Classic Club--my first!

From Goodreads:

In the village of King's Abbot, a widow's sudden suicide sparks rumors that she murdered her first husband, was being blackmailed, and was carrying on a secret affair with the wealthy Roger Ackroyd. The following evening, Ackroyd is murdered in his locked study--but not before receiving a letter identifying the widow's blackmailer. King's Abbot is crawling with suspects, including a nervous butler, Ackroyd's wayward stepson, and his sister-in-law, Mrs. Cecil Ackroyd, who has taken up residence in the victim's home. It's now up to the famous detective Hercule Poirot, who has retired to King's Abbot to garden, to solve the case of who killed Roger Ackroyd--a task in which he is aided by the village doctor and narrator, James Sheppard, and by Sheppard's ingenious sister, Caroline.The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is the book that made Agatha Christie a household name and launched her career as a perennial bestseller. Originally published in 1926, it is a landmark in the mystery genre. It was in the vanguard of a new class of popular detective fiction that ushered in the modern era of mystery novels.

From Me:

Great book! A classic mystery--a whodunit -- everyone should read it.

I started out with an easy book, I understand that, but I have to read Dr. Zhivago for my Classic's spin very soon, so, Agatha Christie was okay to begin with. 

And now I feel bad that I said it was an 'easy' one to begin with... this book was:

1.  Really good.  Do you remember (or have you seen on Facebook) that cat who is watching a horror movie?  Well, that's how this book is--I'm sure my face looked exactly like that cat's...eyes large, eyes small, furrowed brow, pursed lips, shock and awe.  That pretty much describes your facial expressions upon reading this.

2. Christie really is the master of "who-dun-it" and this one was her most controversial book when it was first published, as well as being featured on the 1001 books you should read before you die!  Two great reasons one should read it.

3.  If I hadn't chosen  a list of classic mysteries  (yes, thinking they might be an easier read than some more traditional classics) I would have never read Agatha Christie.

And now, I can't wait to get back to her!

The Fireman by Joe Hill

From Goodreads:

From the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author ofNOS4A2 and Heart-Shaped Box comes a chilling novel about a worldwide pandemic of spontaneous combustion that threatens to reduce civilization to ashes and a band of improbable heroes who battle to save it, led by one powerful and enigmatic man known as the Fireman.

The fireman is coming. Stay cool.

No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it’s Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies—before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.

Harper Grayson, a compassionate, dedicated nurse as pragmatic as Mary Poppins, treated hundreds of infected patients before her hospital burned to the ground. Now she’s discovered the telltale gold-flecked marks on her skin. When the outbreak first began, she and her husband, Jakob, had made a pact: they would take matters into their own hands if they became infected. To Jakob’s dismay, Harper wants to live—at least until the fetus she is carrying comes to term. At the hospital, she witnessed infected mothers give birth to healthy babies and believes hers will be fine too. . . if she can live long enough to deliver the child.

Convinced that his do-gooding wife has made him sick, Jakob becomes unhinged, and eventually abandons her as their placid New England community collapses in terror. The chaos gives rise to ruthless Cremation Squads—armed, self-appointed posses roaming the streets and woods to exterminate those who they believe carry the spore. But Harper isn’t as alone as she fears: a mysterious and compelling stranger she briefly met at the hospital, a man in a dirty yellow fire fighter’s jacket, carrying a hooked iron bar, straddles the abyss between insanity and death. Known as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the hunted . . . and as a weapon to avenge the wronged.

In the desperate season to come, as the world burns out of control, Harper must learn the Fireman’s secrets before her life—and that of her unborn child—goes up in smoke. 

From Me:

I can't believe I haven't posted this yet.  I found it in my drafts.  I did a read-a-long with friends in July. 

JULY--the month I had grandchildren for all 31 days!

That's probably why I didn't get a post written up.

I love read-a-longs!  I'm not great at the whole Twitter thing, but it's fun to hear what everyone else has to say and talk about the book as you are reading it.

I listened to the audio version of this book--Kate Mulgrew narrated and she did a great job.

So...what's not to like?  I think Joe Hill did a great job of describing a dystopian (that's not the right word, I know or perhaps it is) community, and what might happen if there were a situation of chaos after an epidemic or other disaster.

It kept me turning the pages--I wanted to find out what would happen!  I thought the characters were well developed too and I loved Hill's references to pop-culture music and books/authors.

