Novels Remembering World War II

By coincidence, I happened to read two great novels in the past few weeks that both use World War II as their setting. One in England and the USA, the other in Germany. One narrated by a female reporter, the other by Death, himself. Both stellar.

First I read The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. This is the story set in England and the East coast of the USA. (With a short trip through Germany and France.) The story follows Frankie, a female American reporter, who broadcasts news from England to those in the US. When a friend is killed during a typical, nightly bombing of London, she takes up her friend’s quest to show the world what is happening to the Jewish people. (This was before the world knew what was really happening with the Jewish people in Germany and German occupied territories.) Off to Germany she goes with a portable recorder to record voices, not knowing what she will do with them, just knowing that it is important to record them.

Meanwhile, back on the East coast of the US, a small town is going about their everyday lives, wondering/disbelieving/believing that the war will reach their shores. And in the midst is a rule-honouring Postmistress who does something ‘wrong.’ But truly, this story is not about her and her minor misdeed. In fact, the prologue gives readers an unfair expectation of the book and what the story will hold. That aside (don’t bother reading the prologue if you like), the book is a fantastic story of war, love, family, community, and identity. If you liked The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, you will likely enjoy The Postmistress.

The second book was The Book Thief by Markus Zusuk. While classified as YA (young adult), this is a thick book that also appeals to adults. While narrated by Death (who has a very distinct and wonderful voice as well as way of seeing things), it truly follows the story of a poor, young, foster girl, dubbed ‘the book thief’ by Death due to her love of reading and her unlawful ways of getting reading material to satiate her love of the written word. While a member of the mandated Hitler Youth in Nazi Germany, this girl has another secret other than her ill-gotten books, and that is the Jew hidden in her basement.

A wonderful story about coming of age, secrets, war, friendships, and making due with little. If you liked the quirks of The Giver, you will probably enjoy The Book Thief.

Today, pick up one of these books and remember those who died and fought (and are fighting) for what we have today–and part what we have is the freedom and safety to write and read about life, war, society, governments, and more.

We are a privileged lot and I am forever grateful and thankful for what we have.

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Book Review: Return the Heart

Book Review for: Return the Heart
By: TK Richardson

You may recall TK Richardson (Website & Blog) from our author swap some time back. Well, guess what? She’s been busy writing and publishing her first book, Return the Heart. And you know what? It’s fabulous. This is a gal who has invested in her skill and it shows.

Lilly, the heroine, is well-developed, as is the rest of her ‘gang’ of new friends that have special, top secret talents. You know what motivates them, what their internal conflicts are, and all that high-tech writerly mumbo-jumbo. In other words, you totally get why each character acts the way they do and totally understand (and empathize) with the push-pull they feel at any given moment.

So, what’s up with Lilly anyway? Well, Lilly can read hearts. That is, she can look at someone (or a photo of someone) and read their feelings, histories, desires, and most telling, their secrets–good and bad. Her friends have similar, but unrelated talents, and together they mesh to create a powerful group that is wanted by agencies (both good and bad) around the world. But I’ve already told you enough. TK slowly doles out information in a way that intrigues the reader and causes them to want more and I don’t want to spoil that for you.

Watch for more from TK, and more in the series. (After reading the last chapter I emailed her and asked, so you totally led up to a sequel–is there one? The answer is yes. Yay!)

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Book Review: The Girls

Here we go… book three in book review week.

Book Review For: The Girls
By: Lori Larsens

The Girls are conjoined twins, Ruby and Rose, who grow up in Southern Ontario. The book is written from their perspective–they each take turns writing chapters about their history and what is going on in their lives right now. I’m not going to tell you too much about this one as it will totally spoil the book for you as it has some unique twists, turns, and elements that are a nice surprise for the unsuspecting reader.

The author must have done a fair amount of research as well as immersed herself in what the everyday difficulties must be for two such characters. While the odd spot dragged a bit, it is more than made up for in the way she conquers the mundane and how she gives unique voice for these two characters.

Love? Children? Work? Family? Strangers? Transportation? Education? It’s all shown and conquered by Larsens. (I’m totally not doing this book justice, however if I tell you more I will spoil it all!)

Book Review: Made to Stick

Something a little different than yesterday’s beach read for my book review week.

Book Review for: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
By: Chip Heath and Dan Heath

I’ve mentioned this book before due to its thought-provoking tidbits (See Core Ideas and Intent). This nonfiction book is a gem in how to make ideas stick. It doesn’t matter if you are a writer trying to create a story that will be deep and meaningful, a mother trying to get it through your child’s thick head about looking both ways before crossing the street, a marketer, a teacher teaching math, or a supervisor trying to convince your minions that your way is indeed the way to go, this book is for you.

