Not reading lately?

I feel like I haven't been reading lately, but when I think about it, I actually have.  It just hasn't been much of what I really want to read. 

Last month our book club read The Cherry Cola Book Club.  It's about Maura Beth Mayhew, a librarian in Mississippi, who is struggling to keep the library open.  To bolster attendance and impress the city council, she decides to start a book club.  This was a cute book, best read with an internal southern accent.  However, it was a bit too sweet and saccharine for my tastes, with minimal character development.  Very light, fluffy read.  Would recommend for fans of cozy mysteries.

 

I also picked up the graphic novel, Lumberjanes.  Written for a YA audience, Lumberjanes follows a group of teens attending the Lumberjanes summer camp.   The Lumberjanes are similar to the girl scouts in that they earn badges for various activities.  This group of girls ends up getting into quite a bit of trouble, sneaking off in the middle of night and encountering some very strange paranormal creatures.  

 

My favorite books to read are non-fiction, so I picked up The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose.  The Danish resistance to the Nazi invasion was started by a group of 8th grade boys who formed a club called the Churchill Club.  They would ride around their bicycles and plan ways to sabotage the Nazis.  

 
They started by stealing Nazi weapons and eventually the group planned bigger acts like sneaking into headquarters and burning blueprints, and even destroying vehicles, and train cars.  They were captured, but their small acts of resistance inspired the rest of the country to begin a larger  movement. 

Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse

I recently finished listening to the audiobook edition of Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse by James Swanson. I have previously read and enjoyed Swanson's other books about Lincoln, Manhunt and Chasing Lincoln's Killer.

Bloody Crimes follows both Lincoln and Davis and explores their similarities and differences. Davis seems to have been in a bit of denial about his defeat and was in no hurry to leave his capital city of Richmond. Davis isn't villified in the book, he is actually made out to be an intelligent, thoughtful- though misguided, person.

Lincoln was just beginning to enjoy his victory when his life was cut short by Booth's bullet.

Swanson again retells Lincoln's death, but most of the story is told from the point he is carried into Peterson house, just across from Ford's Theatre. His body travels cross country and great pains were to taken to ensure he looked decent enough for public viewing.

This is another great Lincoln book and is unique because of the focus on his death, rather than life. That sounds a bit morbid, but truly, it is fascinating. Also, you'll learn a lot about Jefferson Davis and what it was like to lose the Civil War.

Playing with the Enemy by Gary Moore

At first glance, one might think Playing with the Enemy by Gary Moore is a baseball book. However, it really is a book about many things, World War II, rural life, and dealing with disappointments.

Gary Moore wrote the book about his father who was an amazing player. At 15 he was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers. However, World War 2 began and baseball came to a standstill as players enlisted in the service. Gary's father, Gene was able to enlist as well and was placed on a team that traveled the globe playing baseball. Everything changed when the U.S. captured a group of German soldiers and, for reasons you'll have to read to find out, had to keep them secret. The ragtag team of baseball players were forced to keep close watch over these prisoners. So what did they do? They played baseball with them.

This is a great uplifting read from a local (ish) author.