I was a teeny-tiny bit disappointed in the ending.  I just wanted more, but still--4 stars!

****************

I also highly recommend (4 stars as well)  State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.

Also a read-along, done in June, but July just saw me with not enough time to articulate myself on a blog post--all those grandchildren, remember?

I loved this book!  I had never read anything by Patchett before  (but am reading her newest, Commonwealth, right now-recommend too) so glad to be introduced to her in a Read-a-long --Thanks Care!

Since I didn't hold up my end of the bargain---check out these great blog posts from,

Care, Katie and Stacy.  

It was  an impromptu read but so much fun for me.  

I agree with everything they said!!

(and oh man, the ending!)

From Goodreads:

Award-winning "New York Times"-bestselling author Ann Patchett (Bel Canto, The Magician's Assistant) returns with a provocative novel of morality and miracles, science and sacrifice set in the Amazon rainforest--a gripping adventure story and a profound look at the difficult choices we make in the name of discovery and love.

In a narrative replete with poison arrows, devouring snakes, scientific miracles, and spiritual transformations, State of Wonder presents a world of stunning surprise and danger, rich in emotional resonance and moral complexity.

As Dr. Marina Singh embarks upon an uncertain odyssey into the insect-infested Amazon, she will be forced to surrender herself to the lush but forbidding world that awaits within the jungle. Charged with finding her former mentor Dr. Annick Swenson, a researcher who has disappeared while working on a valuable new drug, she will have to confront her own memories of tragedy and sacrifice as she journeys into the unforgiving heart of darkness. Stirring and luminous, State of Wonder is a world unto itself, where unlikely beauty stands beside unimaginable loss beneath the rain forest's jeweled canopy,

Noggin

From Goodreads:

Listen — Travis Coates was alive once and then he wasn’t.

Now he’s alive again.

Simple as that.

The in between part is still a little fuzzy, but he can tell you that, at some point or another, his head got chopped off and shoved into a freezer in Denver, Colorado. Five years later, it was reattached to some other guy’s body, and well, here he is. Despite all logic, he’s still 16 and everything and everyone around him has changed. That includes his bedroom, his parents, his best friend, and his girlfriend. Or maybe she’s not his girlfriend anymore? That’s a bit fuzzy too.

Looks like if the new Travis and the old Travis are ever going to find a way to exist together, then there are going to be a few more scars.

Oh well, you only live twice. 

From Me:

I thought it was a crazy premise and I balked at having to read it (it was a book club choice)--but, I ended up really liking it.  It was a great story, although  kind of crazy and totally unbelievable but a very touching 'coming of age' story.

Worth the read.

The Wednesday Wars

From Goodreads:

In this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. The Wednesday Wars is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy’s mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967–68 school year in Long Island, New York.

Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn’t like Holling—he’s sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation—the Big M—in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.

From Me:

I LOVED this book.

I don't know what else to say.

A middle grade, Newbery Honor award winning book--that everyone should read!

Nostalgic, emotional, funny, compelling!

You'll fall in love with Holling Hoodhood.

I listened to the audio version and the narration was great, but I'm also going to purchase this for my bookshelf, so my grandkids can have easy access to it.

Loved it!!

Earlier in the  year, I signed up for the Newbery Reading Challenge, hosted by Julie at Smiling Shelves.

This is only my 2nd book in the challenge.

I better get busy--I have a few more to read before the end of the year.

When Women Were Birds

From Goodreads:

"Brilliant, meditative, and full of surprises, wisdom, and wonder."—Ann Lamott, author of Imperfect Birds
"I am leaving you all my journals, but you must promise me you won't look at them until after I'm gone." This is what Terry Tempest Williams's mother, the matriarch of a large Mormon clan in northern Utah, told her a week before she died. It was a shock to Williams to discover that her mother had kept journals. But not as much of a shock as it was to discover that the three shelves of journals were all blank. In fifty-four short chapters, Williams recounts memories of her mother, ponders her own faith, and contemplates the notion of absence and presence art and in our world. When Women Were Birds is a carefully crafted kaleidoscope that keeps turning around the question: What does it mean to have a voice?

From Me:

May I borrow from Ann Lamott and say "Brilliant?  Meditative?  Full of surprises? Wisdom and Wonder?"

Because, it's all that.

I listened to this on audio, narrated by the author.  That's always a gamble; sometimes it's a winner, sometimes not---this time it was a WINNER!

