[reminder - book club, and a giveaway!...]

Just a reminder that I'm hosting the bookclub this month!

Mrs. Readalot has been kind enough to offer an amazing giveaway so click below to enter!

[bookclub - 'night']

Edited to add:  

Welcome to this months Mrs. Readalot's bookclub!  Grab a bikkie and a cuppa or a scone and some cream and lets share some ideas.  

This month I'm drawing on the ideas of some other great bloggers, and the theme for this month's bookclub is 'books that inspire you'.  

Books that inspire or create emotion for travel, to be a better wife or to parent better, to try a new craft, to remember history.  I've chosen a book that inspires me to do just that - to remember a time in history that I fear may otherwise soon fade away.

the review...

History, in its essence is about remembering past events - particularly as they relate to people, races and places.  If I'm honest, I've never found history particularly interesting.  I find it hard to relate to places and peoples I know nothing about and have never experienced - facts just don't stick in my head.  My Guy, on the other hand can recite facts about aeroplanes, wars, deaths and weapons right down specific wars and even battles.  I guess when things are interesting, or feel relevant to us we tend to remember them more.

I think there is such sadness in forgetting things that happened to whole nations, races.  I suppose it happens a lot with wars - the people that lived them can't speak of them and the people that came afterwards can't possibly understand.  

That's why I think books like these - emotive books that speak of times gone by that we would otherwise let slip away - are important.  They inspire us to travel, to converse, to keep the memories alive.  Brave men like Elie Wiesel - who wrote the book I am reviewing this month - help us to hang on to these memories and hopefully to learn from the past so as not to repeat it.

"Night"  Elie Wiesel.

Available here on Amazon

Here at book depository

'Night' is ultimately part of a trilogy - 'Night', 'Dawn', and 'Day', which takes us through the story of a Jewish boy who survives a concentration camp.  'Night' is the book that tells us about the actual concentration camp, and how the Jewish boy survived.  

'Work makes one free.'
Source

 As bystanders, we reflect with sadness on what we know of as 'the holocaust'.  We know that millions of Jewish people died at the hands of an evil dictator who for some inexplicable (or non-understandable anway) reason felt the world would be a better place without them.  We know they died in gas chambers, and that some were even beaten.  We lament at the unfairness and the unjust way that they died.  We even despise Adolf Hitler for his choices - we judge him and wonder how the world would be different had he not been born.

The holocaust was an unthinkable tragedy, a turning point in history, a wedge driven between nations and races.  As bystanders we may stomp our feet in fury, even shed a tear or two but I don't think we can really and truely feel and know the extent of what went on.  And so we read.

Source

We read books like 'Night' to broaden our minds, to expand our emotions and to keep the memories of these times alive.  I'm certain that many people wish with all their might to forget what happened in the holocaust, but surely forgetting is to dishonour their memories?  Surely by forgetting we don't learn and grow?

Elie Wiesel is one of many brave souls who did make it through the genocide that was the holocaust. There were many brave souls that did not survive.  He speaks with candour of his and others' experiences in concentration camps, and in doing so helps us to remember.  He writes simply, in short sentences and with beautiful words that help us to grasp in some small way, the horror of what he experienced.

Source
(Memorial in the National Holocaust museum, Washington D.C.  Originally a bible verse - Deuteronomy 4 vs. 9).

'Only guard yourself and guard your soul carefully, lest you forget the things your eyes saw, and lest these things depart your heart all the days of your life, and you shall make them known to your children and to your children's children.

Here lies earth gathered from death camps, concentration camps, sites of mass execution, and ghettos in nazi occupied europe, and from cemeteries of American soldiers who fought and died to defeat nazi Germany.'

So why would I choose to review this dark and troubled book?
Well, I'm interested in reading and the way it helps us to feel.  It helps us to understand cultures we would perhaps otherwise not (The Help), to relate to times we wouldn't have otherwise crossed paths with (The Bronze Horseman).  Reading inspires us to travel to far away lands (Under the Tuscan Sun), and it brings us closer to God (The Atonement Child).  It also, as I mentioned earlier helps us to parent better and be a better wife (Growing Great Marriages).

Which books are emotive to you, and why?
Link your post up to the linky below, or comment and let me know your thoughts!

(Grab Mrs. Readalot's button here to pop on your post!)

