“Truth crushed to earth is truth still and like a seed will rise again.”

~ Jefferson Davis

Hello, and welcome back! Is it already day three of the Five Fall Favorites event? Time goes by so quickly! It’s a little chilly in this cabin, I know, which is why I have that giant pile of blankets over there in the corner. Please choose one and snuggle up in it! Yes, pick any seat you want!

Oh, good choice. That one looks especially soft and comfy! All settled? Good. I wanted to tell you about five of my favorite books in a genre I honestly don’t read much of, but it’s a very good one! Historical nonfiction. I enjoy a good biography but unfortunately I haven’t read too many — I would like to remedy that! Feel free to tell me your favorites so I can check them out! You’ll notice that I had to scrape the bottom of the barrel a bit — some of these are a bit of a stretch. But I did my best! And I hope you’ll get some good recommendations out of it!

First I’m going to name my most recent historical nonfiction read, Catch Me if You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake, by Frank W. Abegnale. I saw the movie a few years ago and became very interested in the story of a man clever and daring enough to pass himself off as an airline pilot, a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, and more — all before he was twenty-one! So I jumped at the chance to borrow the book from a friend. It was so fascinating to read Abegnale’s story in his own words, and to get a peek into his mind and the way he justified his actions to himself. It’s not for younger readers — Abegnale liked girls and this comes up frequently — but there is nothing graphic or inappropriate for adult readers. Very interesting!

Oh I almost forgot, I put the kettle on to make hot chocolate! Who else wants some? Perfect. I have exactly the right number of mugs set out. Follow me to the kitchen to get yours, and I’ll tell you the next book on my list!

Now, this one is definitely a little bit of a stretch, but bear with me. It’s one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors, Four Girls at Chautauqua, by Isabella “Pansy” Alden. It’s a stretch because this one is listed as fiction, but it was actually based on the real stories of real friends of the author. This to me makes it all the more powerful! The first in a series that follows these four girls over a few decades, this story tells the tale of their conversions to Christianity despite the seeming unlikelihood of such an event! Christian stories, especially conversion stories, can sometimes feel unrealistic to me. They can come off as corny or fake. But this one has a ring of truth that reminds me of the joy of my own salvation, and I believe this is probably at least partly because the characters are real people and the events are real events! I definitely recommend the entire series.

All right, now that we all have our hot chocolate, let’s run back to our blankets and get settled again! What could be cozier than this? Blankets… a hot drink… and books on an autumn day!

Now, while the last book was borderline not nonfiction, I’m afraid this one is borderline not historical — but SOME of it takes place over twenty years ago, and all of it takes place at least somewhat in the past, and it is very, very good, so I’m going to include it. The book is Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration, by Ed Catmull. It’s the story of the founding and running of Pixar Animation Studios by one of its founders. I’ve been a Pixar fan as long as I can remember, so I picked it up just out of curiosity from that standpoint, but I really came away with a lot of really helpful ideas about management and creativity. Even though I don’t run a corporation, I still have things to manage, and I definitely engage in a lot of creativity through my writing. I would highly recommend this one to anyone who is a Pixar fan, business manager, content creator, or all of the above!

Oh yes, feel free to take a cookie. I just baked them this morning and thought they would go well with the hot chocolate and general cozy vibe we have going here! I am trying to cut down on sugar but for special occasions, I do like to splurge a little, and spending time talking with my friends about books is definitely special!

This next one is a few more decades into the past, so I don’t feel the need to justify it as much as the others! I read this one many, many years ago when I started a small email-based writing group, and I sent a copy to each girl in the group. It’s called The Inklings: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Their Friends, by Humphrey Carpenter. The title is pretty self-evident — it has sections with biographies about each of the three men named and then goes into their friendships and how they affected each others’ lives and writing. I am a huge admirer of C. S. Lewis, and if you read my post on Real Heroes, you know I love Lord of the Rings as well, so naturally I am also fascinated by the group called The Inklings. If you like these authors or are interested in writing groups and British literature in general, this is a very enjoyable and informative read!

As we wrap up, I have a surprise gift for each of you — why don’t you take your blanket home with you? Yes, believe it or not I have too many blankets (is there such a thing?) and I would love to share the coziness with all of you!

The last book I want to mention probably fits the category best — Jefferson Davis: Unconquerable Heart, by Felicity Allen. I did my senior research paper on Jefferson Davis, so I read many biographies of him and this was one of my favorites. I would really love to read it again sometime — it very much humanizes a very enigmatic man. The author really digs into his life and motivations in an engaging way, and it left me with much admiration for a figure I already respected. If you’re interested in learning more about the Confederacy and this time in our history from an unusual perspective, I highly recommend this one!

Thank you for spending this time with me! I hope when you go home you enjoy cuddling up on many a cool evening with your blanket — and yes, please take a few cookies, I don’t need a bunch left over! — and dive into some interesting historical truth. There are few things more fascinating than discovering true stories of things that have happened in our past, things that lead up to where we are today.

Be sure to visit all the other Five Fall Favorites posts up today, and come back tomorrow for another category!

Also be sure to enter our giveaway — my book Implant is just one of many great prizes included!

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