A combination of things led to a ship, loaded with munitions (wait until you read just how many) to explode in Halifax in 1917. Author John U. Bacon brings all the details together in his book The Great Halifax Explosion: a World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism. Well written, wonderfully researched, this was just an amazing read! You will meet the men on the ships, the dock workers, citizens of Halifax, and one young man who fought in the trenches in France. He came home badly injured and shell shocked. The explosion and the aftermath would have a profound effect on him. Oh, and if the explosion, fires, flooding, etc. wasn’t enough, the very next day Halifax had a snowstorm, one of the biggest to hit the area, ever.

Here's a fun collection of authors and their books: The Book of Forgotten Authors, by Christopher Fowler. It's full of short biographies of authors that were once popular, some who should be so again, some that can remain forgotten. I recognized and/or had read several (one is even on my shelf), others I didn't recognize until I saw what they'd written, and many were totally new. The author talks about why some were popular (right time, right place sort of thing), titles that would surprise (think of something rather, um, bawdy by the author of Bambi). A most interesting read.

Reading Hermit With Dog