Hodge Podge of Favorites

Here’s some novels that have no unifying theme other than I enjoyed them when I read them. Sometimes what you need is a hodge podge! They are all available from NCLBPH:

• “Trout Fishing in America” by Richard Brautigan
• “Conclave” by Robert Harris
• “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller
• “The Lathe of Heaven” by Ursula K. Le Guin
• “The Sharpshooter Blues” by Lewis Nordan
• “The Plot Against America” by Philip Roth
• “Live from Golgotha” by Gore Vidal
• “Player Piano” by Kurt Vonnegut

Happy Reading! – Allen

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Nordic Mysteries

Over the last 20 years or so, there has been a growing appreciation in the United States of Nordic mysteries. Often dark and violent with lonely heroes, they present an image we do not necessarily associate with the Nordic countries. Some you might wish to read:

• “Don’t Look Back” by Karin Fossum
• “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”(Millennium Series) by Stieg Larsson
• “Faceless Killers”(Kurt Wallander Series) by Henning Mankell
• “The Bat”(Harry Hole Series) by Jo Nesbo
• “Backstrom: He Who Kills the Dragon” (Backstrom Series) by Leif G. W. Persson
• “Last Rituals” by Yrsa Siguroardottir

Happy Reading – Allen

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Spies and Espionage

The world of dead drops, double agents, covert operations and in one case, shaken not stirred martinis. Spy & Espionage Thrillers can make for a great read. Some to consider:

• “The Templar Legacy” by Steve Berry
• “The Secret Agent” by Joseph Conrad
• “Casino Royale” by Ian Fleming
• “The Day of the Jackal” by Frederick Forsyth
• “Our Man in Havana” by Graham Greene
• “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” by John le Carre
• “The Bourne Identity” by Robert Ludlum
• “The Kill Artist” by Daniel Silva

Happy Reading! – Allen

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The Great War

The Great War – World War One. The War of trench warfare, new technologies, massive deaths. The War which set the course for the Twentieth Century.
Some books concerning World War One:

• “The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914” by Christopher Clark
• “The First World War: A Complete History” by Martin Gilbert
• “1917: Lenin, Wilson, and the Birth of the New World Disorder” by Arthur Herman
• “Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania” by Erik Larson
• “Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World” by Margaret Macmillan
• “Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea” by Robert K. Massie
• “The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women” by Kate Moore
• “The Guns of August” by Barbara W. Tuchman

Happy Reading! – Allen

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Young Readers Rule

One of the best habits that children can develop is reading for pleasure. There are many great books out there for younger readers. Some have been around for decades, others are more recent. Some to read:

• “Blubber” by Judy Blume
• “Beezus and Ramona” by Beverly Cleary
• “Henry Huggins” by Beverly Cleary
• “Bud, Not Buddy” by Christopher Paul Curtis
• “The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog” by John R. Erickson
• “Hoot” by Carl Hiaasen
• “Pippi Longstocking” by Astrid Lindgren
• “Homer Price” by Robert McCloskey
• “Esperanza Rising” by Pam Munoz Ryan
• “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White

Happy Reading! – Allen

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Fabulous Funnies

Let’s face it, we could all use a laugh! What better way than reading a funny novel. A few to consider:

• Douglas Adams “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”
• Kingsley Amis “Lucky Jim”
• Dave Barry “Big Trouble”
• Christopher Buckley “Thank You for Smoking”
• Helen Fielding “Bridget Jones’s Diary”
• Stella Gibbons “Cold Comfort Farm”
• Jeff Greenfield “The People’s Choice”
• Richard Hooker “MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors”
• Kevin Kwan “Crazy Rich Asians”

Happy Reading! – Allen

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Female Sci-Fantasy Writers

So often we have preconceived notions about authors of particular genres. Fantasy and Science Fiction have been perceived as male dominated fields. Even though what it is regarded as the first Science Fiction novel “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus“, was written by Mary Shelley. After reading “Frankenstein” consider some of these Fantasy and Science Fiction novels by female authors:

• Marion Zimmer Bradley “The Mists of Avalon”
• Octavia Butler “Parable of the Sower”
• C.J. Cherryh  “Downbelow Station”
• Suzanne Collins “The Hunger Games”
• Madeleine L’Engle “A Wrinkle in Time”
• Ursula Le Guin “The Left Hand of Darkness”
• Andre Norton “Witch World”
• Kate Wilhelm “Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang”

Happy Reading!-Allen

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Booker Prize Winners

“The Booker Prize for Fiction” is a literary prize for the best original novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom. It has been awarded each year since 1969. Some to consider, by year of the award:

• Something to Answer For by P. H. Newby (1969) – Read a review of the book
• The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer (1974) – Add It to your list or Download It today
• Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie (1981) – Add It to your list or Download It today
• The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (1989) – Add It to your list or Download It today
• The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje (1992) – Add It to your list or Download It today
• Amsterdam by Ian McEwan (1998) – Add It to your list or Download It today
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel (2002) – Add It to your list or Download It today
• Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (2012) – Add It to your list or Download It today
• The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (2019) – Add It to your list or Download It today

Consider downloading them from the NCLBPH BARD
Happy Reading! – Allen

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Us Versus Them Politics

Now that the election is more or less behind us, why not read about politics? More specifically, the “US vs. THEM” nature which has come to define our current political state. Some books written in the last few years focus in on this or how we got here. Some examine the United States of America, as well as other nations. Others are specifically focused on American politics. A few to consider:

• “Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism” by Ian Bremmer – DB091077
• “Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations” by Amy Chua – DB090403
• “Why We’re Polarized” by Ezra Klein – DB098738
• “The Red and the Blue: the 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism” by Steve Kornacki – DB094504
• “Age of Anger: a History of the Present” by Pankaj Mishra – DB088389

Happy Reading!-Allen

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Harry S. Truman

May 8th is the anniversary of President Harry S. Truman’s birth. Underestimated when he took office; he is now routinely ranked among “The Great” or “Near Great” Presidents. He oversaw the end of World War Two, the founding of the United Nations, the desegregation of the United States Armed Services and the rebuilding of Europe. As he said about the presidency “The buck stops here!” A few good books about him:

• “The Accidental Presidency Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World” by A. J. Baime
• “The General VS the President: MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War” by H. W. Brands
• “Conflict and Crisis: the Presidency of Harry S. Truman” by Robert J. Donovan
• “Truman” by David G. McCullough
• “A Safe Haven: Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel” by Allis Radosh

Happy Reading! – Allen

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