Lost Lands, Forgotten Stories: Alexandra Pratt

  

Cath at Read-Warbler recommended Lost Lands, Forgotten Stories to me. The subtitle of the book is "A Woman's Journey into the Heart of Labrador." Alexandra Pratt tells her story of an ambitious trip on a river that not many have traveled.

I purchased this book in July 2020, during the pandemic. Like many of the books I bought that year, I had plans to read the book soon but put it on a shelf and it did not surface again until four years later when I decided to participate in the Canadian Reading Challenge again. 

I know very little about Labrador. Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada; it is made up of the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador. Per Wikipedia, Labrador "constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its population. It is separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle." Reading Lost Lands, Forgotten Stories was a small step towards understanding more about Labrador, and I do think it gave a better picture of that area. But I have a long way to go.

In 1903 two men, Leonidas Hubbard and Dillon Wallace, attempted to travel 600 miles through the interior of Labrador with a native guide, George Elson. None of them made it to their destination; Hubbard died but Wallace and Elson survived, although Wallace suffered from frostbite and gangrene. Two years later, Mina Hubbard, Leonidas's wife, and Dillon Wallace went on separate expeditions to try to accomplish the original goal of reaching Ungava Bay at the mouth of the George River. Both Mina Hubbard and Dillon Wallace succeeded but they took different routes and Wallace took 60 days longer to complete the trip.

In 1997, Alexandra Pratt read excerpts of Mina Hubbard's diary in an issue of National Geographic magazine and was inspired to attempt to recreate the trip. In this book, Pratt describes the harrowing canoe trip that she and her Innu guide took down some of the same rivers that Mina traveled. Not only did Pratt have to prepare physically to be able to survive such a demanding trip, she spent a lot of time up front acquiring funding and gathering information about supplies and support that such a trip would require.  

In the intervening years between Mina's expedition and Pratt's trip, there had been changes to the terrain along the rivers. The Churchill Falls hydroelectric plant was constructed which caused the water level to be lowered in the rivers. It seemed to me that this had both positive and negative impacts on Pratt's trip compared to Mina's.

The team that Mina Hubbard took had two canoes and four native guides, so that Mina had to bear less of the physical burden of rowing the huge canoes that they used. Pratt's trip involved only two persons, herself and Jean Pierre Ashini, thus there was no backup if either of them was injured. Once I realized how many dangers they could encounter along the way, it seemed to be a terrifying trip to attempt. 

The details of ending the day by setting up camp on the riverbank, building a shelter, and preparing food were impressive as was the stamina and determination necessary to keep paddling the canoe steadily day after day. When they were in camp at night, Pratt's guide, Jean Pierre Ashini, would tell her stories about his life and experiences. This was one of the most interesting parts for me. He was forty when they went on this expedition. He had lived almost thirty years of his life living in the traditional ways as a hunter. He told of the ways the Innu have had to change just within his lifetime and the effect on their culture. 

Pratt tells the story of her adventures and struggles very well, and describes the beauty of the landscape along their route. She mingles descriptions of Mina Hubbard's original trip with her own, and that added depth to the story. This is a fascinating book and I learned a lot about Labrador, but I would have liked to have maps and more photos to help me visualize the trip. I read the paperback edition and the original hardback had a map on the end papers.  

#1962Club: Something Wholesale by Eric Newby

Something Wholesale is a memoir by Eric Newby, a renowned British travel writer. This was the first book I have read by this author. It is mostly about the years he was working in the family garment business but also covers some of the postwar years before he got out of the service.

I read this book for the 1962 Club hosted by Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings.

From the back of the book:

Something Wholesale is Newby's hilarious tale of his chaotic life as an apprentice to the family garment firm of Lane and Newby. A story of unfortunate escapades with wool allergies, tissue paper and matching buttons, it is also a warm and loving portrait of his eccentric father -- who seemed to spend more time participating in disasters than he did in preserving his business. 

