The History Book Club discussion

Ragan, this is your thread for 2017. I have included the link to the required format thread and an example. If you had a 2016 thread - it is archived - but you can still add books to it for the last few days of December.

Please follow the standard required format below - I hope you enjoy your reading in 2017. Here is also a link for assistance with the required guidelines:

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Our Required Format:

JANUARY

1. by Winston S. Churchill
Finish date: January 2017
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.

IMPORTANT - THE REVIEW SHOULD BE SHORT AND SWEET - THERE ARE NO LINKS OF ANY KIND IN THE BODY OF THE REVIEW ALLOWED. NONE. DO NOT REFER TO ANY OTHER BOOK IN YOUR BRIEF REVIEW. THE ONLY BOOK CITED IN YOUR REVIEW IS THE ONE YOU ARE REVIEWING - NO OTHERS. ALL LINKS TO OTHER THREADS OR REVIEWS ARE DELETED IMMEDIATELY - THERE WILL BE NO WARNING. WE CONSIDER THIS SELF PROMOTION AND IT IS NOT ALLOWED AND IS IN VIOLATION OF OUR RULES AND GUIDELINES.

JANUARY

1. by Jane Goodall
Finish date: January 6, 2017
Genre: Memoir
Rating: B
Review: I really enjoyed this book about Jane Goodall's time spent observing chimpanzees in their natural habitat in Africa. Her love for the chimpanzees is evident in her writing.

Ragan very good on the citation and mostly everything. Just capitalize the month so that it stands out. Check message one but very good start

2. by Helen Simonson
Finish date: January 18, 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A
Review: This book takes place before and during the beginning of WWI and follows the lives of a group of characters from a small town in England. The book focuses more on the townspeople and how the war changes their lives than on battles and politics. It is very well written and enjoyable. The character development is great!

Good so far

I so want to read that book now!

anybody say double u double u one ? :) TBR.
Sounds like the first season of that BBC series "The Village"

It was really enjoyable. Hopefully you like it!

FEBRUARY

3. by Helen Rappaport
Finish date: February 2, 2017
Genre: History
Rating: B
Review: It seems like most biographies about historic females tend to focus more on their male counterparts than on the women themselves. This book was a pleasant surprise in that I actually do feel I learned something about Olga, Tatiana, Marie, and Anastasia. My only complaint is that some chapters seemed a bit repetitive.

4. by Katherine Arden
Finish date: February 15, 2017
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: D
Review: This story takes place in medieval Russia and revolves around a young girl who has the ability to see spirits that most believe aren't real, but only a part of Russian folk tales. She is, of course, misunderstood by others in the community and also the only person who can keep everyone safe. The story was fairly predictable and I have been having a hard time deciding on a rating for this novel. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it.

MARCH

5. by Sharon Kay Penman
Finish date: March 6, 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B
Review: I really like Penman's novels. She clearly researches the subjects extensively. There are some portions of the this novel that felt a little slow and overly detailed, but in general it was a very well written and enjoyable read.

Added #1 and #2 to my tbr list. Looking forward to seeing what else you read this year!

Douglass wrote: "Added #1 and #2 to my tbr list. Looking forward to seeing what else you read this year!"

Awesome. Hope you enjoy them!

6. by Ray Bradbury
Finish date: March 11, 2017
Genre: Dystopian, Classics
Rating: A+
Review: This was a reread for me and I loved it even more the second time around. Its just so good!

You know - I just thought of some trivia about the great Bradbury - oddly enough I was just sampling some of the entries on Hulu that are called classics and some of those old shows were entertaining - I stumbled upon one which was hosted by Groucho Marx and he was vety funny and he had some great guests on his quiz show - one episode that I watched had Ray Bradbury on as one of the two contestants - a very young Bradbury and he told Groucho that he wrote science fiction books and how he met his wife. Very entertaining if you are a sci fi fan like I was at one time - listening and seeing him speak was a big pleasant surprise

Ray Bradbury

7. by Edith Wharton
Finish date: March 29, 2017
Genre: Classics
Rating: C-
Review: Much of the subject matter of this novel is typical of Edith Wharton's books. Unhappy relationships and the restrictions of societal expectations abound. I usually love her novels, but for some reason I struggled to get through this one.

APRIL

8. by Juliet Marillier
Finish date: April 17, 2017
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: C
Review: Much of this book read more like historical fiction than fantasy. The story follows a group of Norsemen who venture to a small island far from home and meet and try to live with the islands inhabitants. Eventually, a power hungry and cruel man becomes the leader of the Norsemen and the island natives must fight to protect their home and their people. I enjoyed this book, but it was a little slow at the beginning. The second half had a different tone than the first half and at times it felt almost as if I was reading two different stories. But, for the most part, it came together in the end.

