Historical Fictionistas discussion

Finished Down and Out in Paris and London. Absolutely loved it. 5 stars. Orwell always strikes a chord in me. Love his wit, dry humor and biting sarcasm. My review:

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

I've started Coming Up for Air.

I'm reading 1421 the year China discoveredThe World by Gavin Menzies. A fascinating follow up to [Journey of the North Star] by Douglas Penick. The amazing time of Emperor Zhu Di and Menzie's unraveling of the adventures, exploration and voyages of the vast Chinese fleet of that time. This Age of Enlightenment was followed by an isolationist policy and all records were destroyed. China circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan
And seventy years before Columbus.

Margaret, according to official Chinese historical records, the Zheng He expedition only reached as far as the east African coast. His last trip was made in 1430 and then he got sick and never recovered.

Weren't all Chinese records destroyed?

I'm reading Georgia Bottoms and it's totally hysterical! Love Mark Childress. Also reading The Mummy Case, The Knife of Never Letting Go, and Winter.
Just having way too much fun here!

Alice according to this book the fleet under the command of Admiral Hong Bao charted Antarctica, Falkland Islands, Patagonia and rounded the southern tip of South America.

Margaret wrote: "Weren't all Chinese records destroyed?"

Margaret, after Emperor Yongle, there was a relatively stable imperial reign for the Ming Dynasty. I wouldn't believe records were destroyed.

Margaret wrote: "Alice according to this book the fleet under the command of Admiral Hong Bao charted Antarctica, Falkland Islands, Patagonia and rounded the southern tip of South America."

I found this on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Bao

This book reckons that another fleet under the command of Zhou Man explored Australia as did Hong Bao. 107 treasure ships left China in 1421 but there were great losses and only a handful returned in 1423. Wrecks have been found in Australia and New Zealand supported by legends to add credence to the idea that these might be Chinese treasure ships. This is a very interesting book. So much is speculation and surmise but I am only 28% through so Menzies still
has much opportunity to flesh out his theories.

Finished and loved Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
My Review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/2057964927

Dem wrote: "Finished and
loved
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
My Review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/2057964927"

I loved that book too.

Fixing to start rereading The Greenlanders it has been over twentyfive years since I last read this.

Just started Middlemarch - a slow beginning but now I'm really getting into it!

Although not HF by definition of time period r/t published date, The Valkyrie Encounter is set in WWII about the assassination attempt of Hitler. Interesting twist in the story and I actually work with a Stauffenberg who claims the Colonel as part of his family tree!

Great new favourite book in my favourite genre (short stories) is Caitlin Hamilton Summie's To Lay To Rest Our Ghosts, a collection of stories, often inter-connected like those of Pulitzer prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout.
4.5★Link to my review

If you're a NetGalley reviewer, it's still available till July 31. https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/boo...

Dem wrote: "Finished and
loved
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
My Review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/2057964927"

I enjoyed that too Dem.

Donna wrote: "Dem wrote: "Finished and
loved
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
My Review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/2057964927"

..."

We should start a fan club. :)

I rated 5 stars and reviewed the Russian classic novel set in the mid 19th century Pères et fils.

The liberation by Kate Furnivall

This is nonfiction, but interesting history ...


Elephant Company – Vicki Constantine Croke – 3.5***
Subtitle: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II. The subtitle really intrigued me and I was eager to read about this particular episode, but the author gives us more than 200 pages of background before we get to World War II and the vital role Williams and his elephants played in the fight against the Japanese.
LINK to my review

I rated 3 stars and reviewed the novel To Live set in rural China and spanning several decades from the 40's to the 70's.

I'm reading The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney and so far it's really good! Historical murder mystery set in 1867 Canada with a cast of great characters.

Lauren wrote: "Just started Middlemarch - a slow beginning but now I'm really getting into it! "

Loved this book.

I am still on The Agony and the Ecstasy. Obviously I failed to complete it in July; so many books, so little time and a music commission to complete but I am not giving up. It's a very worthwhile read.

Baker Towers – Jennifer Haigh – 3.5***
This is the kind of character-driven literary fiction that I love to read and discuss with my F2F book club. Haigh focuses on the Novak family to tell the story of America in the years following World War II. It’s a microcosm of American life, that encompasses many of the issues faced by the nation during the 1930s through 1970s.
LINK to my review

Elinor wrote: "Lauren wrote: "Just started Middlemarch - a slow beginning but now I'm really getting into it! "

Loved this book."

