Strange, true, and twisted page-turners for May
Two excellent and compelling nonfiction books to start out this month.
“No One’s Coming” by Kevin Hazzard. Remember Ebola? This book tells the incredible story of Phoenix Air, a daring group of pilots who are willing to carry the most dangerous cargo around the globe. The CDC has become a hotbed of politics, but we need the devoted experts there to try and keep us safe from rogue viruses and other outbreaks. In this case, workers from Africa who had active Ebola. Both fascinating and alarming.
“The Madness of Believing” by Josh Owens. I chose this book after hearing an interview with the author, who struck me as far too intelligent to have taken a job at InfoWars with the ridiculous Alex Jones. How do you stay at a job where you literally make up all of the stories? He did, but he left and wrote this book. I continue to wonder if he went there with the idea of an expose, but I have no proof. Owens testified in the trial against Jones by the Sandy Hook parents.
Moving on to the pure entertainment portion now!
“Yesteryear” by Caro Claire Burke. This is the book everyone is talking about. Anne Hathaway has already bought the rights. A trad-wife influencer wakes up in a pioneer household – no electricity, running water, or heat. Love seeing a self-important social media personality brought back to reality.
“The Scent of Oranges” by Kathy George. A retelling of Oliver Twist from the perspective of Nancy. I highly recommend this as well as “Fagin the Thief” by Alison Epstein. Both do an outstanding job of describing life in nineteenth century London.
“Lucien” by J.R. Thornton. A charismatic student is the male Anna Delvey of Harvard. I am too skeptical to fall for this deception (I think). This is fiction – read the Vanity Fair or New York articles about Delvey for a true-life deception. The methods are the same.
“Mule Boy” by Andrew Krivak. This is a spare but powerful story of a young boy who survives a coal mine collapse and witnesses the death of his co-workers. The lasting impact is sobering and heartbreaking. His descriptions of the mines will have the claustrophobic reader squirming.
“Like This, but Funnier” by Hallie Cantor. The author is a comedy writer and she has some hilarious lines. The book is about a Hollywood writer who gets in trouble for appropriating some material. Fast reading.
“Wolf Hour” by Jo Nesbo. One of my favorite Norwegian writers. His detective Harry Hole is always involved in something complex and violent. This book takes place in Minnesota and is complicated and violent as well. I think I prefer his works set in his homeland, but this is worth a read.
“The Tree of Light and Flowers” by Thomas Perry. This is the 10th book featuring Jane Whitefield. She is an expert at helping people disappear from dangerous circumstances. Just when she thought she was out of that business, they pull her back. Violent justice and a strong heroine.
“The Oyster Diaries” by Nancy Lemann. A Washington, D.C. journalist returns to her NOLA stomping grounds as a court monitor for criminal trials. This is her diary depicting the changing of the guard in her hometown. Her “Lives of the Saints” was better in my opinion, but she is a talented storyteller.
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