The History Book Club discussion

Skeetor (from Belle Chasse), here is your new thread in 2015. Happy reading in the new year.

Our Required Format:

JANUARY

1. by Winston S. Churchill
Finish date: January 2015
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.

Thanks, Bentley!

You are welcome - we are here to help you get started. Enjoy.

JANUARY

1. by Leigh Perry
Finish date: January 5, 2015
Genre: Mystery, Cozy
Rating: B+
Review: Second in series. An entertaining cozy if you can stretch your imaginative powers around a presumably haunted skeleton that walks and talks. A Christmas present from my sister, I wasn't sure I would enjoy the series, but it's a fun, relaxing read.

Good start, Skeetor! See if you can put JANUARY in bold now

just put a < b > before JANUARY and < /b > after JANUARY and that should do the trick -- use no spaces in the < >

Thank you, Kathy!

You got it. You might also put a space between the book cover and by just for looks.

2. by Nikolai Gogol
Finish date: January 5, 2015
Genre: Horror
Rating: A
Review: A young priest finds himself in a battle with a witch. A very well-written short story. (about 40 pgs)

Great, Skeetor but you don't have to add the month above the title to each post..... only on the first book of each month. Otherwise, you are right on target!!!!

Got it...thanks!

I'm intrigued by the short story. Nothing makes a better horror than a little religious intrige. Thanks!

3. by Agatha Christie
Finish date: January 7, 2015
Genre: Mystery, Detective Fiction
Rating: A-
Review: I am just a huge fan of Poirot! This is the first book in that series and the first published novel for Agatha Christie. This particular edition includes an introduction by John Curran with a brief history concerning the publication of the book. Included in the book is the original chapter/story as Christie first wrote it, where Poirot unveils the murderer in the courtroom. The published version, where he reveals all in the drawing room of Styles, is included within the chapters.

John Curran

Great job with the citations, Skeetor. I am also a Christie fan.....have you ever read her Harley Quin books? They are very different from her usual style. I am sure there is a collection of those stories but I couldn't find it, so I just put up one of the books.

by Agatha Christie

Nope, I haven't read any of that series....yet. 'Searchin' the library on my Kindle now. :) Thanks!

They are unusual.....almost bordering on supernatural. I love them.

4. by Deborah Fallows (no photo)
Finish date: January 8, 2015
Genre: Memoir
Rating: C-
Review: When I purchased this book, I thought it would be more of a memoir with just bits of language points thrown in. I found the read to be very disruptive, bouncing back and forth between the lengthy, yet simplistic, language points and the author’s experiences on the street. I found her experiences to be more shallow and superficial than what I was expecting. More like the experiences of a common tourist and not someone who had lived in, and traveled about, China for three years.

looking good Skeetor

Thank you, Bentley.

5. by Matthew Hart (no photo)
Finish date: January 19, 2015
Genre: History, metallurgy
Rating: A-
Review: I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. I enjoyed this book. It provides the reader with an overview of some current and past mining practices, ancient and modern day discoveries of gold deposits, and trading practices (fair and unfair). The author describes trips during his research, interviews key personalities of the trade and gives some vivid descriptions of historical events in the gold industry.

Skeeter - the author's link is very strange - Vicki is one of our librarians and I have forwarded the details to her. However - I am glad that you enjoyed the book.

6. by Agatha Christie
Finish date: January 20, 2015
Genre: Mystery, fantasy
Rating: A
Review: I absolutely loved this collection of short stories featuring the "mysterious Mr. Quin" and his "emissary" Mr. Satterthwaite. As for me, I believe it encompasses some of Agatha Christie's best work.

Thanks Skeetor. I'll add that to my endlessly growing TBR list.

I knew you would love that character, Skeetor. It is too bad that she didn't write very many stories featuring him.

Jill- Thanks, again for recommending the stories. I especially love Mr. Satterthwaite, but the scene and ambiance descriptions are wonderful, too.

Kathy- I think you'll love it.

7. by Keigo Higashino
Finish date: January 23, 2015
Genre: Mystery, detective
Rating: A-
Review: I really enjoyed this book. This is the second book in a series but stands well independently. (I haven’t read the first in the series, but plan to.) The characters are very interesting and the book is well-written, but this mystery is not an action-packed thriller if that is your interest. It reminds me of a Columbo-style story in which how the murder was committed, what the motive was, and gaining evidence against the perpetrator are emphasized. I am also impressed by the translation which reads smoothly for a book originally written in Japanese.
(Translated by Alexander O. Smith with Elye Alexander)

Good add Skeetor

8. by Frankie Bow
Finish date: January 29, 2015
Genre: Mystery, cozy
Rating: A
Review: I received this audiobook free from the author.
A wonderfully fun mystery. Frankie Bow has produced an entertaining cozy filled with well-developed, zany, characters who are, in turn, masterfully interpreted by Nicole Gose for listeners.

