Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Whether you're fan of non-fiction or just like a little dose of reality in your fiction, this week we're getting inspired by actual events.

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Suggestions:

Listopia: Popular True Story Books
Listopia: Popular Fictions Based on True Events
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Optional questions:
- What are you reading for this category?
- Which event is your story based on?

Ah!!! Super excited about this one because I have been meaning to read The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder for quite some time now. It is based on a Nurse/Serial Killer who was responsible for the deaths of over 300 patients. Scary stuff!! I'm very curious to read about him and his motives ( if he believed what he was doing was merciful or if he was just a psychopath in general) Also, this will be interesting to discuss with my students when we discuss legal issues and Euthanasia vs. Assisted Suicide in class.

Tracy wrote: "Ah!!! Super excited about this one because I have been meaning to read The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder for quite some time now. It is based on a Nurse/..."

That sounds amazing! I'm looking at The Cottingley Secret or The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, the latter has been on my TBR for a bit.

I've been wanting to read True History of the Kelly Gang for awhile so I'm slotting it here! It's a classic outlaw tale of an Australian criminal, whom I've never heard of. It sounds interesting and entertaining! The Australian equivalent of Billy the Kid, perhaps??

Some people found Burial Rites too slow, but I loved the eerie atmosphere! I went to Iceland to the place where the murder took place, you can find pictures in the A to Z topic, it was surreal to go there after reading the book!

Pam, Ned Kelly is by far our most famous/infamous bushranger in Australia. Pretty much everyone knows him - even if it’s just his headgear. 😊 His story is really interesting so I hope you enjoy it! I’ve got this on my shelf, and I’m hoping to read it next year too.

I already have 4 good options picked out for this one, but it is also a fun one to hunt for! I may change my mind again, but am leaning toward What Happened because I am feeling emotionally ready at this point.

I'll be reading:
Before We Were Yours


Which was inspired by:

If you haven't read The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, now is the time. It's a captivating book with a wonderful blend of hope and horror.

If you're looking for something, I recommend books by Erik Larson:
(In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

Also recommemd books by Simon Winchester:
The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary

I'm thinking of reading 11/22/63 or One Child: The Story of China's Most Radical Experiment.

I’m finally going to get to “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”... I’ve been meaning to read it since it came out, plus this time one of my daughters will loan me her copy. Very excited.

Fantastic choice, Lizzy! I love that book.

Shawn wrote: "I have two options that I'm really on the fence about. One is Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, which, as many people probably know, is about a woman called Agnes Magnúsdóttir, who in 18..."

I just got Burial Rites from my secret Santa so I'm definitely going to be reading it in the new year!

I found a lot of crossover between narrative nonfiction and this one (because obviously), so I thought I'd go for a bit of fiction for this one.

Going with Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania after reading Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I which I loved, and it mentioned the Lusitania

Another contender would be The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

I picked Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West – Dee Brown. One of my passions and, within reading, my special interests is the history and culture of First Peoples in North America. Ever since I was a child, I've been keenly aware of the wrongs perpetrated against Native people and I want to learn as much about the history as I can.

I love anything to do with the Titanic, so I chose A Ripple in Time - Angel of the Titanic

I'll be starting the "March" graphic novel series.

The Pirate's Daughter


It is based on Errol Flynn's shipwreck on the coast of Jamaica in 1946 and his stay on a small island off the coast for the last years of his life. He had many parties and affairs with younger and younger women during those years.
This is about a daughter he could have fathered during that time.

I am going to read Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans. I heard someone talk about it on a podcast and it sounded interesting

I was thinking The Secret Life of Bletchley Park: The WWII Codebreaking Centre and the Men and Women Who Worked There - looks interesting but does it fit the category?

Ramona, I think it works!

I have always been interested in the Everest non-fiction books and I read Within Reach My Everest Story about a 16 year old's journey to Everest. Amazing story, amazing teenager!

I'm reading The Third Floor by Judi Loren. She's my mom's cousin and I bought the book a few years ago but never got around to reading it. It's some sad family history that a lot of people from those years can probably identify with.

It's the story of her getting pregnant as a teen in the 60s and what happened to girls back then. It doesn't have a happy ending, I know that much from what my family has told me.

For this category I'm going to read News of the World by Paulette Jiles. The character of Captain was inspired by Caesar Adolphus Kydd.

Jiles has been on my TBR List for like 10 years so I'm looking forward to this book.

I absolutely loved News of the World. I read it twice! Enjoy!

dalex wrote: "For this category I'm going to read News of the World by Paulette Jiles. The character of Captain was inspired by Caesar Adolphus Kydd.

Jiles has been on my TBR List for like 10 y..."

I just read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown:


I loved it and gave it 5 stars. Wonderful, informative read!

Here's my 2018 TBR.

I'm going to go with Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood.