With its quick wit, self-deprecating charm and splendidly fascinating detail, this is vintage Newby -- only with a garment bag in place of a well-worn suitcase.

This was probably not the best place for me to start reading Eric Newby. It felt very disjointed and aimless, especially at the beginning, and I had a hard time follow the narrative. I am not strongly interested in clothing and fashion, and it seemed that Newby was not very interested in it either. But it did provide an interesting picture of the chaotic nature of that business. There is a good amount of time spent on his experiences with his father, who was exceptionally eccentric and quirky. Although the stories are affectionately told, Newby's father would have driven me crazy.

The real value this book delivered for me was the picture it paints of the times. It covers from the end of World War II to around 1956 when Newby's father dies. There is a short section that summarizes what Newby was doing in the next few years after that. 

I am sure this is not representative of the best of Eric Newby's writings. I will be following up by reading some of the other books he has written. I have some in mind but suggestions are welcome.

See also these resources:

Moira at Clothes in Books covers this book in two posts, here and here. There are excerpts from the book in her posts.

At Slightly Foxed, see an extract of an article by Ariane Bankes, "Misadventures in the Rag Trade." It goes into more detail about the adventures covered in the book.

84, Charing Cross Road: Helene Hanff

This book is a very short compilation of letters that tell the story of a friendship between Helen Hanff in New York and Frank Doel in London. In October 1949, Helene Hanff wrote a letter to Marks & Co. in London (a bookseller) requesting clean used copies of some books she could not find in New York. One of the staff, Frank Doel, replied to her and sent her copies of two books that she had requested. Over the next 20 years, Helene and Frank corresponded. In 1970, Helene published a book of selected letters from their correspondence. 

The letters are real but they read like fiction. The book is entertaining; Helene's letters are very funny. One of the most charming aspects of the letters is the contrast between Helene's brash, chatty letters and Frank's serious, businesslike letters. Especially at the beginning.

The correspondence started at a time following World War II when some foods were still rationed in the UK. Helene would mail packages to the bookstore with meat and eggs and other items that the staff would share. Along the way, some other staff members at the book store also wrote letters to Helene, thanking her for the gift boxes and letting her know when Frank was out of the office and unable to respond. 

My thoughts:

This was a wonderful book. I was surprised at how funny it was and I was moved by Helene's profound love of books. She read almost exclusively nonfiction, and she was looking for many books that I knew very little about. 

Many people know and love this book, but since I did not read this book until I was over 70, I am sure that there are a few people out there who have not read it. If you are one of those, I recommend it highly. It is very short. My copy was 97 pages and many of the pages were only about 1/3 or 1/2 filled with text. I read it in an hour and I don't read fast. 

Interesting fact: 

Helene Hanff wrote for the TV series, The Adventures of Ellery Queen, in the early 1950s. 

 -----------------------------

Publisher:  Penguin Books, 1990 (orig. pub. 1970). 
Length:     97 pages
Format:     Trade Paper
Genre:      Nonfiction, Letters
Source:    Purchased in December 2021.

Operation Mincemeat: Ben Macintyre

The subtitle of this book is: "How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory."

Summary from the dust jacket of the book:

In 1943, from a windowless London basement office, two intelligence officers conceived a plan that was both simple and complicated—Operation Mincemeat. The purpose? To deceive the Nazis into thinking the Allies were planning to attack Europe by way of Greece or Sardinia, rather than Sicily, as the Nazis had assumed and the Allies ultimately chose. 

Charles Cholmondeley of MI5 and the British naval intelligence officer Ewen Montagu could not have been more different. Cholmondeley was a dreamer seeking adventure. Montagu was an aristocratic, detail-oriented barrister. But together they were the perfect team and created an ingenious plan: Get a corpse, equip it with secret (but false and misleading) papers concerning the invasion, then drop it off the coast of Spain where German spies would, they hoped, take the bait. The idea was approved by British intelligence officials, including Ian Fleming (creator of James Bond). Winston Churchill believed it might ring true to the Axis and help bring victory to the Allies.

