The Husband and I saw the movie of the same title and I decided I wanted to read the book. We were dumbfounded and entertained at the same time by the film. The main actor, John David Washington, brought such swagger to the role. We couldn't help but think - how did this even really happen. Well - the book rings a lot of truth compared to the book by Ron Stallworth. I started this book on November 24 and finished it on December 1.
This is the true story of the first African-American member of the Colorado Springs police department, and how he basically singlehandedly infiltrated the local (and to some extent, national) chapter of the KKK. With the help of some of his colleagues in the force, Stallworth gathered evidence of the events and practices of the local chapter and even befriended Mr. Duke himself.
It seems too fantastic and funny (in a horrifying way) to really be true. But it is. The movie was entertaining as was the book. I'm not sure if it benefitted me to see the movie first and then imagine John David Washington and his mannerisms while reading the book, or if it would have been better to read the book first. Regardless, I liked the book, I liked learning history in an entertaining way, and I would recommend it to others.
So, after finishing the Widow Clicqout on November 1, I started Alone on the Wall by Alex Honnold on November 6 and finished it on November 24. The husband and I saw the film Free Solo and learned that Alex, the subject of the film, had also written a book, so immediately we requested it from our local library (shoutout to the library!).
If you don't know who Alex is or what free soloing is, they will both blow your mind. Free soloing is rock climbing with NO ROPE. Yes - you have no protection or aid to prevent you from falling to your death. Alex is a free solo climber and among many other things he's climbed without ropes, he climbed El Capitan in Yosemite... without a rope. Up he scurried, up up up, about 3,000 feet he climbed by himself and without a rope, and in under 4 hours.
Talk about the cohones on this guy. The book, Alone on the Wall, is co-written by David Roberts, and in it Alex talks about his experiences with free soloing, what drives him, what motivates him, and you get glimpses into the impacts this has on others in his life from interviews and commentary provided by those people talking to David Roberts.
Alex is a very unique individual with a somewhat warped perspective of his climbing. In the film, as in the book, Alex discusses risk at length. He admits that he does see his climbing as risky, but he does everything that he can to mitigate and solve for the risk factors. Mostly by lots and lots of practice and memorization of the route so that he is as prepared as he can possibly be to achieve the climb without a rope or any other kind of protection.
Free soloing is not the only type of climbing he does, but it seems to be what he enjoys most - being alone on the wall.
I'm not really a rock climber at all. I've spent a tiny amount of time on indoor rock climbing walls and it's fun and all, but I'm not sure I would ever want to do even the smallest of climbs without a rope.
There's a line in the film where Alex (I think, or it could be Tommy Caldwell) says "everyone who has made free soloing a part of their life is dead now." Can you imagine having a calling in life that could possibly kill you? This is how Alex lives. Even if you're not a rock climber, this book will entertain and probably make you shake your head in disbelief, and think to yourself, or possibly exclaim out loud, "This guy is fucking insane."
After finishing (and loving) The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame-Smith on October 27, I started The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar Mazzeo on October 28 finishing on November 1.
I love reading on vacation. The uninterrupted time to just read, nap, and read some more is marvelous. This vacation was to Maui - 4 nights and 5 days in paradise. If you need a place to stay, check out the Andaz Maui - it was HEAVENLY - seriously, we didn't want to leave. It was perfection.
Not surprisingly, this book is about Veuve Clicquot champagne and the woman behind this empire. I had no idea that this champagne has been around since the French Revolution. Well - Veuve Clicquot hasn't been around that long, but Barbe-Nicole, the woman who is Veuve Clicquot has been around since then. Barbe-Nicole was born into a wealthy textile family in the Champagne region of France. She married the son of a wealthy textile company and aspiring wine-maker. Her husband met an untimely death, and the new widow, Barbe-Nicole, with her newfound freedom to take control of her life and run a business, gambled, lost, gambled, won, and gambled and lost and won some more to make Veuve Clicquot the champagne brand we all know (and love) today.
It was very uncommon in the 1800s for a woman to be able to work, let alone, run a business at all. Being a widow, Barbe-Nicole was in the unique position to have the freedom that married and unmarried women didn't have to do this. This book is about the amazing story of how her champagne empire came to be.
The book started slowly and sort of reads like a history doctoral thesis paper and the timeline jumps around a little, but once I was maybe 100 pages into the book, I really started to get in to it and into Barbe-Nicole's story.
Here's an excerpt from a letter Barbe-Nicole wrote her great-granddaughter in the mid-1860s:
"I am going to tell you a secret... You more than anyone resemble me, you who have such audacity. It is a precious quality that has been very useful to me in the course of my long life... to dare things before others... I am called today the Grand Lady of Champagne! Look around you, this château, these unfaltering hills, I can be bolder than you realize. This world is in perpetual motion, and we must invent the things of tomorrow. One must go before others, be determined and exacting, and let your intelligence direct your life. Act with audacity. Perhaps you too will be famous... !!"
If you like history, if you like champagne, if you like reading about strong, audacious women (and need a little inspiration), read this book!
After finishing The Push on October 12, I had a few days with Chernow's Hamilton again (still not nearly done yet) and started The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame-Smith on October 18 finishing on October 27.
