Review: The Last Green Valley

The Last Green Valley by Mark T. Sullivan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: The First Day of Spring

The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a heartbreaking tearjerker and I loved it. I felt for Chrissie and the other children, none of who deserved what happened to them. I even cared about Chrissie's Mam, who was not a sympathetic character.

I read an advanced copy from Edelweiss.

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Review: The Book of Lost Names

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A touching story about Eva, a young woman who is separated from her family during World War II and has to rely on friends and on herself. She and her mother are separated early on from her father after he is arrested. She and her mother find refuge in a small town where Eva begins to work for the Resistance. Her mother opposes this and longs to reunite the family, which isn't possible. Even though they are together, this causes a rift between mother and daughter. In present day, Eva is brought back to those times after seeing a news report that sends her from America back to Paris.

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Review: Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved the "Martian" didn't love "Artemis" so it was nice to read another by Weir that I really enjoyed. It's based in space like the other two, but is completely different.

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Review: Paris Never Leaves You

Paris Never Leaves You by Ellen Feldman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There were many things to love about this book. The characters were realistic and believable. They weren't heroes, just regular people who were forced to make heartbreaking decisions during terrible times. This was an interesting perspective on World War II that I hadn't read before and the surprising twists made me want to keep reading.

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Review: A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom

A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom by Brittany K. Barnett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book highlights the very real harm that unjust sentencing laws do, not only to the black people that are burdened with ridiculous sentences but also to their families and communities. I read an advanced copy of this on Edelweiss.

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Review: Nazi Wives: The Women at the Top of Hitler's Germany

Nazi Wives: The Women at the Top of Hitler's Germany by James Wyllie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The stories of the women behind the men who committed some of the most horrifying crimes of the 20th century. The women had various backgrounds, upbringings, and beliefs. These women were expected to uphold the Nazi beliefs of motherhood and family while supporting their husbands careers, regardless of the atrocities they committed. A comprehensive and often chilling account.

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Review: The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames

The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames by Justine Cowan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a very interesting look at a subject I knew nothing about - foundling hospitals. The most interesting parts were about Dorothy's experiences as a child. Less so were the author's details about her childhood. That did come together in the end though, when the author, after learning about her mother's history, was more sympathetic to why she was the way she was.

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Review: The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free

The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free by Paulina Bren
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is an interesting history of not only the Barbizon hotel, but the many women who lived there. The Barbizon hotel represented the first step towards independence for many women. In a world where women weren't granted many freedoms, this was seen as a safe space outside of a world ruled by a woman's father or husband.

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Review: Chasing Shackleton : re-creating the world's greatest journey of survival

Chasing Shackleton : re-creating the world's greatest journey of survival by Tim Jarvis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a fascinating account of a crazy expedition. It was really interesting to read about both the back story of the expedition as well as the expedition itself. I also appreciated the history of Shackleton's original expedition. As someone who really, really hates being cold, I can't imagine willingly putting myself in that situation, especially using the period clothing and equipment.

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Review: Love Like That: Stories

Love Like That: Stories by Emma Duffy-Comparone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A solid collection of stories. This is her debut collection and I look forward to reading more by this author.

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Send for My by Lauren Fox

Send for Me by Lauren Fox - 5 Stars There are many WWII fiction books out there, some more interesting and well written than others. One thing I liked about this book was that the characters weren't perfect. They weren't always nice, they sometimes had unkind thoughts. Sometimes with WWII fiction, the characters are all good and somewhat one-dimensional in that respect.

Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In "Grunt" Mary Roach gives you the inside story on the aspects of the military you rarely consider. She covers a wide variety of topics that impact how today's soldiers do their jobs, including sleep, hearing, clothing, diarrhea, and more. It was interesting, informative, and entertaining.

I received an advanced reader's copy of this book.

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February 2016

As usual, it's been a while between posts. A year. Here are some February 2016 additions to my to-read list.

The Translation of Love by Lynne Kutsukake will be published in April, 2016. I read a review of this book and it sounded really interesting. Thirteen-year-old Aya Shimamura and her father are repatriated to Japan after WWII. It's a different perspective on the Japanese internment camps than I've read before. It's also interesting that they were in a Canadian internment camp. I had no idea that there were internment camps in Canada. My book club recently read The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka, which ended with the Japanese women and their families being relocated to camps so that sparked an interest in reading this book.


Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach will be published in June, 2016. I've read and enjoyed a few other books by Mary Roach, most recently Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal. This is my favorite type of nonfiction - informative, interesting, and entertaining. If a nonfiction book is covering the most interesting topic in the world, if the book is dull I won't want to finish. I'm not taking a college course, I'm reading a book because I'm interested and want to enjoy the experience. Mary Roach has always delivered. The focus on the military is also one of the reasons I added this book to my list. That's a topic that I enjoy reading about, both fiction and nonfiction, and am always looking for a different perspective.



Labor of Love: Why Dating is (and Always Has Been) Work by Moira Weigel will be published in May, 2016. I'll admit to having watched a season or two (or more) of the bachelor. It makes me cringe fairly often, but it's also entertaining. I think that's part of what made me add this book to my to-read shelf. A feeling of "Thank God I don't have to date right now" in the same way I'm happy there was no Facebook or Instagram when I was in college. What a nightmare! I like reading history, especially social history, and am curious about the history of dating and how it evolved into what it is today. And also the differences between dating in various cultures. I'm not sure if it delves into that. If it doesn't, maybe someone could write a book. Actually, somebody probably already has.

