To Be Read #10: Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

 Earlier this year, I became aware of this book after reading David Grann's book The Wager about a a group of shipwrecked survivors, and it was an amazing story. I also had seen clips on social media of the Leonardo DiCaprio movie based on the book going around, which fueled my interest. 

After oil was discovered in the Osage Nation in Oklahoma in the early 1900s, members of the Osage Nation became among the richest people in the country per capita at the time. Then, in the 1920s, many of them started to die off from suspicious circumstances. Even some who investigate it are murdered. It is then that the newly formed FBI, headed by a young J. Edgar Hoover, investigates. 

David Grann is an amazing storyteller, so I look forward to getting into this one. 

To Be Read #9 : John & Paul - A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie

 I'd argue that John Lennon and Paul McCartney are the most successful songwriters ever. Part of what made them special was that they grew up together and had a special bond. Paul McCartney describes it as love during his live shows before playing Here Today (one of the songs featured in the book). This book describes their relationship through the songs they created through the years up until John's tragic death. 

In John & Paul - A Love Story in Songs, Ian Leslie explores their relationship in their years together. It is an exploration of their friendship and love in the songs they played and wrote. I'm looking forward to reading this. 

Books of September 2025

 Books I finished in September 2025.

• 9/2/2025 - The Abyss: Nuclear Crisis Cuba 1962 by Max Hastings -  This book examines the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. This book shows how close the world came to nuclear war through a mix of miscalculations, miscommunications, and brinkmanship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. It draws on archives and firsthand accounts, Hastings portrays both leaders’ restraint and the sheer luck that prevented global catastrophe. (Audible, Narrated by Max Hastings and John Hopkins)
• 9/6/2025 - The McCartney Legacy: Volume 2 / 1974-1980 by Allan Kozinn & Adrian Sinclair - This follows Paul McCartney and his time with Wings from 1974 to 1980. In 1974, he finally found the success and critical acclaim he craved with the Band on the Run album. Then came the world tours, more albums, and changing Wings lineups. The book ends in early 1980, when Wings is touring for their latest( and last) album, Back to the Egg. Paul is busted in Japan for bringing in Marijuana and lands in jail. With this, the tour and band are finished. 
• 9/11/2025 - Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 by Stephen Puleo - For many years, many were said to be able to smell molasses in Boston on hot days. This book tells the story of how that came to be. Leading up to World War I, molasses was distilled into industrial alcohol to make wartime ammunition. To capitalize on the growing need for this, a hastily built storage tank was built in the north end of Boston. The tank leaked from the start, and the only thing the company did was paint it brown to mask this issue. Just after the war, the tank was filled to capacity on a bitterly cold January day to make a batch of liquor before Prohibition started. Then the weather warmed up, causing the tank to burst in the crowded neighborhood, killing 21 people, injuring at least 150 causing major damage to the area. (Audible, Narrated by Grover Gardner)
• 9/16/2025 - The Plot Against America by Philip Roth - A fictional alternative history where famous American flyer Charles Lindbergh wins the Presidency in 1940 instead of Franklin Roosevelt. The story is told through the eyes of a young boy, Philip Roth(fictional), whose Jewish family lives in New Jersey and has to navigate a world and society that changes as the friend of Hitler and America First advocate, President Lindbergh, leads America down a dark road. This book has amazing relevance to current events. 
• 9/26/2025 - Theft by Finding: Diaries by David Sedaris - In the social media book world, I came across the term "comfort book(s)". David Sedaris fits into that category. He has a warm, self-deprecating style of humor. His humor doesn't slap you in the face, Three Stooges style, but more like a nudge and a wink after saying something witty. The book is David's diary from 1977 to 2002. It's interesting that as time goes by, we can not only see his life and career develop, but we also follow David as his writing style evolves. His entries at first seem like short social media posts about odd jobs, smoking weed, and starving cause of poverty. By 2002, his entries are longer, more personal, and his humor develops. In short, we've seen him grow and mature as a writer. (Audible, Narrated by David Sedaris)
• 9/29/2025 - Blues Brothers: The Arc of Gratitude by Dan Ackroyd - Dan Ackroyd tells the story of the origins of how he and the late John Belushi formed the Blues Brothers musical group. The story recounts how Dan and John form the group and embark on their tour. They were most well-known for appearances on the Saturday Night Live TV program and a hit movie.(Audible, Narrated by Dan Ackroyd)