This is follows Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter from 2011. While I loved the book, the movie wasn't so hot - total bummer. The Last American Vampire picks up with Henry Sturges, the vampire who was friends with Lincoln, and tells the tale of his (Henry's) history throughout history - he's over 300 years old, after all.
This book was satisfyingly entertaining and funny and thought-provoking in a purely fictional way. It was absurd, yet I couldn't put it down. So many historical figures come into the book: Teddy Roosevelt, Virginia Dare, Howard Hughes, J.P. Morgan, Mark Twain, Nikola Tesla, Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and more.
I really liked how these historical people and happenings were re-imagined to include vampires. There are photos through the book also re-imagined to include vampires in them.
Clearly, Seth Grahame-Smith has an active and vivid imagination and can tell a great story. If you like history and you like vampire stories - pick this up - it's so good! The Husband just finished it and loved it too.
After finishing A Wanted Man on September 16, I had a few days to get back to Chernow's Hamilton. Then when it was our turn for The Push by Tommy Caldwell from the library, I gladly put Hamilton down again and started this on September 28 finishing on October 12. The Husband read it immediately after me.
I'll preface this with this fact: I love reading books about mountain climbing. I don't particularly like climbing mountains. I'm not certain what it is that I find so utterly alluring about mountain climbing books, but they are fascinating to me.
The Husband and I saw a movie called "The Dawn Wall" on September 19th. This is the documentary of Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson's first ascent of the Dawn Wall on El Capitan in Yosemite. In addition to books about climbing mountains, I also really enjoy movies about climbing mountains. I personally don't like to climb mountains. I've spent a few hours (total) in indoor climbing gyms, and it is fun. But I really don't have a desire to go out and climb an actual mountain. I like seeing mountains and appreciate their sheer beauty, but I don't have the desire to climb one. If you haven't seen it or even heard about it - watch the trailer. I guarantee you'll want to see the movie.
At the end of the movie, after the credits roll, Tommy came onscreen and talked about his book, The Push. Of course, The Husband and I really wanted to read it. It duplicates a lot of what is in the movie but in much more detail. As with other climbing books I've read, climbers all seem to have this fire and drive within themselves, an obsession, to be on the mountain constantly pushing themselves for more. As Tommy said, "We are capable of so much more than we can imagine."
It's true. I think that is part of what I enjoy about reading these books - I get to meet (through their words) people who accomplish such amazing feats - more amazing than even they (sometimes) can imagine. It's about challenge and living up to and through the challenge. It inspires me to live up to the challenges in my life. They may not actually be mountains made of rock and dirt, but they are mountains (or hills) nonetheless. I love tales about overcoming obstacles. The Push certainly illustrates that Tommy Caldwell has overcome more than his fair share of obstacles, and he's not nearly done yet.
See the movie and read this book. They are amazing and inspiring.
After finishing Relic on September 6, I picked up A Wanted Man by Lee Child. I started this on September 7 (happy birthday to my brother) and finished it on September 16.
Oh, Lee Child, you do know how to spin an addicting and entertaining book. This is another in the Jack Reacher series from Lee Child, and like the others, does not disappoint.
Also like the others, we meet Jack Reacher in the middle of nowhere hitching a ride. This ride, like some of the others, begins a hellish, nightmarish, and twisty few days for Reacher and others.
There was a murder in a small town, and the FBI have been called in (among others) to figure out what happened. Reacher gets picked up on the highway and becomes wrapped up in the situation.
As always, Reacher's keen eye and cop's mentality help him figure things out. Also as usual, his military experience and contacts help him out, as does his mental and physical toughness.
There were some twists and turns I didn't anticipate, including the fact that this is one of the few novels (spoiler alert) in which Reacher doesn't get the girl.
These are entertaining books, quick reads, and I always like them. If you need some mind candy (what I call quick, easy, entertaining books), you can give this series a try. Unlike some other series books, I don't think it is super important to read these in order.
After finishing The Spider Woman's Daughter on August 19, I picked up Relic by Alan Dean Foster. The Husband read this book first and then I decided to give it a spin. I started it on September 3 and finished it on September 6 - another quick read.
This is neither a cop book nor a spy book. It is a book about the last living human in all of space. Ruslan, a human, is the last human. He was picked up by a race of aliens known as the Myssari and lives happily among them. He's known to the Myssari as a relic - because that's what he is - a relic - one of a kind - the last human.
The Myssari are determined not to let homo sapiens go extinct and with or without Ruslan's cooperation, they are going to resurrect the human race. Somehow, Ruslan agrees to cooperate in exchange for the Myssari's help in locating Earth. Though Ruslan wasn't born there, has never been there, and no one and no reference can point to where Earth is, he wants to see the human homeland. Thus begins the fantastical story of how a human, aided by aliens, begin the search for Earth, and their quest to resurrect the human race.
I don't want to give too much away here so I won't. However, as I was reading this book, there were so many parallels to the now-defunct TV show "Last Man on Earth." Can you imagine being the last human, the only human, the sole survivor? It boggles my mind, but I guess it shouldn't. So many things - plants and animals - have gone extinct already, why can't humans too? And, it seems fantastical to imagine alien life out there - but hey - we humans exist, so why can't life on other planets exist too? These are questions for another day.
This book was extremely entertaining and easy to read (hey - I finished it 4 days). If you liked The Martian, or the TV show "Last Man on Earth", you'll probably like this book.
