Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50 Book Challenge 2020/What I've Read in 2021

Happy New Year everyone! Looking forward to seeing what everyone is reading!

#1 A Better Man by Louise Penny



I read this book for my book club. It reminds me of Murder She Wrote in book form, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It just wasn't working for me. Since I haven't read the other 14 books in the series, the background characters in the 'charming' village tended to blend together. It didn't do much as a mystery or a character driven story for me. And the author had an annoying habit. Of breaking sentences up. Into small. Dramatic. Pieces.

@scifiJoan: The blurb makes it sound like the story is nested in French Canadian culture, which might explain the narrative style of the tale, including the


And it's hard to jump into the middle of a series. I know the Spenser detective novels originally by Robert B. Parker are confusing to someone who picks up one of the more recent entries (the series began in 1973).

Psst! Your quote is actually hysterical. I laughed out loud.

1) The Second World War Volume 1: The Gathering Storm by Sir Winston Churchill the first of his 6 volume series on the Second World War. I previously read his series on WWI, well written and insightful this brings to life a post WWI world and the events that would plunge the world into a second world conflict

#2 The Coddling of the American Mind by by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff


I enjoyed this book. Most of the ideas were sound. I liked that examples from the headlines were used and ones from both the far-right and left were included.

#3 Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan


Definitely Chick-lit but entertaining. It tries to be more but gets a bit heavy handed.

2) The Second World War Volume 2: Their Finest Hour by Sir Winston Churchill the second book of his series recounts the period as France was overrun, the subsequent evacuation from the Dunkirk beaches and how Britain stood alone against the Nazi war machine enduring the Blitz and the Battle of Britain.

3) The Second World War Volume 3: The Grand Alliance by Sir Winston Churchill the third of his series recounts the events that would finally draw America into the war and the formation of the alliance that would decide the fate of the war

#4 The Half Sister by Sandie Jones


Forgettable thriller. Unlikeable characters.

#5 The Dutch House by Ann Patchett


The cover of this book is a bit off-putting. I wouldn't have picked this book up if not for being on my book club list. I enjoyed it.

#1 Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

This is a re-read for me, but I always enjoy Gladwell's books because he puts so much thought and solid research into them. This one concerns the sudden decisions all of us make in life - the psych term is "thin-slicing" - with very little information, whether they turn out to be right or wrong. He points out the surprising advantages of snap decisions vs. being buried by information, but he also shows how our snap decisions can sometimes be as far from correct as the Earth is from Neptune. Thumbs-up.

#2 Winds of Wrath by Taylor Anderson

The fifteenth and final novel in a series, this wraps up the conflict the USS Walker (a WW2 destroyer) was dropped into after being sucked out of the Java Sea in January 1942 and deposited in the middle of a shooting war in another world. The series is heavy on combat, but there is a lot of character development also. Anderson managed to keep up the tension through all fifteen installments by showing a victory for the good guys and a lingering mortal threat they'd have to confront before they were ready. Good read if you like syfy combat fiction.

#3 Old Black Magic by Ace Atkins

This is also a re-read. After Robert B. Parker's death several of his characters were continued by other authors. This series is about Spenser, a gritty private detective with both military combat experience and time on the Boston PD. He's witty, erudite, impossible to frighten off a case, and nearly always wins the day. The few times he does not haunt him. Murder and art theft and gangsters and double-dealing abound.

#4 With Wings Like Eagles by Michael Korda

Korda tells the story of the Battle of Britain not just from the cockpits of the aircraft, but from the command centers on the ground, the backroom deals that were made by both sides, the mistakes and the successes, and I learned a lot by reading this. I especially liked his description of the "Beauty Chorus," the young Brit women who plotted German air raids, even when the bombs fell outside their workrooms - and occasionally on them. There are many good histories of this period of WW2, but my impression is that this is one of the most even-handed accounts of the battle.

#5 Gods At Play by Tom Callahan

This is a collection of memories from a lifetime of writing about all kinds of sports and sporting events, with a strong emphasis on the people involved. It includes Mickey Mantle's lament at age 64 or so: "If I'd known I was gonna live this long, I would've taken better care of myself." It's both funny and touching. You don't need to be any kind of sports fan to enjoy this volume.

#6 Night of the Assassins by Howard Blum

An account of the Nazi attempt to assassinate Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Josef Stalin at the 1945 summit in the Middle East. Blum cites multiple sources from all three countries, points out where they agree along with the many points where they disagree, and even entertains other theories as to what was actually planned and what happened. This kind of history must be told with a little wiggle room in the truth, because no one person or source has the whole story. Blum has done his best, though, and this is a very interesting read. Probably true, too. At least mostly.

#7 South Pacific Destroyer by Russell Sydnor Crenshaw Jr.

I expected this to contain more battle descriptions, given that the USS Maury participated in sea combat off Guadalcanal and the author was her gunnery officer and then skipper. It was packed with anecdotes of the men who served and died aboard the destroyer, and contained a lot of information on the ordnance (weapons) the ship carried. It just felt dry and impersonal to me. But it wasn't a waste of time, either.

I enjoy Malcolm Gladwell books too, Terry.

#6 The One by John Maas

A simple DNA test has been devised to scientifically determine your perfect match. The book follows five different people about to visit their 'true' love, with interesting consequences.

This is a fun premise. The book was a quick read with short, fast paced chapters. There were deeper issues I thought the author could've explored.

4) The Second World War Volume 4: The Hinge of Fate by Winston Churchill the fourth book of Churchill’s WWII series focuses on how the allies gradually began to turn the tide against Germany and Japan after repeated defeats in the early years of the war and how afterwards the allies would have the Germans and Japanese on the back foot.

