“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” - Francis Bacon
White Plague by James Abel (2015)
A US nuclear submarine, catches fire and is stuck somewhere in the Arctic Ocean ice with all of its crew either burned, sick or dead from an unidentified disease.
Joe Rush, a Marine and a bioterror expert, leads a mission to save the remaining crew of the stranded submarine, investigate the incident, and retrieve the submarine before it falls into enemy hands. However, the task is not an easy one as he and his crew encounter a Chinese sub and a spy that might jeopardize the whole mission. If mishandled, Joe might provoke a war. Plus, the disease turns out to be the 1918 Flu which was contracted from two corpses the sub crew recovered from the ice. How did they get there??
Z213: Exit by Dimitris Lyacos (translated from Greek)
Is it a poem? Journal? Dystopian novel? An acid trip?
A nameless protagonist is fleeing some terrible place of confinement, perhaps a prison, perhaps something else entirely?! Always on the move, navigating an alien, apocalyptic landscape, confronting terrible sights along the way, starving people, children setting fire to things. The protagonist is always searching and never finding; everything is always ahead, never reached. This story is told as a series of fragmented notes - possibly in some kind of diary - in two ways: through prose fragments and passages of poetry.
Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
The story takes place in 1973 and follows nurse Civil Townsend as she begins working in her African American community at the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic. She is shocked to learn that her new patients, Erica and India —just 11 and 13 years old - are being given birth control. Neither of the sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black, and for those handling the family’s welfare benefits, that’s reason enough to have the girls on birth control. One day she arrives at their door to learn the unthinkable has happened, and nothing will ever be the same for any of them.
This novel is based upon the 1973 case, Rolf v. Weinberger. Minnie Lee and Alice Relf, sisters aged 12 and 14, were sterilized without their consent by a federally funded agency. The Southern Poverty Law Center represented the sisters and brought national attention to the thousands of poor women of color who had been sterilized without consent under federal programs.
The War that Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 by Margaret MacMillan
The last sentence is this book is: “There are always choices.” Amen.
This book explores the choices of military leaders, politicians, diplomats, bankers, and the extended, interrelated family of crowned heads across Europe that led to World War I.
The century since the end of the Napoleonic wars had been the most peaceful era Europe had known since the fall of the Roman Empire, so what happened?
I was taught that World War I started because of the assassin of Archduke Ferdinand. But there is so much more to the origins of WWI including complex personalities and rivalries, colonialism and ethnic nationalism, and shifting alliances which helped to bring about the failure of the long peace and the outbreak of a war that transformed Europe and the world.
After reading this excellent book, I watched All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), which I hadn’t seen in many years. It was a perfect book-and-a-movie combo - from the leaders who started the war to the men who fought it.
The Gold Star Mother Pilgrimages of the 1930s by John W. Graham
What about the women who lost a husband or a son in WWI? How did our country honor their loss of loved ones?
Between 1930 and 1933, the United States government paid ALL the expenses for 6,654 Gold Star pilgrims (mothers and widows of men killed in World War I) to visit their loved ones' graves in American cemeteries in Belgium, England, and France. Our government meticulously planned and paid for everything from transportation and lodging to menus, tips, sightseeing, and interpreters. Flower wreaths, flags, and camp chairs were provided at the cemeteries, and official photographers captured each woman standing at her loved one’s grave.
Passing the necessary legislation took 10 years but was supported by both political parties. The pilgrimages took place during the Great Depression, yet objections to the $5,386,376 appropriation to pay for these women to visit their loved ones' graves were almost nonexistent.
This may have been Congress’s finest hour when they worked together - not to appease “the base” nor to maintain political power- but simply to honor and enrich citizens’ lives with an act of kindness and generosity.
Rise & Run: Recipes, Rituals, and Runs to Fuel Your Day by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky
A cookbook and training manual all in one! With a focus on breakfast and brunch recipes, morning routines (probably more helpful for young mothers) and a 14-week training schedule, this book has everything you need to jump start your day.
As an early-riser who enjoys breakfast, I was thrilled that there are over 100 recipes - including gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian and “regular.” There are 28 different “Superhero Muffin” recipes (my favorites). I tried the Grain-Free Pineapple Coconut Muffins - yummy! I also loved the Summer Veggie Frittata and the Trail Mix Breakfast Cookies.
Stranger in a Lifeboat by Mitch Albom
A group of shipwrecked passengers in a lifeboat pull a strange man from the sea. He claims to be 'the Lord’ and he says he can only save them if they all believe in him.
A year after the shipwreck, Montserrat policeman Jarty LeFleur, investigates the recovery of a raft from the wrecked ship in which he discovers a tattered journal filled with entries by a survivor detailing the passengers interactions, with each other and ‘the Lord.’ In alternating chapters we follow the shipwreck survivors, LeFleur’s investigation and news reports.
With religious undertones overlaying a class warfare theme, it is still an “easy read.” The storyline and characters aren’t deep, but they’re somewhat entertaining - good enough for distracted reading on the beach.
Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases – by Paul Holes and Robin Gaby Fisher
Paul Holes is a famous figure in the true crime world. He is a retired criminal profiler and cold case investigator who worked on some of the most notorious cases in the United States, including the Laci Peterson murder and the hunt for the Golden State Killer. This biography/true crime book takes a look at the many investigations that he has completed over the years, as well as his journey into the world of criminology and the way his line of work has affected his life.
As an amateur genealogist, I was most interested in the use of genealogy websites - genetic geographic location specifically- to find perpetrators through their relatives (as well as the corroborative DNA).
I thought this book was too focused on his personal life, but the stories Paul Holes tells—and the solutions to the crimes—are fascinating. Grisly, matter-of-fact, and just the thing for true crime readers.
Walking Toward Peace: The True Story of a Brave Woman Called Peace Pilgrim by Kathleen Krull
In this nonfiction picture book, we learn the story of Peace Pilgrim, a woman who decided, in the wake of WWII and at the age of 44, to give up her name, former life, and possessions to walk across the United States. She spoke to individuals and addressed groups about peace. With only a toothbrush, a comb, a pen and maps - no money, Peace Pilgrim walked for 28 years and crisscrossed the country 7 times. She invited and encouraged people to act in ways that would make the world a more peaceful place. An introductory portrait of a little-known activist.
Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett (1st. book of 14 in the Booktown Mystery Series)
Fictional Stoneham, New Hampshire, was a dying town until a real estate entrepreneur turned it into a "Booktown" modeled after Hay-on-Wye in Wales. Tricia Miles moved to Stoneham and opened a mystery book shop called Haven't Got a Clue. Her next-door neighbor is Doris Gleason, the owner of The Cookery, who sells cookbooks. One night Tricia finds The Cookery on fire and stumbles over Doris's body. Because the sheriff focuses on her as the prime suspect, it's up to Tricia to clear her name.
A couple “dings” - repeated referrals to characters’ weight (“fat phobia”?), use of the word “retarded” to describe someone with Downs Syndrome and a few plot gaps. Otherwise the mix of books with a cat named Miss Marple, friendly locals, and recipes at the end of the book, make this a typical, cozy whodunnit worthy of beach reading.
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