The Reading Challenge Group discussion

The genres for August are Travel, Biographies or Memoirs.
This includes autobiographies and histories as well.

The challenge prompts for August have been posted in the Challenge Prompt thread-Message 1.

Finished The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics - this was a great start for this month's genre. Loved this story.

I've read good things about that book, Cindy.

Rosemarie wrote: "I've read good things about that book, Cindy."

It's SO good! Even if you're not into sports, the author gives us so much more than a sports story.

Finished After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond - which was very thought-provoking

Finished North to Paradise - a quick read of a young man’s difficult journey from the jungles of Ghana through North Africa, ending finally in Spain.

Another quick read finished - This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor. Funny in places, it looks at this guy’s training as a doctor over 6 years (in UK - a slightly different system than the US - but as a pharmacist, I can tell you that these things happen. And not just to doctors.)

Cindy wrote: "Finished The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics - this was a great start for this month's genre. Loved this story."

I loved this story too! It was a lot more fascinating than I was expecting!

I'm slowly going through The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Agatha Christie. Even though I'm not a straight-up history buff, this is interesting because it's Agatha Christie, lol!

I started this month with The Year of Magical Thinking. It was a really good read and had me looking at grief in a different way.

Although this isn't a travel book in the traditional sense, the girl does go on a long trip (including some time-hopping) to rid herself of a curse. She ends up learning many things along the way about who she is and what she really wants.

A Thousand Steps into Night

I read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. I had read it before, but liked it better this time. The descriptions were excellent & although the story is set mainly in Africa I especially enjoyed the detailed writing about the Thames Estuary at the beginning.

Eileen wrote: "I started this month with The Year of Magical Thinking. It was a really good read and had me looking at grief in a different way."

That’s one that I’ve wanted to read for a while but have also sort of avoided because it’s such a sad topic.

Finished Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity, and the Perfect Knuckleball. This interested me because he was from my hometown and also a pitching sensation while at UT (my alma mater). Good but it definitely has a religious bent (I don’t mind but others might…if you’re expecting a simple sports story)

I listened to the Audible version of Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. It is my top read of the year. While the subject matter is heavy, Trevor Noah's storytelling is amazing. Highly recommend the audio version with Trevor telling his own story.

I love Trevor Noah's book! I agree with you--he is an amazing storyteller and listening to his narration made it even better!

Born a Crime is up next for me! So glad you both liked it.

Finished The Vanishing Triangle. Very disappointing, repetitive, little coherent structure. On to the next read….

Cindy wrote: "Born a Crime is up next for me! So glad you both liked it."

Hope you enjoy it.

True Crime novels are always hit or miss for me, unfortunately. Blood: A Memoir and In Cold Blood are two of the better books I've read of that genre. I also loved Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption and The Pale-Faced Lie.

Eileen wrote: "True Crime novels are always hit or miss for me, unfortunately. Blood: A Memoir and In Cold Blood are two of the better books I've read of that genre. I also loved [bo..."

I feel the same. There are good ones but The Vanishing Triangle was so disjointed. I have read [book:In Cold Blood|16098650] Extremely good. Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders was good enough to keep me awake / give me nightmares while I read it years back. Some of Ann Rule’s works are good too.

Oh good. I was on the fence about Helter Skelter, but did grab a copy from my library. I think I will reserve it for an October read, lol!

I think I'll give Vanishing Triangle a pass.

Cindy wrote: "Another quick read finished - This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor. Funny in places, it looks at this guy’s training as a doctor over 6 years (in UK - a slightly..."

This book was made into a short series. It is on Sundance Now. I liked the characters very much!

Candy wrote: "This book was made into a short series. It is on Sundance Now. I liked the characters very much! "

I will check it out. Thanks - sounds good!

Finished Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood - excellent! Thanks for the recommendations.

I read a collection of short pieces by an author I like, Laurie Lee. It's a combination of memoirs and travel essays called I Can't Stay Long.

