Monday, October 31, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday!



November 1: Top Ten Books To Read If Your Book Club Likes _______________ (if your book club likes historical fiction, inspiring stories, YA books, non-fiction, controversial books to debate about, or pick a specific book). Thank you to The Broke and the Bookish, once again!

The specific topic I am using to complete the sentence is 'Top Ten Books to Read if Your Book Club Likes Gilded Age NonFiction. I know, I know, it is super specific, but whatever. Call in non-fiction if you'd like. These books are fantastic and you should read them. Here is my list, in no particular order:

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1. Fantastic read about a woman who thrived in an era that saw money-making typically reserved for men. Hetty Green is a fascinating woman and it is a shame that more people do not know of her the way they do the Morgans, Rockefellers, Carnegies, etc.

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2. Some people seem to prefer one of these biographies over the other, but I really enjoyed both of them - insofar as you can enjoy learning about someone who seemed to be taken advantage of repeatedly in her later years. But I feel like both books gave a very clear and well-rounded picture of Ms. Clark, her family, the vultures who were after her money, and her massive fortune.

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3. If you have never seen one of Shakespeare's Folios in person, you must remedy this ASAP. In the meantime, read this book that details how we came to have the Folger Library and these magnificent works of genius here in the US - instead of in England where they rightfully belong.

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4. Oh, man. what I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall at an Astor party, just once. Though, this book deals less with THE Mrs. Astor specifically than with the time period in which she lived. The book recreates the time period well and you get a good sense of Gilded Age New York.

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5. Does a book about Rockefeller Center really need much of an explanation?

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6. I really enjoyed this one, despite my lack of interest in finance and the economy in general. It not only looks at the successes and failures of these four men, but how those successes and failures impacted the rest of the country and the industries they captained.

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7. It is mind-boggling as to just how reckless the Commodore's descendants were. A true rags-to-riches story, with a back-to-rags story. Except not quite rags, of course, because this is the Vanderbilts we are talking about after all.

Here are some additional titles that I personally have not read yet, but people I trust have recommended to me based on the aforementioned books. If you have read one, or read it in the future, let me know!

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There are so many more I could add here but if you check out my 'Gilded Age New York' list on Goodreads you will find many more!

Let me know what you think of my list and leave a link to your own list so I can check it out. 

Happy Reading!
Sarah

23 comments:

  1. I'm most definitely a fiction reader, but do love the gilded age era, so perhaps someday I should look some of these up! Thanks for the recommendations. :)

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    1. I highly recommend doing so! It is such a crazy-weird-awesome time in history; all this new wealth colliding with old wealth - to be part of Mrs. Astor's 400, all of it!

      It is such a bummer to me that all of these beautiful homes were demolished as NYC grew bigger and bigger. I would love to tour the vacation homes that still exist. What a lovely era to be transported back to!

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  2. My book club would be overwhelmed by so many books on very similar topics. If we read two books on WWII they complain.
    My TTT Book Club Choices

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    1. I can't imagine NOT reading every book I can get my hands on when it is a topic I really love!

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  3. I love the theme you chose -- The Giled Age is such an interesting era. I will have to check some of these out.

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    1. Hi Whitney, thanks for stopping by. I too am so interested in the Robber Barons and the Gilded Age - it is kind of mind-boggling to think about just how insanely rich these families were, in today's terms. I wish the 5th Avenue mansions still existed. Glad you found some books to your liking!

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  4. Wow! What a unique list this week :-) I like the look of some of these books.

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    1. Thank you Chrissi! I toyed with a lot of different topics, but this is where my heart fell this time. Luckily it is a topic that lends itself to a lot of beautiful covers - something I am also very fond of!

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  5. The Gilded Age is a fascinating era and I think several of these look great. I don't read much non fiction anymore but if I did I would be interested in The Millionaire & the Bard and Great Fortune, and probably The Tycoons as well.

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    1. Hi Greg! I am the opposite of you, I used to read fiction all the time but now I am all about the non-fiction. I love this time period, though the excess gets a little nauseating. I really liked the Folger book - I wish I could collect Folios the way he did! See the Folger Library is on my bucket list. Fortune's Children was just recently on sale from Amazon, I just saw it on BookBub last wekk, so check it out and see if it is still $1.99 (maybe $2.99). I have seen it come up for sale twice now since I started using BookBub within the last 8 months or so.

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  6. Wow, I love your list. I've read plenty of fiction books set during the Gilded Era, but not non-fiction. They look fascinating enough to add to my TBR list. You're right, that'd be a lovely, specific book club :)
    My TTT is here

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    1. Hi Paula, thank you for stopping by! I am glad I was able to provide some new books for your list. A very specific book cub, indeed! But it would be a long while before the group would run out of material, that is for sure. All those Robber Barons left quite a legacy.

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  7. I'm very impressed.

    https://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2016/11/top-ten-books-to-read-if-your-book-club.html

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    1. I am glad people are liking my list and finding it useful. These people and this time is such a contradiction of terms, such excessive wealth and abject poverty, mere streets from one another at times (at least in NYC).

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  8. These look great! I've added a few to my TBR :)

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    1. Awesome! Let me know what you think about any of the titles when you get to them. Sometimes I feel like no one is interested in the things I am interested in, so I am just talking to myself on the Internet about the books, haha.

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  9. I think I'll be adding some of these to my tbr. :)

    Lauren @ Always Me

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    1. Ah good! Which ones? Let me know when you've read any, we can discuss them! I always feel like I am talking to myself here about the books I read, so I am glad that like-minded people are finding me and I am finding you!

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  10. Oooooh yes, I'll take one of each please. My two favourite genres are historical fiction and nonfiction, so this list is right up my alley in every way.

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    1. I am so glad to hear that, Jane! I love sharing my love of nonfiction, so I am always happy to see books I like be of interest to others.

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Thanks for visiting my little book nook. I love talking books so leave a comment and let's chat!