The Moonstone is a mystery novel published in 1868 by the Victorian author Wilkie Collins. In his day, Collins was well-loved and on par with Charles Dickens. But over time Collins’ fame faded. Only more recently has his works been rediscovered. This is the first
The Hike by Alison Farrell is a beautiful story of three young explorers as the quest to the top of a mountain. Their hike takes them past numerous wonderful sights, including a ton of birds. Throughout their journey, the plants, birds and other animals are
The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For is a collection of speeches by masterful historian David McCullough. Many of these speeches were college commencement addresses, including one he gave at Hillsdale College. This collection is best enjoyed as an audio book
Craig Harline’s A World Ablaze The Rise of Martin Luther and the Birth of the Reformation is a thorough yet readable biography of Martin Luther. This book handles the big moments of Luther’s fast rise to infamy. But it also covers a lot of the
Stephen Ambrose’s Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-69 is a thorough, readable accounting of the toils and overspending it took to complete the Transcontinental Railroad. Starting with the support of President Abraham Lincoln, the Transcontinental Railroad began
Higher Ground Coffee Roasters is a premium coffee roaster located in Vestavia, Alabama. Offering fair trade, 100% organic coffee varieties, Higher Ground focuses on long-term relationships with farms in order to provide the highest-quality coffee in the most sustainable ways. I tried three varieties from
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s final novel, The Brothers Karamazov follows three brothers, Dmitri, Ivan, and Alexey (Alyosha). Each represents a different level of religious and philosophical belief. Their father, Fyodor Pavlovich is a sensualist and all around “dirty old man” who continuously failed his sons from their
The Starless Sea is Erin Morgenstern’s highly anticipated second novel. The story stars the young bookish/gamer Zachary whose life story takes a wild turn when he discovers a mysterious book in his college library. The main story line switches from following Zachary to excerpts from
A. Lincoln is a large biography that reads like a novel. Despite being a lifelong Illinois resident (the Land of Lincoln), this is the first biography of the 16th U.S. President that I’ve read. While this book is not the most extensive bio of Lincoln,
As a naturalist Theodore Roosevelt stands alone among U.S. presidents. The book The Naturalist: Theodore Roosevelt and the Triumph of American Natural History covers the life of the 26th President through the lens of a naturalist. Author Darrin Lunde is a museum collector and so