We’ve been wanting to start a bookclub for ages, but there’s always the problem of coordinating schedules and orchestrating gatherings in our small apartments. The solution? A virtual bookclub — and you’re invited! Here’s how it works: Once a month we’ll annouce the book we’re reading (nominations will be accepted). We’ll have a month to read it, then meet back here where to discuss opinions and thoughts via the blog. Our first book club title is Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer. This new hardback book about John Wilkes Booth’s assassination plans, his Ford’s Theatre escape and the chase that followed is getting rave reviews. (It’s currently #7 on the NYT’s best-seller list.) The author, James L. Swanson, is reportedly a lifelong student of Lincoln and his murder, and this book is a real labor of love. In fact, you can take a video tour of Swanson’s private Lincoln memorabilia collection on his web site. You can buy Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer for $16 at amazon. We hear this read will be well worth our time — Swanson delves deeply into this tale and uncovers much more than your 10th-grade history class and today’s historical memory reveal about Lincoln’s assassins. Plus, tomorrow marks the 141-year anniversary of the crime: Lincoln was killed on April 14 and Booth captured on April 26. So, get reading! –Beth J.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 13th, 2006 at 8:43 am and is filed under reading. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.