Prague

I have recently from a visit to Prague in the Czech  Republic.  Prague is one of the most visually beautiful cities in Europe.  With its Gothic cathedrals and Art Deco art and architecture, it is a feast for the eyes.

Since coming home, I have been inspired to read about Prague.
For your reading pleasure, here is
The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman, a bittersweet romance about a couple separated by the Holocaust

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright details her family history in Prague Winter.   At the age of 59, Secretary Albright discovered that she is Jewish and numerous relatives perished in the Holocaust

Finally Jonathan Kellerman wrote The Golem of Hollywood a supernatural police detective novel in which LA Detective Jacob Lev uncovers his family's connection to the Golem, a mysteriouis creature created from  during 17th Century Prague.  Kellerman recenlty published a sequel, The Golem of Paris.

Enjoy!

Something New from Korea

J.M. Lee is an accomplished author in his native Korea.  For the first time, one of his novels is available in English in the US.  Based on the life of Yun Dong-ju a dissident Korean writer who died in Fukuoka prison,  The Investigation is a locked room mystery with an unusual setting.

  The novel takes place in Fukuoka Prison in the Korean peninsula in 1944.  The most sadistic of the prison guards is found murdered with his lips sewn shut.  The prison houses Korean political dissidents as well as criminals. All the prisoners were accounted for at the time of the murder. A young prison guard is assigned to the investigation. It soon becomes apparent that nobody wants this crime solved.

This novel is a mystery, a war story, another view of the role of Japan in World War II, a glimpse into Korea, and the redemptive power of poetry.

Scaring myself silly!

Although it is past Halloween, the gathering darkness in New England fives rise to all sort of creepy feelings.  I offer you two books to give you an excuse to sleep with the light on.

First, Karin Slaughter' Pretty Girls is a riveting, intense drama in which you do not know who is telling the truth until the last page.  Is the heroine's husband who he says he is, or is there a darker side to him? The novel is very graphic and not for the faint of heart.

If Pretty Girls is terror on a physical level, there is another book out right now which is even scarier on a psychological level.  David Mitchell's latest Slade House is a haunted house mystery in the tradition of Henry James The Turn of the Screw.  What is reality and what is fantasy?  Could a house really exist every nine years in order to claim its next victim?   What makes you a victim?

Of the two books, I would say that Slade House was creepier!

Enjoy and don't say I didn't warn you!

Deep Down Dark

One of my book groups just finished reading Chilean author Isabel Allende's The House of Spirits.  I was inspired to read a totally different book about Chile.  Hector Tobar wrote an account of the 33 miners trapped in a mine in Chile in 2010, Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle that set them Free. Taken from numerous personal interviews, the book is an inspiring piece of writing.  It is a testament to the human spirit to read how 33 men coped with several months of darkness, starvation and solitude. The families, most of whom were poor and indigenous stood their ground and insisted that the men were alive. Further, the international rescue effort should be a lesson to world leaders.  I just saw that the book will be released as a movie next week. So take some time to read it or watch it. Sometimes, the human race can actually come together in a crisis.

Book discussion

Book discussions are back and I am so glad. I lead one and participate in two others.  I am honored to lead a discussion group at the Hampton Historical Society.  We have been discussing fiction and nonfiction history books. We started with Unbroken, followed by The Boys in the Boat and Dead Wake.  Our next scheduled title is the Quartet the second American Revolution.  It is challenge and a joy to discuss books with a narrow focus with a group so committed to the topics.

I participate in a women's book group called World of Stories in which we research and select novels or non fiction books on specific geographic areas.  Suffice to say, I would never have selected most of these books for my personal reading, but I have always come away with a new understanding about a different part of the world.

I have also participated in a book group that meets at a local brewery.  This group is eclectic, fun and lively.  The addition of beer doesn't hurt!

So join a book group, make some new friends and stimulate your mind in the  process!

Cheers,
Barbara

Movies ...movies...movies

Right now, I have set up a books display pairing books with their movies.  It is really amazing how many best sellers Hollywood is using for movies.  Gone Girl, Unbroken, Cider House Rules, and The Blindside are just a few.  Martian is a fabulous read, even if you do not like science fiction.  I am trying to catch the movie version.

I am looking forward to seeing Philbrick's The Heart of the Sea on the big screen.  For those of you who have not read it, it the real story of Moby Dick in which a sperm whale attacked the whales ship Essex. This was the inspiration for Melville. I understand that  Deep Down Dark will also be released as a movie.  It is the story of the 33 Chilean miners who were rescued from a mine collapse in 2010.