Made to Stick is simple, easy-to-read with an entertaining approach. They make it easy to figure out what your core idea/intent of your message is as well as provide simple step-by-step approaches on how to convey your idea, make it meaningful, and of course, make it stick. It could be a simple message for your family, or it could be something complex and of national security. Not convinced? They break down a nice little urban legend many of us have heard of and explain why it sticks. Have you heard of the urban legend about kidney heists? (You wake up in a bathtub of ice to find someone has stolen your kidneys.) Memorable isn’t it? Why? Because it is meaningful, simple, unexpected, emotional, credible (it happened to a friend of a friend, doncha know?), and it is all wrapped up in a little story. They’ll teach you how to do that.

You think there were a lot of urban legends before? Just wait until I’ve applied this book to my imagination. Mwa-ha-ha!

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Summer’s Here! Let’s Read!

That’s right. Summer’s here. Holidays. Sunblock. Girly drinks. Floppy hats. Bathing suits. Shorts. Flip flops. And black vinyl seats that sear your buttocks.

That’s right. We made it to summer once again.

It’s time to make a dent in those To Be Read (TBR) piles you’ve got lying around your house. If you don’t have a TBR pile, let me help you out. This week–I know it is Thursday already, but it’s summer and the days of the week don’t really matter anymore–I’ll be posting reviews on my blog for a few books I’ve recently read. So keep checking back, I’ve read some good ones!

Any summer must-reads you want to share with others? Pop the title (and author if you know it) in the comment section and help us grow our TBR piles.

Book Review: Miss O’Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved

Book Review: Miss O’Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved
By Chris O’Dell with Katherine Ketcham

I’ve often wondered when reading memoirs… what do you leave in? What do you leave out? What might not be exciting to you, might be exciting to others. But how do you know? Where do you begin? Where do you end? How deep do you go? And how on earth do you choose?

Now, say you are someone like Chris O’Dell who worked with three of the major bands of the ’70s. You are touring with the big names and every day is something out of a movie for the average person. How on earth do you decide what to focus on?

O’Dell focuses on plenty in her memoir but keeps the action going and generally flows from one thing to the next with few holes left for the reader to leap over (or knowledge gaps to fall into). O’Dell begins with her first touch with fame–The Beatles and how she landed a job working in their company. From there, the whirlwind picks up speed as she meets more and more famous musicians, the drugs and alcohol get more serious, and the names just keep on getting bigger. (And maybe a few big names write you a few songs along the way as well.) Before long, O’Dell is best friends with several of the Beatles and their wives, is sleeping with Mick Jagger, on first name basis with Bob Dylan, and borrowing a place to crash from Eric Clapton. Yeah, a little bit like something out of a movie for someone like me! (I shook hands with Prince Charles–is that worth anything? Okay, not in this context, but I just wanted to bring it up.)

An interesting look into the lives of musicians (being on tour is a lot like I imagined! Okay, a little more hectic and crazy!), their wives, lives, and those that keep them all together. (In some cases, that would be Miss O’Dell, thank you very much.)

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Book Review: Spin

Book Review: Spin
By Catherine McKenzie

I’ve read the big names in chick lit (like Meg Cabot, Sophie Kinsella, Helen Fielding, etc) and enjoyed them. But none of them were Canadian and none of them had that special quirkiness that spoke directly to me. I was impressed by this debut novel, Spin, by Catherine McKenzie. Chick lit is not an easy genre to break into and it is near impossible to keep it fresh and not make it trivial. But McKenzie kept it fresh and original while delivering the true chick lit form.

Here’s the story: A once-from-the-country gal is trying to break into the world of music writing in the big city. She’s turning 30 and she still hasn’t made that dream come true. Then she gets the call–an interview with a big name music magazine. Unfortunately, she kind of accidentally overdoes her pre-birthday celebration the night before and arrives at the dream interview drunk. Oops. However, she is granted a chance to redeem herself. All she has to do is go to rehab and sneak out tidbit gossip on the celebrity who is already there. No problem, right? Right? Hmmm… except she just passed the ‘I’m an alcoholic’ admission test with flying colours–and not in a good way. So, did she put a ‘good’ spin on her drinking in order to fit into rehab, or does she have a genuine problem?

Of course, in true chick lit form, things get right bungled up the further we go into the story. However, this is where the novel truly shines fresh. You think it’s all going to be solved and tied up with a nice bow in one way… and it does… but totally in a different (and even better) way than expected.

I’m looking forward to reading more by this author. If you like chick lit, pick it up at your local bookstore–if you are Canadian. This book isn’t available in US bookstores yet–but you can order a copy from my favourite little Canadian mega bookstore: Chapters!

Oh, and guess what? You can get it through Amazon too:

Book Review: Zen and the Art of Writing

Book Review for Zen and the Art of Writing
By Ray Bradbury

Broken into essays on writing that spans over 19 years, this book is a gem of inspiration and passion. You can tell Bradbury loved to write. Truly. As in, leave a rip-roaring time to hurry home and put a story to paper. Zen and the Art of Writing covers subjects from feeding and keeping a muse, finding inspiration, using life in your stories, how the brain stores things for later, and of course, never giving up. The man gathered an impression rejection pile in his time. If you are looking for a little inspiration, the first few essays in this book are sure to do the trick.

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