You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

Please read through the reporting thread carefully to ensure to report correctly to get your badge/s.

After you have read your chosen book(s) for this month's group theme read, please report in the thread below.

Please state what book you read (and link it), how it fits the theme, that you discussed it (and where), and briefly summarise what you thought of the book and/or link to your review if you have written one.

If you lead the discussion, please state this in your post.

Here is an example for how to report your read:

“I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and discussed it in the [Harry Potter/Buddy Read/Other books in theme] thread. I really enjoyed the book. I watched the film first so I already knew the story line but I was surprised how much I enjoyed the book more as there was more detail involved. Plus I listened to the audio which was narrated by Stephen Fry who is a superb narrator. 4 stars.”

If you read more than one book which fits the theme, please report all your reads in the same post rather than in separate posts.

Please note, there are THREE different badges that can be obtained for group reads. Those reading and discussing one of the two chosen group reads will receive a colourful badge similar to those for previous group reads. Those reading and discussing any other book in the theme will receive a stamp. The discussion leader for the two chosen group reads will receive a badge stating they led the discussion. Maximum amount of badges you can receive for the group reads is TWO - one for the chosen group read/discussion leader and one for any other book in the theme.

In order to receive a badge you must:
1. put your Wall of Fame Name at the beginning of your post as follows: WoF Name - Peggy
2. have read the book(s) before or during November 2020.
3. discussed it in the relevant thread. Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read, for example, thoughts, opinions, impact it had on you, what was your favourite part, was it what you expected it to be like etc. You may also like to review the book and post a link to the review in that thread.
4. Report that you have read AND discussed the book

Pssst - change the books, in the current reading place, please.

WoF - Janice

I chose to read a book within the theme rather than one of the two selected books. I read The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust which was a memoir of a Jewish woman who married a German and lived under an assumed identity.

It was a thought provoking book about the things desperate people do to survive. I can't imagine the fear that she lived under, where a slip of the tongue could reveal that she was not German, resulting in her death. It's staggering to think of the devastation and loss of loved ones that many Jews endured.

WoF - Lilisa

I listened to one of the monthly book selections The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women and discussed it in the book thread. I liked it. The author did a great job of unfolding for us the dangerous and fatal impact of radium on the women who worked with painted radium dials and their health and legal battles to prevent others from a similar fate.

WoF- Shirley
I read Ship of Death: The Tragedy of the 'Emigrant' and discussed it in the book thread. The subject matter really interested me for several reasons. Firstly, it is local history and the places and events are familiar, so this event felt very real to me. Secondly, some of my ancestors arrived in Australia on the same kind of assisted migration scheme in the 1850s, so I enjoyed knowing the kind of voyage they had (but without the typhus). Also, my experience of reading the book was enhanced by listening to the author speak about her book and the research at an Author Visit event at the local library.

WoF Jayme
I read The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women and am currently leading the discussion in the thread (though Kristie was actually leading it until I started reading the book, so maybe we should be co-leaders) ;)

I love a good narrative nonfiction and the horrific story of the innocent young women who worked at The Radium Dial Company painting luminous dials on watches with radium was riveting. The graphic descriptions of the literal decaying of their bodies, and the callous reactions of the company owners was shocking and made me angry. The Radium Girls plight and court case paved the way for changes in work place safety and the formation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This book is worth the read, but if you choose not to The Library of Congress has a great write-up on their blog. LOC:Radium Girls

I read and discussed Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race. It was a good book and I gave it 4 stars. I learnt a lot about racism here in the UK and more about our black history. The book is accessible and easy to read. All of the statistics and references to events were all cited for further research which I found of interest.

I also read (quite some time ago) and discussed The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It in the three with Kristie who is reading it at present. I thought this was one of the best non fiction books I've read and made me question what I thought about stress and how it affects us. I got a lot from it on a personal level as well as a professional level, using much of what I learnt in helping to change both my own and my client's mindsets about stress, as well as other things. I highly recommend the book.

