Friday Finds (Sept. 12)

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Big list this week. I feel kind of embarrassed. Have you ever been at a potluck party or buffet and everyone goes through the line and fills their plate, and you sit down to realize that your plate is significantly fuller than others' plates? That's how I sometimes feel about my Friday Finds. I seldom have a nice tidy pile. I've always got an overflowing one with a little of this and a little of that. I don't know why this embarrasses me so much. I guess I fear taking up too much space, being seen as greedy. But some day I'll grow out of being self conscious and just accept who I am, right?

Anywho...

Lots to share this week, so hold onto your hats.

First off, a bevy of Civil War-related finds.

 

 

Lincoln's Gamble was released this week. It's about the six months leading up to the Emancipation Proclamation.

 

Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckly is about Mary Todd Lincoln's friendship with her dressmaker, a former slave.

 

I scored a copy of Team of Rivals at a thrift shop last weekend. It looks unread. (It likely is unread judging by its heft. A book that big is a commitment.) I've read so many good things about it, and now I have no excuse not to read it.

 

Fierce Patriot is a biography of William Tecumseh Sherman.

 

I read a book review of On Hallowed Ground this week, and it immediately went onto the list. It tells the story of Arlington National Cemetery. I learned in my reading this year that the great cemetery was built on Robert E. Lee's (confiscated?) plantation, and I've been intrigued about that history ever since.

 

 

1920 (about the 1920 political race) and 1948 (about Truman coming to power) were written by David Pietrusza, whom I've never read. Both sound excellent.

 

The President and the Assassin is the story of President McKinley's assassination.

 

The Kitchen Magpie is set to be released Oct. 14. Its subtitle is: "A Delicious Melange of Culinary Curiosities, Fascinating Facts, Amazing Anecdotes and Expert Tips for the Food-lover."

Intriguing, no?

 

Hope is a biography of Bob Hope set to release Nov. 4. (Love that cover.) I'm stoked.

 

Good Grief! is the follow-up to Mud Season, which I didn't love, but liked enough to be interested in how the story continues. In short, Stimson and her family make an ill-fated attempt to take over a country store in Vermont. Her writing is similar to Jen Lancaster's.

 

After posting my Friday Finds last week, I decided that I wanted to read We Are Not Ourselves, and I ordered a copy. Hopefully this doesn't end up with all the other fiction I've been buying but not reading. Its focus on character rather than plot makes it a more likely read than some others I've picked up lately.

 

I'm thoroughly enjoying In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides. Hellhound on His Trail is another of his historical books. It tells about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination and the ensuing world-wide manhunt.

 

There. I've once again gorged at the great book buffet of life.

 

What's on your plate?