Tomorrow, we start week 8 of 2024 – time is flying! This week will take us to Delaware and on a journey to learn about our Presidents and First Ladies. I’ll also recap the author event I attended for Heather Webb’s latest release Queens of London early this month. What are you reading this week?
Here’s the books I’m looking forward to discussing with you this week. Grab your copies of these books by clicking the images below:
RWL Reading Challenge – Week 8: About a President or First Lady
Thomas Jefferson & Sally Hemings: an American controversy
by Annette Gordon-Reed
Posting on Monday, February 19th
After spending most of 2023 reading about George Washington, John Adams, and their contemporaries, I’ve focused on Thomas Jefferson in 2024. The one fact most people know about Jefferson is that he had a long-running sexual relationship with his slave Sally Hemings. Hemings, who also was the half-sister of Jefferson’s wife, bore several children for Jefferson, although he never seems to have claimed their linage during his lifespan. Gordon-Reed is a law professor and historian. This was her debut book and was inspired by her long-running interest in the president. However, she uses her legal and analytical expertise to identify false assumptions and biases that had previously led the public and historians alike to shun the idea that Jefferson could have fathered Hemings’ children. Her writing, along with societal pressures, created new interest in DNA tests between Jefferson and these potential descendants which were found to support the possibility of direct lineage.
Here’s some other great books that would work for this prompt in popular genres:
- Best Seller: The First Ladies, Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
- General Fiction: Dreams From My Father, Barack Obama
- Romance: The President’s Lady, Irving Stone
- Mystery/Thriller: The President is Missing, Bill Clinton & James Patterson
- Nonfiction: Valiant Ambition, Nathaniel Philbrick
- Kids: Truth or Lie! Presidents, Erica S Perl & Michael Slack
Author Event: Heather Webb discussing Queens of London
Posting on Wednesday, February 21st
I was at the Atlanta History Center earlier this month to hear Heather Webb discussing her latest release! This novel follows an all-female group of jewel thieves in a post-war London after WWI. This Ocean’s 8-esque group of is something you probably were not taught in school!
US States Challenge – Week 8: Delaware
Cure for the Common Breakup
by Beth Kendrick
Posting on Thursday, February 22nd
After a few weeks of heavy topics and murder mysteries, I was due for a lighter read! This cute romance is set in the fictional Black Dog Bay, Delaware, where all the businesses have a break-up theme.
Here’s some other great books that would work for this prompt in popular genres:
- Bestseller: And Never Let Her Go, Ann Rule
- General Fiction: The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls, Julie Schumacher
- Romance: Second Time Around, Beth Kendrick
- Thriller: Fight Club, Chuck Palahnink
- Nonfiction: Promises to Keep: On Life & Politics, Joe Biden
- Kids: Dear America: A Light in the Storm, Karen Hesse
Rotating Posts – Week 8: TBR Stack
A Winter in New York
by Josie Silver
Posting on Saturday, February 24th
This was my Book of the Month pick at the end of 2023. I was looking for a cute romcom book to lighten up my reading. This one fits that bill, but should have come with a trigger warning for anyone who has experienced mental or emotional abuse in the past – if there was one, I didn’t catch it and that last chapter left my heart racing and rendered me unable to sleep
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: Toxic Prey, John Sandford
- Current audio book: PS I Love You, Cecelia Ahern
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert
Read With Lindsey 