August theme

June is here and so it is time to start discussing our August read, which will be a theme.
Any ideas? Looking at our wiki under themes for consideration, I noticed transportation as one of the ideas. This could include anything from trains (think Murder on the Orient Express, Transcontinental Railroad) , ships (Hornblower books, the Titanic) to air travel (Hindenburg disaster, space travel, Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart), automobile (the Model T ) or even travel by covered wagon. Lots of possibilities. Anyone interested? Any other ideas? Let us know.

Transportation sounds like a fun end-of-summer theme. I have several possibilities in my TBRs.

I love this idea -- it's great because it can encompass books from any time period!

Thumbs up for the Transportation Theme in August!

Count me in for the Transportation Theme.

Ummmm...would something like Murder on the Orient Express count? I'm totally lost on this one.

>7 cfk: Yes, I think it would count.

#7 The train, the Orient Express, plays a major role in the story, so to me it would count.

I'm thinking of combining this theme with my American West category in the 11 in 11 Challenge. Something along the lines of The Devil's Paintbox about a wagon train on the Oregon trail.

Although, I would also like to read a book about the Boers who trekked into the interior of South Africa.

Both sound interesting.

I'm thinking of reading Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson, which is about a road trip. Is it OK that the book is set in our current time period rather than a historical one?

I think it would be okay. If it works for you, it works for me.

I'm thinking of a ship read. I haven't decided which book yet, but I have Billy Budd: Sailor or Treasure Island floating around in my mind as possibilities.

I also have just found out about a road trip book that has possibilities for me: Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip about a car trip that Harry Truman and Bess took to the East Coast on their own shortly after his presidency.

I tried reading Harry's road trip, but just couldn't get into it, though it's very small. "Ship of Fools" might work or, I suppose, any of the famous sinkings: Titanic, Lusitania, Maine. The building of the railroad cross country or the Panama Canal (?).

Any of those sound good.

I'm considering The Worst Journey in the World for August.

All of these sound like fun! It's a great idea for a theme. Here's my list of possibles:

The Buccaneers
Over the Edge of the World
In the Heart of the Sea
Travels With Charley
Bound for Canaan
Trail of Tears

Looks like a lot of them are sea voyages. I must be wanting to take a cruise! Sadly, a book is the closest I will get, but I still like the theme.

I have lots of possibilities in my TBR stash:

Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
*A Watery Grave by Joan Druett
*The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume
*The Passenger from Scotland Yard by H. Freeman Wood
*Three Men on Wheels by Jerome K. Jerome
*Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson
A Motor-Flight through France by Edith Wharton
The Lost Luggage Porter by Andrew Martin
*The Excursion Train by Edward Marston
Murder on the Mauretania by Conrad Allen
Amazing Pennsylvania Canals by W. H. Shank

I'll probably pick from the titles with asterisks because they'll fit my Victorian category in my 11 in 11 challenge.

I have Road Song by Natalie Kusz on my TBR, which should work nicely.

Maybe time for Night Train to Lisbon.

Ooh, that would work well, too. I am spoiled for choice.

I just remembered Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. That should fit for this theme also.

@ 23 -- Funnily enough, I just bought a copy of Three Men in a Boat today!

Some other options:
Ship of Fools by Katherine Anne Porter
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (for a different take on the theme)
Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo (I believe the entire book takes place in a limo driving through NYC)
Moscow to the End of the Line by Venedikt Erofeyev

I'm always wishing these theme and time periods lasted longer than a month!

I love the idea of The Time Machine.

I chose "Dragon's Gate" by Laurence Yep as one of my transportation reads for August.

Otter is a fourteen year old boy adopted and raised as the son of the wealthiest family in Three Willows Village, China in the 1860's. Accidentally killing a Manchurian soldier, Otter is sent to America by his Mother to join his Father and Uncle.

Uncle Foxfire is a visionary who dreams of learning more about America's machines and the new 'fire wagon' to free his people from the Manchurian rule and the English opium trade wars. Father and Uncle sign contracts to work on the transcontinental railroad where Otter joins them, only to discover themselves treated as the worst kind of slaves under impossible working and living conditions.

Ultimately, with his Uncle dead and his injured Father sent home, Otter will lead the Chinese in a protest to improve their wages and living conditions and participate in the completion of the railroad.

This book is written for young adults, but well worth the read. It's pace is fast and crisp and its history accurate and painful to read. I knew of the Opium Wars, but had no idea that the Chinese were trying to block the inflow of the destructive drug, which the English knew would enslave the people, making them an easy conquest. Neither was I aware of the true extent of the enslavement and abuse inflicted upon the Chinese workers. Actually, their enslavement seems pretty ironic following so closely on the end of the Civil War in this country to free the slaves.

Liked your review. Glad you had a good read.

I couldn't wait to get started on my book for this month's theme, so I've already finished Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. This is a YA novel about two teens who take a road trip across America, form an intense bond, and learn to deal with some big issues in their lives. It sounds like a predictable and cliched book, but I actually really enjoyed it! The details of the road trip were very convincing, and I was definitely rooting for Amy and Roger. If you're looking for a good YA romance, I would recommend this!

“Murder on the Orient Express” was fun, even though I knew the outcome. Each character was sketched in quickly, relying upon familiar types (such as the ugly American and the cold English woman) without overdoing it.

