Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham. It did an excellent job of explaining nuclear plant construction and operation and the Chernobyl meltdown in plain language. I also appreciated the personal stories of the impact on plant employees, their families and others.
Best nonfiction was A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman
Two fiction for best in July, one for fantasy and the other for science fiction: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison and Termush by Sven Holm, respectively.
Sideways Stories is one of my favorite kids books! And Lonesome Dove is in my top 20 favorite books.... However, I read neither this past month so I can't claim them. My favorite book this past month was The Fifteen: Murder, Retribution, and the Forgotten Story of Nazi POWs in America by William Geroux. I remember first learning about the camps as a kid when I read The Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene, a fictional story of a girl's encounter with a Nazi POW brought to a camp outside her hometown in Arkansas. I knew there were camps across the US but I had no idea about just how many there were or the challenges that existed within them. The Fifteen sheds light on that part of our history in a highly engaging manner.
Lonesome Dove was awesome! Great to re-read it and participate in the DB book club! Also read "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro which was incredibly moving.
I enjoyed Taking Manhattan by Russell Shorto. It follows Island at the Center of the World, which is about the history of New Amsterdam before it became New York. So Taking Manhattan is about just that: Britain’s fairly straightforward takeover of New Amsterdam. Both books present fascinating histories of the city and provide a look at why it was so different from any other worldwide city from its outset.
The Midnight Train. A stand alone novel but the second in what is called The Midnight Universe series. The first book is The Midnight Library which is in my top ten favorite books ever and this one isn’t quite there but still such a good read about the value of living.
Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham. It did an excellent job of explaining nuclear plant construction and operation and the Chernobyl meltdown in plain language. I also appreciated the personal stories of the impact on plant employees, their families and others.
That one is so so good. Funny enough, I’m in the last 10 minutes of HBO’s Chernobyl series right now.
That was also great!
Now I have to read Higginbotham's Challenger book.
Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer
Best book for July: Whistler by Ann Patchett.
I’ve heard good things!
Best nonfiction was A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman
Two fiction for best in July, one for fantasy and the other for science fiction: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison and Termush by Sven Holm, respectively.
Sideways Stories is one of my favorite kids books! And Lonesome Dove is in my top 20 favorite books.... However, I read neither this past month so I can't claim them. My favorite book this past month was The Fifteen: Murder, Retribution, and the Forgotten Story of Nazi POWs in America by William Geroux. I remember first learning about the camps as a kid when I read The Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene, a fictional story of a girl's encounter with a Nazi POW brought to a camp outside her hometown in Arkansas. I knew there were camps across the US but I had no idea about just how many there were or the challenges that existed within them. The Fifteen sheds light on that part of our history in a highly engaging manner.
Lonesome Dove was awesome! Great to re-read it and participate in the DB book club! Also read "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro which was incredibly moving.
I enjoyed Taking Manhattan by Russell Shorto. It follows Island at the Center of the World, which is about the history of New Amsterdam before it became New York. So Taking Manhattan is about just that: Britain’s fairly straightforward takeover of New Amsterdam. Both books present fascinating histories of the city and provide a look at why it was so different from any other worldwide city from its outset.
The Midnight Train. A stand alone novel but the second in what is called The Midnight Universe series. The first book is The Midnight Library which is in my top ten favorite books ever and this one isn’t quite there but still such a good read about the value of living.
I enjoyed The Midnight Library, too! Very memorable and thought-provoking!