While we hope your holiday plans include time with loved ones, we also hope you get to enjoy a bit of downtime in the next couple of weeks. If you are looking for something to watch, we’ve got viewer-recommended TV shows and films. We also have a list of must-see Christmas movies, according to Megyn and the Ruthless fellas.
For those who prefer cozying up by the fire with a good book, Megyn’s husband, bestselling author Doug Brunt, is here with his reading recommendations. He promises there is something for everyone on his list. So without further ado, here are Doug’s top picks:
The Charm School
“The first is from my dear friend and mentor Nelson DeMille, who recently passed away. This came out in 1988 just after the Berlin Wall fell, yet the Russia stuff is back in vogue. It is about a Russian spy training school. It is almost like the show The Americans with Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys. That is a terrific show, but this is even better than that. There are so many people writing thrillers now who all revere Nelson as just such a great inspiration to them. But no one does as well as Nelson DeMille has done it. You just cannot go wrong with him.”
Table for Two
“This next one is more of a literary work by another friend, Amor Towles, who I think is one of the best writers working today. He has written a number of novels that people might recognize, like A Gentleman in Moscow, Rules of Civility, and The Lincoln Highway. This work is one novella and a few short stories. It picks up on Eve, who is a character in Rules of Civility – it’s called “Eve in Hollywood” – and some short stories. It is easy to pick up and read a 30-page short story, and Amor’s writing is just so good.”
The Zimmerman Telegraph
“Last but not least is from Barbara Tuchman. She is the OG of narrative nonfiction and narrative history – the stuff that Erik Larson and David Grant are doing so well now and what I am trying to do with Diesel. She is sort of the godmother of that whole genre in modern narrative nonfiction.
This book is about the ‘Zimmerman Telegram,’ which is really the biggest reason we got into World War I. People say it was the Lusitania and the submarines, but Lusitania happened long before we entered the war. This actually happened right before, and it is about the foreign secretary for Germany named Arthur Zimmerman, who sent a telegram down to Mexico saying, ‘Go invade the U.S. and distract them over in the Western Hemisphere while we fight this European war. And if you do that, we’re going to give you Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico back.’ Zimmerman was trying to enlist the Mexicans to fight us in World War One, and the British intercepted it and let us know about it. Of course, that gave us all the reason to enter the war. Her writing is so crackling. It is incredible prose and a great gripping story.”
The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel
While Doug is far too modest to put his own book on the list, we would be remiss not to mention his bestselling narrative history book that explores the fascinating life of Rudolf Diesel – the man responsible for the Diesel engine we still use today – and solves the mystery of his untimely death. It is now available in hardcover and paperback.
Gift Idea
If you are still looking for a gift for a book lover in your life, Doug offered this tip: “For writers whose work I respect, I like to get the hardcover first edition of the book.” The covers you see above are the first-editions from Doug’s collection, including the DeMille classic dating all the way back to 1988.
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Doug by tuning in to episode 971 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.