Summer Prompt: A book based on a true story

[Stina]

This was a summer-specific prompt last year, so I'll be saving it for my summer reading challenges starting sometime in May.

Another great triple-dipper opportunity! But I will try not to. Perhaps The Glass Castle?

[Mary]

I read "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" by Heather Morris as told to her by Lale Sokolov (born Eisenberg). Lale was taken by the Nazis to Auschwitz to be a laborer. His first job there was putting roof tiles on new barracks the prisoners were building as Auschwitz-Birkenau was being expanded. He managed to catch the eye of the French political prisoner who was the camp tattooist, who took him as his assistant. Any prisoner who survived initial selection upon arrival was given a tattoo on their left arm. This was how Lale survived, and helped others survive. It was also how he met the love of his life. They both managed to survive the remaining three years of the war and Soviet occupation and find each other again afterwards.

[Laura]

I read so many non-fiction books that I'm almost hesitant to post them all, though I think it might be interesting at the end of the year to have a place to look at and see just how many fall in each category. Thus far I've read:

Sin in the Second City - The story of a high-end brothel in Chicago, which I very much enjoyed.

The Day Lincoln Was Shot - This covers the 24 hours from when Lincoln woke up the day of his assassination to the moment they placed the coins on his eyes. Very interesting.

Chosen by a Horse - A horse-loving woman rescues a horse and their relationship changes her perspective on life and love.

Persepolis - This and its sequel (Persepolis 2) are graphic novels telling the story of a young woman growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. I learned a ton and it's presents in a very readable format.

Papa Hemingway in Key West - Just as it sounds, this covers Hemingway's years in Key West, when the town was pretty much just a small fishing village. Interesting, but really only because I've been there.

Born a Crime - Trevor Noah writes about what it was like to grow up in South Africa during apartheid. *Very* interesting, touching, and sometimes hilarious. I listened to it on audiobook, read by him, which I strongly recommend.

I Am Not Myself These Days - The author writes about a time in his life when he was working as a drag queen and dating a male escort who became hooked on crack cocaine. This was my choice for my small book club and everyone liked it.

Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs - Just like it sounds. An interesting, though not particularly well-written, account.

[Cheryl]

I am going to cross this one off with Wild by Cheryl Strayed.

ETA: Tell Me Where It Hurts Also fits this prompt.

[Stina]

I went with Dandelion Wine for this one. It's in Bradbury's Green Town series and is more of a nostalgia trip than anything. I don't recommend it if you're looking for sf/f, but it's an interesting glimpse of the author's young life in early 20th-century Illinois.