Book Reviews and My Alabama Twin

Over the break, I have managed to read a few books:

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson:
Erik Larson is making his way up to the top of my favorite author's list. Thunderstruck is the third book that he has written that I have read, and I have to say that every time I read one of his books, I learn a ton about American and British history. My favorite book that he wrote is called The Devil In The White City which tells the dual stories of the mastermind behind the Chicago's World Fair and a serial killer who lived near, and took advantage of the fair to murder his victims. Isaac's Storm tells the story of the Galveston Hurricane in 1900 and the weatherman who never saw it coming. Thunderstruck tells the dual stories of Marconi and his race to make the world accept wireless communication and Hawley Harvey Crippen, the second most famous murderer in London's history. (Second only to Jack the Ripper) He was the first murderer to be caught by wireless communication, and this convinced the world of the importance of this type of communication. It was such a fascinating book and I had a hard time putting it down.

A Charmed Life by Liza Campbell:
Liza Campbell was the last person to be born at Cawdor Castle, the castle in MacBeth. She lived a life of incredible privilege and could trace her family back over 20 generations, but watched her father make many mistakes which changed their immediate family and the amazing history of this family. If you are a fan of Scottish history (MacBeth, Campbell/McDonald massacre, Culloden) you would really love this story. It reminds me of The Glass Castle and All Over But The Shoutin', but instead of the families living in utter poverty, the family was very wealthy.

The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly:
I picked up an advanced copy of this one in the Fall and LOVED it! I am currently reading The Tea Rose, that tells the back story of the characters. It is a story of a privileged English woman who becomes a doctor in London's poorest neighborhoods and falls in love with a crime lord who really has a good heart. This one is just a great romance novel but I will caution that it is very long.

Also, I don't remember if I ever told the story of my twin in Alabama. I was reading Tesney's blog one day and clicked on a comment that someone had left on her blog. This person's name is Elizabeth. She's a Bama fan. She was born two days after me in the same year. She has two boys and a girl. Her girl is named Mary Elizabeth and is three years old! How crazy is that? Here is a link to her blog.