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We are halfway done with Week 19! Tell us how was your true story.

This discussion thread is solely for your progress. (Book discussions go in individual threads.)


What did you read this week?

What was the subject of the book?

Did you enjoy the book?

Tell us something true about this story.

What did you read this week?

Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell

What was the subject of the book?

The shoot out at OK Corral

Did you enjoy the book?

Excellent!

Tell us something true about this story.

Wyatt Earp and his brothers did exist as did the other main characters that met up at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. This book was well researched and well written.

What did you read this week? Yes Please by Amy Poehler

What was the subject of the book? The story of Amy's life and career, plus some tips and tricks from her.

Did you enjoy the book? Not really, Amy just came across as this whiny, annoying person.

Tell us something true about this story. Well, this is technically a nonfiction book, so ALL of it is true. But one of my favorite parts was when Amy discussed her relationship with the guy who played MC in the Beastie Boys, because I love their band.

What did you read this week? Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

What was the subject of the book? It's about the life of a (privileged) slave woman in the south of the US.

Did you enjoy the book? I didn't enjoy the writing (average), neither the story (because of the privileged parts... good for her, but not really relevant). However, it was interesting to learn things about slavery, I enjoyed this part.

Tell us something true about this story. White people in the south were really cruel (but not all of them), using sadistic punishments and selling adults and children separately without thinking they had feelings.

I am reading The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Great book, very detailed, lots of information about the sport of rowing (a sport I am completely unfamiliar with), lots of history about the Seattle, Washington area and the mid to late 1930s time period. I am halfway through the book and although it's taking me longer than I expected, it's a great read. Highly recommended!

What did you read this week? Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

What was the subject of the book? Based on World War II experience of Louis Zamperini.

Did you enjoy the book? Yes

Tell us something true about this story. This was based on Louis Zamperini's World War II experience as a POW, it was very interesting. Not something I would have normally read.

What did you read this week?
--Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah

What was the subject of the book?
--Having to live with a horrible stepmother and conquering it

Did you enjoy the book?
--Yeah! I gave it four stars.

Tell us something true about this story.
--Believing in and encouraging someone is more important than you know.

What did you read this week?
Samson: A Savior Will Rise

What was the subject of the book?
Mostly an amalgamation of various accounts of what people experienced in Auschwitz.

Did you enjoy the book?
Hard to say, as it is a brutal book, but it is important to know what happened or what could have happened to people at that time. I enjoyed the fact that they didn't try to paint everyone in charge as evil, but that they DID do wrong, or let wrong things happen.

Tell us something true about this story.
The Nazis would indeed have prisoners fight it out for entertainment. I was going to pick something else not part of the main story, but most of the other stuff was too violent :(

Disclaimer: I consider "based on a true story" to mean a work of fiction written about real people or events.

What did you read this week? Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

What was the subject of the book? The unsolved murder of Jenny Bonnet in 1870s San Francisco, as well as just the general seedy underbelly of San Francisco at that time and the record heat wave and smallpox epidemic.

Did you enjoy the book? I did. It wasn't one of my favorites, but I liked it. The characters were all very unlikable for the most part, which made it difficult to really love it, but I thought it had great atmosphere and I loved reading about the time period. Also, even though the characters were unlikable, they were all pretty interesting.
Here is a link to my .

Tell us something true about this story. Jenny Bonnet had a history of trouble with the police, because she chose to go around in men's clothing, and that was against the law for women at the time.

What did you read this week? Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory

What was the subject of the book? The true story of how during WWII British Intelligence floated a dead body who had ID for a soldier that didn't even exist and who was carrying false intelligence onto the shores of Spain in the hopes that the Germans would find it and believe the false intelligence.

Did you enjoy the book? Absolutely loved it.

Tell us something true about this story. The ruse worked, and literally turned the tide of the war. Also, the grave of the soldier is still in the seaside town in Spain. I'd love to go see it someday.

What did you read this week?
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

What was the subject of the book?
The story is about three couples at different moments of their romance with different problems but all facing prejudice against homosexual relations. It tells also the story of an additional character and his accidental "coming out" to his family

Did you enjoy the book? Yes, a lot.

Tell us something true about this story
On September 18, 2010, college students Matty Daley and Bobby Cancielo kissed for thirty-two hours, thirty minutes, and forty-five seconds to break the Guinness World Record for longest continuous kiss. And although the rest is just fantasy, I am pretty sure that most of the situations are based in real life.

What did you read this week?

Murder Most Foul by Max Haines

What was the subject of the book?

Murder.

Did you enjoy the book?

It wasn't what I expected it to be but it was good. I finished it in a day.

Tell us something true about this story.

I thought this was going to be like a retelling of like a handful of murders, kind of like a dramatisation you see on TV. You know, since it only mentions three cases on the back. HOWEVER, it turned out to be a factual, non fiction book that recounted about 30 murder cases from around the world.

SOMETHING TRUE ABOUT THIS STORY: (Besides everything). Turns out a family friend knew one of the murder vics whose case was recounted in this novel.

What did you read this week? Into the Wild

What was the subject of the book? The story of Chris McCandless, a privileged, pretentious twat who read too many books about nature & existentialism and decided to up sticks and go hiking up to Alaska without telling his family where he was going. He died.

Did you enjoy the book? Ah no. Not really. I struggled to feel any empathy for him, but I did feel for his family.

Tell us something true about this story. Some people can be truly self-centred & idiotic.