11.  The Lost City of Z, by David Grann
       It was interesting to read this book soon after the Fremont book.  The two explorers, Percy Fawcett in this one, have their similarities and differences.  Neither are that heroic, to my way of thinking. I was really wrapped up in reading this, even though I sort of knew some of the things Grann revealed at the end. In this book, the journalist's search for Fawcett is an important part of the story.
      He is also the author of Killers of the Flower Moon, an important eye-opener. We should know our history, but it is not a source of pride towards the "winners" when we know.  I think most people who are very wealthy have done unethical things to get that way, or have inherited from others who did. I am not saying that about either Fremont or Fawcett, they just were arrogant and willing to take huge risks.
      The movie of The Lost City of Z tells the story of Fawcett, not the journalist's story.  I thought it was slow, and it seemed like there were variations from the story told in the book.  Someone named Fawcett had a part, so I presume the family was involved.  The movie account of the end of their travels is all imagination, I think. I would have preferred a documentary.

I finished Circe, by the way.  The author shared some beautiful paintings of her on a blog somewhere, and I loved that.  I guess I learned some of the who's who of mythology.  The other readers in the group really liked this book, and it is popular.  My friend who listened to it felt like the character was speaking to her.  So, I guess I'm glad I read it, although I won't look into more similar books.

10.  On the other hand, for my main book group, I read The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. This author is certainly creative, I'll give him that!  It starts off like an Agatha Christie story, and then veers off into .. I guess sci-fi, thriller.  This is the advantage of belonging to a book group.  I would never have chosen that book for myself, but found it thoroughly entertaining.  It also raised a social issue question worth considering about whether people can change.

11.  Elkhorn Tavern, by Douglas C. Jones.  This was on my bookshelf, and I don't remember when I bought it.  It is set in Northwest Arkansas during the Civil War, a time and place I've been studying with genealogy.  This could have been my dad's relatives, except they all seem to have had bigger families. I think he is dead on right in his picture of the times there.  The character Ora reminds me of my strong mother, who liked pretty things and could also whack the head off a copperhead with a hoe-- and then feel guilty about killing it. Ora is my picture of femininity, not some heavily made up delicate thing. The author was a tad soft on slavery, in my opinion, but the main characters did not participate in it.