MAY

9. by Robert K. Massie
Finish date: May 20, 2017
Genre: History
Rating: B+
Review: To say that this was exhaustively researched may be a bit of an understatement. I would have given this an A rating if it had been a little shorter, but the last few chapters were pretty slow and a couple of them felt unnecessary.

10. by Paula McLain
Finish date: May 30, 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: C
Review: The subject of this book, Beryl Markham, led an interesting life. She was one of the first women to become a licensed horse trainer in Africa, and later she became a pilot and made a record breaking flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, she had a difficult time finding happiness and the one man that she loved was unavailable. All of this led to an eventful and dramatic life. I enjoyed the first half of this book, but the second half felt rushed. I wish that the author would have spent more time on the years in which Beryl learned to fly. The flight across the Atlantic Ocean was one of her biggest accomplishments and I would have liked to learn more about how she got there.

JUNE

11. by Agatha Christie
Finish date: June 3, 2017
Genre: Mystery
Rating: B-
Review: I don't really have much to say about this. Like most of Agatha Christie's books this was a fun and easy read. I was glad to see Miss Marple featured more in this one than in the first book of the series.

Thank you for following the rules and guidelines.

12. by Robin McKinley
Finish date: June 13, 2017
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: B
Review: This was an interesting retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. The basic story was the same, a young princess is cursed by an evil fairy and sent away from her family. She is raised by two fairies and learns to communicate with the animals around her. On her twenty first birthday she must work with these animals and her loved ones to try to avoid the fate the evil fairy intended. I enjoyed this retelling. Rosie (Aurora or Briar-Rose in other versions of the tale) was portrayed in a much more believable and relatable way than she usually is. The book was definitely fluff, but it was enjoyable.

13. by Henry James
Finish date: June 25, 2017
Genre: Classics
Rating: C
Review: This book contains two of the most well known Henry James novellas, Daisy Miller (which on its own I would give a D rating) and Washington Square (which on its own I would give a B+ rating). Daisy Miller was too short and there was virtually no character development. Daisy came across as very shallow and she just wasn't interesting. I thought Washington Square was much more enjoyable even though none of the characters were very likeable.

JULY

14. by Catrine Clay
Finish date: July 9, 2017
Genre: History
Rating: C-
Review: I really wanted to like this book. There were portions of it that I enjoyed and I learned some new information, but for the most part I didn't care for this one.

15. by Jillian Cantor
Finish date: July 17, 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction?
Rating: C+
Review: This wasn't what I was expecting. Reading all of the descriptions of this novel, I expected a fictionalized account of the arrests and executions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Instead, the novel tells the story of a woman, Millie, and her son and how their lives are affected by the American fear of communism in the 40s and 50s. The Rosenberg's live in the same building as Millie and become her friends, but there is little to no information about their arrests or the investigation leading up to their arrests. The book was entertaining, but I wanted to read less about Millie and more about the Rosenbergs.

16. by Shirley Jackson
Finish date: July 21, 2017
Genre: Fiction
Rating: A+
Review: This was a reread for me. I had forgotten how much I like this novel. It's short and somewhat predictable, but it is wonderfully written. The opening paragraph may be my favorite opening paragraph ever! It so perfectly reflects the personality of Merricat Blackwood and sets the tone for the rest of the novel. This books is terrifying, funny, mysterious, and unnerving all at the same time and it is impressive that Shirley Jackson was able to accomplish this in only 160 pages. Merricat is so interesting. She may be one of my favorite characters in literature.

TBR'ed, thx.

AUGUST

17. by Edith Wharton
Finish date: August 6, 2017
Genre: Classics
Rating: B+
Review: Edith Wharton passed away while working on this novel and it remained incomplete until the 90s. An author and scholar who studied Wharton's work completed the novel using notes left behind by Wharton. She was fairly successful in her attempt as it was generally not noticeable that two different authors wrote the content of the book. The story was enjoyable, but doesn't follow the traditional Wharton formula. Her main character, Nan, is much less concerned with societal expectations and acceptance than a typical Wharton character and in many ways that makes her more likeable. The ending was not what I expected and I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. It didn't feel like the ending Wharton would have written (even though I know it was taken from notes she left behind). Overall this wasn't my favorite Wharton novel, but I still really enjoyed it.

18. by Patricia Bracewell
Finish date: August 13, 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B-
Review: I'm not sure that I would have liked this book as much if I had read it at a different time. I recently had surgery and I wanted an easier book to read during recovery. Historical fiction novels like this are my guilty pleasure reading and this definitely fit into that category. There were definitely some faults, but for what the story was it was enjoyable and fairly well written. I liked it enough that I will finish reading the trilogy.

