JIM C'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2017

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Jim C., this is your thread for 2017. I have included the link to the required format thread and an example. If you had a 2016 thread - it is archived - but you can still add books to it for the last few days of December.

Please follow the standard required format below - I hope you enjoy your reading in 2017. Here is also a link for assistance with the required guidelines:

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Our Required Format:

JANUARY

1. by Winston S. Churchill
Finish date: January 2017
Genre: (whatever genre the book happens to be)
Rating: A
Review: You can add text from a review you have written but no links to any review elsewhere even goodreads. And that is about it. Just make sure to number consecutively and just add the months.

IMPORTANT - THE REVIEW SHOULD BE SHORT AND SWEET - THERE ARE NO LINKS OF ANY KIND IN THE BODY OF THE REVIEW ALLOWED. NONE. DO NOT REFER TO ANY OTHER BOOK IN YOUR BRIEF REVIEW. THE ONLY BOOK CITED IN YOUR REVIEW IS THE ONE YOU ARE REVIEWING - NO OTHERS. ALL LINKS TO OTHER THREADS OR REVIEWS ARE DELETED IMMEDIATELY - THERE WILL BE NO WARNING. WE CONSIDER THIS SELF PROMOTION AND IT IS NOT ALLOWED AND IS IN VIOLATION OF OUR RULES AND GUIDELINES.

[Jim]

JANUARY

1. by Justin Pollard
Finish Date: January 2017
Genre: History, Television
Rating: A
Review: I have been a faithful watcher of the television series "Vikings." I always found it fascinating, thought-provoking, and often abhorrent. I was glad to find this book which is a mixture of historic information and details about the series. I especially enjoyed learning about the history/legends upon which the main characters are based, most of which I did not know. This helped me realize how much the story line was drawn from this. Of course, all the characters were fleshed out in far more detail. If you want a fascinating look at this period in history, watch "Vikings" (but be prepared for gore and profound thoughts on faith). This book will enrich your understanding. If you read it before you watch there will be a few "spoilers" which will give away some events, but your greater depth of understanding will make it worthwhile.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Very good effort Jim

[Jim]

2. by Jesse Ball
Finish Date: January 2017
Genre: Fiction
Rating: A
Review: I won this novel in a Read It Forward book giveaway that centered on coming of age stories. Lucia is a girl who has fallen into very difficult times, which she shares with the reader in a set of somewhat disjointed posts. She is both tough and tender. Also, quite brilliant in her own unorthodox way. We see her struggle to survive and even perhaps find a way to a better life, but also be much of the force that destroys the chances she encounters. The book's title is also a beautifully anarchistic pamphlet Lucia composes and shares with us. And, yes, there are fires, though it is not always which ones are real and which imagined. This tale of a clever child struggling to find direction left me somewhat sad. I taught a gifted child or two who exhibited this same mix of ability and anger, hope and despair, and self-destructive actions.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Jim - great - you only have to add the month before the first book completed in each month.

[Jim]

3. by Eric P. Kelly
Finish Date: January 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A-
Review: This is an older young adult classic, set in medieval Poland. It does require a bit more reading effort for modern readers. The plot is pretty straightforward. The setting, however, is the real star of the book. Readers, who stick with it, will obtain a good feel for life in the 15th century Krakow.

[Jim]

4. by Alexandra Zapruder
Finish Date: January 2017
Genre: History
Rating: A
Review: This is a history of the 8 mm film taken by Abraham Zapruder that captured the assassination of President John Kennedy written by his granddaughter. Alexandra begins with a narrative of that terrible day and its impact on Zapruder. She provides background on her family, then focuses on the history of the film and the moral and legal struggles of her grandfather and then her father in dealing with it. She details how the film became embroiled in the labyrinth of conspiracy theories, as well as its growing role as a cultural icon. She brings the narrative through the legal struggle that eventually settled ownership of the original film. While she obviously presents her family in a positive light and defends their reputation against various charges made over the years, this is clear to the reader and does not detract from the power of the story. It is a thought-provoking book.

[Jim]

5. by David Roberts
Finish Date: January 2017
Genre: Travel, Archaeology
Rating: A
Review: I have read several of Roberts' books about his journeys into the back country of the Southwest in search of prehistoric Native Americans. He writes from a first-person point of view, detailing his travels. Along the way, however, he provides the novice with a good basic understanding of different ideas on southwestern prehistory. He also provides brief reviews of many good books in this area for those who wish to learn more. This reflective book written late in his career might not be the best place to start if you are interested in this area. All his books, however, are fascinating reading--at least to an amateur archaeologist such as myself.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Jim - you did well - just let our admins help you and they will help you at any time. You did fix it and that is great - that helps the goodreads software populate this thread and throughout our site.

It looks good now. But we are very patient here and there is no rush whatsoever. I deleted the extra posts dealing with this situation - we do not want your thread to be cluttered.