Reading The 1000 Books to Read Before I Die

“More Exceptional than the books we label “read before we die” are those we’ve come to treasure before we learn to read.” James Mustich Hey 1000 Bookies... Our next selection on the 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die is a book that I have read thousands of times, and I hope thousands more.   Goodnight Moon is one of several children’s books listed on the 1,000 Books to Reach Before You Die .   Goodnight Moon boasts one of the more famous opening lines in literary history, “In the Great Green Room…” .   The book was published in 1947 and has not gone out of print to this day, Goodnight Moon was special to me because I was able to share it with my girls.   Marie Weisgerber, one of my guest bloggers, gave Goodnight Moon as a gift to my oldest daughter, Rachael when she was born.   My wife and I spent many evenings reciting the story to our three daughters.   We read that book almost every night before bed.   Goodnight Moon is the perfe...

Hello 1000 Bookies: During my recent vacation I read the book, The End of the World is Nigh by Tony Moyle.   This is the first book I have read from this author.   I enjoyed his very irreverent style of writing.   I also very much enjoyed one of the book’s main characters, Philibert Montmorency.   A fun character is a joy to read in any story.   This novel volleys back and forth from France in the present day to France of the 1500s.   A fairly easy read with a mystery to solve, in the future I am resolved to add more of Mr. Moyle’s stories.   The book won’t cure cancer or change the world, but it tells a fun adventure story. The End of the World is Nigh a great book to sit on the beach with which I did.   This book revolves around a previously unknown prediction written by Nostradamus.   Michel de Nostredame was a French Astrologer, physician, and seer.   He is famous throughout history for seemingly to predict historic eve...

Hello 1000 Bookies: Before Harry Potter, Before Roland Dashain, Before Percy Jackson, Before Jon Snow, there was Taran of Caer Dallben.    On our latest stop on our book tour from the 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die , we travel to the mythical world of Prydain where we meet some interesting characters.   The Book of Three is the first volume in a young adult Science Fiction/Fantasy series called The Chronicles of Prydain .   This series was written during the 1960s but wears its age well.   This book has everything for fantasy story lovers--heroes and princesses, from really bad guys to the good guys, from mythical creatures to zombies, from oracle pigs to the fairy folk.   At the center of the story is the character of Taran.   Taran, like any typical teenager, is a dreamer who wants to leave the farm where he is caring for a white pig, named Hen Wen.   He wants to learn to become a hero and great warrior.   He wants to emula...

Hello 1000 Bookies I recently finished Dominic Smith’s latest novel, The Electric Hotel .   The novel is about the beginning of motion pictures.   Told through the life of Claude Ballard, the book has a Sunset Boulevard feel to it.   Claude is old and living in a run-down Hollywood Hotel with other has beens.   Then one day a graduate student contacts him and wants to listen to the early days of motion pictures and possibly see any of his films.   These were the days before even silent movie stars, the book portrays the first days of film.   Like a wild west with no rules, norms.   Can you imagine the first time the city was filmed, or a kiss was filmed, or a dog running were filmed.   Pretty damn boring today but in 1896 this was new. The story touches on the inventors, the Lumiere Brothers to Thomas Edison.   Edison is portrayed as a robber baron similar to Rockefeller, Carnegie and Vanderbilt.   Because of Edison’s greed, Hollyw...

Hi 1000 Bookies As part of this blog, I decided to promote local, independent book stores as a way of promoting reading.  The first store I have visited is Barrier Island Books & Art in Stone Harbor, New Jersey.  A stone's throw from Springer's Homemade Ice Cream Shop and St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Barrier Island Books & Art is a Stone Harbor must visit. One of the reasons Barrier Island Books is a must visit, is the store's proprietor, Mr. Peter Lengle.  Peter is a community leader, with a passion for people.  He is a true book lover and scours the country for rare finds.  The bookstore has built a diverse clientele that he caters.  While I was there I met one of his clients whom he finds rare John Steinbeck editions.  I purchased two books on my list from 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die.  For young people, Barrier Island Books & Art  has a great selection of YA books, Fantasy/Sci-Fi as well as collector versions of N...

