Nevermore: 81 Days Below Zero, Salt Path, Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, Paul Newman

 

Reported by Garry

81 Days Below Zero: The Incredible Survival Story of a World War II Pilot in Alaska's Frozen Wilderness by Brian Murphy. A few days before Christmas in 1943, Leon Crane and four other Army aviators took a retrofitted B-24 bomber out for a test flight from the Ladd Field in Fairbanks, Alaska. The flight ended in disaster, crashing in the wilderness and killing all on board except Crane – a city kid with no wilderness experience or training. Armed with the clothes on his back, a Swiss army knife, and the remains of his parachute, Crane fought for his survival by using his instincts and intellect against some of the harshest landscape in the world. Our reader says that this book is harrowing in its descriptions of the extremes that Crane had to endure, but she absolutely loved it due to the depth of research and descriptive writing. CD

The Salt Path: A Memoir by Raynor Winn is also a tale of survival in the wilderness, albeit set on the South West Coast Path of Britain. Evicted from their home after losing their life savings in a bad business deal, Winn and her husband decide to trek the 630-mile trail from Minehead, in Somerset, along the coast of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbor in Dorset. Camping on fields and hiding in private properties, Winn and her husband find that they begin to thrive in the adversity, surviving on ramen noodles and sleeping in sub-standard camping gear in the at-times brutal and always unpredictable British coastal weather. This true story of resilience, love and persistence really moved our reader, who herself has a history of long treks in the wilderness. BM

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick is quickly becoming a favorite book amongst our readers. Arthur is a sixty-nine year old widower who, on the anniversary of his wife’s death, sorts through her possessions. He comes across something that he has never seen before: a gold charm bracelet. What did this mean to Miriam? Why did she never wear it in the many years they were together? How well did he really know his wife? These questions send Arthur on a series of journeys to find out the stories behind the charms – in doing so, he uplifts and expands the lives of those he finds, and changes his own life for the better. Sweet without being sappy (and the audiobook has an amazing reader!), this is a beautifully written book about finding hope and healing in unexpected places. DC/WJ/NH

The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir by Paul Newman. Distilled down from thousands of pages of transcripts from an oral history project that Newman and his close friend Stewart Stern began in 1986, this memoir is a raw, unflinching, and deeply human look at one of the true film icons of the past 75 years. Newman began acting at age 7, studied drama, served in the Navy, and landed his breakout film role in 1956 in the film “Someone Up There Likes Me”. What followed was one of the most storied, successful, and iconic film careers of the 20th century. Our reader was brought to tears by this book and commented on how disarming and fascinating she found this look at the life of one of the biggest movie stars in history. NH

Also mentioned:

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t by Adam Grant

Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey by Florence Williams

Strange Things in the Woods: A Collection of Terrifying Stories by Steve Stockton

The Cherry Robbers by Sarai Walker

The Northminster Mysteries series by Harriet Smart

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

When We Had Wings by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris and Susan Meissner

Just As I Am: A Memoir by Cicely Tyson

The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind by Richard Restak

Gilded Mountain: A Novel by Kate Manning

Mean Spirit by Linda Hogan

The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff

The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Treacherous Strand by Andrea Carter

Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld

Nevermore: Jeffrey Epstein, Falter, Ona Judge, Kamala Harris, Ken Follett, Curious Charms

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore sometimes (but not always) follows the news headlines, and this was the case today with our first reader describing her initial impressions of the James Patterson book Filthy Rich: A Powerful Billionaire, the Sex Scandal that Undid Him, and All the Justice that Money Can Buy: The Shocking True Story of Jeffrey Epstein. Convicted in 2008 for soliciting an underage girl for prostitution, Epstein served a short sentence and during that term was given liberal work release privileges thanks to a high powered attorney. Patterson (and co-authors John Connolly with Tim Malloy) published this volume in 2016 about how justice really is differently served for the elite versus the common criminal.

Next up: Bill McKibben’s book Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? Speaking about climate change, genetic engineering and other global challenges of the 21^st century, McKibben paints a pretty grim picture of the outlook of the human race. Our reader appreciated the straightforwardness of the issues discussed, and was particularly touched by the quote, “Even, especially, in its twilight, the human game is graceful and compelling.”

Another reader was fascinated by Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar. While President George Washington was serving in the nation’s temporary capital in Philadelphia, he attempted to maintain his household standards by bringing along nine slaves. However, Pennsylvania law said that slaves must be set free after living there for than six months. Washington swapped out his slaves often in order to avoid losing his “property,” but young woman Ona Judge chose to run away to New Hampshire. Martha Washington was particularly fond of Ona’s services, leading to an extensive manhunt and court proceedings in an attempt to retrieve her. But as the title says, Ona was never caught.

Another timely book, The Truths We Hold by Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris was enjoyed by another book club member. Our reader said that although she has mixed feelings about the political strategies Harris is taking, she is nevertheless impressed with her accomplishments and her policies.

Turning to fiction, another reader claimed that her light reading was the 900+ page paperback The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Set in the 12^th century, Follett’s saga follows a huge cast of characters through many years. Our reader said that she really enjoyed it and was pleased to have made it all the way through. At that point, another book club member pointed out that there are two more books in this, the Kingsbridge, series: World Without End and A Column of Fire.

Another bit of light reading was found in The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick. Arthur is a widower who on the first anniversary of his wife’s death finds a charm bracelet among Miriam’s jewelry. Nothing unusual, except that he’s never seen it before. Arthur sets out on a journey to discover from where each charm came, and what they meant to his wife. Our reader found this to be a very good story and highly recommends it.