Book Of The Week: Follow The River by James Alexander Thom

Follow The River

by

James Alexander Thom

By far the best book I have read this year Follow The River by James Alexander Thom will certainly make my top ten list for 2013.  It is the true story of Mary Draper Ingles who was captured during an Indian raid in the mid 1700s and escaped to walk hundreds of miles of wilderness in order to get home. Starting this book on Sunday I expected to be reading it for several weeks but instead finished in early Friday morning.  I could not put it down.  The story captured my full attention from the first page to the very last.   The legend of Mary Draper Ingles can be found in detail all over the net.  Below is a map of the route she walked home.

She escaped in the fall and the weather became colder and colder as she traveled.  She had no way to hunt live game or fish.  At one point she even ate earth worms.  The woman she escaped with and was traveling with got so hungry she even tried to kill Mary for food.  By the time she arrived at her destination there was snow on the ground and she had no shoes.  In fact she no longer had clothes or even a blanket.  Today the descendants of Mary Draper Ingles have rebuilt the cabin that the family lived in after she got home.  The original one that was raided was burnt and was located at what is  now Virginia Tech.  The rebuilt home was twenty miles away from the original one.   Please click on the title, the author's name above, and the other two links in the body of this blog to learn more.  And enjoy the following video that features a descendant of this remarkable woman.

Book For The Week 5/118/13: Maloka'i by Alan Brennert

Moloka'i

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Alan Brennert

The selection for my library reading group for June is Moloka'i by Alan Brennert.   I started reading it a couple of weeks ago because I thought it might take me awhile to get through it.  It is not extremely long but it did not appear to be  a quick read type book.   Surprisingly I read it more quickly than I thought I would.  It is an historical novel which is always my favorite genre.  The story is about a youngster who is found to have leprosy in the later 19th century.  She lives in Hawaii and is taken from her family and placed on a leper island.  This book can be enjoyed from the historical perspective but it also can be enjoyed from the sociological perspective because of the detail it describes of the interaction  of the people of the island along with the social structures that emerge.   In addition the psychological perspective is an interesting one because of the way that the people on the island deal with their limitations.  I have never been to Hawaii and was unaware of this history.  After doing some research I was also surprised to learn that this was one of two leper colonies that used to be in the United States, the other one being in Louisiana.  The main character in this novel is used as a medium to express what many went through.  It is a book that sounds like it would be depressing but while I did get teary eyed a few times it is a story that also resonates with joy.   People go there and live and love and grow and get married just like anywhere.  There they are more aware of their impending death than some of us but it seems to make them enjoy the present all the more.  Please feel free to click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links to more information.  Also enjoy the video that follows:

Book Of The Week 5/18/13: Death By A Honeybee by Abigail Keam

Death By A Honeybee

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Abigail Keam

This little quick read from the free list of Amazon's kindle was great fun.  The main character is a middle aged woman who lives in the Lexington Kentucky area and is struggling to get on with her life after being left and then widowed.  She is a beekeeper who sells her honey at the local farmers market and a competitor in the honey business is found dead on her property after which she becomes the prime suspect.  During the story she works to clear herself.   Her best friend is a gay man and the situations she finds herself in are amusing.   As with most mysteries I had figured out "who done it" fairly early in the book but after the crime is solved this book is only half way through and the remainder of the book is delightful.  It does end in a cliff hanger with a teaser chapter of the next book in the series.   Do click on the title and the author's name above to learn more.  Every once in awhile a book reminds me of a song and this one did.  Please enjoy the video below as the Dixie Chicks say goodbye to  Earl once more.

Book For The Week 5/7/13: The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

The Red Queen

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Philippa Gregory

The second book in Philippa Gregory's series "The Cousins War"  is titled The Red Queen and is about the mother of Henry Tudor aka King Henry VII.   To compare  it with the first in the series, The White Queen, does a disservice to both books.  The White Queen has more emphasis on a love story  while The Red Queen is much less romantic.    Margaret Beaufort (Henry the VII's mother) is part of the House of Lancaster which has the Red Rose as their emblem.   The House of Lancaster had insanity in it as King Henry VI has periods where he is catatonic and his cousin Margaret  is delusional and hallucinates. She is very religious and thinks her ambitions are the will of God.  She is so sure of this she is willing to lie, cheat and kill to obtain the throne for her son.   Two historical themes that the book bring into focus are the lack of choices women had in the 15th century and the role of superstitions in historical events.    Part of the time frame that these first two books of the series cover are  overlapped which gives the chance for the reader to experience both the perspective of the House of York and the House of Lancaster.    In addition to experiencing the events from both perspectives covering some events a second time helps to clear up exactly what happened as since there is so much treachery and betrayal it gets confusing.  Also there are many Elizabeths,  Margarets,  Edwards and Henrys to keep straight.   I am enjoying this series very much and recommend it to other historical novel buffs.  Be sure and click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links to learn more.  And enjoy the following videos of the author discussing this book.

 

Book Of The Week 5/4/2013: Open And Shut by David Rosenfelt

Open And Shut

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David Rosenfelt

   If ever I am in need of a easy read whodunit book I will reach again for something by David Rosenfelt.   I started the May selection for my library book group early since last month's selection was so long and I wanted to be sure to get through May's.  But I found Open And Shut to be a very quick read.   It is about a Public Defender who goes way out of his way for his clients and who also has a golden retriever.  Since one of my grand dogs is a golden I found added charm having the dog in the book.  The main character in the book is Andy Carpenter who is defending a man who is on death row whose case comes up to be re-tried on a technicality.  The only criticism I have of the book is the same one I have nine out of ten times when I read a mystery which is I know about half way through the book how it is going to end.  But never the less this is an enjoyable book and for the mystery lovers out there David Rosenfelt is an author to add to your wish list.  Please click on the title and the author's name above to learn more and enjoy the following video.