The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

Book #13 in 2025
3.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I had similar feelings about this as I did reading the last book I read (about the sinking of the Lusitania). It has some interesting points but doesn’t have an overall exciting feel about it. If you like history and want to read some well researched information check this out.

There are parts of the book made me think of Lord of the Flies the way the men were acting. Maybe it was having to try and survive. Maybe it was not knowing what would happen to them. But at times I thought like they were acting childish and trying to assert “power” more than try and figure out how to survive.

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson

Book #12 in 2025
3.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

This wasn’t a bad book but it read (or listened since I heard the audiobook) like a textbook. It was informative and interesting but dry. I didn’t know much about the Lusitania, especially how if some small factors had been different that it may not have been downed by a torpedo or the political implications of the sinking.

I felt like the author did a lot of good research into the events of the sinking and even some of the people aboard. If you like history and are interested in boat sinking (or just the Lusitania) pick this up. But don’t expect necessarily engaging prose.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Book #11 in 2025
4.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

This is a bit hard for me to rate. I looked at the work as a biography not written by the person it was about so I had to wonder what was enhanced to make things read more dramatically and whether or not things happened exactly as portrayed in the book. But still the story is captivating and I can’t imagine what Louie went through.

Louie Zamperini is on a bomber in WWII that crashes. He survives and has to figure out how to live on a raft with two other men, hoping they’re rescued or find land. If this ordeal wasn’t enough, Louie is later captured and sent to a few different Japanese POW camps. He has to figure out how to find the will to live and return home to those who think he has likely died.

Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton

Book #10 in 2025
2.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I found that most of this book was just okay. Felton talks about his childhood and life in the Harry Potter movies. But most of the information is that he enjoyed working with this person or that person. I didn’t really feel like he was sharing anything until the end when he started talking about his substance abuse and being put into rehab.

I listed to this as an audiobook.

Sonny Boy: A Memoir by Al Pacino

Book #9 in 2025
3.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I’m familiar with some of Pachino’s movies but not all of them. While I don’t consider myself a super fan of his by any means, I’ve liked a lot of his work.

His memoir talks a bit about his growing up and how he got into acting. He then mostly writes (or talks in my case since I listened to the audiobook) about his various films There’s no dirt so to speak in his stories. I found them interesting enough but it did feel more like a filmography.

The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man by David von Drehle

Book #8 in 2025
3.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I was hoping more from this book. And maybe it would have been better if it were written by Charlie himself. I felt like while the author knew Charlie and heard his stories that maybe some things got lost in translation. I also felt like some of the book was more of a history lesson than Charlie’s life experiences.

Charlie experienced a lot of things in his life. But I don’t know after reading the author’s telling of the man’s life if I would have enjoyed knowing him. He kind of comes off as arrogant in some parts of the book.

Mom Dad Not Hear by Mickey Carolan

Book #7 in 2025
3.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

This author is from West Michigan and writes about what it’s like growing up with two deaf parents. The author can hear fine. I went in thinking it would be stories about his experience, and it was, but adding in are leadership tidbits as well. I didn’t learn anything new perse from the leadership items but did find reading about growing up with ALS as a first language and English as a second was interesting.

I was also hoping that there would be more about the Deaf community vs the deaf community. There seems to be an overall distinction between the two with both groups sort of standing their ground. The Deaf community uses ALS and can look down upon those who try and learn to hear through hearing aids or cochlear implants. The deaf community usually consists of those who are completely deaf and often they try and help or restore hearing. I myself don’t exactly fit into either group with my own hearing loss.

This book contains a lot of lessons learned and I feel like the author would be a good speaker.

Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison by Piper Kerman

Book #6 in 2025
3.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

This was a decent book but it did make me wonder what the impression of prison would be like for someone who didn’t have a good life on the outside. I also wonder how life in a maximum security prison would compare.

Still, it was interesting to read about prison life. I’ve never seen the Netflix series based on this book. I wonder if Piper kept in touch with any of her prison mates.

The Pale-Faced Lie by David Crow

Book #5 in 2025
1.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I didn’t like this at all. I felt like the author was gloating about being a bad kid as a child without much regret. He had a horrible life and parents who were not role models at all. But he’s not very inspiring in telling of his past.

I even tried to look up more about this author and can’t find much online. It makes me wonder if the retelling of these childhood memories are stretched truths or even lies themselves.

Stop here if you want to avoid spoilers!

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The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku

Book #4 in 2025
5.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

This is an excellent book. Eddie Jaku is a Holocaust survivor. He retells his story. He saw and experienced horrible things, but throughout it all and afterward, he kept a positive outlook on life.

Eddie was an extraordinary man. He lost so much. He survived so much. I’m a firm believer in that one’s attitude makes any situation better. Good times are even better and bad times are survivable.