Elizabeth Wein
This is the first book I have read by Wein. This is part of her "Young Pilots" series, and from what I can tell, she is developing a series of books that normalize heroic women in roles that we normally only see for men. In this case, young women in Great Britain during WWII becoming pilots and spies. This story is told in two parts, the first about Verity (the spy) and the second about Kittyhawk (the pilot). About half of each is told in flashback to develop the characters and introduce their relationship. This is not a cartoonish, hero story. Instead, it is a plausible historical fiction about life in WWII England and Nazi occupied France. I suppose it is more on par with the historical portions of Blackout by Connie Willis and The Imitation Game than it is with most of the young adult feminist empowerment reading that I have seen lately. Maybe the realism is what made me appreciate it even more.
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Saturday, December 20, 2014
The End of Your Life Book Club
Will Schwalbe
People who love books will love this book. This is a memoir written by Schwalbe about the two years between when his mother was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer and when she passed. During those two years, the two of them engaged in a personal book club with just the two of them. The memoir is both a fascinating introspection about the end of life and familial relationships and a great survey of the books these two encountered. It is not a series of book reports, but the themes that arise in their discussions of the books are the same themes the arise in their lives, giving insights to each reader that are often unexpected and necessary voices to be heard. Books are held in reverence in their own right, and this is well communicated throughout. Loved this.
Read - Read - Read
People who love books will love this book. This is a memoir written by Schwalbe about the two years between when his mother was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer and when she passed. During those two years, the two of them engaged in a personal book club with just the two of them. The memoir is both a fascinating introspection about the end of life and familial relationships and a great survey of the books these two encountered. It is not a series of book reports, but the themes that arise in their discussions of the books are the same themes the arise in their lives, giving insights to each reader that are often unexpected and necessary voices to be heard. Books are held in reverence in their own right, and this is well communicated throughout. Loved this.
Read - Read - Read
Friday, December 5, 2014
Against the Night
Kat Martin
I think the library is putting titles onto my wishlist. Either that, or my memory is bad. Well, we know the latter is true anyway, but I still think the former. I was looking for something to read and this showed up on my wishlist at the library. So I got it and read it. Hmmm... It is a formulaic offering of detective, crime thriller. An ex-special forces turned private detective takes on a client who is looking for her missing sister. The client is a mid-western school teacher who has come to LA to search for said missing sister and is working in an exotic dancing club to make ends meet while here. You get the picture. I just don't think I would have put this book on my list, even if I was looking for something in this category...
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I think the library is putting titles onto my wishlist. Either that, or my memory is bad. Well, we know the latter is true anyway, but I still think the former. I was looking for something to read and this showed up on my wishlist at the library. So I got it and read it. Hmmm... It is a formulaic offering of detective, crime thriller. An ex-special forces turned private detective takes on a client who is looking for her missing sister. The client is a mid-western school teacher who has come to LA to search for said missing sister and is working in an exotic dancing club to make ends meet while here. You get the picture. I just don't think I would have put this book on my list, even if I was looking for something in this category...
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