Since good things come in threes, however, I have put together three groups of three books. Sorry for the rebellious attitude, but I just couldn't resist the opportunity to push more books! I'm sure all of you reading this understand.
Pairing the First: All the Hemingway a Person Could Want
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| Fictional Account of Ernest Hemingway |
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| Nonfiction Account BY Ernest Hemingway |
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| Nonfiction Account by a BETTER Hemingway (or Gellhorn to be accurate) |
Pairing the Second: Badass Lady Scientists and Mathematicians
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| Adventures of Badass Ada Lovelace! |
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| Interesting Accounts of Brilliant Scientist who Faced Pervasive Sexism |
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| How Women Scientists Still Face Sexism Today |
The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage made me really wish that Ada Lovelace had gotten a chance to do more work. But, if you liked those fictional adventures, look to Headstrong to read more about actual female scientists who did important and vital work. And then look at The Only Woman in the Room for an important reminder that although we have come far, there is still important work to do so that women get the chances they deserve to succeed in the sciences.
Pairing the Third (and Final): Some RFK, anyone?
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| Personal Account of the Cuban Missile Crisis |
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| Important Context about RFK's Presidential Campaign |
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| A Thorough, Though Relatively Laudatory Biography |
I have a bit of a Kennedy obsession ... with Bobby Kennedy anyway! He lacks some of the glamour of big brother John, but in my mind is much more interesting for his complexity and evolution after JFK's death into a presidential candidate in his own right. His evolution on Civil Rights is especially interesting.
Thirteen Days is his memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which reveals fascinating historical details about that tense time and which was made into one of my favorite movies, also called Thirteen Days (Yes, Kevin Costner's Boston accent is horrible, but just go with it, and Steven Culp as RFK is very good, I think). The Last Campaign provides historical context for RFK's presidential campaign, situating it in the Civil Rights challenges, victories and tragedies of the late 1960s. And, Robert Kennedy and His Times, with its 1000+ pages is a very thorough account of his life, including his time in JFK's administration.
Hope some of you find some new books from these selections. And, if anyone else is a lady scientist/mathematician or RFK fan, I'm always looking for recommendations!
Next up: Week Three and my opinions on nontraditional nonfiction formats. An exciting essay on audiobooks! A rambling discourse on nonfiction graphic novels!! Do I like ebooks? Stay tuned ...
Even thought I haven't read your suggestions, I'd have to recommend The Paris Wife. I enjoyed this fictionalized account of Ernest Hemingway's first marriage from the perspective of his wife Hadley.
ReplyDeleteThe Paris Wife seems to be getting a lot of recommendations lately. I've seen it, but I think my main problem is that I don't actually find Hemingway to be that interesting, or at least not interesting enough to want to read about. Hadley, however, I loved in Mrs. Hemingway so I'll have to at least look for it at the library!
DeleteI love your second group! I've read the Lovelace book and I have Headstrong on my tbr list.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I really like The Thrilling Adventures, even though graphic novels usually aren't my thing but I found the story-telling really well done and the footnotes were fabulous. 52 is really interesting, although if I had to read it again, I would buy a copy and then read one chapter a night instead of reading it like a narrative book. I wrote down a ton of scientists to research further - so be warned, it may balloon your tbr pile! Hope you enjoy it.
DeleteThanks! I really like The Thrilling Adventures, even though graphic novels usually aren't my thing but I found the story-telling really well done and the footnotes were fabulous. 52 is really interesting, although if I had to read it again, I would buy a copy and then read one chapter a night instead of reading it like a narrative book. I wrote down a ton of scientists to research further - so be warned, it may balloon your tbr pile! Hope you enjoy it.
Delete