particularly interested in modern history (pretty much anything after Teddy Roosevelt is iffy), but I have read a little about British WWII intelligence ops and for some reason it made me think about the Navajo Code Talkers and how little I know about them.

This book isn't going to give any profound insight into American military operations, and it's actually fairly skimpy on the code details. I'm actually okay with that, as I loved this book for what it is: a simple, straightforward telling of one man's life story, his involvement in a very select group of men, and his determination to do the right thing for a country that only grudgingly accepted him as a citizen.

The most striking, and highly ironic, part of this book for me was Mr. Nez's account of his life at an English-speaking boarding school, where he and the other students were beaten for speaking Navajo.

7. (May): Ghettoside: A Story of Murder in America by Jill Leovy.

Yet another Jon Stewart find, and it ranks up with the best, primarily because of how it made me see things in a different light, and how it's started a couple of interesting discussions in my office.

This is not a cops-vs-black-community story. It's about the very human, heartbreaking face of violence and its impact on community members as well as on the detectives who investigate those murders - often with little direct support from an administration that's too far removed from the street.

http://thedailyshow.cc.com/extended-i...

8. (June): Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys Into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East by Gerard Russell.

I seriously don't know what I'm going to do without Jon Stewart.

This was interesting, but more as a travelog than as a discussion of the various religions mentioned in the book. To be fair, Russell mentions that in his introduction, but I hoped for just a little more religion and a little less "...so I hopped a ride in the middle of nowhere TO the middle of nowhere with a stranger who happened to be going my direction." I kept getting distracted by just the freedom Russell has to travel like that; I don't know if I'd have the guts even if it were moderately safe.

9. (July): Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

I don't know when I've been so affected by a historical biography. I keep writing and deleting comments, and after three tries, I'm packing it in for the night.

In 755 pages, Lincoln went from being a list of facts in my high school history book to a living, breathing, demigod of a human being whose death actually made me cry even though it was a hundred and fifty years ago and I obviously knew that was coming.

10. (September): The Map Thief by Michael Blanding.

I slacked off in August so I'm glad I had a cushion. This was a random purchase on a binge-trip to Powell's (aka the Mothership), so I was pleasantly surprised to find an interesting story. Unfortunately, the actual thief wasn't the interesting part, so points off for that. The history of cartography *was* interesting, however, and now I want to read more.

11. (October): East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart by Susan Butler.

I meant to read this last spring when I finished the Lindbergh biography, but my copy got misplaced. I'm glad I was forced to put a little distance between the two, though.

In spite of some occasionally sloppy writing and editing (such as repeating information we'd been given just a page before; bringing her crash in Hawaii into the narrative before it had happened chronologically, then talking about it as if it was something that had already been described; and some typos), I appreciated this effort to remind us that Amelia Earhart was far more than "that lady pilot who disappeared."

I didn't know she'd been a pre-med student, for example, or that she was a social worker and vocal advocate for women to be more than home-makers. Add one more to my list of people I wish I'd known.

12. (November): When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning.

I had no idea how this book made it onto my "considering" list, but I think I found it when I was looking through the books that were on the ballot for this year's best.

Anyway, I cried a couple of times. While reading a book about distributing books. This story is surprisingly moving. Highly recommended.

Also: this is the first book I've finished in a month! And I reached my twelve non-fiction book goal for 2015!

13. (December): Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China by Paul French.

A co-worker recommended this to me, emphasizing the historical aspect more than the murder, so I decided to check it out.

I'm a little suspicious of historical narratives that don't tell me how the author knew how so-and-so felt as he gazed out a window or read a letter, so it was hard for me to get into this one - I found those bits distracting. There also isn't much to the investigation. The case was never officially solved and what we're left with is a very plausible theory and a lot of frustration and bewilderment over the British government's interference.

Still, I'm a little curious about early 20th-century Chinese history now, so maybe reading this will turn out to be a good thing.

14. (December): The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse: An Extraordinary Edwardian Case of Deception and Intrigue by Piu Marie Eatwell.

I'll admit it: I picked this up because of the title. I was pleasantly surprised to find engaging writing and a fascinating story of a late Victorian/early Edwardian legal case that took a decade to unravel. I'm also kind of happy that there are still questions. I'm glad I found this - it kept my attention and I would have devoured it in a single sitting if I hadn't picked it up so late yesterday afternoon.

In other news: my 2015 reading goal was met with two to spare! Standouts were Lindbergh, North to the Orient, Ghettoside, Team of Rivals, and East to the Dawn, judging by how many times I cornered co-workers to talk about them.

2016, here I come!