Reading in the Garden

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 stupo...

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 he...