5) The Way Back by Erich Maria Remarque the sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front that deals with the returned soldiers from the western front. Too often we focus on the physical scars seen on veterans, but it is the mental scars that we don’t see that is not much emphasised. The road back to normalcy in a much changed world is far more difficult than anyone could have ever imagined.

6) Joe Biden by Evan Osnos I finished this just as Biden begins his term as America’s 46th president. This is more a profile of the man himself and also deals with the campaign last year. I won’t get into the contentious side of politics and in fact I take the view that all politicians are as bad as each other, but I did enjoy this.

7) Not Quite the Diplomat by Chris Patten Chris Patten is perhaps best known as Hong Kong’s last British governor who would oversee the last years of the island’s time as a British colony and also negotiate Hong Kong’s return to China in 1997 the ceremony of which I remember watching on TV. This book though isn’t about that period of time although he does reference it. Part memoir and part analysis into the complicated world of international diplomacy this book is both full of humour and intelligence.

8) Poems by Wilfred Owen I’m not a fan of poetry in general, but Owen’s prose is amongst my favourites. As a military history fan I enjoy that Owen invokes with his words the horrors of life in the trenches.

#7 The Color of Water by James McBride


This was quite a story. Though I wish the author had given the reader a little more emotional insight.

#8 The Coddling of the American Mind by by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff

Thanks for the recommendation, scifiJoan. This is indeed an excellent book. The premise is clearly stated, the research is varied and well cited, and their arguments are buttressed with both objective facts and honest analysis. Good for what might ail your local school.

#9 How I Got This Way by Patrick F. McManus

If you haven't read any of McManus' outdoor humor, you should, even if your idea of "being in the outdoors" is watching National Geographic channel. According to him, he's the world's worst outdoorsman, but also the most enthusiastic. In this, one of his later volumes, he tells his friend Davey that he fell out of a streetcar at age five and landed on his head. When he questions Davey about his excessively mirthful response, Davey answers, "It's not funny, but it explain so much!" This Depression-era survivor will leave you in stitches, and one can never laugh too much.

#10 Tunnel In the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein

Seventeen-year-old Rod Walker goes to an alien planet for a college-level survival elective course with nearly a hundred others of his age. They're all stranded and must survive - or not - using their wits and intelligence. One of Heinlein's juvenile novels from his early years, it's full of his philosophy - ultimately we must rely not only on our own resources, but on those of like-minded others. No sex, no explicit violence, but realistic action, especially given the time frame when it was written and the target audience. This is another re-read, but Heinlein was a teacher at heart, and his lessons are worth considering even today. Thumbs up.

#11 Unsinkable by James Sullivan

This is the story of the USS Plunkett, DD-431, the US Navy's most embattled destroyer during World War II. She and the men on her saw combat in the Mediterranean from North Africa to Sicily to Italy to southern France, and she suffered the most prolonged and devastating air attack any American warship who survived the experience during the war. It's the story I'd hoped to read about the USS Murray (see above). This one makes up for it. Not only did I learn even more about destroyers and their use during combat, I learned a great deal about the men who served on her. Very good. Thumbs up here also.

9) The Second World War Volume 5: Closing the Ring by Winston Churchill the fifth book of Churchill’s WWII series details the the series of victories the allies and the losses made by the axis powers in 1943-1944.

10) The Second World War Volume 6: Triumph and Tragedy by Winston Churchill the last book of Churchill’s series detailing the closing stages of WWII as the allies closed in on Berlin and then ending with the surrender of the axis powers

11) Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne read this years ago, but this is always a favourite. Follows the journey of eccentric Englishman Phileas Fogg and his French valet Passepatout who journey around the world after a bet between Fogg and members of the Reform Club in London. Trailing them is police inspector Fix who is convinced that Fogg is responsible for the bank robbery that occurred in London prior to their departure

12) The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris prior to her nomination as President Biden’s running mate, I’d never heard of now Vice President Kamala Harris so I bought this out of a desire to know more about her. I’ll leave the politics out of it, but this is overall was a good insight into who she is as a person

#8. The giver of stars by Joyo Moyes

This book was loosely based on a group of women who established a pack mule library in Kentucky during the 30s. I love the idea that books are very important. Yet the characters weren't overly memorable. After reading, "Me before you", I expected more from this writer.

#9 Monogamy by Sue Miller

Annie is devastated when her husband suddenly dies. When she learns he hadn't always been faithful to her, the grieving process becomes harder.

The description of this book lead me to expect something different. The characters weren't especially likeable and the pace was slow.

13) Government and Revolution in Vietnam by Dennis J. Duncanson this is actually quite academic so I wouldn’t really recommend it for people who are looking for a quick overview of Vietnamese politics. I don’t even remember where I bought this from, but I found this quite interesting.

14) A Time for War: The United States and Vietnam 1941-1975 by Robert D. Schulzinger this book delves into the policy behind America’s involvement in Vietnam and the relationship between American government and the American backed South. This was eye opening to me as I ended up finding out about certain incidence that even I didn’t know had occurred. Also interesting to me though the description of both was less than what I had hoped was finding out more about two famous incidences that occurred near what was my dad’s childhood home.

#10 A Beautiful Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green

Sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. Some interesting ideas, but got a little heavy handed in places. Entertaining but not as good as the first book.

#11 The Push by Ashley Audrain

This book about a mother of a problem child was billed as similar to We Have to Talk About Kevin and hyped as great for book clubs. It is nowhere near the caliber of that book. This was yet another cheap psychological thriller.

#12 The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

This book is based on a real person's life. The tone was a little different from other similar stories, focusing more on the main character wheeling and dealing to get food for others. I liked the emphasis on people helping others but in other ways some serious aspects of these camps weren't stressed.