The Border Book Club

[AlreadyGone95]

I didn't even know this thread existed! This is awesome. I read all the time, and have a bad habit of getting a giant stack of library books when I usually have an even bigger stack of books I own that I have not read yet. However, now that thanks to the virus I can't go and browse the isles of the public libraries, I've been reading the books I have at home. I'm almost out of new books to read, so I'm going to have to start reading ones I've read before. I really hope the libraries open back up soon. I just recently finished To Kill a mockingbird and it was good, sad, but good. I'm currently reading Darkfall by Dean Koontz. I've read this before, but not in a very long time, so it's like a brand new story.

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite novels. As a history major and person from the south, the story really resonates with me.


I decided to read Patricia Cornwell's Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper Case Closed. I tried to read it a few years ago, but for some reason or another, I never finished it.

[Elle81]

AG, Do you read any John Grisham? I'm not exactly a big fan of courtroom dramas, I did like The last Juror. It has the feel of Mockingbird, in the sense that it is a court drama, but at the same time it's a 'slice of life' novel.

[AlreadyGone95]

AG, Do you read any John Grisham? I'm not exactly a big fan of courtroom dramas, I did like The last Juror. It has the feel of Mockingbird, in the sense that it is a court drama, but at the same time it's a 'slice of life' novel.

I read A Time to Kill about two years ago. I liked it. I haven't read anything else by him because college limits the time I have to read any "choice reading."

[Elle81]

I read A Time to Kill about two years ago. I liked it. I haven't read anything else by him because college limits the time I have to read any "choice reading."

damn, that's too bad. But I get it, I've done the whole college thing, or at least the community college thing.
BTW, (sooo trying not to gloat but...) I went to American River College in Sacramento. The same community college our sweet Timothy B. went to! Not at the same time, as I'm 33 years younger than him, but still pretty awesome.

[AlreadyGone95]

damn, that's too bad. But I get it, I've done the whole college thing, or at least the community college thing.
BTW, (sooo trying not to gloat but...) I went to American River College in Sacramento. The same community college our sweet Timothy B. went to! Not at the same time, as I'm 33 years younger than him, but still pretty awesome.

That's so cool! I go to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (the "ag" part really isn't relevant anymore because several bachelor's degrees in non-ag fields are offered- history and government (my fields), writing and communication, math, science etc.) I hadn't planned on going here, but my community college merged with ABAC nearly three years ago, so since I was now a student, I decided to stay and complete my Bachelor’s. I'm planning on going to grad school, so I'm going above what is expected of me (in class and outside, too), to hopefully help me get some funding for my master's degree. That's the main reason why pleasure reading is almost nonexistent for me, lol. After Christmas, for example, I'm going to finish narrowing down a topic and write a proposal for a political science conference.

After I read the Jack the Ripper book, I'll most likely start on my first "textbooks" that have come in. These books aren't really textbooks, but they're required for my research papers for my independent study on the modern history of the United Kingdom (1970-2000). My first books will be The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008 by Sean Wilentz and Reagan and Thatcher: The Difficult Relationship* by Richard Aldous.


* That sounds like a good title for a book on the Eagles.

[Elle81]

good luck with your studies! and your side note about a title for an Eagles book made me laugh very loudly out loud.

[AlreadyGone95]

good luck with your studies! and your side note about a title for an Eagles book made me laugh very loudly out loud.

Thanks, lol!

[UndertheWire]

After I read the Jack the Ripper book, I'll most likely start on my first "textbooks" that have come in. These books aren't really textbooks, but they're required for my research papers for my independent study on the modern history of the United Kingdom (1970-2000). My first books will be The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008 by Sean Wilentz and Reagan and Thatcher: The Difficult Relationship* by Richard Aldous.


* That sounds like a good title for a book on the Eagles.

Welcome back! It's so nice to learn how your studies are progressing. Those sound like daunting books but maybe I should read them to understand what was really going on. Don't forget that you have access to quite a few of us who lived through that period on this board. Though mostly what I remember about Reagan was the fear he would take us into a nuclear war with his "Star Wars" Space Defense Initative.

My UK perspepective:
The 70s: the oil crisis, three-day week, sex discrimination act, high tax rates, inflation, strikes, Russian invasion of Afghanistan
The 80s: the nuclear thread and Greenham Common protests (against the siting of US nuclear missiles), the coal miners' strike, Falklands war, deregulation of the Stock Exchange, Glasnost (and the falling of the Berlin Wall), Chenoybl, AIDS, gay rights
The 90s: Gulf wars, Afghanistan (perhaps I was too focused on family at that time because I can't remember the big stuff). Thatcher being brought down.

For reading, my suggestion would be "The History of Modern Britain" by Andrew Marr (you could watch his tv series on youtube to get a flavour although that covers an earlier period)

[AlreadyGone95]

Welcome back! It's so nice to learn how your studies are progressing. Those sound like daunting books but maybe I should read them to understand what was really going on. Don't forget that you have access to quite a few of us who lived through that period on this board. Though mostly what I remember about Reagan was the fear he would take us into a nuclear war with his "Star Wars" Space Defense Initative.

My UK perspepective:
The 70s: the oil crisis, three-day week, sex discrimination act, high tax rates, inflation, strikes, Russian invasion of Afghanistan
The 80s: the nuclear thread and Greenham Common protests (against the siting of US nuclear missiles), the coal miners' strike, Falklands war, deregulation of the Stock Exchange, Glasnost (and the falling of the Berlin Wall), Chenoybl, AIDS, gay rights
The 90s: Gulf wars, Afghanistan (perhaps I was too focused on family at that time because I can't remember the big stuff). Thatcher being brought down.

For reading, my suggestion would be "The History of Modern Britain" by Andrew Marr (you could watch his tv series on youtube to get a flavour although that covers an earlier period)

Thanks, UtW! The reason that Reagan is involved in this course is because the course name is "U.S. and the Modern World." It's supposed to be mostly about modern U.S. history. However, I'm already pretty knowledgeable in that subject, and I've written and presented several papers on Brexit (including my capstone, my huge research project to prove I'm capable of writing and researching at any appropriate level to be able to graduate. Therefore, my professor, who is well versed in the subject and runs the study abroad trip to Scotland that I did nearly three years ago, decided that I, rightfully so, need a working understanding of modern British history to be able to better understand Brexit and where it came from, so I'm doing this "crash course" (political, economics, cultural etc). However to satisfy the head of the department, we had to include small tie-ins to the United States, so we'll partly focus on UK-U.S relations during the period. Our main years will be the 1970s and 1980s, but we'll briefly go over the 1990s.

Along with the required 11 books, there will be some "fun" work, such as watching documentaries and British TV shows (I'll soon binge my favorite British show, Are You Being Served?).

The topics you mentioned are sure to be covered, especially the strikes, oil crisis (similar to the US, there), the debates around the pound (inflation), and the Falklands War. I'll also learn about the IRA and conflict between Ireland and the UK, the UK's role in the EEC (later the EU), the success and failures of each prime minister. I'm sure there's some other stuff I've forgotten, but I won't have an actual syllabus and list of topics until mid-January or so. (My professor knows what he wants to do, but he hasn't written it yet).

I'll look into that book and the YouTube series. I might create a thread in the appropriate subforum on the topic, so that if I have any questions, I'll see if my British (and Irish) Border friends can help.

Also, if I ever say something that is incorrect on the topic, please feel free to correct me, in a nice way.

[sodascouts]

I read all the time for my job, but rarely read what is outside of my job requirements because that consumes so much time. I've decided to try and change that. I appreciate the recommendations for "lighter reading."