This book brought to my attention an aspect of espionage that I had not previously thought much about. It describes the efforts of intelligence agents to disseminate false information to the enemy in order to mislead them. The overall plan to deceive the Germans was named Operation Barclay, and included providing false information about troop movements in the Balkan area to the enemy.

The story of the development of the plan for Operation Mincemeat and then the carrying out of it (including finding a body to use that would fit their needs, dressing it, and creating fake documents to convey the information) was extremely interesting. Most of the book was about this effort.

But just as exciting and absorbing were the chapters on the effort to get the body delivered to the right place on the coast of Spain and the follow-up chapters at the end on how the attack on Sicily was planned and carried out, and various military men who participated. 

Ben Macintyre is a respected author of this type of nonfiction. It seems that he mostly specializes in espionage-related topics. His writing is very good. If there were any chapters that were difficult for me, they were towards the beginning when there are many people and situations described, plus the layers of bureaucracy to get agreement on the plan. Once I got settled in and the focus was on the main players in the carrying out of the plot, every chapter was a delight to read.

My husband read this book in 2013, and enjoyed it as much as I did. This is his review at Goodreads:

This history of a World War II hoax is so full of memorable characters (I find the absolutely fearless and charmed Lieutenant Bill Jewell of the British submarine HMS Seraph to be at the top of a very high memorable list) and fascinating detail that it reads like a first rate thriller. Operation Mincemeat was an elaborate British plan designed to convince German forces that an expected invasion of Sicily was actually going to take place elsewhere. In hindsight, it is amazing the plan succeeded, given all the details that needed to be accepted (or overlooked) by the Germans. A history that is not at all dry, this book is highly recommended.

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Publisher:   Harmony Books, 2010
Length:       324 pages
Format:      Hardcover
Genre:       History, nonfiction
Source:      Borrowed from my husband.

Talking about Detective Fiction: P. D. James

P. D. James (1920-2014) is best known for her series of novels about Adam Dalgleish, initially a Detective Chief Inspector, later a Commander, in the Metropolitan Police Service at New Scotland Yard in London. I have read all 14 novels in that series, and some of them twice. 

In 2006, the Bodleian Library requested that P.D. James write a book on British detective fiction in aid of the library. This book was the result of that endeavor. The book was only 198 pages long, thus there are many authors of detective fiction that are not included, but I found it an informative and enjoyable read.

Although the book centers on British novelists, James includes a chapter on the hard-boiled school of American detective fiction. The focus in that chapter is on Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, but she closes the chapter with her thoughts on Ross Macdonald and Sara Paretsky. 

This is followed by a chapter titled "Four Formidable Women," which compares and contrasts the works of Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh, and Dorothy Sayers. I enjoyed her insights regarding those authors.

Another chapter I especially liked was "Telling the Story: Setting, Viewpoint, People." She talks about the technical aspects of writing, including references to the works of other authors and how she approaches writing mysteries.

I have only covered the high points from my perspective. There are chapters on other topics: Arthur Conan Doyle and G. K. Chesterton and Golden Age mysteries, for example.

Overall, I was very pleased with this book and sorry that I put off reading it for so long. 

 -----------------------------

Publisher: Vintage Books, 2011 (orig. pub. 2009)
Length: 198 pages
Format: Trade Paperback
Genre:  Nonfiction, Mystery Reference
Source: On my TBR since 2017.

My Husband's Books from the 2022 Book Sale

 

In September we went to the annual Planned Parenthood Book Sale.  The sale lasts about 10 days, and we visited the sale on five of those days. This is my third post on books we bought at this year's book sale.

These are a few of the books my husband found at the sale. Mainly, he focuses on photography, architecture, and performing arts; books about history; then fiction (including mysteries and science fiction). 

