Book Readin'

In the last week, I have rediscovered my second love...reading! I have always been someone who gets engrossed in a story and can read for hours before quitting. In light of this, in the last week, I have read 3 books, which I'll share about.

1. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Since the movie previews are out (and it looks interesting), I thought I'd read the book before possibly seeing the movie. I think the concept is interesting...the man has a genetic problem which forces him to time travel...who meets a 6-year-old girl and is a part of her life from that time on. I thought Audrey did a good job developing the two main characters: Henry and Clare, and their stories but as for the rest of the story and characters, it was blah. I must say, I won't easily recommend this book and certainly won't do so to the general public. One thumb up!

2. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer. I picked up this book because it sounded interesting. It's about the island of Guernsey during the WWII occupation. The Nazis took over this little English island hoping to then take over England, which we all know failed. The story is about an English journalist who receives a letter from one of the men from Guernsey, asking for a book. This single letter starts a pen-pal relationship between the journalist, Juliet, and many people on the island. She ultimately decides to go there for further research and is changed as she interact with her new friends. It was so easy to fall in love with the characters. The book ended and I wanted to read more and more of their lives. The entire book is written in letter format, which at times makes you feel like you are missing something but the authors craft each letter or the responses to answer the questions that are relevant. Two thumbs up and maybe a toe or two!

3. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. I read this book in four hours, which should say something. This story is about France during the WWII Nazi occupation, specifically focusing on the Vel'd'Hiv, a round-up that occurred by the French police, of thousands of Jews. The Jews were taken to a stadium for several days then deported to one of three concentration camps in France. Later on, many ended up being taken to Auschwitz where they were gassed. Very few survived. I chose this book because it too sounded interested. A young Jewish girl, being forced to leave the house with her parents, locks her brother in a cupboard, promising him that she'd return soon and let him out, without realizing that the evacuation would be for more than just the day. The story itself bounces between Sarah's story, living with the death of her brother and her own fight for survival, and a modern-day journalist who is told to do a story of the 60th commemoration of the Vel'd'Hiv and becomes consumed with finding out what happened to Sarah. The Guernsey Literary book was more upbeat and humorous while Sarah's Key was more sad and commemorative. Two thumbs up!

I have one more book to read of my "new book" stack: I'm A Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson, and then I need to move to my "old book" stack, some of which will be new reading to me. I'll share more about my reads, as long as my second love sticks around!