“This is Bob Barker reminding you to help control the pet populations—have your pets spayed and neutered”  Bob Barker, The Price is Right (1981-2007) My Dog Tulip By J.R. Ackerley The latest installment of the 1000 Books to Read Before You Die is My Dog Tulip by J.R. Ackerley.   Ostensibly the book is a semi-memoir about Ackerley’s dog named Queenie.   Published in 1955, the book is a relatively short read at 200 pages.   I would say the vernacular of the book has not aged well with the times and if written today would be edited very differently.     J.R. Ackerley had an interesting career as a writer and with the BBC (British Broadcasting Channel), rising to be editor of the BBC Magazine, The Listener .   Prior to his career, Ackerley was a British soldier in World War 1 and took an extensive trip to India eventually writing a novel and play about both.   With the deaths of his parents, J.K Ackerley came out acknowledging...

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."   Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities Hello 1000 Bookies-- Today is the 230th Anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, the seminal event that triggered the French Revolution which deposed the Bourbon monarchy, set up the French republic and lead to the rise of Napoleon.  The French Revolution led to the creation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the Oath of...

Hello 1000 Bookies: This Friday I have chosen a fun Friday Book List.  Buzzfeed Books published the list, The 26 Books to Read on Your Next Vacation .   https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/cieravelarde/books-you-should-read-on-your-next-vacation . This list is great, I have read several of the books including-- Where the Crawdads Sing? The Song of Achilles The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter The Royal We Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe  A Walk in the Woods I highly recommend reading the books on this list.  As I am beginning my vacation tomorrow I will be reading on the beach.  Keep Reading My Friends! 

"If Ross Perot looked like Richard Crenna, he would have been elected President of the United States "--Robert Romano, November 1992 Hello 1000 Bookies: This week we lost an American original, H. Ross Perot.  Most know Ross Perot from his run for the Presidency in 1992 and building the Reform Party which lasted through 2000.  In 1992, Ross Perot received the largest vote total percentage (19%) for a third political party since Teddy Roosevelt in 1912, 80 years before.  Perot took the political world by storm and then flamed out.   However there was another side to Ross Perot.  In 1979, two of Perot's employees were taken prisoner by the crumbling regime of the Shah of Iran.  During the regime change from the Iran of the Shah to the Theocracy of the Ayatollah, Ross Perot hired and paid for a paramilitary rescue of his employees whom he smuggled out of Iran.  The operation and journey were chronicled in the book, On Wings of Eagles by Ken...

H ello 1000 Bookies We have a new guest blogger. It is my pleasure to announce another guest blogger for the sight. My cousin, Mr. Steven Lampe has joined Reading 1000 Books as a regular Guest blogger. Steven is one of my heroes and I am very glad to have him join... Where the Crawdads Sing, a Review by Steven Lampe 'Crawdads' is a wonderful book. It is an ode to loneliness, perseverance, and amazing accomplishment. It is essentially the story of Kya, a poor girl abandoned first by her mother, then her siblings, then - almost thankfully - by her abusive father. She learns to survive in a shack in a marsh with no heating or plumbing and carve out a solitary existence. With the help of a few kind marsh neighbors, she finds ways to feed herself, get around in a boat and finally learns to read. She eventually overcomes all to become a very impressive and accomplished woman. The overriding theme is loneliness. Kya continues to overcome, but only wants friendship and love. ...

Greetings 1000 Bookies: "True friends are always together in spirit.” Anne Shirley... Our next stop on The 1000 Books to Read Before You Die took me to a familiar and welcome place. I landed in the town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island in Canada. Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery, is the tale of the adventures of a high-spirited orphaned girl who through a mix up comes to live with Marilla Cuthbert and her brother Matthew. The Cuthberts decide to keep Anne and her inquisitiveness and hijinks permeate their humdrum lives. Almost immediately, trouble ensues and trouble always finds Anne Shirley—whether dying her notorious red hair, to accidentally serving Currant Wine thinking it was Strawberry Cordial to almost drowning acting out a scene from a play, Anne is always amusing. The characters in the book are quite charming. Anne becomes very precious to Marilla and Matthew. Matthew spoils Anne with fancy clothes and is always there to support and encourage....

