The History Book Club discussion

Our required format:

JANUARY

1. Winston Churchill
Finish date: March 2008
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.

JULY

1. Hilary Mantel
Finish date: July 8
Genre: historical fiction
Rating: A
Review: This book is the recently released sequel to Wolf Hall and continues the author's depiction of Thomas Cromwell, dealing specifically with the infamous fall of Anne Boleyn as viewed from Cromwell's perspective. It's beautifully written, original and creative-not the usual "lady in the tower" saga.
Hilary Mantel

Thanks for sharing, Donna. Please go back to message 2 and put it into the proper format provided in message 1. You can look at other people's thread to help you out, and we are here to help, too.

Hi Bryan, I must be missing something obvious but can't figure out where my format has gone astray. I would appreciate your help.

Hi:

Everything looks good except for the Wolf Hall book at the bottom. Did you want to include this book, as well? If so, all you need to do is add the author again.

okay, thanks much.

Thank you Donna R for working on your format. If you want to include the second book, then you have to follow the required format as Bryan correctly noted.

2. by Anita Diamant
Finish date: July 11
Genre: Historicl fiction
Rating: A
Review: Through the voice of Dinah, daughter of Jacob, we get a glimpse of what life for women might have been like in ancient biblical times. I'm sorry I waited so long to read this beautiful, emotive saga.

3. Hillary Jordan
Finish date: July 17
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: A
Review: Deals with family struggles and racial prejudice in rural Mississippi in the years just after WWII. A real page turner.

4. Joe Leibovich
Finish date: July 13
Genre: Nonfiction/memoir
Rating: C
Review: Joe shares the ups and downs of a whirlwind spin through three major European cities that he takes with his wife. It's funny and enjoyable and even a little informative but too short and shallow for a higher rating.

Good progress Donna R.

5. by Sally Gunning
Finish date: July 25
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: In 1756, 7-year-old Alice suffers the traumatic loss of her mother and siblings on a doomed sea voyage from England to the colonies. Unable to pay the crossing fees, her father binds her into servitude to John Morton, who treats her kindly. Things change dramatically for the worse when Alice's papers are transferred to Morton's daughter and her new husband. Now a teenager, Alice is compelled to make a series of decisions that eventurally stretch the limits of gratitude, friendship, and trust. This is a story of survival with humanly complex characters and great historical detail.

AUGUST

6. by William Landay
Finish Date: August 6
Genre: Fiction
Rating: A-
Review: When a 14-year-old boy is found dead in an upscale suburban Boston neighborhood, DA Andy Barber is stunned to learn that his only son, Jacob, is the prime suspect in the murder. As Andy and his wife, Laura, move through Jacob's arrest and trial, Andy is forced to reveal a long hidden family secret that adds another painful dimension to the unfolding drama. More than a crime thriller, this is a human story of the depths of parental love. Highly recommended.

7. by Louis Sachar

Finish Date: August 8
Genre: YA Fiction
Rating: C+
Review: A clever and cute novel about Alton, a teenage boy hired by his blind uncle to be his "cardturner" at weekly bridge sessions. Over the course of several months, Alton bonds with his wealthy and reclusive uncle, finds love, and learns to play the game of bridge.

8. by Lynn Cullen

Finish Date: August 9
Genre: YA Historial Fiction
Rating: C
Review: With her mother dead, young Cornelia van Rijn is left to deal with her increasingly distant and unpredictable father, the brilliant painter, Rembrandt. The book seems to be well researched and the author builds a plausible account of Rembrandt's later years.

Good progress Donna R

SEPTEMBER

9. by Susanna Kearsley

Finish Date: September 1
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B
Review: A contemporary author writng about a 17th century ancestor discovers she may be channeling this ancestor's actual memories. An interesting and entertaining read by an author who writes beautifully.

10. by Kate Morton

Finish Date: September 10
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: C
Review: Contemporary woman researches her deceased grandmother's past discovering many secrets and finding a new love. Enjoyable,light reading but ultimately forgettable.

11. by Susan Elia MacNeal
Finish Date: September 17
Genre: Historical Fiction Mystery
Rating: B-
Review: A mystery-thriller set in London during the Blitz in which a young transplanted American woman is hired as typist for Winston Churchill and finds herself embroiled in a fight against an undercover anti-English terror network. In spite of uneven writing, clumsy dialogue, too many characters, and some implausible plot elements, this book still works! This is the first in the Maggie Hope mystery series.

These look like very interesting books, Donna. I'm glad to have heard about them.

