Tag: Historical Events

How many places did you visit this year? I went on a world tour. Did you?

On By SCLMRoseIn Author's Life, Blogging, Books, Historical Novels, Reading ChallengeLeave a comment

Did I visit any country this year? Oh yeah, plenty. I went all over the world.

The Earth

Most people go on big vacation during the summer. Some retirees go at different times during the year. I don’t go on vacation nowadays but I visited a lot of places. Been there, done that. My husband and I used to go on vacation when we were younger. When my kids were young, we went with the kids until they reached 15 and then they don’t want to go on vacation with us anymore. Funny at that age, they were embarrassed to be seen with their parents. It was not cool. We went on a grand tour of Europe with the kids when they were 9 and 12. After 45 years of marriage and my husband having difficulty walking, long trips are not an option anymore. Besides, Charleston where we live now is a great vacation spot so we are basically on vacation all the time. Charleston is No. 1 vacation city in the United States and No. 2 in the world according to Conde Nast.

Nonetheless, I still have visited so many places this year thru my reading. It’s the most extensive, least expensive and most enjoyable trips I have undertaken. Without leaving my home and the comfort of my favorite chair, I have been to several places this year. With all the books that I read this year, I have been to so many places and thoroughly enjoy my trips. Below are some of the books I read in 2015 and the places where I visited.

  1. I just finished reading Hawaii by James A. Michener which took me on an adventurous journey to exotic places in the Pacific – Bora Bora, Tahiti, the islands of Hawaii, an ocean voyage on the Atlantic from Massachusetts westward to Cape Verde Island, then down to Cape Horn, on to The Falklands, through small islands at the southern tip of South America then up through the Pacific to Hawaii. I visited mainland United States from San Francisco on the west coast to Connecticut on the east coast. I also visited Japan and China.
  2. At The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder, I visited Peru and Spain.
  3. The Bells by Richard Harvell took me to the concerts halls in Europe in Austria, Italy, and Switzerland.
  4. Gifts from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh took me to the beach at Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod and Maine.
  5. Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer took me to England and New York.
  6. Mrs. De Winter by Susan Hill took me to England, Monaco, France, Italy and Spain.
  7. With Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, I visited England, Monaco and Italy.
  8. The Glitter and Gold by Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan took me to New York, Newport, Palm Beach in U.S. and France and England in Europe.
  9. The Secret Mistress by Mary Balogh, I went to Cornwall in the United Kingdom.
  10. Dead Wake by Erik Larssen took me to the coasts of England and Ireland.
  11. Flapper by Joshua Zeitz took me to New York and Chicago.
  12. The Inn at Rose Harbor by Debbie Macomber took me to the Pacific Northwest.
  13. The Lady of the River by Philippa Gregory took me to England.
  14. With The Iron Butterfly which I, Rosalinda Morgan wrote, I took the readers to southern Luzon in the Philippines from Batangas to Manila.
  15. The Steep Ascent by Anne Morrow Lindbergh flew me across the Swiss Alps.
  16. Escape from Davao by John D. Lukacs took me to the wild jungle of Mindanao in the Philippines and Australia.
  17. Below Stairs by Margaret Powell took me to various great houses of England.
  18. At Howards End by E.M. Forster, I visited England once more.
  19. Winter of the World by Ken Follett took me to England, Germany, Spain, Russia and the United States.
  20. The Landower’s Legacy by Victoria Holt, I visited more of England.
  21. In Downtown Abbey, Rules for Household Staff, I visited England again.
  22. Upstairs at the White House in Washington, DC, by J.B. West, I saw the inside of the most famous home in the United States.
  23. All the Single Ladies by Dorothea Benton Frank I went back home to Charleston, South Carolina.
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What kind of books do I read?

On By SCLMRoseIn Author's Life, Blogging, Book Genre, Goodreads, Memoirs, Reading Challenge, WWIILeave a comment

I always want to learn something new. Since I did not have much time to read during my working days, I’m trying to catch up on my search for knowledge. I feel I missed something along the way. There are so much to learn in one’s lifetime and to do this, I have to read more to supplement what I already know. History book in itself written in a textbook form can be so boring but written within the context of a historical fiction can be both entertaining and educational. So as much as possible, I veer toward historical fiction.

I also like memoirs especially with an inspirational theme. Historical novels and memoirs are my favorite genres and they are also the genres that I write. Both the books I have published so far are in historical fiction category based on real-life events.

Iron Butterfly

BAHALA NA (Come What May)

Both books are available at www.amazon.com/author/rosalindarmorgan.

You can check the books I read at www.goodreads.com.

What kind of books do you read? Leave a comment.