I have read a couple of themed books, and offered some thoughts in the monthly theme thread. I read Let Love Rule, and I didn't know much about Lenny Kravitz besides liking his music, but really respect his convictions. He lived rough, and turned down deals and money in order to protect the sanctity of his art. Totally awesome!
I also read The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. The story of Ray Hinton, who spent 30 years on death row for crimes that he did not commit. The rollercoaster of emotions, going through appeal after appeal, from self preservation, to helping to support, and offer guidance, to the rest of the block and the guards as well. To see the Alabama legal system willfully fail a young black man - absolutely unreal. But, as a lawyer once told me, this is the legal system, not the justice system, and don't forget it.

WoF - Roz

I read Sheepish: Two Women, Fifty Sheep, and Enough Wool to Save the Planet and discussed in the Group Themed Reads discussion thread.
I enjoyed reading about the author, Catherine Friend, and her wife Melissa and their life on a sheep farm in Minnesota. Using humor throughout, she lets us in on the ups and down, struggles and triumphs of the enterprise. What started out as sheep for meat, lambs for sale, wool to sell, evolves to an interest in spinning, and knitting the yarn produced by their sheep. When life catches up with Catherine and Melissa (health, age, overwhelming work), they realize how important the farm has become to their lives and make compromises so they can continue. As I got toward the end I worried that they would give up, sell the farm and return to their urban lives. So glad they didn't (at least not in 2011). According to the author's site, they are in the process of selling the farm after 24 years and are ready to start a new adventure. Like everything, there is a time to stay and a time to move on. If you've ever visited a farm (perhaps with the kids) or went to a petting zoo to see the lambs, you should read the book. There's a lot that happens to get from lamb to sheep.

Wof- Christina

I listened to Me: Elton John Official Autobiography. I discussed it in the nonfiction theme thread.

Like life in general this was a rollercoaster from serious to humorous to plain outrageous. Elton is an interesting man, and although it hasn't always been true... seems to be most humble. That is one of the things that made this book so great. It just seemed so raw and honest.

It is fun to see all the other books people chose for this theme!

Jenn - have you read Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption? It is by Hinton's lawyer and goes into other cases he has tried to get justice for people in Alabama.

I read The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts and discussed it in the thread.
I enjoyed the book overall - though parts of it got bogged down in the politics of the region - which I understand is important for the story - but I found my eyes glazing over a bit. The bits where they were actually talking about manuscripts - collecting, preserving, evacuating - was really good though and helped me overcome the long political part.

WoF: Kristie

I read The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women last year. I thought it was excellent, so I skimmed it over again to discuss with the group in the group read thread. It is unbelievable (yet, completely believable...) what these poor young women went through. My heart went out to them and their families that had to watch them suffer. I was frustrated with the companies, as well as certain other people, that didn't do what they should have to protect and support them and actually went out of their way to hide the truth.

I also read Tuesdays with Morrie and discussed in the general theme thread. I was really glad that Mitch Albom was able to get Morrie's story out there. I think it was a great way to honor the man. He seemed to be a very thoughtful and caring person. I loved the message he was presenting about living in the moment and appreciating people over things.

I also am still reading The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It and discussing in the general theme thread. It is really interesting so far. The discussion has been around how your mindset affects basically everything else in your life. There have been several studies discussed and so far we have learned how stress makes you connect with others and how you make choices based on your mindset, among other things. I'm looking forward to continuing to read and discuss this one.

Those are probably the only nonfiction books I will be able to read this month. I was hoping to read Fiber Fueled: The Plant-Based Gut Health Program for Losing Weight, Restoring Your Health, and Optimizing Your Microbiome, but I am on a waitlist for it and it probably won't be available until next month, and I will probably run out of time for The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. If I am able to finish any others, I'll come back and update my comment.

WoF Cherie

I read and discussed in the topic, The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts.