Okay, I am really breathless with anticipation for the new Bond film which should be opening in two weeks.  Daniel Craig, of all the Bonds, brings Ian Fleming's hero to the screen with  a strength and grit that the others did not have. Let's hear it for Spectre!

Cheers,
Barbara

French Resistance Redux

I finally got my hands on Kristen Hannah's historical fiction The Nightingale, an historical fiction about the courageous young women who served in the French Resistance during world War II.  While the book is fine on its own merit, I had the nagging feeling that I had read this book before.  And I did.  I already sobbed  my way through Tatiana deRosnay's very emotional Sarah's Key. I loved Anthony Doerr's lyrical writing in All the Light we Cannot See.  And I worked my way through Caroline Moorehead's meticulously researched A Train in Winter. 

The Nightingale was okay for somebody looking for a quick read.  But for somebody with a serious interest in history, the other books listed above provide much more detail and historical accuracy about these courageous young women.

Lisbeth Salander

I am approximately 100 pages into the Girl in the Spider's Web, the sequel to the trilogy Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I am hooked. Lisbeth Salander is her usual offbeat, kinky self and the the bizarre characters continue  to populate this very suspenseful and dark crime novel.  I could have a few late nights coming up this week!

Cheer,

Death is not the end

It is reassuring ,but at the same time, a little bit weird, to know that some of my favorite writers continue to write after death.

First, Tom Clancy kept us on the edge of our seats with his Jack Ryan series starting with The Hunt for Red October.  Throughout the 80's and 90's, Clancy kept up with the international war on terror. Even President Reagan was a big fan. After his untimely  death, Clancy's novels continue to appear on the bestseller list, in bookstores and library shelves. True, we are into a new generation of operatives, but the message is the same. Don't mess with the USA.

Stieg Larsson'strilogy The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was one of the most unusual books I have ever read.  It took several attempt to start, but I loved it.  Larsson died under suspicious circumstances and now David Lagercrantz has continued the series with The Girl in the Spider's Web. I just started it, but I will need to give it some time.

Mystery writer Tony Hillerman whose books take place on the Navajo reservation writes some of the best American detective stories mixing Navajo religion and traditions with police work. After Tony passed on, his daughter Anne Hillerman took up the mantle to rave reviews.

Finally, Vince Flynn died of cancer last year and I thought I had seen the last of Mitch Rapp.  But happily, I unpacked the latest Vince Flynn novel written by Kyle Mills.  The Survivor just hit the shelves, and the reviews have been glowing.

Happy Reading!

Books to travel by

I like to list things by three so here we go.

 By now, most of you have seen the film version of Bill Bryson's Walk in the  Woods.  If you haven't, take the time to watch the movie or better yet, read the book.  It is a hilarious tale of two middle aged men who endeavor to hike the Appalachian Trail with little training, little preparation and the wrong gear.  The book gives new meaning to the Boy Scout motto "Be prepared."

Tom Ryan's Following Atticus is a heart-warming story of a man and his dog.  Tom Ryan, living a lonely life in Newburyport, MA adopts a miniature schnauzer whom he names Atticus Finch.  After a series of disappointments, depression and health issues, Tom and Atticus decide to hike some of the higher peaks in New Hampshire's White Mountains. Whether you are a nature lover, a dog lover or in need of an inspirational story,  Following Atticus is for you. It reinforces the saying for rescue animals, "who resscued whom?"

Finally, Rinker Buck, an accomplished  journalist brings us The Oregon Trail. In the vein of Walk in the Woods, Rinker and his brother, again two middle aged men, get the bright idea of reenacting the Oregon in a wagon pulled by mules.  Once again, we meet two people who are not completely prepared for the journey. The mules are the real heroes.  However, Buck is an excellent writer and he brings new insight into American history and the journeys of the pioneers who crossed America in wagons, on foot or on horseback.  Sometimes, funny, sometimes touching, this book, this book is a really good read for anyone looking for the offbeat adventure.

Happy Reading!

I have committed the cardinal sin of bloggers.  That is, I have neglected my blog for months.  In my defense, I have been spending time with some of my other avocations, notably, I have indulged my preoccupation with 18th century America by giving tours at the American Independence Museum in Exeter, NH. My children have also kept me busy with their comings and goings during the summer.

