Reading in the Garden

Merry Christmas!!  Sending you warm thoughts with wishes of a healthy, happy, and book-filled new year! Originally I was going to list my favorite books of the year, but that turned out to be an impossible task because all of the books I read this year were excellent. I couldn’t choose a favorite. Having said that, I did put a star by the ones that you might want to float to the top of your list if you are having a hard time deciding which one to read first.    Historical Fiction: •  ¬ The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek   by Kim Michele Richardson (historical references to the pack horse program during the 1930s and blue people of Kentucky) •  The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb  by Melanie Benjamin (Based on a woman who was 2’8” tall) •  The Girls in the Picture   by Melanie Benjamin (about silent film star Mary Pickford and screenwriter Frances Marion) •  I Always Loved You  by Robin Oliveira (about Mary Cassatt’s relationship with Edgar Degas and Berthe Morisot

Hero. Collaborator. Spy. Survivor.   Based on true events, a young man in Italy leads Jews through the Alps to the safe haven of Switzerland during WWII.  He later becomes a spy while working as a driver for a high-ranking German official. This book reads like an action-adventure with unlimited dangers and evil lurking at every turn.  It seems almost like a movie script, yet the author received the story first hand in interviews with Pino Lella on whom the book revolves.  Mark Sullivan’s thorough and extensive research is also apparent in the well-detailed descriptions of locations and occurrences.   The result is a well-written, staggering portrayal of fortitude and heroism with a nail-biting ending! A book not to be missed!  Excellent.  Annette Further reading about the Holocaust: Night  by Elie Wiesel  In Our Hearts We Were Giants   by Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev Historical Fiction set in WWII: The Tattooist of Auschwitz  by Heather Morris   (Based on

Struggle for Survival and Love at Auschwitz. Based on true events, this book about survival and love in unfathomable circumstances was gut-wrenching, yet impossible to put down. Like Elie Wiesel’s  Night   and  In Our Hearts We Were Giants  by Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev, this book brings a sobering view into the largest and deadliest concentration camp—Auschwitz. Lale, a Jewish prisoner, was forced to tattoo identification numbers on his fellow inmates, a job that was seen as collaboration with the Germans by some, but understood as his only hope for survival in this hellish death camp.  It was there while tattooing, that he met the love of his life and his future wife, Gita.  We learn the harrowing details of their lives as they dangle on the brink of death, their courage, perseverance, and ultimate triumph over evil.  A MUST-READ!! Annette

Witches on Sewing Machines.    Although I have a preference for historical fiction, every once in a great while I’ll crack open a non-fiction book, and I’m so glad I finally pulled  Night Witches  off my shelf and read it!  First published in 1981, author Bruce Myles had interviewed surviving Russian female pilots long after WWII. As young women they volunteered to become frontline pilots after Hitler broke his non-aggression pact and attacked the Soviet Union. For months the ladies trained for combat and in 1942 they dove right into the Battle of Stalingrad, one of history’s bloodiest battles. The planes they flew made distinct sounds of sewing machines, and because they often attacked German forces at night, the Nazis dubbed them “Night Witches.”  I devoured this book. The personal stories of the dangers and horrors the women faced was breathtaking. This was one of those books where at the end I let out a big sigh and sat there in a stupor contemplating all that happened.  A f

Comedy of Errors. The Code of the Woosters  by P.G Wodehouse is a playful comedy of errors that all starts with Bertram Wooster’s uncle wanting to purchase a silver antique cow-creamer. It then brings Bertram, his butler Jeeves, and a whole cast of quirky characters to a country estate where attempted theft and deceit on various farcical levels are mixed in with crisp banter and commentary. Outrageous plots involving the coveted cow-creamer, a tell-all notebook, and an officer’s helmet lead to confusion, chaos, and wedding engagements being repeatedly called off and on again, while Bertram tries to keep the peace with his code: Never let a pal down. This is a classic that was first published in 1938, the seventh in a series of over a dozen books featuring Jeeves and Bertie. Their escapades have been made into a couple British TV series as well as several films, musicals, theater and radio productions.  Presently I was aware that Jeeves was with me. I hadn’t heard him c

