Mar 18

Trout: A True Story of Murder, Teens and the Death Penalty by Jeff Kunerth

Y’all, true crime is chilling. Trout: A True Story of Murder, Teens and the Death Penalty by Jeff Kunerth is absolutely no exception. This book chronicles a crime committed by teenagers in 1991 Florida. The book also explores the nuts and bolts of how minors can be treated as adults in the court system.

Trout by Jeff Kunerth
Trout by Jeff Kunerth

Patrick Bonifay, Cliff Barth and Eddie Fordham killed a man at Trout Auto Parts at the urging of a slightly older friend who had recently been fired. One particularly gruesome factor of the crime was that they didn’t even kill the intended target! Billy Wayne Coker was killed instead of Daniel Wells (who had called in sick).

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Mar 1

For the Duration: A Lighthearted WAAF Memoir by Felicity Ashbee

For the Duration: A Lighthearted WAAF Memoir by Felicity Ashbee might be non-fiction, but it sure doesn’t read that way. This is definitely a historical read worth picking up, no matter how far out of your comfort zone it may be.

For the Duration by Felicity Ashbee
For the Duration by Felicity Ashbee

“War?” my American friends had said, “What war?” “Hitler,” I replied. “There isn’t going to be a war,” they repeated complacently. But I knew better.

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Feb 8

Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

I picked up Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Tribe in American History by S.C. Gwynne because it has some relevance to me since Quanah Parker was born very close to where I grew up. Oklahoma has a lot of Native American history, and I thought Empire of the Summer Moon would make for a very interesting read.

Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne
Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

Y’all, this book was fascinating. Seriously. I know fangirling over a non-fiction book like this makes me the biggest nerd ever – but I’m okay with that.

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Jan 31

Paris, My Sweet by Amy Thomas

Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate) by Amy Thomas is a really enchanting memoir, y’all (or is it primarily a travelogue? I don’t know…you tell me. Pin a tail on the genre). The super accessible writing style and charming chocolate addiction of Amy Thomas won me over immediately.

Paris, My Sweet by Amy Thomas
Paris, My Sweet by Amy Thomas

It is really ironic that I decided to pick up a copy of Paris, My Sweet at all. I actually spent three days in Paris a few years ago and was less than impressed. Of course, three days didn’t really give the city a fair shake to impress me. All I got to do was the cliched touristy things. But, I was intrigued by Amy Thomas’ background and the mention of chocolate – so I let myself be lured. I’m oh-so-glad I did!

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Jan 17

Fleas, Flies and Friars: Children’s Poetry from the Middle Ages by Nicholas Orme

How awesome would it be to have records of children’s rhymes, verses and songs from the Middle Ages? In my opinion, it would be extremely interesting. Unfortunately, most such songs and riddles were passed down orally and have long since been lost. Fleas, Flies and Friars: Children’s Poety from the Middle Ages by Nicholas Orme discusses what we do know.

Fleas, Flies and Friars by Nicholas Orme
Fleas, Flies and Friars by Nicholas Orme

You guys, Fleas, Flies and Friars is fairly short. You can learn a lot of interesting information extremely quickly – and raise your reading cred by picking up non-fiction. Nicholas Orme has written previously about both children in the Middle Ages and education during the time period. I definitely feel like I can trust his research! Even though most of the book is an anthology containing the poetry itself – I also found his notes to be fascinating.

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