The Herring in the Library by L.C. Tyler

This is the 3rd book in the Ethelred and Elsie Mystery series. Ethelred Tressider is a mediocre mystery writer and Elsie Thirkettle is his literary agent. It seems to be a humorous, cozy mystery series. Neither my husband nor I have read any books in the series so he gets to give it a try first. Has anyone read any in the series? Does reading in order matter?

The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock: An Anatomy of the Master of Suspense by Edward White

From the description on the dust jacket flap:

In The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock, Edward White explores the Hitchcock phenomenon—what defines it, how it was invented, what it reveals about the man at its core, and how its legacy continues to shape our cultural world.

The book’s twelve chapters illuminate different aspects of Hitchcock’s life and work: “The Boy Who Couldn’t Grow Up”; “The Murderer”; “The Auteur”; “The Womanizer”; “The Fat Man”; “The Dandy”; “The Family Man”; “The Voyeur”; “The Entertainer”; “The Pioneer”; “The Londoner”; “The Man of God.” Each of these angles reveals something fundamental about the man he was and the mythological creature he has become, presenting not just the life Hitchcock lived but also the various versions of himself that he projected, and those projected on his behalf.

My husband started reading this book shortly after he purchased it and has now finished it.

Stately Passions: The Scandals of Britain's Great Houses by Jamie Douglas-Home

From the description at Goodreads:

This historical exploration details some of the most notorious scandals to have engulfed the British royal family and aristocracy, capturing not only the events and their era but also the essence of some of the world's greatest and most beautiful private dwellings. From the Hampton Court of Henry VIII to the modern scandals that saw the present Lord Brocket jailed, center stage is given to the British stately homes that have played witness to centuries of aristocratic indiscretion. Whether examining the "Profumo Affair," the call-girl scandal at Cliveden, the affairs of the lesbian Vita Sackville-West and her bisexual husband at Sissinghurst Castle, or the goings-on at Fort Belvedere, the Surrey hideaway where the Prince of Wales conducted his affair with the American divorcee Wallis Simpson, this account provides a fascinating insight into the lives, loves—and morals, dubious though they may be—of some notorious denizens of the aristocratic world.

Metropolis by Philip Kerr

This is the last book in the Bernie Gunther series. Before World War II, Bernie was a policeman in Berlin; then he worked some as a private detective. He served in the military in both World War I and World War II. The first four novels are set  between 1936 and 1949; the fifth book is set in Argentina in 1950. The sixth book, If The Dead Rise Not, takes Bernie back to 1934 Berlin, when the city was chosen as the site for the 1936 Olympics; later, the novel hops to Cuba in 1954. That is as far as I have gotten in the series. 

Metropolis takes Bernie back to Berlin in 1928, the last days of the Weimar Republic shortly before Hitler came to power.

From the description on the dust jacket flap:

Metropolis, completed just before Philip Kerr’s untimely death, is the capstone of a fourteen-book journey through the life of Kerr’s signature character, Bernhard Gunther, a sardonic and wisecracking homicide detective caught up in an increasingly Nazified Berlin police department. In many ways, it is Bernie’s origin story and, as Kerr’s last novel, it is also, alas, his end. 

 

London 1945: Life in the Debris of War by Maureen Waller

From the description at Goodreads:

A new social history of London, during a crucial year in the city's history, from the acclaimed writer of 1700: Scenes from London Life. London at the outset of war in 1939 was the greatest city in the world, the heart of the British Empire. The defiant capital had always been Hitler's prime target and 1945, the last year of the war, saw the final phase of the battle of London. The Civil Defence could not have succeeded without the spirit, courage, resilience and co-operation of the people. London 1945 describes how a great city coped in crisis, how morale was sustained, shelter provided, food and clothing rationed, and work and entertainment carried on. Then, as the joy of VE Day and VJ Day passed into memory, Londoners faced severe shortages and all the problems of post-war adjustment. Women lost the independence the war had lent them, husbands and wives had to learn to live together again, and children had a lot of catching up to do. The year of victory, 1945, represents an important chapter in London's—and Britain's—long history.

