You know, June kind of flew by and I don’t know where it went! Actually, I do – church camps and dance. A lovely time but here we are and June is now done. So, what did I read that hits the theme of “Beach?” I’ve got two for you and neither were planned, which is kind of fun.
Sprinting Through No Man’s Land: Endurance, Tragedy, and Rebirth in the 1919 Tour de France by Adin Dobkin
This was a Kindle book I grabbed when it was free. I thought it sounded sort of interesting. It is. I am really enjoying it but it is a slow read for me so I’m not quite done with it. I thought it sort of hit the brief for the theme of beach because the beaches come up several times as they travel around France.
This is the story of the 1919 Tour de France. Most, if not all, of the cyclists were straight off the battle field. No training, little to no time for family, poor bicycles, and lots of hardship. These men were willing to do this not for the prize money but for the strength of the country. France needed this and these men were doing more of what they had done as soldiers – stay strong for the good of the country. This is the story of their hardships – they were lied to about what the conditions of the road were; they were supposed to have tires provided and did not; they had strict rules to follow that made horrible conditions worse; and much more.
I did not know that they ran the Tour that year but this is a whole new look at it. I have enjoyed this story and will enjoy it to the end. It is a tough narrative to read as it isn’t the exciting retelling that you might expect but it is written with as straight-forward a telling as possible so that you are not swayed with emotion – good or bad – for the riders or the organizers or the people along the way. It does bring to light the condition of so many in the year 1919 as the war ended. I can definitely recommend this book.
The Wildwater Walking Club by Claire Cook
I found this a quick and fun little book to read about getting one’s life back on track after a shift in your plans that you can’t plan for. Noreen is sidetracked by a layoff, losing everything that she thought defined who she was. In trying to get herself back to, well, herself, she makes some new friends and they start walking together. This builds a strong friendship and they all help each other through life transitions, difficulties, and the joy of day to day living. This is the kind of book that you want to read just for fun and you sort of fly through.
So, why is this a beach read? Well, they spend a large part of their walking time on the beach. So, there you go. 🙂 Living close to a beach made it possible for them so it plays into their story a bit.
I just found out that it is technically book 1 of a series so maybe I’ll look for the others just for the fun of it. I loved that it was a beach read that was about friendship, not romance. That is a bit unusual. Yes, there is a smidge of that but it is all a part of the friendship/getting life back together stuff, not the whole book.
Other books read, non-beach-themed include:
These Tangled Vines – by Julianne Maclean (fiction)
Immerse – by Dale Jenkins (non-fiction, Biblical)
Vienna Prelude – by Bodie Thoene (fiction)
Hey Ranger! – by Jim Burnett (non-fiction)
Help Your Kids Learn & Love The Bible – by Danika Cooley (non-fiction, review coming up in July)
That’s the wrap-up. What did you read this month?
Blessings,
Lori, At Home.
At Home 
I learned all kinds of stuff about the Tour de France just reading your summary of the book! Very interesting. The other beach read looks good too! It’s fun when you “accidentally” read something that suits a theme, isn’t it?
The book about the Tour has been really interesting. And I love stumbling upon books that work for the theme!
both of those books sound interesting! The tour de France one I’d love to borrow.
Our library had a copy of the Tour de France book though I got it on Kindle.