Book Reviews

Sheryl · Post by **Sheryl** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:51 am

I tortured myself with the latest Sophia Kinsella book, Shopacholic and Baby. I like her books, but the lead character in this series has me wanting to scream. Hopefully this will be last book and I won't have to torture myself anymore. :-

Sheryl · Post by **Sheryl** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 9:24 am

I just finished "Those Who Save Us" by Jenna Blum. The book was hard to put down once I started it. It realy made you think about what you would do if you were in the character Anna's shoes.

Here's the summary from back of the book

For fifty years, Anna Schlemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany during World War II. Her daughter, Trudy, was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Trudy's sole evidence of the past is an old photograph: a family portrait showing Anna, Trudy and a Nazi officer. Trudy, now a professor of German history, begins investigating the past and finally unearths the heartbreaking truth of her mother's life. The book is a profound exploration of what we endure to survive and the legacy of shame.

woppy71 · Post by **woppy71** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 9:28 am

That sounds like a really god book, Sheryl. I would be interested in reading it, any chance you could post the ISBN so that I can look further into it. Thank you!

Sheryl · Post by **Sheryl** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 9:33 am

Sure

it's 0-15-101019-6

also here's link to her website.

http://www.jennablum.com/recommended_reading.html

umm I was looking at books she recommends reading.

woppy71 · Post by **woppy71** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 9:34 am

Thanks for that, Sheryl, will be taking a look as son as I've sorted out dinner

Adam Zapple · Post by **Adam Zapple** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 1:50 pm

Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris

In this debut novel, Ferris does for the cubicle-infested corporate world what Joseph Heller did for the military in Catch-22. If you have ever been an inhabitant of the world of cubicles, whether in a large company or small, you will get a kick out of this book. I heard someone compare it to the TV show "The Office" but it is much better imo. The characters are full and alive and the narrative is very funny. I recommend it.

4.0 stars

Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis

Don't know if this book was just dated or what, but I found it to be a snooze-fest. Had it not been such a short book I would have never made it through.

2.0 stars

dubs · Post by **dubs** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 3:45 pm

I'm reading the autobiography of Geoffrey Wellum, it's called First Light! He left school aged 17, two months after the start of WW2, Learned to fly with the RAF, and flew Spitfires throughout the Battle of Britain, with 92 Squadron.

sunny104 · Post by **sunny104** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 6:47 am

I'm reading The Gates of the Alamo by Stephen Harrigan, it's VERY good! :-6

Adam Zapple · Post by **Adam Zapple** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:20 pm

Sunny, that is one of my all-time favorite books. I'm glad you are enjoying it as much as I did.

Adam Zapple · Post by **Adam Zapple** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 12:32 pm

The Book of Samson by David Maine

The biblical story of Samson told with witty irreverance but not disrespectful. The story is the thing here, this is not a historically accurate book. I don't think Maine spent a lot of time researching the geography or lifestyle of people in that time and place, but he still spins a funny yarn. Sometimes explicit with sex and violence, it is not your Sunday School version of Samson. But it did make me laugh.

4.5 stars

The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry

I don't know if Dan Brown started the whole of the secrets hidden in ancient documents genre or if he just perfected it, but this is another stab at that theme. Miles Lord is an American attorney who is in Russia to help guide them in the restoration of a monarchy. As his research begins to unveil the possibility of a direct descendant of a Romanov that survived the 1918 purge, he finds himself running for his life. Much of this book defies belief but so does Dan Brown's novels. The question is whether it is entertaining. In that respect, I think Berry did a commendable job. This book won't stand out as a great one, but it's as good as most.

3.5 stars

The Plague by Albert Camus

If Robin Cook had been writing novels 60 years ago, he may have written this book. In parts, it was very good but other parts it was too slow. But considering the book was ahead of its time and paved the way for medical thrillers, it was pretty good.

3.0 stars

pinkchick · Post by **pinkchick** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:28 am

I'm reading "Never say Never" by Melissa Hill.

It's a typical girlie read - but then I am a girlie girl :p

Good book for the beach:-6 :-6

Sheryl · Post by **Sheryl** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:54 am

I'm in the middle of Marie Antoinette, The Journey by Antonia Fraser. Once I got past all the family lineage, I started to enjoy the book.

pinkchick · Post by **pinkchick** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 10:23 am

Sheryl;601884 wrote: I'm in the middle of Marie Antoinette, The Journey by Antonia Fraser. Once I got past all the family lineage, I started to enjoy the book.

Sheryl - love the pic:-4

Sheryl · Post by **Sheryl** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:04 am

pinkchick;601974 wrote: Sheryl - love the pic:-4

thank you!

Pinky;601988 wrote: I like her work a lot, I think I might have to read that too.

oh what others does she have out? I just discovered her due to her book being what the movie was based off of.

Adam Zapple · Post by **Adam Zapple** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:16 pm

Emma by Jane Austen

Austen wrote, what, six books? I've now read three of them. "Emma" is my least favorite of the three. She was a manipulative snob.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum

This was much more of a children's story than I expected. I mean, I knew it was a children's fantasy, I just didn't know it read so much like a kid's book. The movie was better.

The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow

The story was pretty good but Bellow is hard to read. Often, I had to stop and reread a sentence just to try and figure what he was trying to say. Eventually, I focused on the dialogue and hit the key points of what was happening and skimmed over some of his messy narrative.

3.0 stars for all three books.

Sheryl · Post by **Sheryl** » Fri May 04, 2007 10:00 am

I had to pause during my other book (see above), it was reading like a history book.

So I've read

the True Story of Hansel and Gretal by Louise Murphy. It was a great story of two Jewish children left in woods in Poland by their dad. The story is about their struggle to survive.

The other book I've read was a Model Summer by Pauline Porizkova. A great book about a 15 year old girls submersion in the world of modeling in the 1980's.