Loved her narration.

I forget how much I love Terry Tempest Williams -- I live in the west, she writes about and understands the western landscape like no other.

I like birds--she LOVES and knows birds like no other.

I like contemplation-- this book is all about that.

I liked my mother -- she talks about a bond with our mothers that is so special and magical and unbreakable. (makes me shiver just thinking about it)

She does talk about her religion quite a bit in her writings, this book included,  and while I don't share the same views, she writes in such a way that  helps me to understand and appreciate her beliefs and traditions.  Likewise her activism and ecological viewpoints. 

Loved it.

The Regional Office is Under Attack

From Goodreads:

In a world beset by amassing forces of darkness, one organization—the Regional Office—and its coterie of super-powered female assassins protects the globe from annihilation. At its helm, the mysterious Oyemi and her oracles seek out new recruits and root out evil plots. Then a prophecy suggests that someone from inside might bring about its downfall. And now, the Regional Office is under attack.

Recruited by a defector from within, Rose is a young assassin leading the attack, eager to stretch into her powers and prove herself on her first mission. Defending the Regional Office is Sarah—who may or may not have a mechanical arm—fiercely devoted to the organization that took her in as a young woman in the wake of her mother’s sudden disappearance. On the day that the Regional Office is attacked, Rose’s and Sarah’s stories will overlap, their lives will collide, and the world as they know it just might end

From Me:

Hmmmm.  It was fun.  But maybe not for me.

I got very caught up in the 'attack' but then didn't completely understand why and what they were attacking.

It's told from different POV and I like that as I feel it gives a better understanding, helps me to understand the different characters.

I listened to this on audio, and maybe that's why it lost me---I couldn't turn back to figure things out.  Great narrators tho!

Like I said---it was fun and I did enjoy it---just didn't love it.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

From Goodreads:

A razor-sharp satire set in Texas during America's war in Iraq, it explores the gaping national disconnect between the war at home and the war abroad.

Ben Fountain’s remarkable debut novel follows the surviving members of the heroic Bravo Squad through one exhausting stop in their media-intensive "Victory Tour" at Texas Stadium, football mecca of the Dallas Cowboys, their fans, promoters, and cheerleaders

From Me:

Quote from the book: It's sorta weird being honored for the worst day of your life.

I think this about sums it up---the American public have no idea what our soldiers go thru in war.

This book is satire, but you get to go inside Billy Lynn's mind for one day and see what he (or any soldier returning from Iraq or Afghanistan) might be feeling and thinking. Especially when being honored during halftime at an NFL football game. That in itself is just crazy showmanship---and perhaps not honoring at all--just displaying (for some crazy reason that most people think of as patriotic---don't get me wrong, I love NFL football and I love the production of a halftime show, but is that what returning 'war heroes' need?  Or want?  It's debatable.  And discussable.)

Billy's squad, Bravo Squad, is filled with a crazy group of young men who I liked right off the bat--that band of brothers thing is real, as no one knows what they are feeling and/or thinking except 'brothers and sisters' who have walked in their shoes.

I guess the fist sentence of the review above covers it-- it explores the gaping national disconnect between the war at home and the war abroad.

I listened to this on audio and the narrator, Oliver Wyman, did an excellent job with all the voices.  I would recommend the audio version.

The movie will be released this November.

Big Magic

A few months ago my friend Care was reading Big Magic and mentioned how much she loved it and maybe I would enjoy it.  I thought "eh...not a big fan of Elizabeth Gilbert, so I don't know. Not sure"  Then others chimed in that they loved it too---and well, I can't be left out of knowing what's going on--and they all seemed to be 'in the know' about Big Magic, so I decided to give it a listen.

Here is what I thought:

I LOVED it!!

I have no idea why I thought I wasn't a big Elizabeth Gilbert fan...the only other book I've read of hers was "Eat, Pray, Love" and while not a hater, I didn't love it.  I was probably  jealous, because, to be truthful, most of us cannot run off to Europe to find ourselves, we just have to struggle thru-- BUT that was her story, not mine, so why  ?? 

I'm still unsure of what I didn't like, but  ??

(I really loved the Eat part!)

Anyway... BIG MAGIC.

Awesome!

Usually, I tend to shy away from self-help books as I think they are condescending a lot of the time, but this was not. 

