The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

One of my reading goals this year is to read some non-fiction.  This book made this goal easy - this was one of the best books I've read in quite some time.

Part of the appeal for me is easy to see - all three of my kids have been rowers, so I could connect with much of the narrative that captured the world of competitive rowing.  And although I was not a rower, the descriptions of the rowing and of the bonds between the athletes totally captivated me.

But it was much more than that.  This is the story of 9 working class boys who started rowing together at the University of Washington and they clicked almost immediately - as athletes, as a team, and as friends. Their synergy was unique and electric, and they rowed their way (past Hitler, literally) to a gold medal in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The author not only brings the lives of these young men to life, but he captures the pre-WWII America that they were growing up in - through the dustbowl, the depression, and hints of what is transpiring in Germany with Hitler's rise to power.

By the time I reached the epilogue, I was fully invested in the oarsmen, their coach, and their journey together. The book is poignant and inspiring.

Three Bird Summer by Sara St. Antoine

Maybe I connected with this book because it reminded me so much of my grandmother and her summer house in northern Michigan...and of my family's cottage in Maine, where my mother has become The Grandmother. Three Bird Summer captures the magic of everything a house on a lake encompasses - the woods...the loons...the weather...and the friendships that are captured there...at the same time weaving a story that melds traditional adolescent angst with difficult family issues (divorced parents and what to do with an aging grandparent, for example). Woven into this is an emerging friendship between Adam and Alice (the girl next door) and their adventures as they work to solve the clues left by Adam's forgetful grandmother that lead them on a quest to find a hidden treasure, and into his grandmother's mysterious past.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is not a swash-buckling adventure, but a lovely story with a "just right mood."  It is well paced, has an engaging plot, and is simply a comfortable read!