Hercule Poirot is suddenly called back to London from Stamboul (Istanbul) and takes passage on the Orient Express. The first class section is unusually full for a winter passage with an eclectic mix of nationalities and class and a snow storm will play a major role in the case

The murder of an American, who is discovered to be traveling under a false identity, sets the stage for an 'impossible' case for Poirot--his favorite kind. The victim has been stabbed twelve times, some with tremendous force and some just barely, some obviously left-handed, others right-handed.

Too many convenient clues and red herrings seem to drive the investigation, yet once Poirot sits down to silently 'think it out' and arrives at a satisfactory conclusion.

I just finished my August read about transporation. The Goodnight Trail by Ralph Compton is a good cowboy yarn about the creation of the famous Goodnight Trail which led from Texas to the cattle markets of Denver.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour to my wishlist - sounds like a fun read.

I keep seeing Parnassus on Wheels pop up on several LT threads, and it seemed like a perfect fit for this month's transportation theme. It's a quick read and very enjoyable for book lovers. I posted a review on my thread.

I'm having fun with this month's theme. I listened to Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie. The murder takes place on a boat on the Nile. I've read & listened to this book several times before, so I had fun this time seeing how Christie laid out the clues and the red herrings.

The Buccaneers by Iain Lawrence
Setting - 1802 (I think!) in the Caribbean

I enjoyed this story of adventure on the high seas. It was the third in a trilogy, but I didn't read the previous books. It wasn't really necessary to read the other books to enjoy this one, but it would have helped a little with the ending, I think. Also, it would have been better to have a chart of ships, naming the parts. I was confused sometimes.

I've just finished Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure: the True Story of a Great American Road Trip by Matthew Algeo. I found it a very well researched enjoyable summer read about a trip Harry and Bess took from Independence, Missouri through, among other places, Washington, DC and Philadelphia to New York and back. I'll have a review up on my thread in a few days. Now on to Herman Melville's Billy Budd.

Sounds like everybody's having good reads this month.

So I decided to read yet another YA romance about two teens who fall in love during a road trip! This time it was Two-way Street by Lauren Barnholdt. It was a fun read, and I was able to devour it very quickly; but if you're only going to read one teen road-trip romance, make it Amy & Roger's Epic Detour instead.

FYI-- I am reading Night Train to Lisbon. I'm about half way through and so far, this is NOT a transportation novel. Despite the title, the train trip itself takes about 5 pages out of 430. Perhaps there is another one coming but I don't think so. It's a great book and I recommend it, but may not be the best for this theme.

@ 37 -- But the title includes a form of transportation, so I think it should count!

Is it just my local system or have all public libraries cut way back on ordering new books? Frustrating!

I'm done with Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Sailor. A full review will be up on my thread in a few days. This classic, by a talented writer who had actually been to sea in the 1800s, was well worth reading and gave me the courage to try Moby Dick someday.

Exploring the Lusitania: Probing the Mysteries of the Sinking that Changed History” provides solid background, historical and personal, and puts to rest the conspiracy theories associated with the torpedoing and sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. There were ample warnings that the ship would be the target of German subs on its return journey to England, all of which were ignored.
Ballard sets out to prove that three essential elements were involved. One, German warfare changed the rules of traditional warfare, the Captain refused to accept that possibility and ignored all warnings and procedural changes, and the torpedo struck a technical weakness in the ship.
Prior to this event, all nations were expected to avoid striking non-combatants, such as unarmed ships. The Captain made decisions based more upon the comfort of his ship's elite than upon wartime realities--zigzagging would be too unsettling and time consuming and speed, one of the ship's greatest assets, was less important than reaching port at the right time. Finally, no one allowed for the accumulation of coal dust in her nearly empty bunkers, which would combine with oxygen and a spark when the torpedo ripped into the hull.

Sounds like an interesting one, cfk.

I finished Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier. As I posted previously, there is not really a strong transportation theme here. It's the story of a dull aging philologist who, inspired by a mysterious memoir, takes off for Lisbon to discover something he can't even define. He does travel back and forth between Bern and Lisbon a few times and one of the themes of book is "life's journey." My review follows:

This is a very good book-- especially if you like deep philosophical discussions about the soul and the nature of humanity. I believe Mercier is a philosophy professor after all. I found the story compelling, though not in the least bit believable. The current-time plot with Gregorius seemed very contrived to fit in with the past life and writings of Amadeu, and lots of details, that if focused on would seem ridiculous, were just glossed over. That really didn't detract from the book too much though.
The thing I found just a little off-putting was Amadeu himself. I didn't like to see a selfish egomaniac as the hero. I didn't find him appealing and I think to really love the book you'd have to be able to look up to those types and forgive them their less than admirable qualities.
An interesting premise, a plot that moves along, and an interesting cast of characters make this a worthwhile read. 3.75 stars

I completed one more book for the August theme - The Excursion Train by Edward Marston. It's part of his Robert Colbeck series. Colbeck's nickname is the Railway Detective. Both the first and second murders occur on trains. I don't have a review up on my thread yet. I intend to write one eventually, but I've had little time to read lately, let alone write reviews. In short, this is an enjoyable historical mystery for railway fans.

finished The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard. My review is pretty long so I won't post it here, it's on my thread though.