What book are you reading?

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by evening sun

Just stared "Personal Librarian" co-written by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. A fictional version of a true story. Enjoying it very much so far.

Originally Posted by pathrunner

Talking to my dad on the phone right now. He LOVED this book (I ordered it and had it sent to him). He said it's one of the best books he's ever read, and that's saying something!

I just finished this book and really enjoyed it; thanks to both of you for recommending it.

https://www.npr.org/2021/07/04/10126...s-is-her-story

[jbgusa]

I just finished reading Return to the Reich: A Holocaust Refugee's Secret Mission to Defeat the Nazis by Eric Lichtblau. A more fascinating page-turner is hard to find. There were many disturbing nuggets on information; without shouting, the author points ferrets out much information about U.S. complicity in the Nazi enterprise. This was not limited to the well-known refusal to admit Jewish immigrants; the subject of the book, Freddy Mayer, had his own efforts to fight in a more vigorous manner "slow-walked" almost to death. The Army kept him in pointless "training" exercises rather than putting his proposed infiltration unit to work.

I will save, for readers, the many stories of heroism, courage and accomplishment once he and two other fighters were allowed to parachute beyond enemy lines to disrupt Nazi activities in Austria. This being said, without coming out and saying it it seems there was almost a "gentleman's agreement" with the Nazis to dawdle and eventually reach a "Versailles" solution. As it is, when unconditional surrender arrived, as the book lays out, many Nazi monsters were permitted a graceful exit, while not al the soldiers and espionage combatants were well-treated.

[pikabike]

I just finished Kemm Nunn’s Chance, a novel which combines portrayals of several psychologically damaged people coming together in The Perfect Storm of bad choices. The moody depiction of the Bay Area sets an atmosphere of cloaked ever-present danger. The author spices it up further with factual esoteric tidbits that enhance the story rather than being contrived.

One of the main characters, whose childhood abuse clearly did severe emotional harm, happens to be the one with the clearest sense of what is right and wrong. Somewhere in that history of hurt, he also developed a keen perception of what makes someone tick—and can accurately use that assessment to predict the odds of certain actions that character will take.

This is not the kind of story that will make you relax before bedtime, but at least it ends in a way that does not leave the reader bummed out. Highly recommended for people who like psychological themes.

[Mayvenne]

I guess I forgot to update, but I finished Their Eyes Were Watching Gd.
Parts were very easy to read, but much of the dialogue required a bit of work on my part as it was written sort of phonetically.
I thought it was pretty good, but I mostly feel like I missed something because I know it's a very highly regarded book that got rediscovered and yet I honestly can't see that. I don't mean to say it's not a good book, but I just didn't find it so memorable or compelling.
My book club will meet in January and I am looking forward to seeing what others felt.

[jbgusa]

I am in the midst of reading Ben-Gurion by Michael Bar-Zohar.

[Babe_Ruth]

Hitler in Los Angeles. Steven J Ross

This title is a little bit of a sensationalized misnomer (it's subtitle is more accurate).
It's not really about Hitler, it's about 1930s Nazi sympathizers in California.. and the American Jews & Gentiles who infiltrated and subverted assorted American Nazi groups. Interesting history..

[ladyvibrant]

I just completed this book less than ten minutes ago. A month ago, I searched for books that included Tracey Emin. The author interviews Tracey Emin. I enjoyed Tracey Emin, Diane von Fürstenburg, Debbie Harry, and Agnès Varda immensely.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by jbgusa

.........? After all, there has been no widespread kidnapping of U.S. citizens for slave purposes..................

If we are going to quibble, Americans and Europeans were kidnapped into slavery. The western European countries could not have any towns located on their coastlines because of predation by the Barbary pirates, taking captives for slavery and the United States was involved in two separate wars to stop the Barbary Coast countries from taking Americans into slavery by capturing American ships.

And the British took Americans into slavery by capturing American ships and putting the American sailors into their military crews, where they were prized as captives because they could already sail and already spoke English.

The Viking and German and Roman slave takers capturing Europeans were all before the US was a country, so Europeans captured in America before that don't count as US citizens taken as slaves. But there was plenty of widespread kidnapping of US citizens for slave purposes.

[evening sun]

I am about half way through Jodi Piccoults latest book, "Wish you were here" I am enjoying it, but it is a bit slow paced, so I am also going to start reading John Sanfords "Secret Prey"

[Mightyqueen801]

I am listening to A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard. Was not sure I wanted to, but she reads it herself. It's the voice of a child, but her will to survive even as an 11-year-old shines through.