Books read 2021 (A-O) & #'s

Books not in Wake County Library: (1) Hildegard of Bingen's Holistic Approach to Wellness: A 12th Century Healer & Visionary, 4 Stars (Linda Lee Smith); (2) The Constitution of the United States of America (30 pp), 5 Stars (National Archives & Records Administration, Washington DC) (3) The Bible in 52 Weeks, 4 Stars (Dr. Kimberly D. Moore, Pastor; have Kindle edition) (4) Williams-Sonoma Collection: Soup, 4 Stars (Diane Rosser Worthington, have hardcopy) (5) Finding Hildegard: Healing through Medieval Wisdom, 3 Stars (Gregg Koskela) (6) What Falls Away, 5 Stars (Mia Farrow, have Kindle edition) (7) 6-Minute Fitness at 60+, 4 Stars (Dr Jonathan Su) (8) Mrs. Entwhistle series #1: Once You're Over the Hill, You Pick Up Speed, 4 Stars (Doris Reidy) (9) Apropos of Nothing, 3 Stars (Woody Allen) (10) Strength Training over 40, 4 Stars (Alana Collins) (11) Spiralizer Cookbook, 4 Stars (Violla Green, have Kindle edition) (12) The Last Duel, 5 Stars (Eric Jager) (13) Outer Banks Scenic Byway, 3 Stars (Douglas Stover) (14) The Vines, 3 Stars (Shelley Nolden, have Kindle edition)

Showing 1 - 15 of 15  There are a total of 63 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "1,000 books to read before you die"
Star rating for 1,000 books to read before you die
Average Rating:
5 stars
Notes:
5 Stars. Started in 2018 but read most to finish it in 2021! Have Kindle edition.
Description:
"Encompassing fiction, poetry, science and science fiction, memoir, travel writing, biography, children's books, history, and more, 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die moves across cultures and through time to present an eclectic collection of titles, each described with the special enthusiasm readers summon when recommending a book to a friend."--Dust jacket.
Book cover for "Arguing with zombies"
Star rating for Arguing with zombies
Average Rating:
5 stars
Notes:
5 Stars.
Description:
"An accessible, compelling introduction to today's major policy issues from columnist, best-selling author, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman. There is no better guide than Paul Krugman to basic economics, the ideas that animate much of our public policy. Likewise, there is no better foe of zombie economics, the misunderstandings that just won't die. This delightful new book finds Krugman at his best, turning readers into intelligent...
Book cover for "The disappearing act"
Star rating for The disappearing act
Average Rating:
3.8 stars
Notes:
4 Stars.
Description:
"Once a year, actors from across the globe descend on the smog and sunshine of Los Angeles for pilot season. Every cable network and studio looking to fill the rosters of their new shows enticing a fresh batch of young hopefuls, anxious, desperate and willing to do whatever it takes to make it ... British star Mia Eliot has landed leading roles in costume dramas in her native country, but now it's time for Hollywood to take her to the next level....
Book cover for "The four winds"
Star rating for The four winds
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Notes:
5 Stars.
Description:
"[A]n epic novel of love and heroism and hope, set against the backdrop of one of America's most defining eras--the Great Depression. Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with...
Book cover for "Good hunting"
Star rating for Good hunting
Average Rating:
4 stars
Notes:
4 Stars. Have Kindle edition.
Description:
A CIA veteran with extensive experience in covert operations presents a guide to the art of spycraft while illuminating the CIA's essential role, sharing a cautionary message about its recent transition toward paramilitary activities.
Book cover for "The greater journey"
Star rating for The greater journey
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Notes:
5 Stars.
Book cover for "The hellfire club"
Star rating for The hellfire club
Author:
Average Rating:
3.4 stars
Notes:
4 Stars.
Description:
After a mysterious fatal car accident kills his predecessor, Congressman Charlie Marder struggles to navigate the dangerous waters of 1950s Washington, D.C., where he finds an underworld of backroom deals, secret societies, and a conspiracy at the highest levels of the government.
Book cover for "The hill we climb"
Star rating for The hill we climb
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Notes:
5 Stars. Have Audiobook edition.
Description:
"On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet, at age twenty-two, to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration. Her inaugural poem, 'The Hill We Climb,' is now available to cherish in this special edition"--
Book cover for "In the garden of beasts"
Star rating for In the garden of beasts
Average Rating:
4 stars
Notes:
5 Stars.
Description:
In 1933, President Roosevelt personally selected William E. Dodd to be the United States ambassador to Nazi Germany. Dodd took his family with him, including his daughter Martha. Initially enamored with the Nazi party and its passion, Martha supported the Third Reich. However, when Hitler's violent policies became apparent, Martha changed her opinion and watched in horror. Here, author Erik Larson offers a chilling first-person account of Germany's...
Book cover for "Infinite country"
Star rating for Infinite country
Average Rating:
3.4 stars
Notes:
4 Stars.
Description:
"Talia is being held at a correctional facility for adolescent girls in the forested mountains of Colombia after committing an impulsive act of violence that may or may not have been warranted. She urgently needs to get out and get back home to Bogotá, where her father and a plane ticket to the United States are waiting for her. If she misses her flight, she might also miss her chance to finally be reunited with her family in the north. How this...
Book cover for "Jesus and John Wayne"
Star rating for Jesus and John Wayne
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Notes:
5 Stars.
Description:
"A scholar of American Christianity answers perhaps the most bewildering question of our time: Why are evangelicals "the Donald's" most fervent supporters? Donald Trump is a libertine who lacks even basic knowledge of the Christian faith. Yet in 2016 he won 81 percent of the white evangelical vote, and continues to rely on white evangelicals as his base of support. While we assume the religious right has pragmatic reasons for backing Trump, in truth...
Book cover for "March"
Star rating for March
Average Rating:
3.8 stars
Notes:
5 Stars. Read during Hatteras Island trip the week after Thanksgiving.
Description:
In a story inspired by the father character in "Little Women" and drawn from the journals and letters of Louisa May Alcott's father, a man leaves behind his family to serve in the Civil War and finds his beliefs challenged by his experiences.
Book cover for "On Juneteenth"
Star rating for On Juneteenth
Average Rating:
4 stars
Notes:
4 Stars.
Description:
""It is staggering that there is no date commemorating the end of slavery in the United States." -Annette Gordon-Reed. The essential, sweeping story of Juneteenth's integral importance to American history, as told by a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Texas native. Interweaving American history, dramatic family chronicle, and searing episodes of memoir, Annette Gordon-Reed, the descendant of enslaved people brought to Texas in the 1850s, recounts...
Book cover for "On the house"
Star rating for On the house
Average Rating:
4 stars
Notes:
5 Stars.
Description:
"A memoir by former Speaker of the House John Boehner"--
Book cover for "On tyranny"
Star rating for On tyranny
Average Rating:
4.7 stars
Notes:
5 Stars.
Description:
"The Founding Fathers tried to protect us from the threat they knew, the tyranny that overcame ancient democracy. [The author believes that] today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitarianism of the twentieth century. We are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience"--Amazon.com.