I finished reading A Room of One's Own and I want to read The World Broke in Two: Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, E.M. Forster and the Year that Changed Literature

I hope one of these will count for this challenge.

The second book counts for sure, since it's history and biography, Cosmic.

Rosemarie wrote: "The second book counts for sure, since it's history and biography, Cosmic."

I just remembered that I finished a book this month as part of my reading through the Harvard Classics The Journal Of John Woolman

So I may get two books read for this challenge this month.

Finished Daddy Needs a Drink: An Irreverent Look at Parenting from a Dad Who Truly Loves His Kids—Even When They're Driving Him Nuts - cute if a little dated.

I read The 30,000 Mile Cat: Travels Across America by Ginnie L. Hansen, a biography about travel in the US.

Finished The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team - loved this one. A great look at a HUGE moment…everyone remembers where they were the night that this game was played.

Cindy wrote: "Finished Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood - excellent! Thanks for the recommendations."

So glad you enjoyed it. I am still talking about it in my book groups.

@Eileen and @Cindy If you haven't already read I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer or on Audible Evil Has a Name: the Untold Story of the Golden State Killer Investigation, I highly recommend.

I finished Paul Holes Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases earlier this year. While interesting, i enjoyed the other two more.

I've read I'll be Gone, and it was pretty good, but I definitely found my mind wandering at points. I'll add Evil Has a Name to my wishlist on Audible. It seems to have fantastic reviews.

I’ve read Gone as well, but will be on lookout for Evil.

Cool tidbit - my daughter lived in Sacramento area at the time that they found him. (In fact, we watched a Netflix(? I think) series about the GSK while I was visiting and discussed it.) They caught him just a few weeks later. She told me that the area that he was living in was part of her area as a home health physical therapist…and she had a patient just a block or two away. Yikes.

Finished Educated - harrowing story but well-told. The author managed to overcome multiple obstacles and eventually gets her degree from BYU, then attends Harvard and Cambridge.

Finished The Stranger in the Lifeboat - I'm counting it as a travel book as the novel concerns survivors in a lifeboat adrift on the ocean

Finished Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far - sweet and easy read

Cindy wrote: "Finished Educated - harrowing story but well-told. The author managed to overcome multiple obstacles and eventually gets her degree from BYU, then attends Harvard and Cambridge."

Educated was a tough read, but I was riveted throughout. It was very well-told.

I just finished reading Last Summer Boys, which I thought fit this month because even though it's historical fiction when I looked at the author's photo and his bio, I just felt like he put himself into the main character. Regardless of how you categorize it, I think it is a great debut novel. I would say the ideal audience is probably high school, but I enjoyed it very much.

Eileen I’m also reading it. I’m enjoying it …. Very good at capturing that time.

Cindy wrote: "Eileen I’m also reading it. I’m enjoying it …. Very good at capturing that time."

Yes! I wasn't all that familiar with the time and place, but I felt like I was there!

I just finished Broke the Bread, Spilled the Tea which is part memoir, but is written for those seeking to find out what the bible actually says about homosexuality. Most of what he wrote we had studied in our church a couple of years ago, but he does so in a very accessible way. It is absolutely written from a place of compassion.

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

Finished Last Summer Boys - which has a memoir feel to it. This takes place in the late 60s - a time of unrest and change - both MLK and RFK were assassinated that year; Vietnam War was raging; civil unrest was rampant - but time seems to have passed by this small corner of Pennsylvania in the Appalachian mountains. Loved this coming of age story.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it too! I read it as part of the kindle challenge, and I'm glad I did! I'm not so sure I would have discovered the book if it hadn't been one of the kindle books.

I just finished The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker's Guide to Making Travel Sacred by Phil Cousineau. This was an excellent read. It is about how to find meaning in any travel by treating it as a pilgrimage - setting goals, asking questions and reflecting. I will revisit this book before every trip!

Finished Adventurous Soul: Empowering Words of Wisdom Stories from Women Who Get Outside - not exactly a travel book, but a book filled with the beauty of nature and words encouraging you to go outside and discover it.