I'm not a good enough writer to explain all the feels  (this is a new trendy word, and I'll just have to say it--I feel silly writing it. HA!) --Feelings, all the feelings this book gave me.  I listened to this on Audio, and while I absolutely loved the sound and rhythm of Elizabeth Gilbert's voice (she narrated it herself),  I was sorry not to have a hard copy to make notes and underline important passages.

(my friends tried to tell me so--but I wouldn't listen)

I so appreciated Gilbert's viewpoint of creativity. 

I have never thought of myself as creative, but guess what?

I AM!!

Her essays, her thoughts, her reasoning are inspiring.  And comforting.  And uplifting.

And yes---DAMN--I wish I had a hardcover book to keep notes in.

ARRGGGHHH!!

There is just so much good stuff in this book!

I love thinking that ideas are their own entity looking for a home--and if it's not going to be with you, it will be with someone else.

Okay, that's horribly paraphrased (I don't have the book in front of me, remember?) But you can kind of get it, right?

I am a creative being.  And so are you.

Go.

Read.

It.

Now.

From Goodreads:

Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work,  embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

From Goodreads:

Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remains, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now that the boy and girl are four, it's time to go, but the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat--blindfolded--with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. Something is following them all the while, but is it man, animal, or monster?

Interweaving past and present, Bird Box is a snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.

From Me:

Oh my gosh!  OMG!  OMG!

I really, really enjoyed this book.

As you know, I don't consider myself a book 'reviewer', but just a reader (takes lots of pressure off of myself that way), and as just a reader I feel comfortable saying what another reviewer said:

WHAT. THE. HELL.

(from Christy at Love of Books)

But she's so right!

I listened to this on audio--narrated by Cassandra Campbell,  who is excellent!

It's a little bit sci-fi, a little bit dystopian, a little bit mystery, a little bit spooky,  a lot amazing!

4.5 stars!

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter

I read this book for my Library Book Club this  month.

From Goodreads:

Joe and Rose Kennedy’s strikingly beautiful daughter Rosemary attended exclusive schools, was presented as a debutante to the Queen of England, and traveled the world with her high-spirited sisters. And yet, Rosemary was intellectually disabled — a secret fiercely guarded by her powerful and glamorous family.  Major new sources — Rose Kennedy’s diaries and correspondence, school and doctors' letters, and exclusive family interviews — bring Rosemary alive as a girl adored but left far behind by her competitive siblings. Kate Larson reveals both the sensitive care Rose and Joe gave to Rosemary and then — as the family’s standing reached an apex — the often desperate and duplicitous arrangements the Kennedys made to keep her away from home as she became increasingly intractable in her early twenties. Finally, Larson illuminates Joe’s decision to have Rosemary lobotomized at age twenty-three, and the family's complicity in keeping the secret. 

Rosemary delivers a profoundly moving coda: JFK visited Rosemary for the first time while campaigning in the Midwest; she had been living isolated in a Wisconsin institution for nearly twenty years. Only then did the siblings understand what had happened to Rosemary and bring her home for loving family visits. It was a reckoning that inspired them to direct attention to the plight of the disabled, transforming the lives of millions.

From Me:

Very interesting read. 

Years ago, I read every book written about the Kennedy Family---I couldn't get enough.  They intrigue me. 

It's been over 25 years since I've read a book about the family, so when I found out this was a choice for this book club, I was excited to read it.

Would I recommend it? 

 Well... I liked it, but I don't know that learned any new information--but that's just me!  If the family intrigues you and you want to find out more about them,  I suggest you read this.

The Kennedy family, whether you love them or hate them, is fascinating.  

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile!

It's Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

These are the books I finished last week--

2 very different books.

Both are first person point of view, so we don't get inside anyone else's head, except protagonist, which was especially interesting in this first book----YOU.

From Goodreads:

When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.

There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.  

From Me:

First, the narrator, Santino Fontana, is AWESOME!

There is a FAN base for this awful, evil, villain, because his voice/narration is so good!

As you can tell, I listened to an audio version of this book.

You (as in you, yourself, not the title of the book) get into the head of this serial psychopath killer, who comes off as reasonable in  his own mind.

It's creepy --because he can and does justify every thing he does for this girl he has fallen for.

It's suspenseful and there is lots of tension.

And it's creepy good.

But the voice---I speak for a wider fan base-- we are kind of in love with evil Joe. 

Well, Santino Fontana makes us be!!

4 stars.

