10 Books For People Who Like A Little Truth With Their Fiction

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic, chosen by The Broke and the Bookish, is 10 books every X should read (ballet-lover, feminist, history buff, etc.). These broad topics are fun but sometimes difficult to compile, and especially tough to make creative and original. After browsing through my Goodreads read list, I decided to go with:

10 Books For People Who Like A Little Truth With Their Fiction

or

10 Fact-Based Novels

These novels are all inspired by real-life people or groups of people. I love non-fiction that reads like novels, and I love fiction -- like these selections -- that subtly gives me facts and teaches me about a real-life issue while providing a thoroughly interesting and enjoyable reading experience. Do you have any recommendations for fact-based fiction? I could always use more books in this genre!

"Circling the Sun" is about the extraordinary Beryl Markham, the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from England to the U.S. She grew up in early 1900s Kenya, trained race horses, and was a woman utterly ahead of her time. (review)

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Ernest Hemingway's first wife Hadley is the focus of "The Paris Wife," which provides rich descriptions of the couple's time in Chicago, Paris and Spain. (review)

"The Lady Elizabeth" is a wonderfully gripping novel of the life of Queen Elizabeth I. (review)

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Similarly, "Innocent Traitor" focuses on the life of Lady Jane Grey, the "Nine-Day Queen," a teenage girl who found herself caught up against her will in the machinations of Tudor England -- and ultimately lost her head for it.

"Euphoria," a riveting novel of three anthropologists caught in a love triangle in 1930s New Guinea, is inspired by pioneering anthropologist Margaret Mead. (review)

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While I was ever so slightly disappointed in "Girl Waits With Gun," it was an interesting peek into the life of Constance Kopp, one of America's first female sheriff's deputies. (review)

 I found "The Dud Avocado" to be a lovely blend of riotous good time and poignant coming-of-age story. It was inspired by the author's exploits as a young American in 1950s Paris. (review)

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"Half Broke Horses," a 5-star read for me, is a fictionalized account of the Walls' grandmother's life. Lily Casey Smith was a fascinating, persevering, good-humored woman who survived many hardships and experienced many joys. (review)

One of my favorite novels, "Molokai," is about a group of people rather than just one, but I feel like it fits well in this category. Brennert spins a heartbreaking, amazing novel of the lives of the exiles at the Kalaupapa leper colony on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. (review)

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Like "Molokai," "Orphan Train" is a gut-wrenching, well-researched account of a marginalized, little-known group of people, in this case the parentless children forced to ride "orphan trains" to the Midwest to be adopted (i.e. oftentimes forced into indentured servitude) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Bonus!

I just finished an advance-read copy of "Fever at Dawn," which comes out today. It's based on the true story of how the author's parents -- two concentration camp survivors -- met and fell in love as penpals while they were recuperating in different hospitals.

 And two on my to-read list:

Monday Musings

Highlight of the week: After the insanely hectic week we had (last day of work for both of us, three days of movers packing up all our stuff, a mad dash all over town looking for a tire for the boat trailer, a six-inch gouge on my chest courtesy of our super, skittish kitty) we spent the weekend with some very kind friends in Tennessee who are going to take care of our boat for us while we're in Hawaii for the next three years. It was so nice to be back in the Smoky Mountains, one of our most favorite places. (Above: dogwood tree in Cades Cove, part of Great Smoky Mountain National Park.)

Reading: I didn't have a ton of reading time this week, but I did read the Columbine memoir "A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy" by Sue Klebold (review). It had a few flaws, but overall it was a really interesting -- and sad and thought-provoking -- book. I also read "Saga" volume 5 and started an advance-read book, "Fever at Dawn" by Peter Gardos. It's a post-WWII love story between two Holocaust survivors and it's based on real letters written between Gardos's parents.

Watching: "The Walking Dead" season finale. It was a good episode but I hated the cliffhanger ending! Argh!

Looking forward to: Getting to Colorado Tuesday night to commence my month of relaxation with my parents while Jarrod takes a class for his new job.