FEBRUARY
9. by Rick Atkinson
Finish date: February 1, 2015
Genre: History, war
Rating: A+
Review: This book is a comprehensive account of the personalities, politics and battle planning from the North Africa operations during WWII. The inclusion of personal anecdotes, diary excerpts and detailed battle plans make it a very interesting read.

Excellent book - don't forget to capitalize the month which you have correctly bolded.

10. by Erik Larson
Finish date: February 4, 2015
Genre: History, true crime, science
Rating: A
Review: I enjoyed this wonderfully researched book. As with other books written by Erik Larson, he artfully combines the story of a major historical event/discovery, with the story of a captivating crime. This book tells the stories of the inventor of the first wireless means of communication and a mild-mannered man driven to murder. The author includes a wide variety of background information and trivialities, which give the reader a real feel for the time, place and people involved.

Read it, loved it

11. by Jane Blaffer Owen (no photo)
Finish date: February 7, 2015
Genre: Memoir, history
Rating: B-
Review: I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
This was an interesting memoir. It is chiefly about Jane Blaffer Owen’s restoration efforts but also includes some of her religious and social beliefs. Ms. Owens relates the behind-the-scenes activity of the restorations of Harmonite buildings, the construction and design of a “roofless Church” that welcomes all, a city park and, her reasons for doing all that she did. She also includes bits of personal information from her childhood, about her husband and children, as well as encounters with various artists, architects, and theologians. I found the brief accounts of the town’s history interesting and wished more of those had been included, but I guess that would be a history book and not a memoir, right?

Good Skeetor

12. by Jerry L. Walls
Finish date: February 16, 2015
Genre: Religion, theology
Rating: A-
Review: I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I truly enjoyed reading this book. The author relates his central views (largely Protestant) concerning the afterlife in a “more popular form” than his academic books and essays. He does not attempt to browbeat the reader but presents a clear discussion of various Christian and atheistic thoughts, what he holds to be true and exactly why he does. I do not agree with all of his logic as presented, but I still found this book to be an engaging discussion relating to beliefs of what happens after death.

13. by Ann Bauer
Finish date: February 24, 2015
Genre: Satire
Rating: B-
Review: I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
This story is told mainly through a fictional priest (with his own troubled past) who left the Catholic Church when he became disillusioned. He settles down to work in a bookshop, but, for some reason, strangers still seek him out to confess their transgressions. A troubled advertising agency executive thinks people would line up and pay for the ability to confess their sins to him and so begins the startup of Forgiveness4You. The vision for Forgiveness4You is a place where busy people can receive forgiveness or just talk to someone without all the hassle of religion or ongoing psychiatrist visits.
I found this book to be a part “tongue in cheek” and part serious narrative regarding how different people approach religion and philosophy. I do think that there were some explicit sexual references that weren’t necessary to the story and detracted from the overall novel. An humorous and interesting read.

14. by James Church (no photo)
Finish date: February 24, 2015
Genre: Mystery
Rating: B
Review: Lots of intrigue here. An inspector gets caught up in a web of deceit in North Korea. Filled with interesting characters and locales, with almost every dialogue containing cryptic clues. A mystery to the last pages in a Noir style with everyone after the inspector as he tries to sort out friends and foes along the way.

Thanks Skeetor as you roll along

15. by Stephen Turnbull
Finish date: February 28, 2015
Genre: History, Military
Rating: A
Review: A consolidated but thorough recount of the major battles of the great Japanese leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi. This book gives only a brief overview of his life and rather concentrates on his leadership style, battle strategies and how he accomplished the reunification of Japan. The included maps, illustrations and photographs help capture the era in which Hideyoshi lived (1536-98). It is part of a “Command Series” by Osprey Publishing and other leaders in the series include Napoleon Bonaparte, George S. Patton and Julius Caesar.

MARCH
16. by Raymond Francis
Finish date: March 10, 2015
Genre: Health
Rating: B-
Review: I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. The author, Raymond Francis, was near death at the early age of 48 from liver failure caused by prescribed drugs. He used his knowledge of biochemistry to heal himself and wants to share what he learned with everyone.

He feels the current system of health care is inept and even dangerous and that the best way to stay healthy is to prevent sickness. He believes that all the different labeled diseases are really only one “disease”, that is, malfunctioning cells. Further, he explains, there are only two reasons for cells to malfunction: deficiency and toxicity. Therefore, if you give cells what they need and protect them from harmful elements, you will be healthy. At any time we may be heading toward health or heading toward disease along six “pathways” he has envisioned: nutrition, toxin, mental, physical, genetic and medical. The choice of which direction we move on any of these pathways is ours.

