July 2013

Frozen in Time by Mitchell Zuckoff

On November 5, 1942, a U.S. cargo plane crashed into the Greenland ice cap. Four days later, a B-17 became lost in a blinding storm and also crashed. Miraculously, all nine men on the B-17 survived. The U.S. military launched a second daring rescue operation, but the Grumman Duck amphibious plane sent to find the men flew into a severe storm and vanished. Those stories alone would be spellbinding to read, but Zuckoff joins the U.S. Coast Guard and North South Polar—a company who worked for years to solve the mystery of the Duck’s last flight—on a dangerous expedition (2012) to recover the remains of the lost plane’s crew. ♥♥♥

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

How best to explain this book? Literary puzzle slash mind-twister comes to mind. In 1910 Ursula Todd is born but dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same night, Ursula Todd is born, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. As she grows, she also dies again and again. Incredibly inventive. ♥♥♥

June 2013

A Borgia Daughter Dies by Maryann Philip

The story of the Borgia’s is intertwined with the live of Leonardo da Vinci. Historically accurate, this murder-mystery is set in Renaissance Rome and Milan. There is an illegitimate daughter and bewitching ex-mistress who solve three murders with help from da Vinci and Lucrezia Borgia. ♥

The Storyteller by Jody Picoult

Sage Singer and Josef Weber, an elderly man in Sage’s grief support group strike up an unlikely friendship. One day Josef confesses a shameful secret and asks Sage for an extraordinary favor. ♥♥♥

May 2013

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

When soldiers arrive in his Cambodian hometown, Arn Chorn-Pond is just a little boy. But the soldiers march the entire population into the countryside where he is separated from his family and assigned to a labor camp. Every day he sees children dying. One day, the soldiers ask if anyone can play a musical instrument and although he’s never played a note in his life, he volunteers. Based on the true story. ♥♥

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

A glorious mixture of fiction supported by incredible vintage photography! Sixteen-year-old Jacob visits a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. It seems deserted but the longer he explores the more real they become –and they may still be alive!  ♥♥♥♥

April 2013

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

An Alaskan, homestead, in 1920 is wonderfully haunting setting for this adult fairy-tale. Jack and Mabel build a child out of snow but the next morning the snow child is gone. Later, they see a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees. The story follows her life and the couple’s desire to take care of the little child of the wilderness.

This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz

It seems like short stories but then you realize they are woven together through Yunior, a young Dominican man who seems to love and lose in equal measure. The losing part entirely of his own making. ♥

March 2013

Escape From Camp 14 by Blaine Harden

North Korea’s political prison camps are notorious, and no one born and raised in these camps has ever escaped. That changes as we meet Shin Dong-hyuk and learn about his true story of how he survived the horrible conditions and his amazing escape. ♥♥

 Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain

A short battle with Iraqi insurgents transformed the eight surviving men of Bravo Squad into America's most sought-after heroes. During a US media tour to reinvigorate support for the war, Billy deals with flash-backs, questions about the war, his survival and the knowledge that he has to go back to Iraq.  ♥♥

February 2013

The Dalai Lama’s Cat by David Michie

The Dalai Lama’s life as experienced from the eyes of his fabulous cat, Mousie-Tung. True story, although you can never fully trust a cat – even an enlightened one. One of my favorite books ever. ♥♥♥♥

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
by Anne Fadiman

The true story of a refugee family from Laos, seeking help for their daughter, Lia Lee, at a small county hospital in California. Lia Lee has severe epilepsy and although the parents and her doctors both want what was best for her, cultures and languages collide. ♥

January 2013

Amazing Gracie by Dan Dye and Mark Beckloff

Pretty good doggie story. ♥♥

Birds of a Lesser Paradise by Megan Mayhew Bergman

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories that make you weep and rejoice at the fragility and clumsiness of humans. ♥♥♥

Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity 

by Andrew Solomon

Holy crap this book was like a reading a mildly interesting text book. All in all, the normality shake-up I was expecting did not happen.

Sam Cruz’s Infallible Guide to Getting Girls by Tellulah Darling

This smart little book is yes, about sex. Sex between teens which, as a Mom of such an animal I was shy to read. But it’s so damn funny and true that I couldn’t help laughing out loud. Between Sam and his best friend Ally you get inside a teen’s head and let me tell you, it’s a funny, sometimes sad, but interesting place to be. ♥♥♥

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

Awesome. Read it. ♥♥♥♥