This month I have four books and a magazine article from National Geographic.  The article is from the September 2009 issue of National Geographic magazine.  It is entitled, Before New York and is about rediscovering New York’s wilderness before it became a sprawling metropolitan.  My parents are kind enough to buy a subscription to National Geographic for our family each year as a gift.

My dad, one of our best suppliers of good books, gave me the Tony Bourdain book to read.  I don’t watch his show often but loved the episode about rural France.  Speaking of France, A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman, is a book that I have been reading for some time, here and there and want to finish.  It follows a noble through 14th century France.

The other two are local-related to PA and the east coast.  One of the books is about the little-known encounter during the American Civil War at Hanover, PA which is about 45 minutes down the road from us.  The other book is Tom Horton’s account of his time on Smith Island which is located in the Chesapeake.  He thinks that the island will be underwater in the next century.

Here are the links where available.

National Geographic magazine
Prelude to Gettysburg by George R. Prowell - Hard to get a copy of but maybe at a library or a used book seller.
A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
An Island Out of Time by Tom Horton

This month’s books are my Ode to England.  My oldest son, P. Dude got me the Nigella Lawson cookbook for Mother’s Day... so sweet.  He knows that I like Nigella.  You can actually read her cookbooks because each recipe has a backstory.  You can tell that she is actually a writer who likes to cook.

My dad found his old copy of Churchill’s History of the English-Speaking Peoples.  I have wanted to read this for a while and it is difficult to find a copy.  Thanks Dad!  Also, I love Shakespeare’s Sonnets.  My pretty copy was a gift from my uncle and aunt for my high school graduation.

The other two books, I have wanted to read forever and just got around to ordering when I bought some new books for the kids.  The Alison Weir books about the wives and children have become classics.  I am very busy this month but will hopefully have time to get into these books.  Here is the list and links where available.

Nigella Fresh by Nigella Lawson
The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
The Sonnets Poems of Love by Willliam Shakespeare
Churchill’s History of the English-Speaking Peoples - This is hard to get ahold of but you might be able to find one through a used book dealer, ebay, or a second seller on amazon.com.