Thursday, August 28, 2014

Not Your Usual Reading List

One of my book clubs finished reading The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown.  It's about the rowing team from Seattle, and absolutely a great read.  

"What is the secret of its success?
It’s about much more than rowing, says Brown. It’s about a generation of Americans who fought hard, endured much, survived and prevailed. “I make the case at the end of every book talk that these nine Americans, who climbed in the boat and learned to pull together, (are) almost the perfect metaphor for what that generation did,” Brown says. ”They endured the Depression and the war. Pull together, build great teams, get things done.”
Its appeal transcends that generation, and the next. Young rowers clutching their manhandled copies tell Brown the book is the closest thing they have ever read that captures the spirit of crew."http://seattletimes.com/html/books/2024030941_litlifeboysboatsuccessxml.html

Front Cover

And I understand there will be a movie made about it.

Venturing further with this same author, I just finished reading The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride.  Oh my,.it is indeed harrowing, but I learned so much about their story.  The epilogue in the book addresses all of my own questions and concerns as I was reading.  It isn't for the faint of heart, but absolutely worth the read. (I also can't imagine reading it except in the summer time- the description of the freezing cold crept into my veins.)

"In this gripping narrative, Daniel James Brown takes the reader along on every painful footstep of Sarah's journey. Along the way, he weaves into the story revealing insights garnered from a variety of modern scientific perspectives–psychology, physiology, forensics, and archaeology–producing a tale that is not only spell-binding but richly informative."  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6033525-the-indifferent-stars-above

Product Details

But it is definitely time for some lighter reading.  Our next book is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
by 
 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

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