Recently added, late February 2015

I've added a few books to my "to read" list the past week or so. I found them in the usual places - Goodreads recommendations, Edelweiss, publisher's catalogs. I pulled out a few in a variety of genres that seem interesting.

Lock In by John Scalzi was published in August, 2014 by Tor Books. It's science fiction, which is normally not my thing. I'm branching out though after reading The Martian by Andy Weir and The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey - two of the best books I've read recently. Lock In is about what happens when a virus sweeps the planet. 95% of the population is unaffected but 1% are "locked in," fully aware but unable to interact with the outside world. Technology is developed to allow for some interaction and this ability is used for both good and bad purposes. Sounds interesting.

 

I added The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows more because of the author than the plot of the book. I really enjoyed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which Barrows co-wrote with her Aunt. When I saw that she had a new novel coming out in July, I added it to my "to read" list. The description mentions "small town charm" and "great eye for character," both of which I like in a story. Unlike Guernsey, this is not an epistolary novel, which is one of the things I really enjoyed.

 I came across Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime on Edelweiss. Available in July, 2015 from Grove Press, it was written by fiction crime writer, Val McDermid, who has learned about all facets of forensics while writing her many novels. This was the sentence that made me want to read it: "Along the way, McDermid discovers how maggots collected from a corpse can help determine one’s time of death; how a DNA trace a millionth the size of a grain of salt can be used to convict a killer; and how a team of young Argentine scientists led by a maverick American anthropologist were able to uncover the victims of a genocide." It appears to be wide-reaching and comprehensive. And a little creepy.

A week or so ago I read an article about Justine Sacco, who a year or so ago, tweeted something offensive on her way to Africa. By the time she got there, she was trending on Twitter and had been fired from her job. The article was about the rabid public shaming that takes place on social media where the shamers never face the people they're targeting, rarely have the full story, and face no consequences for what they do. The shamed are often guilty of something, but in some cases, the punishment far exceeds the crime. When I read the article, I didn't realize it was a book until I came across So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson on Goodreads. Ronson describes meeting "famous shamees, shamers, and bystanders who have been impacted." This book will be published March 31, 2015 by Riverhead Books.

Lucky Alan and Eleanor Marx

There are two books coming out the week of Feb. 23rd that have been on my radar for a while - Lucky Alan by Jonathan Lethem and Eleanor Marx: A Life by Rachel Holmes.

 Lucky Alan by Jonathan Lethem is a short story collection. This collection is described as both humorous and scintillating. I like short stories that are well written and have good, well thought out characters. This has been on my to-read list since September so I'm hoping it's worth the wait.

I first read about Eleanor Marx: A Life by Rachel Holmes on Edelweiss last July. Biographies appeal to me because I love learning about people, about their lives, their histories, their families, pretty much everything about them. I especially enjoy biographies or memoirs about strong, interesting women. The first line of this book's description, "Unrestrained by convention, lionhearted and free, Eleanor Marx (1855–98) was an exceptional woman." caught my eye and piqued my interest. She sounds as fascinating as her famous father.

New direction

I've been thinking about this blog (that nobody but me is reading) and I'm going to change things up. I already post reviews on Goodreads and also on our staff blog. It's repetitious to just add the same thing here and I'm not that great at writing reviews. What I'm going to do instead is write about books that I want to read, mainly forthcoming books. I put a lot of time into keeping up with what is coming out, both for work and personal reasons. There are always books popping up that sound really interesting and that I'm excited to add to my "to read" list. I'm not sure how I'm going to choose which books to post about. It will be a work in progress.

The People in the Photo by Helene Gestern

I love epistolary fiction, and this book did not disappoint. I came to care about the characters and wanted to find out more about the people in the photo. I thought the author did a good job developing the characters throughout the book and I found myself hoping they would discover what really happened.

4 stars

I Love You More by Jennifer Murphy

This book sucked me in from the start, and I felt that I had to keep reading to find out what happened and how it happened. I hope to never meet any of these people in real life, but they were compelling characters. A few of the situations and characters seemed a little implausible, but that didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the book. 4 stars

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Journeyman by Sean Pronger

“Journeyman” is the story of the ups and down of Sean Pronger’s hockey career. He bounced around from minor league to NHL so many times I lost count. Despite all the ups and downs, Pronger never seemed to lose the sense of humor that made this book so entertaining. Well, maybe he lost his sense of humor in Germany, but in his situation you can’t blame him. There were times when he was more serious, such as the birth of his daughter. He also discussed the effect his many career moves had on his family, as well as the effect his family had on his career decisions.

My only complaint, and it's a tiny one, is that he seems to downplay his skill throughout the book. I've never seen him play, but if you make it to the NHL, you've got to be among the best. Sometimes his description made him seem mediocre, and I'm sure that wasn't the case.

The accessible tone of this book made it read like a friend relating his experiences over a few beers. I loved it and am a little disappointed that this is the only book he’s written.

5 stars