THE BEST HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS IN MY COLLECTION

On By SCLMRoseIn Good Writing, Goodreaads, Historical Events, Historical FictionLeave a comment

Per Goodreads definition, Historical Fiction are novels that re-create a period or event in history and often use historical figures as some of its characters. To be deemed historical, a novel must have been written at least fifty years after the events described. Out of the hundred books listed at Goodreads under Best Historical Fiction, I picked up 1 – 19 listed below as truly Historical Fiction. I added 6 more to make the list as my 25 Favorite Historical Fiction books in my library. I want to read as many as I can. So far I have read 11 of them. I have a lot of catching up to do. I fully intend to in between my writing my next historical novel, “The Iron Butterfly”.

1. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – saw the movie several times but haven’t fully read the book. Will start again one of these days.
2. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett – Just finished reading it, quite long, you wonder when the villain will get his comeuppance.
3. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens – picked it up years ago but could not continue.
4. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck – read recently.
5. Shogun by James Clavell – read it years ago, intend to reread it.
6. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough – read it years ago
7. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Ecco – started reading it but stopped.
8. World Without End by Ken Follett – Want To Read list.
9. Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley – saw the movie, never read the book.
10. War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy – Want To Read list
11. The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone – Want To Read list
12. Scarlet Pimpernell by Emmuska Orczy – read it years ago. Will most likely read it again.
13. Sarum: The Novel of England by Edward Rutherfurd – Another long book, read recently, could not keep track of those Welsh names, quite interesting though.
14. Centennial by James A. Michener – Want To Read list
15. Tai-Pan by James Clavell – Want To Read list
16. Hawaii by James A. Michener – started reading months ago, will continue.
17. Fall of Giants by Ken Follett – read recently
18. London by Edward Rutherfurd – Want To Read list
19. North and South by John Jakes – Want To Read list
More Historical Fiction books in my library:
1. Winter of the World by Ken Follett – Want To Read list
2. New York by Edward Rutherfurd – read recently
3. Paris by Edward Rutherfurd – Want To Read list
4. The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly – read recently
5. The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly – read recently, love this one better than The Tea Rose
6 A Distant Trumpet by Paul Horgan – read recently.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS ON JAN. 1 THROUGHOUT HISTORY

On By SCLMRoseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Throughout history, there are some significant events that happened on the first day of the year.  Here are few of them:

1622 – Papal Chancery adopts Jan. 1 as beginning of the year

1660 – 1st entry in Samuel Pepys’ diary

1673 – Regular mail delivery begins between New York and Boston

1772 – First traveller’s check issued (London)

1776 – General George Washington hoists the Continental Union Flag

1788 – Quakers in Pennsylvania emancipate their slaves

1797 – Albany replaces New York City as capital of NY

1808 – Congress prohibits importation of slaves

1818 – Official reopening of the White House

1847 – Michigan becomes the first state to abolish capital punishment

1852 – First U.S. public bath opens in New York City

1862 – First U.S. income tax goes into effect

1863 – Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery issued by President Lincoln

1880 – Building of Panama Canal begins

1892 – Ellis Island becomes reception center for new immigrants

1902 – 1st Rose Bowl game (Pasadena, California) (U of Mich-49, Sanford-0)

1907 – Theodore Roosevelt shakes a record 8513 hands in one day

1908 – First time ball signifying new year dropped at Times Square

1912 – Sun Yat-sen forms Chinese Republic

1913 – Post Office begins parcel post deliveries

1914 – First scheduled airline flight, from St. Petersburg to Tampa, Florida

1934 – Alcatraz officially becomes a federal prison

1935 – 1st Sugar Bowl & 1st Orange Bowl

1954 – Rose & Cotton Bowl are 1st sport colorcasts

1960 – Johnny Cash plays first of many free concerts from behind prison bars

1968 – Evil Knievel fails in his attempt to jump the Caesar’s Palace fountain

1971 – Cigarette advertising banned on radio and television

1975 – Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell, and Mardian convicted of Washington Watergate crimes

1977 – First woman (Jacqueline Means) is formally ordained as Episcopal priest

1978 – Pres. Ford signs 1st major revision of copyright law since 1909

1985 – U.S. first mandatory seat belt law goes into effect (New York)

1990 – David Dinkins is sworn in as the first black mayor of New York City

1993 – Cigarette advertisements are banned in NYC’s MTA

1994 – North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect

1995 – Last “Far Side” by cartoonist Gary Larson

1998 – All California bars, clubs & card rooms must be smoke-free

2000 – Gisbourne, New Zealand population 32,754 is first city in the world to welcome in the new millennium

2002 – The Euro becomes the official currency for most of Europe

2008 – A New Hampshire law legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples comes into effect.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!