Three Science Fiction Novellas by J.-H. Rosny aîné; 

Translated and Introduced by Daniele Chatelain and George Edgar Slusser

From the description on the dust jacket flap:

Along with Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, J.-H. Rosny aîné was a founding father of science fiction. He was the first writer to conceive, and attempt to narrate, the workings of aliens and alternate life forms. His fascination with evolutionary scenarios, and long historical vistas, from first man to last man, are important precursors to the myriad cosmic epics of modern science fiction. Until now, his work has been virtually unknown and unavailable in the English-speaking world, but it is crucial for our understanding of the genre. Three wonderfully imaginative novellas are included in this volume. "The Xipehuz" is a prehistoric tale in which the human species battles strange geometric alien life forms. "Another World" is the story of a mysterious being who does not live in the same acoustic and temporal world as humans. "The Death of the Earth" is a scientifically uncompromising Last Man story. The book includes an insightful critical introduction that places Rosny's work within the context of evolutionary biology.

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 by Simon Winchester

From the description on the dust jacket flap:

The bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman and The Map That Changed the World examines the enduring and world-changing effects of the catastrophic eruption off the coast of Java of the earth's most dangerous volcano—Krakatoa.

The legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa—the name has since become a byword for a cataclysmic disaster—was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. Beyond the purely physical horrors of an event that has only very recently been properly understood, the eruption changed the world in more ways than could possibly be imagined. Dust swirled round the planet for years, causing temperatures to plummet and sunsets to turn vivid with lurid and unsettling displays of light. The effects of the immense waves were felt as far away as France. Barometers in Bogotá and Washington, D.C., went haywire. Bodies were washed up in Zanzibar. The sound of the island's destruction was heard in Australia and India and on islands thousands of miles away. 

Cath read and enjoyed this book. She reviewed it at her blog, Read-Warbler. 

Shakespeare: The Illustrated and Updated Edition by Bill Bryson

From the description at Goodreads:

Shakespeare: The Illustrated Edition is an exquisitely illustrated, updated edition of Bill Bryson’s bestselling biography of William Shakespeare that takes the reader on an enthralling tour through Elizabethan England and the eccentricities of Shakespearean scholarship. With more than 100 color and black-and-white illustrations throughout, and updated to include recent discoveries, Shakespeare: The Illustrated Edition evokes the superstitions, academic discoveries, and myths surrounding the life of one of the greatest poets, and makes sense of the man behind the masterpieces.

Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life: Laura Thompson

 

I started out loving this biography of Agatha Christie. It is very readable, and the first chapter about her childhood was charming. I did not know that much about Christie's life at all, especially before her marriage to Max Mallowan, so I learned a lot from the earlier chapters about her courtship and marriage to Archie Christie. The author often mentioned Christie's writing and specific mysteries, and I enjoyed that part a lot. 

However, the author depended too much on quotes from Christie's fiction books (mostly the non-mystery books) to demonstrate and support statements about Agatha's relationships with other people, and especially Archie Christie. 

The chapter about the mystery of Christie's disappearance went on too long for me, and since not much is definitely known about that event, she was making guesses on a good bit of it. On the other hand this was the first I had read on the subject, and she had to handle that period of time in some way, so that is a minor complaint. There were interesting facts (and opinions?) about how the investigation was handled.

Overall, I learned a lot of things about Agatha Christie's life that I have never known, and I appreciated learning about what was going on in her life when she wrote some of her books, especially the earlier ones.  Even with the few quibbles I had regarding this book, I found that it was interesting, informative, and well worth reading.

