Friday Reviews - February 24, 2017

Dear Friend, From My Life I Write To You In Your Life by Yiyun Li
4.5 stars




This beautifully written memoir in essay form evolves around the author's hospitalization for severe depression.  While vague in details, it mostly describes the books and writers she found solace in during that time.  It also delves into her childhood in China and her somewhat controversial decision to write her books solely in English with no translation to her native language.  The book is not written linearly and often jumps around all over the place, a form that would normally bother me, but this book is so lovely and lyrical with the author's love of reading, writing, and other writers coming through strongly.  I can see how this might not be everyone's cup of tea but I couldn't put it down and really enjoyed every bit of it.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 




The Long Run: A Memoir by Catriona Menzies-Pike
4 stars




The author of this running memoir experienced the tragic loss of both of her parents in a plane wreck when she was only twenty.  She then spent the next decade traveling around in a fugue of grief and loss.  Her decision to begin training for half-marathons and marathons was not logical, she was never athletic, but one made of desperation to begin something new in her life.  This book looks at the history of long races, women's role in the marathon, what current races look like and how she approaches her training. As a professor of literature, she also throws discussion of books into the mix which I enjoyed. Although this book felt a little long at points (even though it really isn't a long book) I found her down-to-earth experience with long distance running both fascinating and inspiring.  I am not a runner and don't exactly see myself becoming one but if any books was to encourage that possibility, this would be the one.  I received this book from LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. 

Weekend Wrap-Up - February, 21, 2017

Edgar Allan Poet: The Fever Called Living  by Paul Collins
3.5 stars



This is a short biography of Edgar Allan Poe and I think that may be a good thing because Poe's life was really pretty dismal for the most part.  Born to performer parents, he was raised by a wealthy family that never quite made the commitment of actually adopting him, and didn't think enough of him to include him in the will.  The rest of his life was spent mostly in poverty with episodes of alcoholism that normally undid some of his success.  He longed for a writing career including fame and fortune and was often jealous of his contemporaries that obtained both.  I am not a huge fan of Poe's work so this short book well served my interest but if you are interested in a more complete biography, I am sure there are more appropriate works.  Overall, this gave me a great introduction to Poe and his work without the daunting extraneous details.  I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Friday Review - February 18, 2017

Setting Free the Kites by Alex George
Publication Date - February 21, 2017
4 stars



A coming of age story following two teenage boys during a couple years of their friendship, this novel explores grief, love and intense friendship.  Robert is the son of an amusement park owner and is more of the cautious worrier than Nathan, who just wants to climb the highest heights and fly.  I thought this was a beautifully written novel and even when events somewhat suspended belief, it was immensely readable.  I look forward to reading more from this author and I will definitely check out his first book.  I received this book from the Goodreads First Reads program in exchange for an honest review. 

Women Unite During World War II - February 14, 2017

The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan
4 stars



Set during 1940, Europe is coming apart at the seams and the ladies of Chilbury make the controversial decision to continue their village choir even though there are no men left to sing. This book is about much more than a choir, though, so the title may be misleading.   Mainly this is the story of how a village of women came together during the war and took charge of their own lives.  Full of characters who are well-developed and full of growth, this is a heartwarming story.  I would advise to read it as a chapter book told from different narratives instead of as an epistolary novel because the letters are not at all realistically written.  If you take away the fact that these chapters are supposed to be letters and journal entries, this is a beautifully written novel about the role of women during World War II.  I received this book from the Blogging for Books Program in exchange for an honest review. 

End of Week Reviews - February 11, 2017

The Book Thieves: The Nazi Looting of Europe's Libraries and the Race to Return a Literary Inheritance
By Anders Rydell, Translated by Henning Koch
4 Stars



Much has been written about the Nazi's plundering of priceless works of art and much has been remembered about the piles of books reduced to ashes, but there is a deeper story about books being stolen and intellectual property being appropriated.  This translated book delves into the story of high ranking Nazi officials collecting, through theft, many books.  Several major libraries throughout Germany are now dealing with the fact that a large portion of their collection has been stolen from those sent to concentration camps.  Following these dedicated librarians as they attempt the almost impossible task of returning these books to their owners and descendants, this book also explores how literature changed under the Nazi rule.  I thought this was well researched, interesting, sad but ultimately hopeful as a handful of good people try to connect families with their long lost literary inheritances.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 


The Duke by Kerrigan Byrne
4 Stars


What I enjoy most about this series is the complex storylines and the multi-faceted characters.  Imogen has always worked overtime to make up for the fortune her father lost at the end of his life.  As a waitress, she defends herself against untoward advances every night but when the new Duke of Trewyth offers an absurd amount of money for one night with her, it begins a series of interactions over the years that are both heart-wrenching and hopeful.  Imogen is a strong, well-developed character that remains hopeful and optimistic regardless of some rough years.  The Duke has been through hell and has the physical and emotional scars to show it.  My only problem with this book is that the Duke is a mostly unlikeable character and though he does start to change towards the end, I don't think it came quite soon enough.  Overall, though, I enjoyed this book and found it to be another dark, well-written addition to the series.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

My Favorite Genre - February 8, 2017

Books for Living  by Will Schwalbe
4.5 stars


The End of Your Life Book Club is one of my all-time favorite books, so I went into this one full of expectations that were most certainly met.  Each chapter covers one book that reflects a certain aspect of Will Schwalbe's life.  The books he chooses fall into many different genres, some are well known and some that I have never heard of before.  Sometimes the book veers away from the book he is discussing and fall solely into memoir category, which is mostly all very interesting.  Books about books is my favorite genre and this book could have been hundreds of pages longer and I would have savored every second of the reading experience.  I received this book from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. 

New Book Reviews - February 6, 2017

Get Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them
By Jennifer Wright
Publication Date - February 7, 2017
4 stars



Detailing history's worst plagues, the heroes who fought them and the not-so-heroic people who helped spread them, this book uses dark humor to lighten the grisly material.  I thought this book was very well done and included some frightening facts about how human stupidity can cause so much damage in times of plague, especially by leaders.  Surprisingly, there were times while reading this book that I laughed out loud which is quite strange considering the subject matter.  Much of this was entirely new information but the mix of humor, sarcasm and overview made this an interesting read.  I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 




All Our Wrong Todays by Eland Mastai
Publication Date - February 7, 2017
3 stars



Tom lives in an alternate reality much more advanced than ours.  People live in architectural wonders with myriad technologies that make life much easier and suffering basically nonexistent.  Tom's genius father has created a time machine and in order to prove to himself that he is not the wastrel son and to take revenge on his father, Tom decides to illicitly travel back in time.  He somehow messes this all up and ends up in today's current world, which he considers dystopian compared to his own.  The plot behind this novel is inventive and I really thought the idea of the two alternate realities interesting, however, I found myself not really liking the characters and at times it proved a slog as I stopped really caring which reality Tom ended up in.  I can see why people really loved this book for its exciting premise and overall I mostly liked it.  I received this book from Penguin's First to Read Program in exchange for an honest review.