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Linking up with Kathryn at Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Book Review: A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold

"A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy" by Sue Klebold
First published in 2016
280 pages
My rating: 3.5 out of 5
Image from Goodreads

The Short Of It:
This was an intriguing memoir by the mother of one of the Columbine High School shooters that addresses the massacre itself, the grieving process, and the question of how on earth she didn't see it coming. Sue's main focus is educating the public on mental health issues like depression and suicidal impulses, which Dylan was suffering from, which no one in his life save fellow shooter Eric Harris knew about, and which directly contributed to his involvement in murdering his fellow students and ultimately turning his gun on himself.

The Long Of It:
When Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 14 people and injured 24 at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, I was a middle-schooler in Colorado Springs. I have a clear memory of donating $1 for a Columbine ribbon pin to wear the day after the attack. I also recall the thought crossing my mind -- as I'm sure it did every other student in my middle school -- that if something like this could happen just an hour away, could a horrific shooting happen at my school too? That's why, though I normally avoid tragedy memoirs, I was intrigued to read the new book by Sue Klebold, Dylan's mother.

Sue's purpose in telling her very difficult story is an important one, and one that now defines her life: to do as much as she can to educate the public on brain health issues and help parents recognize hidden signs that their child might be silently suffering.

"It's not easy for me to come forward," she writes, "but if the understanding and insights I have gained in the terrible crucible of Columbine can help, then I have a moral imperative to share them. Speaking out is frightening, but it is also the right thing to do. The list of things I have learned is long. Those are my failures. But what I have learned implies the need for a broader call to action, a comprehensive overview of what should be in place to stop not only tragedies like the one committed by my son by the hidden suffering of any child."

One of the most ubiquitous questions surrounding Columbine is how the boys' parents could have possibly failed to see that their children were planning this horrible event -- which they boys intended to be so very much worse than it was -- right under their noses. Obviously any good, caring parent would notice their child floundering under such profound depression, anxiety, rage, hate and suicidal thoughts, and that he was being bullied at school -- right?! But Sue and her husband did not know. They were completely clueless and for months after the tragedy Sue held on to the belief that Dylan must not have been a willing participant.

One of the main takeaways I got from Sue's account is that even the best parents -- and, according to the book, Sue and Tom were wonderful, loving, involved parents, if a little overprotective in my opinion -- can't know everything about their child; kids are masters at hiding things from their parents. But, in retrospect, there were signs -- however minuscule -- that something was going on with Dylan. And Sue's goal is to educate other parents on these potential warning signals. Of course most troubled teens aren't going to kill over a dozen of their classmates, but they may very well be planning to take their own lives. And, as Sue points out many times, Dylan went to his high school that day with the primary purpose of dying himself.

Sue was very brave coming forward and laid her soul bare in these pages, even including very personal grief-soaked passages from the journal she'd written in the months after Columbine. This memoir is unflinchingly honest and Sue doesn't hold anything back, no matter how it may make her look. I appreciated her candor, even though I had to keep reminding myself not to be judge-y. (Sue and Tom were extremely conservative parents and their views are not in keeping with mine on several things. I'm slight ashamed to admit that I thought more than once, "You were almost ridiculously overprotective and sheltering, and look how your son turned out.") Instead, I reminded myself to appreciate Sue's courage in coming forward with this most painful story.

Too, I appreciated the perspective of another family member left behind by a horrific suicide, as it's something my husband and I have experienced ourselves. I could completely relate to Sue's description of trying to grieve for the boy she knew while constantly having to adjust her image of who that boy really was.

I was also impressed that Sue wrote the book entirely on her own, since memoirs of this type are usually composed "with" an established writer. But there were times when the book dragged, and I found several passages to be repetitive, and certain thoughts and facts were reiterated over and over again. By the last chapter or two, I was actually skimming. Maybe it would've helped if Sue had brought on a more experienced author to assist.

Still, this is a must-read for anyone interested in the Columbine tragedy, the what-ifs and how-could-they-possiblys associated with it, the psychology of mass shootings, surviving grief and loss, suicide research and prevention, and how you might possibly save a life by recognizing that someone needs help. I applaud Sue for coming forward with her heartbreaking tale in the hopes that she might be able to help someone else. 

