Some of the books I read in 2017 (part 1.)

I have Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton (Great Lives) on Kindle, but it's a long book and I keep stalling. I am about 1/3 of the way through its 818 pages.

As an antidote, or for easier reading, I turned to L M Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series, which I had read as a child, and found them thoroughly enjoyable and absorbing. The ones about her early years are unsurprisingly the best. 

Going on from there, i intend at some point to re-read Lousia May Alcott's Little Women,  after watching the TV adaptation over the Christmas period. A good story, if occasionally a little pious.

I read Laura Inglis's Little House on the Praire. Its a little dated, particularly in its complacent attitude to the Native American Indians, but another strong girl is the main character.

Another view of immigration into America is offered by Sandi Toksvig's children's books, A Slice of the Moon  and The End of the Sky. The main character is Slim, the daughter of an Irish family escaping from the potato famine and hoping to join an uncle's family in Oregon.  She's a real tomboy, unlike her older sister. The families tribulations during the long sea crossing and afterwards are vividly told and absorbing. The End of the Sky continues the story with lots of relatively unknown historical information (referenced, or Google check), such as the Choctaw Indians sending aid to the Irish during the potato famine. I loved both of these books.