Books I read on my recent vacation

Highlights from the books I read on my recent family vacation to Central Oregon.

1. One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson
Babe Ruth hits 60 home runs and is part of the best team baseball has ever fielded; Al Capone is quite happy about prohibition in Chicago; Charles Lindbergh is the first to fly over the Atlantic; The Jazz Singer---the first talking motion picture, is released; Henry Ford stopped making the Model-T and shut down his line for a few months before introducing the Model-A; Work on Mt. Rushmore begins; Showboat debuts on Broadway forever changing musical theater; Radio was king but Philo Farnsworth is busy creating and patenting parts for television; Jack Demsey fights Gene Tunney in a controversial boxing match. It all happened in one summer in America. The summer of 1927.

We listened to the audio version of the book read by Bryson himself.  Very, very interesting and educational.  With just enough of Bryson's humor to keep us happily listening. Our vacation took us 1400 miles from home and back. We listened to the audiobook for the majority of the trip, finishing just a half hour from home. (4.5/5 stars)

2. A Matter of Souls by Denise Lewis Patrick

"From the shores of Africa to the bowels of a transatlantic ship to a voting booth in Mississippi to the jungles of Vietnam, all human connection is a matter of souls. In this stirring collection of short stories, Denise Lewis Patrick considers the souls of black men and women across centuries and continents."---Goodreads

I liked some of the short stories better than others but all help to highlight the experiences of black men and women, mainly in America. I read it as a possible Mock Printz selection. (3.5/5 stars)

3. All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

"An engaging, heartfelt story where family secrets unfurl and the past reshapes the present in surprising ways. Fannie Flagg has crafted a love letter to the courageous women who accomplished the extraordinary on the homefront during World War II."--Beth Hoffman, author

Sookie receives news that changes how she views her world and her mother. What she learns opens up the past all the way to the Second World War and the women who held important roles in the war effort. I enjoyed the book much more the second half as these details were revealed.

30 books Summer Reading Challenge

17 / 30 books. 56% done!