Not one of my favorite group read books, but it made me read something out of my comfort zone. I think the book was very well written. The courage of the author to go to some of the locations controlled by the Islamic jihadis fighting in Mali and interview people cannot be denied. The story was interesting and very exciting when the manuscripts were discussed. The history and scholarship amazing, but all over-shadowed by the politics of the region and the atrocities of the jihadis. It made it wanting to finish reading some sections very uncomfortable and I had to keep talking myself into finishing the book.

WOF Esther
O read and discussed the monthly The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts in its thread. As state there, I have mixed feeling about this one. A lot of this goes to my expectations. I expected more of the manuscripts and less on the background and context. So the main topic was not really the manuscript as much as the whole situation in Timbuktu between 2010 to 2013. I am still glad I have read it but wished it had not been marketed this way.

WoF Sandra from PA

I read Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird by Katie Fallon and discussed it in the non-fiction thread (still discussing it since Cherie is still reading it).
I gave the book 4 stars. It was very interesting. I wouldn't say that I disliked vultures before, but I'd never given them too much thought. The author did a good job explaining the importance of vultures for the ecosystem. She also pointed at many human actions that threaten directly or indirectly vultures lives.
I know the author has at least one other book about birds, and I plan to take a look at it.

WoF name - Amanda(Lily)

I read The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women and discussed it in the designated thread.

I never feel comfortable saying I "liked" a book like this, but I'm glad I read it. The suffering these women went through was horrible and the legal battles were almost worse. They were so brave to fight for some kind of justice even as they were dying horrible deaths. I'm glad that we (as a country) learned so much from these women about radiation poisoning and how to protect workers in dangerous fields.

WoF: Grainne

I read The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women

I am glad that I read it. It is a particularly insightful read. The arm of the law is long but it bends towards justice and this book is a good example of that. The journey that this women embarked on as they started employment at Radium Dial Company was not at all clear path for them as it turned it.

I really liked the simple pleasures that the book talks about, even as these woman suffered ill-health; they found joy in their relationships and friendships to each other and their families.

Their legal and health battle reminds me of a Tolkien novel but it is far from fantasy. I am glad that their voice was heard and that changes were made where employers have a reporting duty to the employees to tell them of any danger they may face at work and also disclose findings from any health check paid for by the company. We all benefit from that today.

WoF Lori (GlitzyRebel)

I read The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women and I participated in the thread.

I was interested in reading it because I was a Radiologic Technologist. Interesting enough, this particular information was not in any of my training!! : )

I loved the authors ability to convey the girls youthful and vibrant spirit. The joy of young adult life!! The pure happiness of freedom and independence that comes with your first job! Life before you were responsible for all the bills, and the kids, and the house...and what's for dinner!! Sure you helped...but it wasn't your burden.

It is good they were able to help future generations through their sheer determination and their willingness to fight!! They took it on as their job!!!! And, the many that have been injured and received compensation without any battle should know about these ladies. They helped clear the way!!!!

WoF Kay

I read and participated in the dicussion thread for https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

I did find this book difficult at times to get through with the politics and names, etc. However, the message around the importance of academic writing or writings in general to cultural heritage and the need to protect and make them available provided me with an important insight I had not been aware of previously and took for granted.

WoF Aya

I read Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, and of the Outbreaks to Come and discussed it in the nonfiction thread. I've been interested in outbreaks and curious about Ebola. All I knew as a kid is that it's a lethal hemorrhagic disease. I'm glad I finally knew what it really is and how the doctors and scientists fight to end the outbreak. I think an outbreak has a cycle, so different outbreak may have similar effect and way to handle it. And eventhough this was about Ebola outbreak happened in 1976 and 2014, I found it's relatable to nowadays pandemic. I like how the author introduced the characters and how the story flows. It's an easy read for me and I think I'll read his other works in the future.

WoF: Laura (LCLWAGS)

I read The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women and discussed it in the thread. I loved how the author made this book about the women and not the companies. We learn about their lives, their suffering and the women who fought to keep this from happening to more women. It was dark and hard to read at times, but I'm so glad I know these stories now.

Badges have been posted. If I missed you, let me know. And if you still need to report your read, go ahead and I'll badge you when I can.

Thanks Sarah.