Hello 1000 Bookies!!! This week we lost an American Automobile Legend, Lee Iaccoca.  He was 94 years old.  We should all live to that ripe old age.  Lee Iaccoca was at one point President of Ford Motor Company and then Chrysler Motor Company.  Iaccoca was credited with bringing Chrysler back from bankruptcy in the 1980s. He was an American success story.  Iaccoca was the son of Italian immigrants who settled in the blue collar town of Allentown, PA, he would rise to run two American Automobile Manufacturers.  Lee Iaccoca was the force behind the development of the Ford Mustang and the Ford Pinto.  My father was a huge fan of Lee Iaccoca and had hoped he would run for President one day.  Iaccoca actually entertained running as a Democrat in 1988.  In 1991, He was offered a seat in the United States Senate from Pennsylvania but turned it down. I always admired  Lee Iaccoca for his commitment to preserve the history of the immigrant ex...

Hello 1000 Bookies, Today we have our FIRST guest blogger for the Reading 1000 Books Blog . I am excited to announce that Marie Weisgerber  join the blog as a frequent guest contributor.  Marie is an avid reader when not spending time with her wonderful husband, children and grandchildren.  Marie is a historian and a former history teacher.  She is also my aunt and my godmother.  Marie and I share a love of books and history and I look forward to her contributing many more blog posts.   For her first post, Marie will review A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.  So without further ado: A Gentleman in Moscow Review by Marie Weisgerber  “…if a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them…” A Gentleman in Moscow was set in Russia in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution and is an interesting character study. The main character, Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, was sentenced to house arrest in the...

Hello 1000 Bookies!!   "I can with truth assure you, I hear Bullets whistle and believe me there was something charming in the sound" George Washington to his brother Jack Washington, July 1754  July 3rd was a tough day in the life of George Washington, the Father of Our Country.  On the eve as we celebrate our Independence as a nation, reflecting back on key events in the life of George Washington provides guideposts to our national character.  First, on July 3rd, 1775, George Washington arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts to take command of the Continental Troops as Commander and Chief.  Colonel Washington arrived at the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia dressed in his military uniform from the French and Indian War.  The Adams Cousins--John and Sam, recognizing the need for the cause to be embraced by all the colonies, nominated General Washington for Commander & Chief over their sometime ally, the richest man in America, John ...

Greetings 1000 Bookies!!!  I want to wish a Happy Birthday to screen legend Olivia De Havilland!!  The actress turned 103 yesterday.  Her iconic role was that of Melanie Hamilton Wilkes in the 1939 epic movie, Gone With the Wind.   While she would win the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role twice in 1946 and 1949, her supporting role as Melanie will be the defining role of her career, the one she will be most remembered.  The seemingly meek yet supremely strong Melanie Wilkes is really the only character in the book and movie who loves the miserable Scarlett O'Hara.  Olivia De Havilland many years later appeared in the Civil War miniseries-- North & South, Book II . Gone With the Wind was one of the most popular books of all time.  Written by Atlanta native, Margaret "Peggy" Mitchell, the book was semi-autobiographical.  According to Malcolm Forbes book, They Went That-a-way, Mitchell, "Born in Atlanta and raised on its fashionable ...

Mrs. Adams In Winter Greetings 1000 Bookies--Our next volume is found on the list of 1000 Books to Read Before You Die is the historical book, Mrs. Adams in Winter written by the late historian, Michael O’Brien .   The book is ostensibly about a journey from St. Petersburg, Russia to Paris, France in 1815.  The trip was made by Mrs. Louisa Adams and her 7-year-old son, Charles Francis.  The journey was made in the dead of winter through war-torn Europe.  The Europe of 1815 was the European?  the French Revolution & Napoleon; The Congress of Vienna and the War of 1812. Mrs. Adams made this trip without Conde Nast, Fodor’s Guides, without even a simple AAA approved map.  There was no Riga Hilton or Konigsberg Marriott or even a Knights Inn to spend the evening.  But for 40 days, in her Russian carriage, Mrs. Adam journeyed to join her husband in Paris.  The review will look at some key points—specifically why this book, why was it inc...