A Monster Book in the Style of  Hotel Transylvania  The day before Halloween is a perfect time to introduce you to a monster book that is not so much creepy, but oh so funny! Bolt is an orphaned boy adopted unseen by a baron in Vogelplatz (bird place), Brugaria.  But something isn’t quite right in this German-like town with cobblestone streets and timber-framed homes, where people sing folk songs like “One, Two, Buckle My Lederhosen,” or “She’ll Be Coming Around the Fjord When She Comes.”  Before Bolt even arrives by train, he is told to beware of the penguins—vicious, marauding, beastly birds. And that’s not all.  It seems the townsfolks are terrified of his soon-to-be new father, the Baron Chordata.  Every time his name is mentioned, someone screams and faints, an ongoing gag. The playful quips and knee-slappers continue through the book and had me laughing on each page.  I  loved  this book!  Although it’s marketed toward kids ages 8-12, ANYONE with a silly sense of humor

Immortalized Mummies, Daddies, and Children.    Marketed as a juvenile non-fiction book intended for ages 10-14, this book provides a fascinating look at mummies for  any  age ! The macabre tour offers interesting information about preserved bodies discovered hundreds to thousands of years after their deaths.  Whether intentionally mummified or by the hand of Nature, frozen in ice or peat bogs, etc., the mummies are amazing time capsules from the past telling us about the people’s diets, possible lifestyles, and deaths. Packed with full-color photos, we can see a skull sporting a man bun, a tattooed princess, and what’s lurking in what one man thought was a bronze statue.   Creepily captivating! Happy Reading! Annette

Putting a Face to War.    Told in a series of flashbacks, the narrator describes an arduous journey he and his wife must undertake to escape the ravages of war in their hometown of Aleppo. This is a real war that is still raging today and the author transforms images of distant refugees that we may see only as quick flashes on the news into flesh and blood people. Instead of statistics from a foreign land, they become, Nuri and Afra, both affected differently by heart-breaking tragedy. A deeply moving book I won’t soon forget! It would make a good book club selection because there is a lot to discuss from the emotional as well as physical effects of the war and the hope that propels the couple forward.   Annette 

Impressive Impressionists Get ready for total immersion into the lives and times of the impressionists!  This book brings all the paintings and facts you may have collected about the artists and puts them in a clear perspective. Following them year by year, Sue Roe explains how they found and influenced each other and how their surroundings, events, and family members played into their artwork.  It’s a fascinating, in-depth look into the obstacles and struggles that confronted the shocking new painters who put ordinary people and landscapes on light-filled canvases.   This book will give you a whole new appreciation of French impressionist art and have you planning out your dream trip to museums so you can see these masterpieces with your own eyes (sigh).  WARNING : While there are several full-color pages of the impressionists’ art in the book, you may have to upgrade your phone data plan before diving in, because you’ll no doubt be burning up the minutes searching for 

Of Love and Art I loved this historical fiction about four major players in the Impressionism movement in the late 1800s: Edouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas and centering mainly on new-comer Mary Cassatt. This book allowed me to be a fly on the wall in the complicated relationship between Cassatt and Degas.  It answered the nagging question of if they were a couple or not, all the while meandering through the art world as well as family trauma. I also walked along with Manet in his relationship with his sister-in-law, Morisot and his devastating medical diagnosis.  This book offered great insight into the art world.  Oliveira conjures up the artists’ insecurities, their disappointments when the critics panned their work, as well as the triumphant jubilations when success finally reached them.   A great read! Here are some of my favorite pieces from them: Left: Mary Cassatt’s sister  Mlle Lydia Cassatt , 1880.  Center: Edgar Degas’s  Green Dancer, 1879. Right:

Heroism in Hell.    A moving, well-written, important story that brings terrifying and heroic aspects of history to life.    This book is an absorbing read that alternates between two storylines.  Stephan is a Jewish boy who watches his world crumble when Hitler annexes Austria March 12, 1938. In the meantime, a true-life Dutch heroine, Geertruida Wijsmuller puts her own life at risk over and over to transport children to the safety of London.  She's involved in the Kindertransport which organizes the herculean effort of rescuing 10,000 kids in the months leading to WWII.   Very good book! Further reading about the Holocaust: Night  by Elie Wiesel  In Our Hearts We Were Giants   by Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev The Lady in Gold  by Anne-Marie O’Connor – Historical Fiction Novels set in WWII: We Were the Lucky Ones  by Georgia Hunter   (Based on  the  author's own family.) Sarah’s Key  by Tatiana De Rosnay   (About the Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup in Paris)