Elinor wrote: "Lauren wrote: "Just started Middlemarch - a slow beginning but now I'm really getting into it! "

Loved this book."

I just read this for the first time earlier this year. I loved it! It's worth the slow start.

I am listening to E. B. Sledge's WWII wartime memoir about the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa. He wrote this memoir from notes he scribbled down whenever he had the chance. His intent was simply to explain to his family what he was experiencing. It is humble and honest and well narrated by Joe Mazzello.

I'm enjoying two books at the moment:
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
I saw the movie a few years back and thought the book would be good- It's sooo much better than the film!
and
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
This is turning out to be a good read!

Quirky first novel Quiet Until the Thaw by Alexandra Fuller, channelling her 'inner Lakota' to show the plight and humour of the disenfranchised American Indians (as they are always called in the book).
4★ Link to my review

Margaret wrote: "This book reckons that another fleet under the command of Zhou Man explored Australia as did Hong Bao. 107 treasure ships left China in 1421 but there were great losses and only a handful returned ..."

Margaret, I've just stumbled across this interesting interview on the L.A. Review of Books China Blog, and thought you might like to read (answer to the second question). Here's the link:-

https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/chin...

Finished my neuro-science ARC The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains. Much of the science, I'd heard about before, but Robert H. Lustig presents it in readable everyday language. Highly recommend this for folks who are addicted to "the other white powder" (a.k.a. sugar), caffeine, alcohol, or junk food. Lustig not only paints a clear picture of why you're addicted, but what you can do about it.

Just finished by Kristin Hannah last night. Good storyline, poorly executed. In the end, kind of disappointing.

Recently read Little Gold by Allie Rogers. 12-yo girl trusts nobody, and with good reason.
3.5★ Link to my review

I'm
Reading Letters in Stone: From Nazi Germany to South Africa by Steven Robins

I started I'll Push You: A Journey of 500 Miles, Two Best Friends, and One Wheelchair

I am half was through The Life She Was Given by Ellen Marie Wiseman. I have been waiting for this book for a long time and it was worth the wait. Excellent!

I just started Girl on the Golden Coin: A Novel of Frances Stuart by Marci Jefferson

I am almost done with The Gilded Hour! A fantastic historical fiction of NY in 1800 when the contraceptive and birth control and abortion was illegal. This is a long book, but it is so worth the time you spend on it. Highly recommend it.

Nobody needs me to remind them of this wonderfully readable autobiography of Maya Angelou, but that won't stop me from recommending I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings!
5★ Link to my review

I finished I'll Push You: A Journey of 500 Miles, Two Best Friends, and One Wheelchairby Patrick Gray and starting Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

I'm reading The Alice Network by Kate Quin. I'm really enjoying it.

I am reading A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths.
Great series start with book 1

This took me back to raising my kids! Worse Things Happen at Sea by favourite Aussie actor William McInnes and his late wife, Sarah Watt, is a funny, tender, uninhibited memoir (sort of).
4.5★ Link to my review

"Ireland" by Frank Delaney

"In the winter of 1951, a storyteller arrives at the home of nine-year-old Ronan O'Mara in the Irish countryside. The last practitioner of an honored, centuries-old tradition, the Seanchai enthralls his assembled audience for three evenings running with narratives of foolish kings and fabled saints, of enduring accomplishments and selfless acts -- until he is banished from the household for blasphemy and moves on. But these three incomparable nights have changed young Ronan forever, setting him on the course he will follow for years to come -- as he pursues the elusive, itinerant storyteller . . . and the magical tales that are no less than the glorious saga of his tenacious, troubled, and extraordinary isle"

When historical fiction is also good literature, it's a win-win for me! A Thousand Splendid Suns is the story of two Afghan girls, by acclaimed author Khaled Hosseini, who previously wrote The Kite Runner about two Afghan boys.
4.5★ Link to my review

Monica wrote: " "Ireland" by Frank Delaney

"In the winter of 1951, a storyteller arrives at the home of nine-year-old Ronan O'Mara in the Irish countryside. The last practitioner of an h..."
I read this book several years ago it was very good

Last night I started by Beatriz Williams. Set between 1915 and 1922. Good so far.

Just started The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich, love the descriptive writing.

Kathleen wrote: "Just started The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich, love the descriptive writing."

I have that one sitting on my bookshelf let us know how it is.

I'm currently reading Roseblood by Paul Doherty.