After weeks of near-zero (Fahrenheit) temperatures and so much snow (more than we have ever received in years), we are now in the 50s and it's looking that way for all of next week, woo hoo! Life We seem to have settled into a routine around here. Work has calmed down a bit as well, so you'd think that all this means I should be reading more or dabble in things that sound fun. Sadly no. While I still much relish being able to work from home and having kids safe in school, it would be nice to be able to socialize more with no worry of the virus. Yesterday, we all went for a long walk out in the beautiful weather. On our way, we passed by the park we spent so much time in last year but didn't venture inside because there were so many people in there. I look forward to the day we don't need to do that. Spring break is coming soon and we are seriously considering safe vacation options. We don't have any grand ideas at the moment but we'll be thinking about it more.

I had three really tough choices this week. All three are books I really want to read, and it's not easy selecting one. I had to think about this all day, assume that I was at a bookstore with enough money to buy only one book, or that it's Christmas and Santa's asking me to choose one among the three. My, you shouldn't have to choose between books. Eventually, I had a decision.
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I am obsessed with books on tragedies and calamities. I know it's odd. I hate it that I like to read about humanity's darkest moments. And yet, it's not for the dark tone that I read them, because then I should enjoy horror too, which I don't. I think the dark moments are when people are really tested. You see courage that you never knew a person could have. You see intense love and perseverance. You see people becoming the very opposite of what they are. A person may insist that he is a coward and will look out for himself first, and when the time comes, he finds he is braver than he gave himself credit for. Not that people should be tested to show those colors - in fact, I wish tragedies or calamities didn't happen. But I feel the courage shown by people during such times deserve to be immortalized for all to read. I came across this book when I read Jessica Francis Kane's interview on Goodreads.
On a March night in 1943, on the steps of a London Tube station, 173 people die in a crowd seeking shelter from another air raid. When the devastated neighborhood demands a report, the job falls to magistrate Laurence Dunne. In this beautifully crafted novel, Jessica Francis Kane paints a vivid portrait of London at war. As Dunne investigates, he finds the truth to be precarious, even damaging. When he is forced to reflect several decades later, Dunne must consider whether he chose the right course. |
The Wave by Susan Casey
This was a hard choice for me, and not exactly a new find. I had seen this spotlighted so many times that I didn't want to read it, and then I listened to the NY Times book review podcast in which Susan Casey spoke about her book and the rogue waves and how she was inspired to write the book. And then I was hooked!
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The Gendarme by Mark Mustian
Another WW1 themed book. This book also has as its background a dark theme, but one from which there are so many lessons, and also so many inspiring stories. I don't exactly know how I added this book to my TBR, because I had been hearing on and off about this one for a while now.
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Comments
I have the ARC and it is looking for a good home if you would like it:)