Lose Yourself in the World of Books
The Lives of the Mitford Sisters Laura and I have recounted this story a few times, but we both were/are a bit obsessed with the original Kathleen Kennedy, younger sister of JFK. We first learned about her through fiction, The Montmaray Chronicles, and then followed her through biographies and fiction. One name kept coming up… Continue reading The Six by Laura Thompson
John, Caroline, and the New Generation: A Legacy of Triumph and Tragedy In addition to being an Anglophile royalist, I also enjoy keeping up with our own "American Royalty," the Kennedys. While I've learned quite a bit about Joe Jr., JFK, RFK, Kick, Ted, Eunice, Pat, Jean, and Rosemary, I wanted to learn more about… Continue reading The Kennedy Heirs by J. Randy Taraborrelli
Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI When a member of Nonfiction Book Club put this book forth for voting I admittedly did not want it to get voted through to an actual selection. When it was, I dreaded reading it, but was quite pleasantly surprised. Synopsis From the publisher marketing:Berkeley, California, 1933. In… Continue reading American Sherlock by Kate Winkler Dawson
A Search for a Sister and the Truth of Her Murder Another manuscript read, I finished Catch the Sparrow in May of 2021. I'm still not a big true crime reader, but reading this book, followed by the disappearance of Gabby Petito, I've been thinking more and more about our culture's fascination with missing young… Continue reading Catch the Sparrow by Rachel Rear
An Irreverent Guide I'd been looking forward to an Anthony Bourdain travel guide for years, hoping that eventually he would sit still long enough to write it. When he died, I thought we'd never get one and I was quite excited when it was announced that Laurie, his longtime assistant, would edit and assemble one… Continue reading World Travel by Anthony Bourdain
The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper Another Nonfiction Book Club selection! This one was a highly anticipated read for many of our members. Synopsis From the publisher marketing:Five devastating human stories and a dark and moving portrait of Victorian London—the untold lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper.… Continue reading The Five by Hallie Rubenhold
The Definitive Oral Biography If you've followed this blog for even a short amount of time, you know what huge fans Laura and I are of Tony. Naturally, when this was announced, I knew I was going to read it as soon as I could. Synopsis From the publisher marketing:An unprecedented behind-the-scenes view into the… Continue reading Bourdain edited by Laurie Woolever
The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas I love all things pertaining to pirates, particularly women pirates. It's long been a fascination for me, piracy seemingly the only women many women could truly be "free" throughout history. I've had this book since it first came out in 2016 and tried time and… Continue reading Pirate Women by Laura Sook Duncombe
A Ghost Ship, a Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation It's another Nonfiction Book Club selection! This was one that I put forth to the group for voting and it was definitely a compelling read. Synopsis From the publisher marketing:Handsome and charismatic, Albert Hicks had long been known in the dive bars and… Continue reading The Last Pirate of New York by Rich Cohen
Laura and I have both been hopelessly obsessed with the British royal family for practically our whole lives. As such, we tend to seek out books with very royal characters in them. Below are just a few of our favorites - click the images for the reviews and the titles to add them to your… Continue reading Royalist Reverie
Celebration of Books 