Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Raven Report: Is the Past Ever Past?

The August 23, 2011 Nevermore Book Club Meeting
Reported by Susan




Down Cut Shin Creek: the Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky by Kathi Appelt, is a fun book that captures the experiences of real librarians of the 1930’s in the backwoods of Kentucky.   This generously illustrated book captures Depression era Appalachia.  The WPA was a government backed program designed to rebuild the country and give people a chance to work.  Local Kentucky women were paid a meager salary to take books into isolated mountain areas. 

1861: The Civil War Awakening by Adam Goodheart is a wonderful book that captures the hearts and views of the average American at the beginning of the Civil War.  Black.  White.  Slave and free man.  This is a real snapshot of the country at that time.  A very fitting book since this is the Sesquicentennial   of the Civil War.
Unbroken: a WW II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.  While researching her earlier book,Seabiscuit, the author kept coming across the story of Louis Zamperini.  He was a 1936 Olympian who joined the air force in WWII.  His plane crashed into the Pacific where he became a POW of the Japanese.  Almost dead at war’s end, he struggled to make a life and had the courage to live it to its fullest.
Mrs. Adams in Winter: A Journey in the Last Days of Napoleon by Michael O’Brien is the true story of Louisa Adams before she became First Lady to President John Quincy Adams.  It relates a segment of her life while visiting Russia and Europe in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars.  
The Nevermore Book Club meets every Tuesday at 11:00 A.M.  Join us if you like to talk about what you've read and enjoy book recommendations!  There is free coffee and doughnuts provided by the fabulous Blackbird Bakery!

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