19. by Anthony Horowitz
Finish date: August 22, 2017
Genre: Mystery
Rating: C+
Review: This book was recommended to me by a coworker and she and I typically have similar reading interests. Although I found this book entertaining, it wasn't what I would have expected as a recommendation from her. The story takes place after two detectives hear that Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty have died. The detectives believe that something is amiss and that a group of American gangsters are somehow involved in the supposed deaths. An investigation begins and is conducted in a fashion similar to a Sherlock and Watson investigation. There is a lot of action and the story is very fast paced. My main complaint is that the author left a lot of questions unanswered.

Good progress Ragan

SEPTEMBER

20. by Sherman Alexie
Finish date: September 11, 2017
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: C
Review: This was assigned reading for one of my classes this semester. One thing that I did like about this book was how real the characters seemed. They were deeply flawed and the author didn't try to portray them as good or bad, but just as people. Even though this book was meant for young adults, the author did not sugar coat things. Life is messy and difficult and sad and he wrote about all of that. With that being said, I am surprised that this is classified as a young adult novel. There is quite a bit of language and discussion of sexual subject matter. The story is very depressing (it's supposed to be, but still) and it touched on a lot of difficult subjects that people living on reservations deal with every day. I know the information is important and it wasn't a bad book, but I just didn't enjoy it quite as much as I hoped to.

21. by Charles Dickens
Finish date: September 24, 2017
Genre: Classics
Rating: B+
Review: I read this in highschool and absolutely hated it. I didn't plan to read it again, but a co-worker suggested that I give it another shot. She and I trade books and recommend books to each oher frequently, so I trust her opinion. I'm glad that I reread this book. I liked it much better this time around. Sure, it is very wordy and sometimes Dickens goes off on tangents that end up not being super important to the overall story, but the bulk of the story is really interesting. Sad, but interesting.

OCTOBER

22. by Alison Weir
Finish date: October 20, 2017
Genre: History, Biography
Rating: B
Review: This one took me longer to get through then Weir's books typically do. It was interesting and I enjoyed it, but it wasn't as easy a read as some of her other biographies. There are a lot of gaps in Eleanor's history and portions of the book are purely conjecture based on what was going on in the lives of the men around her. Weir draws some interesting conclusions and I enjoyed the fact that she compared multiple sources and points of view.

23. by Sylvia Plath
Finish date: October 30, 2017
Genre: Fiction, Classics
Rating: A-
Review: This was my third time reading this book. I love Sylvia Plath's writing and the way she built the main character. The book is clearly written as her take on some of the events in her own life and because of that it feels very real. It seems wrong to say that I enjoyed this book. The subject matter is very heavy and there are parts of the book that are disturbing and hard to read. However, Plath's writing style and story telling ability keep bringing me back to reread this novel.

DECEMBER

24. by Neil Gaiman
Finish date: December 7, 2017
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: C-
Review: Grad school has been keeping me pretty busy and I haven't had much time for fun reading. Finals are over now though and I was finally able to sit down and finish this. I have really mixed feelings about it; at times I hated it, and at times I liked it. I generally like Neil Gaiman's books and his writing style, but I think the story in this one was just a little TOO out there for me. Also, the ending seemed so anticlimactic. I just expected more.

25. by Vicki Constantine Croke
Finish date: December 17, 2017
Genre: History, Biography
Rating: B
Review: This book was given to me as a birthday present because I love elephants. The book tells the story of Elephant Bill, a man who lived and worked in Burma during WWII. He trained elephants to build bridges and move lumber and later he created an army company which transported goods and people with the help of many of these trained elephants. The book was an easy but interesting read. I had never heard of Elephant Bill or troop of elephants and I enjoyed reading about them.

Sounds like a very interesting and entertaining book.

26. by J.K. Rowling
Finish date: December 28, 2017
Genre: Children's, Fantasy
Rating: C
Review: I feel like I may be the only person my age (I'm 28) who hasn't read this series. I am in the process of studying for a Masters degree in Library Science and was told that I absolutely had to read these books before becoming a librarian. This book wasn't bad, but I really don't think it was as great as people say. I have been told that this is the worst of the series, so I am hoping for more from the rest of the books.

***I decided to come back to this (now two days after the initial review) and add a comment. I acknowledge that I am starting this series at the wrong age and had I started it when I was younger, my feelings toward it might be different. However, I am very impressed with Rowling's ability to create this world in such a complete way. Even though this is only the first book, it is clear that she has imagined a very interesting background for Harry and a very interesting and detailed world.

27. by Jane Austen
Finish date: December 30, 2017
Genre: Classics
Rating: A
Review: Recently watched the movie adaptation of this and I decided to read the book while the story was still fresh in my mind. As is almost always the case, the book was much much better. I have mixed feelings about Jane Austen novels and was admittedly a little reluctant to pick this one up, but this one is up there with my favorites.

You are next after Dave K for set up in the queue.

Ragan your 2018 50 books read thread is now set up.

Here is the link:

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