CityView Magazine

40 September 2023 GOOD READS Bro lit BY DIANE PARFITT G ood books don't have to be gender-specific. Admittedly, there are some books, oen referred to as "chick lit," that are not as popular with men. On the other hand, most books that would appeal to men will also appeal to women. When book clubs began forming in the late 1800s, they were mostly social groups for women. Today, membership in book clubs based in libraries is almost equally divided between men and women. Private book clubs are 88% all women. Of my four book clubs, one includes men. e two sexes clearly have different tastes in books, but there are some books — which I call "the book" — that all of us read. I like to research books that appeal especially to men, but I think the gals will like them just as well, too. Here are some of my recommendations for some good "bro lit." 1. THE WAGER: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann Author of "Killers of the Flower Moon: e Osage Murders" and "e Birth of the FBI," Grann has written an account of the 18th-century shipwreck of the British naval ship HMS Wager during war between Spain and Britain. e survivors, including their captain, were stranded on an island off the coast of South America. Conditions became so horrible that the survivors began robbing and killing each other for the limited supplies they had. Eventually, the remaining survivors were rescued and returned to England, only to face a court martial. 2. AMERICAN PROMETHEUS by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin is 2006 book won the Pulitzer Prize for biographies and is the basis for the movie "Oppenheimer," currently showing in theaters to wide acclaim. I thought the movie was great, but I can also say the book is even better. It is the first full-scale biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, known as the "father of the atomic bomb." Oppie was a brilliant, charismatic physicist who led the development of the bomb that helped end World War II. He was more than that, though. is extraordinary book tells the back story of this complicated character in such an engaging way that it reads like a mystery. How did the most famous scientist of his generation, who became an instant hero, eventually become an outcast in America? 3. SYMPHONY OF SECRETS by Brendan Slocumb Raised in Fayetteville, Slocumb has a degree in music education with a concentration in violin and viola. His first book, "e Violin Conspiracy," was an instant hit. His newest novel promises to be just as popular. When music professor Bern Hendricks discovers evidence that one of America's most famous composers may have stolen his works from a Black Jazz Age prodigy, he decides to uncover the whole truth. Yet, there are powerful forces determined to keep these secrets hidden. 4. WEST WITH GIRAFFES by Lynda Rutledge At 105 years old, World War II veteran Woodrow "Woody" Wilson Nickel decides that before he dies, he should write down memoires of his travels as a youth from New York City to San Diego with a pair of young giraffes. Based on a true story, Woody's adventure is truly heartwarming. It is set in 1938 when Woody was a 17-year-old orphan who fled the Texas panhandle to live with his uncle in New York. When he is orphaned again by a tragic hurricane, he learns that this same hurricane has damaged a ship carrying giraffes to an American zoo. e giraffes survive and are celebrities, bringing some joy during a dark period in our history, and Woody gets the job of driving them across country to San Diego. Along the way, Woody encounters a cast of characters who will change the course of his life. 5. THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF SAM HELL by Robert Dugoni Sam always saw the world through different eyes. He was born with red pupils, a medical condition called "ocular albinism." Because of that, he was called "Devil Boy" or Sam "Hell" by his classmates. His mother said it was "God's 2 1 3 4 5 6

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