tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2991243497567962852.post4862016882311290082..comments2024-03-26T01:18:41.528-04:00Comments on Bonnie's Books: Book review policy ~ updated 10-1-16Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2991243497567962852.post-5281536198807407442018-12-15T19:55:09.067-05:002018-12-15T19:55:09.067-05:00Ah ha! Found you. My reading habits are pretty ecl...Ah ha! Found you. My reading habits are pretty eclectic, so I'll start with what I consider a master work, or masterpiece if that makes more sense. I refer to S.P. Q.R., A History of Ancient Rome, by Mary Beard. Copyright 2015. This is a bit of a tome, but for anyone who is interested in the daily lives of everyday Romans and the full history of Rome, I know of no book to top this one. I was hardly able to put it down and fell asleep night after night with the book beside me on my bed, only to pick it up again with my first cup of coffee. Possibly one has to be a bit of a nut to enjoy this book so much but it's at the top of my chart for excellence. Joan Uda<br /><br />Another "tome" book I throughly enjoyed is Douglas MacArthur, American Warrior, by Arthur Herman, Copyright 2016. General MacArthur is not for everyone, but for all his (sometimes misplaced) showmanship, he definitely was part of what helped the Allies win WWII.<br /><br />For those who like dark Scandinavian mysteries, I recommend anything by Henning Mankell, including all of his mystery novels and most especially Quicksand, What It Means To Be A Human Being, about his own life. Of all the mystery writers I have read in my life (many, many) Mankell is my favorite: his use of language, drawing of characters, creation of plot lines that make me catch my breath. Of course I read him in translation, so it appears that his translators are pretty special too.<br /><br />I also just finished two other books about well-known figures: First, Gene Autry, New Deal Cowboy and Public Diplomacy. Most of us would be surprised to learn that singing cowboy Autry worked with Franklin D. Roosevelt to try to bind our country together during WWII. FDR was worried that regionalism would tear the country apart and make it impossible to fight wars on two fronts, Europe and the Pacific. He thought that if everybody loved Autry and was singing his songs, our country could coalesce as it had never quite done (the Civil War was still echoing throughout the land and FDR figured we had to get beyond that and see ourselves as one country if we were to win against the Germans and Japanese).<br /><br />The second, and a lot more fun in the reading, is Tina Turner, My Love Story. My first introduction to Tina Turner was seeing her on TV doing her standard rendition of Proud Mary--rollin' on the river! The book is delightful. <br /><br />See why I call my reading eclectic? I love it all. The only books I don't like are the ones that I find badly written in some key way.<br /><br />Love to all lovers of good reads. Joan UdaAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08555772477195852621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2991243497567962852.post-90155572971884312732016-10-02T23:15:31.449-04:002016-10-02T23:15:31.449-04:00I like that you've laid out your rules. I get ...I like that you've laid out your rules. I get so emails asking me to publish something on my blog that has nothing to do with the books I've read. I now just delete them, but one person kept emailing me back! I only do reviews for the TLC Tours because I love the book s that they send me and I only do books I want to read from their lists.Helen's Book Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01404788769349792460noreply@blogger.com