12. by Jean Plaidy
Finish Date: September 22
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B-
Review: A short, readable novel about Queen Mary II and her relationship to her father, James II, and her husband, William of Orange. (My edition of the book is titled "The Queen's Devotion"). Plaidy portrays Mary as a vacuous, weak woman who is totally dominated by a cruel, cold and unfaithful husband. She doesn't provide a satisfactory rationale for why Mary was then so devoted to William. However, I consider historical fiction successful if it leaves me wanting to find out more about the people or events portrayed and this book certainly has done that.

13. by Robert K. Massie
Finish Date: September 30
Genre: Non Fiction/History
Rating: A
Review: Special spotlight History Book Club selection

OCTOBER

14. by Jesmyn Ward
Finish Date: October 4
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: A
Review: A literary work about the struggles and triumphs facing four siblings who are living a hardscrabble existence in rural Louisana with their alcoholic father. It takes place over 11 days leading up to what will be the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. In spite of the oppressiveness of the poverty, the heat, and the approaching storm, this is a story about the strengh of love and family bonds and the resiliency of the human spirit. Like all good literary fiction, this book evokes powerful images and emotions. The characters, especially the narrator, teen-aged Esche, will be with me for a long time.

15. by Susan Cain
Finish Date: October 5
Genre: Nonfiction
Rating: A
Review: Cain uses empirical and anecdotal evidence to support her major premises: (1) one third to one half of us fall into the category of introverts; (2) tendancies toward introversion and extroversion are inborn and lifelong traits; (3) Western culture values the extrovert personality over that of the introvert, and; (4) introverts have their own unique contributions to society, can learn to be more comfortable in their own skin, and can develop successful coping strategies.

If you are an introvert (and chances are you may be if one of your favorite activies is being alone with a good book) or if you are the spouse or the parent of an introvert, this book may provide some great insights.

16. by Gillian Bradshaw
Finish Date: October 9
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A
Review: Bradshaw takes the sparse factual information known about the great Greek mathemetician, Archimedes, and weaves a lovely, plausible story of his life as a young man. Following several years of study in Alexandria, Archimedes returns home to Syracuse when he hears that his father is ill and his beloved birth city is at war with the Romans. He uses his mathematical acumen to develop larger and more accurate catapults for the defense of the city, winning fame and the favor of the regent. Quite enjoyable!

I will add this to my TBR pile

17. by Timothy Ashby
Finish Date: October 15
Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery
Rating: A
Review: The year is 1923 and a young, idealistic FBI agent named Seth Armitedge is assigned to a case involving the murder of an elderly Civil War veteran on the grounds of the Gettysburg cemetary. More murders ensue and the plot thickens. There's something for everyone here - plenty of action, great historical detail, loads of political intrigue, and a love interest along the way.

DonnaR wrote: "16. by Gillian Bradshaw
Finish Date: October 9
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A
Review: Bradshaw takes the sparse factual infor..."

Donna, this is one of my favorite books. Archimedes is such an interesting character.

18. by Alan Bradley
Finish Date: October 16
Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery
Rating: A
Review: Flavis de Luce is the delightfully precocious herione of this 1950s English countryside murder mystery series. She is left largely to her own devices in the family estate with no mother, an emotionally remote father, and two older, somewhat disdainful siblings. She has a passion for chemistry that she explores in the abandoned laboratory of an ancestoral uncle. Flavia's indominable spirit and underlying vulnerabilities take us back to the time when we were fearless 11-year-olds believing we could set out on our bikes and conquer the world. Third book in the series.

NOVEMBER

19. by Pat Conroy
Finish Date: November 8
Genre: Fiction
Rating: A
Review: I had seen the movie some time ago but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book. This is the first book I've read by Pat Conroy and I read it while visiting the South Carolina low country, which is the book's setting. I was pretty much blown away by the beauty of Conroy's writing, use of language, and story-telling prowess.

I thoroughly enjoyed that book too, beautifully written as you noted.

by Pat Conroy

20. by Laurie Halse Anderson
Finish Date: November 9
Genre: YA Fiction
Rating: A
Review: Melinda suffers a traumatic event at the end of the summer just prior to entering high school. Unable to tell anyone what happened, she withdraws from friends, family, and school life. The story itself is not light, but Melinda's voice is full of wit, humor, and eventual triumph. The book presents an honest view of the social milieu of high school and recieved quite a few honors and awards upon publication in 1999.

21. by Yann Martel

Finish Date: November 28
Genre: YA Fiction
Rating: A
Review: The author uses a story of a young Indian boy who survives a shipwreck and lives aboard a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger to explore metaphorically issues of faith, human and animal nature, survival, and will. It's a great book and much more than I thought it would be.