I would like to read other books on Christie's life. I had forgotten that she wrote an autobiography and I will be looking for a copy of that. I will also be seeking out Come, Tell Me How You Live by Christie, which focuses on her experiences on archaeological trips with Max Mallowan, her second husband. I have a copy of Robert Barnard's A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie, which is more about her books and her writing, but does include some about her life. I would appreciate other recommendations. 

-----------------------------

Publisher:  Pegasus Books, 2018 (orig. publ. 2007)
Length:      485 pages
Format:      Hardcover
Setting:      UK, mostly
Genre:       Biography
Source:      I purchased my copy in June 2022.

Nonfiction November: New books on my TBR

This is the fourth week of Nonfiction November, hosted at Doing Dewey. Go there to check out other posts for this week. The theme this week is: What books have I added to my TBR during the month? 

The books listed below are on my list to add to my shelves in 2021, and two of them have already been purchased. Following the description of each is a link to the blog where I learned about the book.

Around the World in 80 Trees by Jonathan Drori, with illustrations by Lucille Clerc

The author picks 80 interesting trees from various places in the world to describe and provide interesting facts about. This book has already been physically added to my TBR stacks. 

At Still Life, with Cracker Crumbs

My Penguin Year: Living with the Emperors by Lindsay McCrae

From the description at Goodreads:

"For 337 days, award-winning wildlife cameraman Lindsay McCrae intimately followed 11,000 emperor penguins amid the singular beauty of Antarctica."

Suggested by Book' Out

The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan by Jenny Nordberg

A nonfiction account of the custom of bacha posh, where girls are raised and presented to the world as boys. I also want to read The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi, a novel about that ancient custom in Afghanistan.

At Reading on a Rainy Day

The March Trilogy by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin (Writers),  Nate Powell (Artist)

Three nonfiction graphic novels about the Civil rights movement told from the perspective of John Lewis. Especially of interest because Lewis grew up in Alabama (where I grew up) and I lived for a year in Selma, Alabama.

Also at Reading on a Rainy Day

Influenza: The Hundred-Year Hunt to Cure the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic by Jeremy Brown

I have read three other books on the 1918 pandemic this year and had been wondering what other books on the subject I could find. When I saw this at Deb Nance's blog, I remembered that my husband had purchased the Kindle version of this book. So I will be reading that one, probably in 2021. See Deb Nance's review at Goodreads.

Seen at Readerbuzz

Nonfiction November 2020: Book Pairings

This is the second week of Nonfiction November, an event that celebrates reading nonfiction. The subject this week is book pairings, specifically pairing a nonfiction book with a fiction book, and this topic is hosted by Julz of Julz Reads.

My first fiction / nonfiction pairing is:

Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express is a fictional ride on the Trans-Siberian Express. It is part of a series by Stuart Kaminsky, set in Russia under Communist rule (to begin with) and later in Russia, following the breakup of the USSR. The books were written between 1981 and 2009. 

This is the 14th book in the series and the series protagonist, Chief Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov, works in the Office of Special Investigation, reporting to its director, Igor Yaklovev, the Yak. He has a group of detectives who work under him, and they usually work on multiple cases in each book. In this one, the Yak sends Rostnikov to recover a treasured historic document on the Trans-Siberian Express.

In The Big Red Train Ride by Eric Newby, the author describes his trip across the USSR on the Trans-Siberian Railway, accompanied by his wife, an official guide, and a photographer. From the book cover: "From Moscow to the Pacific on the Trans-Siberian Railway is the big train ride. It is a journey of nearly 6,000 miles, stretching over seven time zones and consuming nearly eight 24-hour days." This is not considered one of Newby's best travel books, but I think I would enjoy the book just based on the subject matter.

I have not read either of these books yet but I hope that they will be a perfect pairing. However I am open to suggestions for other reads in this area, fiction or nonfiction.