I Judge Books By Their Covers: "Station Eleven"

 Hello, my name is Lindsay, and I judge books by their covers.

Confession: I always judge books by their covers. A book's appearance -- from the artwork to the font to the colors to the texture to the weight and cut of the pages (I like the ragged-edged ones) -- is very important to me. And there are certain kinds of covers I like and certain ones I'd never pick up unless I was already planning to read the book. It's fascinating to see how covers change between editions -- hardcover and paperback, or U.S. and international -- and it's so fun to see who prefers what!

hardcover // paperback

"Station Eleven" was on my mind recently because it made the list of my 10 most recent 5-star reads. When I went on Goodreads to grab the cover art for that post, I noticed the paperback edition is out, and it has a very different cover! (Though a further glance told me that the deer artwork is actually from the U.K. hardback.)

I like both of these covers well enough, so it's a tough choice! But the original hardcover artwork is more intriguing; the beautiful night sky and softly glowing tents grab my attention and make me curious about the story. Of course the deer and flora on the paperback are pretty, but I don't feel that same pull to discover the meaning of the images. Also, I'm not 100% crazy about the orange font. Which cover do you like best? Did you like "Station Eleven"?

My winner: hardcover edition

12 Bookish Instagrammers to Follow

The topic for this week's Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and the Bookish is fellow bookworms we follow on social media. The only social media platform I use besides Facebook (where I do follow a few authors -- Pierce Brown, Andy Weir, Emily Giffin, Deborah Harkness) is Instagram, and that's what I decided to focus on for this list. I'm excited to look through other bloggers' posts because I really don't follow very many bookish accounts on Instagram -- this list is just about all of them -- and I'd like to add a few more to my feed. Below we have a couple authors, some popular Bookstagram accounts, and some fellow bloggers.

Do you have any favorite bookish Instagrammers? Are you on Instagram? You can find me there @knittinglindsay.

Author Pierce Brown

Instagram: piercebrownofficial

For a fairly famous author, Pierce is a pretty prolific Instagram poster. It's fun to get an peek at the life of an author I love and, um, one I've got a major crush on!

Author Kate Morton

Instagram: katemortonauthor

Kate does some fun traveling. She doesn't post nearly as much as Pierce but I always enjoy her photos.

Instagram: hotdudesreading

Hot dudes reading. Need I say more?!

Instagram: missinformation

I love this account! Katherine is a librarian with a fondness for amazing dresses and vintage clothing.

Instagram: ursula_uriarte

Typical Bookstagram account featuring gorgeous bookish photos.

Instagram: bookloversnest

More gorgeous bookish photos.

Fellow Bloggers I Follow On Instagram:

Instagram: perpetualpageturner

Instagram: grace_rebelmommybb

Instagram: advntrsofabibliophile

Instagram: bringmybooks

Instagram: shainareadsbooks

Instagram: palmerspageturners

Monday Musings

The view behind our house. I'm going to miss it!

Highlight of the week: What a week it's been here. We were busy with the move, I had my going away party and exit interview at work, and the weather was utterly wacky. On Saturday we had sunshine and clear blue sky to start, then rain, hail and SNOW! Not to mention insane wind. We did squeeze in a few fun things, though, like going over to our friends' house to visit their adorable Great Dane, Duke, one last time before we move. We had the privilege of dog-sitting Duke when he was a puppy and we fell in love!

Reading: It was a so-so reading week for me. I finished "Be Frank With Me" by Julia Claiborne Johnson (review) and was surprisingly disappointed in it. Sadly, the story did not live up to its charming, fun cover. I also finally got around to volume 4 of "Saga," which was still decent but I wasn't nearly as engrossed reading it as I was the first three. Hopefully volume five is better!

On Saturday I started "A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy" by Sue Klebold, mother of Columbine shooter Dylan Klebold. I was a middle-schooler in Colorado Springs at the time of the Columbine school shooting, so this memoir caught my attention. I'm only 40 pages in, but I'm definitely intrigued so far. And I'm especially impressed because the writing is pretty good, and it appears Sue wrote it entirely by herself.

