Health & Fitness
Cozy up to Fall with some great books!
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1930)
Yes, we have all seen the movie. But how many of us have read the book? Our reluctant hero, Private Eye Sam Spade, has a new client, Miss Wonderly (Brigid O'Shaughnessey), who is looking for her runaway sister. Murder and deception ensue, and we think she is pulling the wool over Sam's eyes. We have no faith, do we, but Sam is smarter than that. She jerks Sam this way and that to involve him in the plot she is hatching to steal the infamous Maltese falcon statue away from her former partners in crime, Mr. Gutman and company. In the book you get to know what Sam is thinking and the many runarounds he has to endure by the chameleon, Miss O' Shaughnessey. “You're good, you're real good,” Sam says to her. But she's just not as good as she tries to pretend. Sam has to make a choice, and boy, it's hard. Novel noir doesn't get any better than this. This was the start of it all. ~ Recommended by Connie
Cormoran Strike is recently discharged from the army after serving in Afghanistan wearing a prosthesis on his lower leg. He is now a private detective in business for himself, said business not doing well. A brother of an old friend offers him a great deal of money to discover the truth behind his sister’s apparent suicide. This sister was a famous model living a fabulous life and was seemingly happy. There is a cast of interesting characters in the story which adds interest to the plot, sometimes distractingly so. Cormoran has his ups and downs in his search for the truth about the model as well as ups and downs in his personal life and, as it is in real life, some of those get resolved in this book. This is the book written by J.K. Rowling, under her pseudonym. In my estimation, she needed a better editor. The story could have been told with far fewer words. It was delightful that the phrases are in the Queens’ English and haven’t been changed for us across the pond. If you read many books in a year, give this one a go. If you read few books, there are better choices for your reading pleasure. ~ Recommended by Sue
Saving Italy: the Race to Rescue a Nation’s Treasures from the Nazis by Robert M. Edsel (2013)
Among the many, many books about World War II, this one tells the little known story of the Monuments Men and their mission to save as much of the world’s treasures in Italy during this destructive time in history. The Monuments Men were museum directors, professors, artists, and architects – mostly middle-aged men –who enlisted in the US Army to serve in this elite group and use their vast knowledge of art, the Italian language and the country of Italy to protect some of the world’s greatest art from German, and then Allied, bombing. Through very detailed research of government documents, personal letters and journals, and even some interviews of the few men still alive from that time, the author gives a fascinating account of how the Germans stole artworks and the Italian people resisted the takeover of much of their country, and their art. Even if you’ve read a lot about World War II, chances are you haven’t heard this story. ~ Recommended by Sheila