The second book  I read was this:

From Goodreads:

There are many rules a priest can't break.

A priest cannot marry. A priest cannot abandon his flock. A priest cannot forsake his God.

From Me:

Let me just say---it's a really, really updated different version of an age old story of a priest falling for one of his parishioners. 

the THORNBIRDS was the first one I ever read.

This might be the last.   I mean I'm not against a forbidden love story, but this one was more than just a romance--it was very graphic, and seriously?  1/2 way thru the book all that talk was boring.

I got carried away by listening to a Podcast about how good it was, so I caved and read it.

YES, women should not be ashamed of what they read, blah blah blah... this was just probably not the book for me.

I mean it was fine---a likable main character (I mean he WAS torn between church and a woman. This  did not come easy for him.)  Just too explicit and not enough story.  

YOU might love it tho.

(I did read it to the end tho, so what does that say?)

******

I'm reading 5 books this week--all at the same time.

I have never read this many at one time before!

I don't even know how this has happened!

Different rooms, different times of the day--that kind of thing, I guess.  

But I hope to finish them all this week.

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile!

It's Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

It is Leap Year, Leap Day!

Yesterday I was lazy, lazy, lazy and read all day long and watched a weird French movie with subtitles in the afternoon -- the Handyman considered that reading too.

These are the books I finished up last week....

From Goodreads:

When Molly Wizenberg's father died of cancer, everyone told her to go easy on herself, to hold off on making any major decisions for a while. But when she tried going back to her apartment in Seattle and returning to graduate school, she knew it wasn't possible to resume life as though nothing had happened. So she went to Paris, a city that held vivid memories of a childhood trip with her father, of early morning walks on the cobbled streets of the Latin Quarter and the taste of her first pain au chocolat. She was supposed to be doing research for her dissertation, but more often, she found herself peering through the windows of chocolate shops, trekking across town to try a new pâtisserie, or tasting cheeses at outdoor markets, until one evening when she sat in the Luxembourg Gardens reading cookbooks until it was too dark to see, she realized that her heart was not in her studies but in the kitchen.

At first, it wasn't clear where this epiphany might lead. Like her long letters home describing the details of every meal and market, Molly's blog Orangette started out merely as a pleasant pastime. But it wasn't long before her writing and recipes developed an international following. Every week, devoted readers logged on to find out what Molly was cooking, eating, reading, and thinking, and it seemed she had finally found her passion. But the story wasn't over: one reader in particular, a curly-haired, food-loving composer from New York, found himself enchanted by the redhead in Seattle, and their email correspondence blossomed into a long-distance romance.

In A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, Molly Wizenberg recounts a life with the kitchen at its center. From her mother's pound cake, a staple of summer picnics during her childhood in Oklahoma, to the eggs she cooked for her father during the weeks before his death, food and memories are intimately entwined. You won't be able to decide whether to curl up and sink into the story or to head straight to the market to fill your basket with ingredients for Cider-Glazed Salmon and Pistachio Cake with Honeyed Apricots.

From Me:

I love, Love, LOVED this book!

I have no more words.

5 stars

But I'm a memoir lover and a food lover and a book lover!  That's like  a home run here!!  The Five stars is completely an emotional response.  Was it really that good? Well, if you love memoirs, food and books, then yes.  Yes it was!

*******

From Goodreads:

In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another. 

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can...completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real--and deadly--consequences.

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah takes her talented pen to the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France--a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.

From Me:

It's so-SO Good!

 I was a little hesitant  to read this book at first.  While Kristen Hannah is very talented and gifted in her storytelling, sometimes her writing is not as intense as I usually like.  This book proves me wrong on that account!

It started a bit slow  --- two sisters, France, WWII --yeah,  yeah, same old story-- but it was so much more!  So Much!!  (again, I have no words)

One quarter of the way into it, that's  all I wanted to do---listen.

I did this one on audio and loved the narrator, Polly Stone, she did an awesome job.

I couldn't stop listening and then when it was done, I was sad.

We read this one for bookclub (The Lit Wits) and everyone held the same opinion---it was just so much!   I want to say  so much good, but truthfully, it was a bit Schindler's List-y, from a female perspective.

It was just good.

4 stars.

I am adding Nightingale to my Women's Fiction challenge.  I think it qualifies in a way .

And  A Homemade Life to my Foodies Read challenge--Yay! My first foodie read of the year.

*****************

So, what's up for this week?