Dan's 2016 Books

1. Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Awesome book. I liked this one better than the Devil in the White City because the topic was a little more interesting to me and it was overall cleaner, though both were historical non-fiction. I didn't know anything about the Lusitania and the disaster that befell it, nor the implications of that event for the US and WWI, so this really was an eye opening book for me. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested in historical literature.

2. A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Not worth reading again, but a reasonably captivating mystery.







3. Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy F. Baumeister
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Compared to some of the more mainstream books about why people do the things we do and how to get better at them, I did not think this one was quite as compelling. However, it provided some great insight about why and when we are challenged in our willpower and how to improve upon it. I listened to it on CD and may have gotten a little more out of it by reading it, but it was enlightening still and overall I'd recommend reading it if you are interested in figuring out why it is so hard to do the things you don't want to do and stop doing the things you shouldn't be doing.

4. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is definitely a really depressing book. It's a story about everybody trying to do their best, do what they think is right, and everyone ends up kind of screwed up and sad in the end. It is well written and quite captivating, but not really my kind of literature. It did make me think about my own kids and what I would do for them, so perhaps that is what the author intended for the reader.

5. Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot by Bill O'Reilly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Maybe I liked this book so much because I knew so little about JFK before reading it. Or maybe it was because I like Bill O'Reilly's style and voice reading his own book. Either way, the book really pulled me in and I wanted to listen to it a lot so I could hear how things ended. I'm moving on to Killing Lincoln, so I must have liked it.

6. Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I probably did not enjoy this one quite as much as Killing Kennedy, but it was still a very interesting read. The most compelling part was the narration of the last few days of the Civil War and how it all came to a close. I didn't realize that Lincoln was killed so soon after the War ended. He really didn't get much of a chance to celebrate the conclusion of such a bloody chapter in our nation's history. I would certainly recommend the book as it is well written and pretty captivating.

7. Junius and Albert's Adventures in the Confederacy: A Civil War Odyssey by Peter Carlson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book was good, but it's pretty quirky. I don't really have a desire to read it again, but do not regret having read it once. I suppose it was a bit of a miracle either of these guys survived the war, and it certainly was not without cost to them personally. I never would have thought about the plight of newspaper correspondents during war, but I'm not totally sure the number of people impacted by their situation is very significant either. Anyway, good book, interesting stories.