I'm also reading Before We Were Yours

Several people have recommended it so I am adding it into my TBR.

I am using Before We Were Yours and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West in other places in challenges. I have read In Cold Blood and Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage already. I highly recommend the last one.

So for this I will be using Saved!: The Story of the Andrea Doria, the Greatest Sea Rescue in History

By the way, a friend of mine was the head diver on the expedition to recover the safe from the Andrea Doria (later opened on live TV) and he was the one who discovered WHY the ship sank so quickly.

I am reading A Beautiful, Terrible Thing: A Memoir of Marriage and Betrayal by Jen Waite.

A women's discovery that she is married to someone who fits the textbook definition of a psychopath.

I am reading The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud.

The book takes place in New York City in 2001, leading up to and including September 11.

I read Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. For people who have been following politics, there's not a whole lot in there that is surprising. It's pretty obvious that Bannon supplied a good chunk of it: take that as you will.

As a graduate of a public policy school, I found the parts about how the bureaucracy's handling this administration to be fascinating. I started the (long) application process to work for some of those departments. It's interesting to think how my life would have been if I had decided to go that route.

I'm just about to start Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. According to Wikipedia this "...takes inspiration from the crimes of Andrei Chikatilo, also known as the Rostov Ripper, the Butcher of Rostov, and the Red Ripper. Chikatilo was convicted of and executed for committing 52 murders in the Soviet Union".

A bit of light fun to start the week then! I like the idea of choosing something for this that was inspired by real events, rather than a re-telling of something that happened. I vaguely remember reading about Chikatilo in the papers, I'm sure I'd find the true story too disturbing to read for enjoyment.

- What are you reading for this category? The Girls by Emma Cline
- Which event is your story based on? Loosely based on the Manson murders.

Shelley wrote: "I read Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. For people who have been following politics, there's not a whole lot in there that is surprising. It's pretty obvious that Bannon..."

I hope I can slip it in somewhere this year. I don't expect to be terribly shocked by it but it's such a polarizing book that I really can't resist.

The book I'm reading for this prompt is Room by Emma Donoghue. In an interview with The Guardian, Emma Donoghue said she was inspired to write this after learning about the harrowing case of Elisabeth Fritzl, the Austrian woman who was confined and abused by her own father. It is one of those books I have been meaning to get to forever and just never did.

What are you reading for this category?
The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi
Which event is your story based on?
The event that serves as the basis for this book is the series of eight double homicides that took place between 1968 and 1985 in the province of Florence, Italy.

- What are you reading for this category?
The Girl Who Came Home
- Which event is your story based on?
The Titanic tragedy 14 Apr 1912

I LOVE looking at what everybody's reading as I love historical fiction based on real events. I just noticed The Pirate's Daughter
I had no idea that this happened to Errol Flynn. This book is definitely added to my TBR.

Anastasia wrote: "The Pirate's Daughter


It is based on Errol Flynn's shipwreck on the coast of Jamaica in 1946 and his stay on a small island off the coast f..."
This sounds awesome. Will look for your review!!

I think I'm going to read Return to Me by Lynn Austin for this - it's based on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Bible - when the Babylonian exiles returned to Israel. If I can't get it from the library at the time, I will try The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore.

So many options - so many on everyone's lists look good to read!! I'm debating between 11/22/63 and In Cold Blood.

You could read both, Jill. 11/22/63 would also be a great choice for alternate history. :D

I will be reading American Sniper by Chris Kyle. I enjoyed the movie and look forward to reading the book about his life.

Been wanting to read this forever!

Geoff Tibballs –

I am currently reading Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea.
It is equal parts heart wrenching and wow. I had so much to do today and instead, after I started this morning I've read nearly the whole thing.

I decided I wanted to read something on my bookshelf for this one, so I ended up going with Landscapes of the Metropolis of Death: Reflections on Memory and Imagination by Otto Dov Kulka. I bought it back in 2014 when I visited Dachau.

It's a memoir focusing on the author's experiences during the Holocaust, and his childhood spent in Auschwitz.

I had planned to read What Is the What but when I started reading it, I realized I have already read it! It must have been a long time ago, because I have no record of it. So I checked on here, and it turns out I have Before We Were Yours checked out just because I wanted to read it, so I am going to do that one.

I was going to read American Sniper but instead I am going to read The Life and Legend of Chris Kyle for this week and American Sniper for a different week.

Alexx wrote: "What are you reading for this category?
I am reading The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Which event is your story based on?
The book is about Anne Frank's time in hiding bet..."

This was one of my favorites as a child. I must have read it a million times. I just found her so fascinating. Every few years or so I pick up my copy and re-read. I hope you enjoy it :-)

- What are you reading for this category?
I read We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
- Which event is your story based on?
It is nominally based on conversations she had with a friend, but it touches on real events that happen to so many too often. It is very topical, extremely well-written, and easy to read.