My second pairing is:

Young Bess is the first book in a historical fiction trilogy about Elizabeth I of England, written by Margaret Irwin and first published in 1944.  It covers her life from the time she was 12 until she was about 20, including Henry VIII's death, his son Edward VI's years as king (from age 9 to 15), and Elizabeth's relationships with her brother Edward and Princess Mary, her sister. A large part of the story is about her living with her stepmother Catherine Parr and Tom Seymour, who married Catherine after Henry VIII's death.

The story was beautifully written, vividly describing details of life at that time. I learned a lot, I was entertained, and I enjoyed reading the book. I plan to continue reading the trilogy. The next two books are Elizabeth, Captive Princess and Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain.

Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne by David Starkey covers Elizabeth from her early years up through her ascent to the throne and it was described as very readable. 

I picked the book by David Starkey because it sounded good, but if anyone has a suggestion for a better nonfiction book about Elizabeth I, I am interested. I won't be reading any nonfiction in that area until I finish the other two books in the Elizabeth I trilogy by Margaret Irwin.

Nonfiction November 2020 – Week 1

 

This week begins Nonfiction November, an event that celebrates reading nonfiction. The event is hosted by Katie of Doing Dewey, Julz of Julz Reads, Rennie of What’s Nonfiction, and Leann of Shelf Aware. The main post for this week (with links to other blogs) is at Shelf Aware.

My year in nonfiction:

I decided to join in on this event for the first time because I thought I had read more nonfiction than in previous years. That is true but only by a couple of books, although there are two more months in 2020 and I am currently reading two nonfiction books. So maybe it is that I am getting more out of the nonfiction I am reading.

To this point in the year I have read three historical nonfiction books: two books about the influenza pandemic of 1918 and one about the life of servants in Victorian and Edwardian times.  I read four books of mystery reference. Plus, one travel journal, one biography, and one book about books. For a total of 10 nonfiction books. In previous years I have read eight or less nonfiction books.

Favorite nonfiction read of the year:

This is easy. Ross Macdonald: A Biography (1999) by Tom Nolan is not only my favorite nonfiction read, it is one of my favorite books of the year.

Ross Macdonald, pseudonym of Ken Millar, was the author of the highly regarded Lew Archer detective series. Ken Millar was born in northern California, spent his childhood in Ontario, Canada, and met his wife Margaret Millar while going to college in Canada. The couple moved to Santa Barbara in 1946 and were living there when Ken died in 1983. He was a very interesting man, and this biography was very well done. The emphasis is on his personal life although that naturally includes his development as an author of crime fiction.

I admire Ross Macdonald as a writer, but for years I have been interested in his life in Santa Barbara, where I have lived for four decades. 

A particular topic that I’ve been attracted to more this year:

Like most people, my reading has been a bit different this year. I always read a lot of mystery fiction of all types, but this year I read more comfort reads. I think I have read a bit less than before, and my concentration has definitely suffered, but all in all I had a good reading year, and that was true of my nonfiction reads also.

My husband has read three books about the influenza pandemic of 1918 but I have never had an interest in that topic. Until now. This year I wanted to know what people experienced in that pandemic and what we could learn from it. 

Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It (1999) by Gina Kolata

It is clear from all the books I read on this subject that doctors and scientists had no idea what the disease was that was killing so many people or what was causing it. This book focuses on research efforts to identify the virus after the 1918 pandemic ended.

The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History (2004)

by John M. Barry

This book did go more into the events of the spread of the flu from 1918 through 1920 than Gina Kolata's book. It is also much longer with about 460 pages of text and another 100 of notes and references. There is an emphasis on the state of medicine, science, and research in the US in the 19th century, leading up to the outbreak of the flu, at the same time that the US was getting involved in World War I.

---

And I am now reading Pandemic 1918 by Catharine Arnold. That book is more focused on first person accounts of the pandemic.

What do I hope to get out of participating in Nonfiction November? 

Two things. I hope that reading posts by people who are enthused about nonfiction will inspire me to read more in that area myself, and I hope to see suggestions for types of nonfiction that I have not considered. 

#NonficNov