I have two other books checked out from the library and it's my goal to get them read before we hit the road a week from today. Not likely, but I can hope, right?!

Watching: We finally had a chance to watch some movies this week! "Bridge of Spies" was pretty good but "Daddy's Home" was just ok, kinda dumb. Tonight we will be watching our DVR recording of "The Walking Dead" season finale. Oh yeah, and basketball (sigh).

Looking forward to: Wednesday, April 12. It'll be our first full day in Colorado with my parents and the first half of our move will be over! I'll be staying with my parents for a month while Jarrod does some training for his next job and I can't wait for four weeks of relaxation! After all the craziness of this move (which, by the way, has been the most stressful of our six moves together!) I'd say I earned it!

Not looking forward to: This Wednesday, my last day of work at the library. :(

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Linking up with Book Date for Its Monday! What Are You Reading?

Book Review: Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson

"Be Frank With Me" by Julia Claiborne Johnson
First published in 2016
287 pages
My rating: 2.5 out of 5
Image from Goodreads

The Short Of It:
Disappointing book that failed to live up to its potential. Unfortunately, I'd say pass on this one.

The Long Of It:
"Be Frank With Me" is a perfect example of a promising premise suffering from poor execution. I was all set to love what I thought would be a charming, funny and poignant story only to encounter a plot that went nowhere and zero character development. At least it was well-written!

Frank is unlike any 9-year-old you've met. His daily attire includes monocles and suit jackets, he has a passion for old movies, and his brilliant mind is a vault of random trivia knowledge. He's also bullied at school and stared at in public, bangs his head and pulls out his hair when he gets frustrated, and can't stand being touched without permission.

Frank's mother is a reclusive prize-winning author who hasn't published a word since her first book decades ago, but now, swindled out of her fortune, she's forced to write a second book (much to her editor's delight!). And Alice, our narrator, is a publishing assistant from Mimi's agency in New York, sent out to Los Angeles to help Mimi with whatever she may need to get the long-awaited novel written. What Mimi needs help with, it turns out, is cooking, cleaning, driving and, above all, care of her incredibly eccentric little boy while she locks herself away in her office to write -- and Alice, a twentysomething hard-working Nebraska native who's trying to find her place in life, is determined to do her best. There's also Xander, who is at once Frank's piano teacher, Mimi's handyman, and a sexy itinerant drifter with a past he won't talk about who comes and goes from their lives without warning.

There's so much potential here to craft a really good story. But the plot felt so stagnant: basically, Alice and Frank have some misadventures while Mimi works on her book. The end. I kept on trudging through versions of the same events repeated over and over, waiting for something big -- significant -- to happen, but it didn't, and I felt there was no point to the story. The only theme I could get from it is that it's ok to be different and that we shouldn't try to change those who are -- a la Frank and his very strange personality -- but that could have been fleshed out in a far more interesting way.

Hand-in-hand with the lack of forward-moving plot, there's no character growth. At the end of the book, Frank is still weird, Mimi is still mean and mysterious, Alice is still boring, and Xander still has the personality of a 15-year-old in a much older body. And because they're so flat, I never felt invested in their lives.

At the end of the book, Alice goes back to New York, and it's presumed that everyone else picks up their daily lives right where they left off. Maybe this is a case where an epilogue would've been appropriate. Does Alice stay in touch with Frank and Mimi? Does Frank go on to become some change-the-world scientist or Jeopardy champion? Does Mimi publish any more books? I also wondered all throughout the story if Frank has Asperger's, but it's never mentioned. So very many intriguing questions were raised during the story, and very few were answered.

I really expected this book to be at least a 4-star read for me, but all the plot flaws make it a miss -- which is a bummer, because I know it could've been so much better, especially since Johnson clearly knows how to write. Unless you really, really like old movie references (a topic I know almost nothing about, which probably hurt me here too), I'd say to skip this one.