However, I am back and ready to rock.  One of my local interests here at the beautiful NH Seacoast is the wonderful Tuck Museum,  home to the Hampton Historical Society.  The society very graciously invited me to lead book discussions on books with topics in history.  Last November, on Veterans Day, we did the very emotional Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  Last month, we did Dead Wake by Erik Larsen.  For those of you who have not read it, I highly recommend this narrative of the sinking of the Lusitania.  Like me, you will be astounded by all your misconceptions of World War I from high school history.  We had a very lively discussion fueled by scones and clotted cream.  In January, we will be discussing Joseph Ellis' The Quartet which is the story of America's second revolution in which the Founding Fathers needed to construct a government and persuade the individual states to ratify the Constitution.  It is a fascinating work describing the back room wheeling and dealing that took place.
We almost did not make it as a united country!

Happy Reading and I hope to see some of you in January!

Time for New Life and Birth

After enduring a record-setting New England winter, we are all looking forward to Spring, which means new life on many levels.


Midwifery would be a possible topic for book groups who make their selections based on a theme.


Start with Anita Diament's 2007 best seller The Red Tent, an historical fiction based on women of the Bible. The emphasis is not on religion, but on women's issues such as sisterhood in a man's world, and, of course birth.


Chris Bohalian's jaw-dropping Midwives debuted in 1998 and was an Oprah Choice.  Even on a second or third reading, I hold my breath at the conclusion of this book.


Patricia Harmon who is a Certified Nurse Midwife brings us two newer books set in Depression-era West Virginia.  Her first one, The Midwife of Hope River   (2012) is a interesting narrative of birth and death during the 1920's and 30's when life was challenging throughout the country, but nowhere more so than the coal mines of West Virginia.  She also brings in some lively descriptions of the American labor movement, the American Socialist movement and views of Pittsburgh during the 1920's.
Harmon's newest novel The Reluctant Midwife   (2015)is a sequel which takes us back to Hope River.  Public Health Nurse Becky Myers is called upon to assist  her friend local midwife Patience Murphy in delivering babies.  Nurse Myers is also called upon to provide medical care in a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp, giving us a rare glimpse into this episode in American history.  both books a eminently readable and bring the reader into a time and place long gone.


Enjoy!

Three Heart Warming Stories

Just in time for Valentine's Day, here are three heart warming stories to take the chill off a New England winter.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevon.

A.J. Fikry, owner of  Island Books, has had a sad life.  His wife has died.  He is subject to seizures.  As the owner on an independent bookstore, he is experiencing sluggish sales.  Lastly, his personal volume of Edgar Allen Poe's rare poetry has been stolen.  However, A. J.'s life is about to be turned upside down.   A mysterious package arrives in his bookstore giving him a second chance at life and love.  For book lovers everywhere, this gently story of second chances will bring a smile to your face and tear to your eye.  As the sign on A.J.'s bookstore says, "No man is an island; every book is a world."

The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe by Alexander McCall Smith

In Gabarone, Botswana, Precious Ramotswe, the owner of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, has soled many crimes in her career.  However, her latest case, that of a woman who has no memory, may be her most challenging.  In addition,  the redoubtable Grace Makutsi has decided to open a restaurant, a business about which she knows nothing.  Mma Ramotswe's husband, the reliable and honorable Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, owner of the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, has the unenviable task of laying off one of his mechanics due to the economic slowdown.  It is up to Mma Ramotswwe and her friend, Mma Potokwane, the formidable matron of the Orphan Farm, to see that justice is served and the balance of life is restored.

The Rosie Effect  by Graeme Simsion

In The Rosie Project, brilliant genetics professor Don Tillman found the love of his life, Rosie Jarman,a woman with whom he is completely incompatible.  In this charming sequel, Don and Rosie are living in New York and find out that "they" are unexpectedly  pregnant. Balancing the needs of each other, research, careers, medical studies, impending baby and friends might be too much stress for Don and Rosie's marriage.  Don and Rosie discover for themselves that love cannot always be expressed in a spread sheet.  Fans of "The big Bang Theory" will delight in this tale of geeks, love and compatibility.

Still alive and reading

Wow!  I have been really negligent about posting my reading lists.  The holidays kept me busy.

However, I have all sorts of books to recommend,

I finally got my hands on Anthony Doerr's All the Light we Cannot See which is a fabulous read.  If you liked The Monuments Men or The Book Thief, you can add this one to your list.  If you did not read either of those selections, add this one to your list.  It is a touching story of a father's love for his blind daughter.  He creates a model of their town so that she can navigate her way safely. He also harbors a secret which could prove deadly to both father and daughter.  Across Europe in Germany, a young boy who is a prodigy in math and electronics listens to a faraway radio broadcast from France.  The boy, unfortunately, get swept up in the Nazi war machine.  Doer brings these two characters together in a heart-wrenching climax.

Give yourself some time to read this book.  There is a great deal of science in the story, algebra, electronics, marine biology and engineering.