There is a lot of good advice in this book, however, some of the chapters are a overly repetitive and I was disheartened from the frequent references throughout the book to the vitamin/health company he founded (infomercial-like).

Uh oh, on the push for his vitamin company.....that makes me wonder how valid his information is. That would bother me about the book, I think.

I think a lot of his stuff is valid (other stuff who knows). It follows a lot of what I have read in other books. He is a little unconventional but I know doctors who used to insist that Omega-3s did nothing for arthritis and I ensured them it did for me. Now the medical community is admitting it is an anti-inflammatory. So....I am keeping an open mind. :)
The human body is soooo complex.

Probably a good idea.....it just always bothers me when a book is really an advert for someone's product. I am big on vitamins and natural products, so maybe there is something to what he has to recommend. I swear by Fish Oil.

17. by Albert Camus
Finish date: March 21, 2015
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: B
Review: This book delves into the reactions and coping mechanisms of the inhabitants of Oran, Algeria, when confronted with a tenacious plague that both confines and threatens them. Written by Albert Camus, a Nobel Prize winning author, journalist and philosopher, the story brings to light a lot of his beliefs but largely does not hit you over the head with them. I enjoyed most of the book but there were sections where it was rather slow and preachy. However, it is thought-provoking literature and is well-written so I look forward to reading more by this author.

18. by Aline Ohanesian
Finish date: March 20, 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A+
Review: I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. This book chronicles the Armenian genocide through the eyes of two young people caught up in the circumstances surrounding World War I. The story is told blending the past with the present as Orhan seeks to find out why his grandfather left their family home in Turkey to an elderly Armenian woman residing in a Los Angeles nursing home. It is a captivating and well-written novel. I loved every page of it!

19. by Paula Hawkins
Finish date: March 28, 2015
Genre: Mystery
Rating: D+
Review: This book just didn’t do it for me. The story is told in a series of what appears as “journal entries” by three key players in the mystery. I feel the characters lacked depth and the writing was not remarkable. The people in the story also didn’t act realistically and at certain places, the story seemed drag on for no other reason than to fill pages. As for me, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Skeetor wrote: "18. by Aline Ohanesian
Finish date: March 20, 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A+
Review: I ..."

That book seems to be interesting, Skeetor. It's just a pity the Armenian Genocide is so often denied by many people.

Skeetor wrote: "18. by Aline Ohanesian
Finish date: March 20, 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A+
Review: I ..."

It would seem you're not alone. The Goodreads ratings are quite high. It is going on my list!

20. by Jake Adelstein
Finish date: March 31, 2015
Genre: Memoir
Rating: A-
Review: The title is a bit misleading as the book covers a lot more than Tokyo Vice, however, I really liked it. Jake Adelstein explains how he came to be a reporter for a Japanese newspaper. He recounts numerous work-related and cultural anecdotes from his time spent in various divisions of the Yomiuri Shinbun. He explains how the yakuza operate in Japan and gives a brief overview of the Japanese police (as well as how the two groups interact). His final scoop has a deadly repercussion.
I found the best part of his writing is how he brings to life the people he meets along the way.

APRIL
21. by Russ Kick (no photo)
Finish date: April 1, 2015
Genre: Reference, quotations
Rating: C+
Review: I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
This book is a collection of the author’s (a self-described “quotation junkie”) favorite quotes and ideas. I liked the collection and I enjoy reading quotes and letting them soak in. The list of quotes is sorted into nine chapters with a brief introduction to each by the author. I think this would make a great “coffee table book” but my copy is a rather small paperback.

A quote from the book:
“What was once called the objective world is a sort of Rorschach ink blot, into which each culture, each type of personality, reads a meaning only remotely derived from the shape and color of the blot itself” –Lewis Mumford

I do have one major complaint regarding his presentation. None of the quotes give any background other than the name of the quote’s originator. Perhaps this was done purposely to encourage your own interpretation but I would rather know the conditions under which the quote was made. I would hate to use my interpretation of the quote and cite the person, when they were referring to something completely different.

22. by Anthony Doerr
Finish date: April 7, 2015
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: A-
Review: Flipping back and forth through time, the story is narrates the lives of two brilliant children as they grow up during WWII. The boy lives in an orphanage in a German mining town while the girl lives in Paris with her father who works in a museum that harbors a mysterious, cursed diamond. Both the boy and girl suffer their own trials of war.

The novel is packed with plenty of interesting facts and the prose is exquisite although at times a bit overdone. I loved the book overall but was a little disappointed in the last few chapters. They seemed rather vague and lackluster compared to the rest of the book.