Good morning everyone, especially researchers!

I’m not sure how many of you read the New York Times, but even if you don’t, you should know about the NY Times Book Review, which is a true thing of beauty. You can get to it online (of course) if your family doesn’t subscribe to the print version of the Times — my favorite parts are the Editors’ Choice page and the rankings to see what’s selling (and ostensibly being read). Here’s the link: https://www.nytimes.com/section/books/review

And every week they have reviews (duh!) of recently-published books of note. So sometimes, if you’re not TOTALLY interested in the book but just want to get a taste, you can get that from the review. And often what I end up doing is reading the review and then deciding to request the book from the library (which can take a bit, since they’re newly-published and it’s likely everyone is interested in them) or downloading the sample to my Kindle so I can see if I want to read more….

BUT I also end up finding things that seem like they would be awesome NHD topics, like this week. Check these out (sorry, darlings, you’ll need to get the links yourself, this is just an old-fashioned list, but if any of these spark your interest I know you know where/how to find the information):

• George Washington, Dealmaker in Chief (this is an ad, but the book seems pretty intriguing)
• PRIDE: Fifty years of parades and protests (about LGBTQ history, now a required part of the curriculum in several U.S. states)
• IF: The Untold Story of Kipling’s American Years (about Rudyard Kipling – author of “The Jungle Book” and “Just So Stories”)
• Last Witnesses: An Oral History of the Children of World War II (wow – personal accounts of what children experienced during WWII)
• Barnum: An American Life (PT Barnum monetized the idea of a circus/side show and famously said, “There’s a sucker born every minute”)
• Bagehot: The Life and Times of the Greatest Victorian (interesting if you’re into the Victorian period, during which many barriers were erected and many were broken)

And this one isn’t reviewed this week (it was reviewed last week or the week before), but could be intriguing: The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom about New Orleans and problems/issues with city planning there.

Anyway, something to think about. If you’re planning to do an NHD project and have yet to start on the “Breaking Barriers” theme, many of these could be of interest. And don’t forget that we’re celebrating the anniversary of women getting the right to vote (that’s where the theme comes from), and there are tons of resources for that — find a UNIQUE angle or person on which/on whom to focus.

Have fun and enjoy the last few weeks before school begins! Let me know what you’re up to….