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[book review : promise me this]

We are so lucky to have the lovely Meghan from MNM's hosting our book club this month.  Her book of choice (Cry, the beloved country) looks amazing, and I'm putting it on my 'to read' list.  I'm not sure if I'll have it done by the end of the month (I'm reading 'Game of Thrones') so I'm reviewing my most recent read and I'll catch up with Meghans choice asap.

Linking up for our bookclub - which I'm hosting next month.  Stay tuned because I'm following on from Meghan's theme with a book of my own.

Promise Me This

Cathy Gohlke

Rated : 6/10

This story is lovely and wistful and romantic in a way that only Christian romance novels can be.  With all the elements of faith and hope in the midst of tragedy, and triumph and heartache, we are left feeling content with the world despite the hard times.

The story is set around a brother and sister who met tragedy when their parents died and they were left in the care of an awful woman, their Aunt Eleanor.  As Owen grows older, he decides to save Annie by taking her to America to their Aunt and Uncle, where they will help with their failing nursery.  Owen needs to raise money to bring Annie over, so he decides to head over first and set things up, and bring her over later, and he sends her to a boarding school in the meantime.  Before he leaves, he meets a boy named Michael who has troubles of his own and takes him under his wing.  

I won't give too much of the story away.  Suffice to say that tragedy strikes again and the characters are left to trust the only thing they have left to bring them through - their faith.

I like the fact that Christian stories don't always have to be about happiness and joy and how nothing ever goes wrong for people that follow Christ.  It's just simply not reality.  The fact is that we all face hard times regardless of faith, race, culture - I just think it is our character and our faith that gets us through those hard times.

This is a nice book to read to remind us of these lessons that we sometimes forget.  It was a little cheesey in parts, but sometimes I like a little cheese in my books.  Get reading!

[summer reads]

Linking up with Mrs. Readalot for this months book club.

This months topic is a sort 'recommended reads for the season.'  It is (supposedly) summer here in England, although this week hasn't felt much like summer!  Summer in New Zealand makes me think of light reading, chick flicks, comedies, but in Britain it feels like anything could go with this winter like weather!  So I thought I'd share my updated list of what is on my kindle wishlist.

(Also here are some of my previous book reviews - some got lost in 'the great blog disaster of 2012')

(Note, you can't 'click to look inside from here but if you follow the link to the amazon page I've given you, you can click to look inside there!)


Bel Ami is about to become a movie, and I always like books turned into movies for interests sake.  The book was written in 1885 by a writer who later was committed to an asylum and died.  Interesting somehow, although the story itself may be a little scandalous for my taste.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is also a movie but looks like a fun and light read for summer days in Morocco (where I'm going in a few weeks!)  Both the book and the movie boast some great reviews for a funny yet heartwarming story.

Mrs. Readalot herself has been reading this series.  I have seen the first television season of 'A Game of Thrones' and I loved it.  My Guy has the second season for us to watch but I'm pretty keen to get into the book series too.  It's already on my kindle waiting for me!

This may not interest everybody (anybody) but it is on my kindle wishlist so here it is!  Oxford Handbook of Neonatology.  I'm currently working in a neonatal (newborn baby) unit so this is interesting to me even if it isn't to you!

When I was younger I saw this man - Elie Wiesel - on Oprah.  An amazing man who survived Auschwitz as a child and wrote a book about it.  I cried when I saw him on Oprah and have had a morbid (yet respectful) fascination with Auschwitz and the other camps since then.  I suspect I may bawl in 'Night' too.

(Sidenote:  Have you seen 'The boy in the striped pyjamas?'  Terrible, awesome film.)

This book 'Three Weeks to say Goodbye' is interesting to me because it is about a couple that adopt a child, and then have to fight to keep her when the bilogical father decides he wants her back.  I'm interested in adoption in general, and stories like this do actually happen.  The law is vague and biased.

'Lone Wolf' is the only book on my list of recommended reads that I can actually recommend (the only one I've read!).  If you like Jodi Picoult, you'll like this.  I was feeling a bit tired of her same old moral/ethical/courtroom buzz, but this is fresh and new.  Try it, I think you'll like it.

Also interestingly, Jodi Picoult has written a book for young adults with her teenage daughter, called 'Between the Lines' which is available for pre-order now.  I'll read it out of interest, to see how a collaboration goes down!

I'll be posting reviews as I read these books, so check my 'hot reads' page for more info at a later date.  What are you going to be reading this summer/winter?!

potato peel...

My latest read, I read so fast I feel like the events 'happened' in one day of my life.  I feel like I went there for a day trip, and it all happened.  Yeah, so the book was pretty good.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

4.5 / 5

The scoring biz is a bit tricky - I think I score too high for some books which pushes the other books' scores up so that they score better but I don't want them to be a 5 so I have to start adding halves and quarters.  Ya get me?  Might have to think of a new system.

'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.'  What a mouthful.  And probably a mouthful that would have interested me, but not necessarily had me chomping at the proverbial bit to read the book.  I simply didn't understand what it meant, or what the book could possibly be about.

Now that I've read the book, the title warms my heart.  To be fair, I wish I'd slowed down and taken in the book a little more - read and re-read pages.  I should mention here something that is perhaps the crux of this book, (and probably why it was so easy to read fast) and what really makes the book great - in my opinion : the book is written entirely in letters.

I love the feeling of that - old fashioned snail mail, making its way across the ocean to reach the person the letter was lovingly crafted for.  There are many characters in our story, which is why I wish I'd slowed down and  savoured each letter.  I didn't realise early on that some individuals would become mainstays of the show, and I had missed small inklings of their personality and life.

The story centres around a famous wartime writer in England - Juliet Ashton, who (writing under a 'nom de plume' - Izzy Bickerstaff) manages to lightheartedly yet respectfully produce something worth reading in wartime (a difficult task, as you can imagine).  She becomes aware of the German occupation of the island of Guernsey, and gets in touch with the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  They begin to exchange letters and through their many different voices and experience we learn about life on Guernsey under the occupation.  I wanted to live there, with them.  The characters are completely loveable and unique, and the way the book is written through letters brings an endearing and intimate quality.  I find myself recommending it to people, even patients I'm caring for (I'm a nurse), as a lovely story.

You must read it.  Prepare to be swept away by the thought of book clubs on islands, and potato peel pie.  Well, maybe not potato peel pie.

Joining up with Remaliah over at Lily & Georgie (be sure to check her and her adorable twins out!)

For Mrs. Readalot's BookClub (click button below for more info, and to have a look-see at the fabulous Simone's blog).

on the horizon...

I like a lot of different types of books, and those of you who are readers will empathise with the fact that you really have to be in the 'mood' for a book.  I like 'deep, moving' books, for example, but I can't read too many in a row or I feel really drained.  That's where 'funny, silly, mindless' books come in.  Although if you read too many of them, you become like them.  You are what you read, you know.

I'm linking up with Renee at 'The Memoirs of a Mother' (linky post here) this month for Mrs. Readalot's bookclub - which I have just joined up to!

(Make sure you're following Renee, and also Mrs. Readalot's alter ego, Simone - here.  They both have great, readable and real blogs full of anecdotes and tips for life!)

*Not sure why my page won't centre above here, but just pretend it is...*

Click here for Mrs. Readalot's bookclub.

Here is my list of top five 'Books on my Christmas gift list' (the topic of the month for the book club!)
These books are all taken from my amazon wish-list, and have all been recommended to me by someone or other over the past year or so since I got my kindle.

Enjoy!

For:  Me, Sister, Mother, Father, In-laws of any description.

By the same author as 'The Kite Runner', which was fabulous, I'd expect great things from this book too.  Written in a similar time and topic - I'd expect it to be both moving and funny.

For:  Me, children, nephews, nieces.

Am I the geeky Aunt who always buys educational books for nieces and nephews?  Hope so!  Haha.  I don't have my own kidlets, but I like the look of this atlas, and how it describes what countries are, and different cultures.  Yep, so geeky.  (I think I might benefit from it too!)

For:  Me, husband, father, brother.

Who doesn't love a good Jack Reacher novel?  I know women who are secretly in love with him, and men that want to be him.  This is Lee Child's latest novel, and bound to be a goodie.

For:  Me, husband, father, brother, brother-in-law

I usually like to read books before watching movies, but I've seen the first two movies, and thoroughly enjoyed them.  It's my kind of mystery, and the third movie is about to be released - seems like a good time to start this trilogy!

For:  Me, mother, sister, sister-in-law

I read a Sophie Kinsella book recently, and enjoyed it as an easy to read, interesting chick lit.  This one is where the movie 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' originated, so seems like it's set to be a good'un!

It's not summer where I am (in England) so this is not a list of light, summer, beachey type reads - but I'm cool with that.  I think snuggled up under a blanket with the fire roaring is just as nice a time to hit a book - is there a bad time for books?  Now where can I find a roaring fire around here...?

*  Check out my tab at the top of my home page for more book reviews and recommendations!

**  Originally from www.kendylsplace.com