The Price of Life by Nigel Brennan, Nicky Bonney and Kellie Brennan

About a year ago I read the book A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett. It is the true story of Amanda's abduction and 15-month captivity in Somalia. Taken alongside Amanda was Nigel Brennan, an Australian photogropher with whom she had previously been romantically involved. The Price of Life is Nigel's account of their experiences.

Amanda's story talked about what she dealt with during their time in captivity. As a woman, Amanda was treated horribly and was abused in every imaginable way. It was clear from her account that Nigel's experience was different so I was interested to read his version of the events as well. It has taken me this full year to get the book from the library.

Nigel's story is co-authored by his sister and sister-in-law, who tell what it was like for them back in Australia during the time of Nigel's kidnapping and everything the family had to do (while working with Amanda's family in Canada, and both country's governments) to try to get them free. One review I read before I read this book said the reader hated that part of the story and skipped over it, but it was my favourite part of the book. Imagine having a family member captured in a dangerous part of the world. Wouldn't you do everything you could to get them free? I found it a bit difficult to follow because there were so many people involved in getting Nigel and Amanda released (no spoiler alert, we already know they've been released because they're writing their books) but on the whole their accounts gave a great perspective to the story.

Nigel gives an honest account of all that happened and you really feel the toll it took on him emotionally and physically. Amanda's story told a bit of her PTSD after she returned home but Nigel's didn't really get into that. I would also like to hear what the transition home was like for him and how he dealt with his return to day-to-day life.

So if you've read A House in the Sky I do recommend this one as a good follow up to get the whole story. But get in line at the library because the wait is long. As this is an Australian book it isn't widely available in print copies in North America, but digital copies are for sale. A heavy, upsetting read, but very interesting.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

My book club has decided to take a light approach to December, and this was our selection. It is a children's book so I read it this afternoon while my car was being rustproofed. It's only 79 pages so it is a fast, fun read. It was just a delightful little book. I can't wait for Darcy to read it too.

It tells the story of a small town preparing for their annual Christmas pageant. Every year it's the same thing. The same wise men, the same shepherds, the same Mary and Joseph. Until the Herdman family hears that you get free refreshments at Sunday School and decide to show up. The Herdman children usually spend their time smoking cigars and setting things on fire, so a Christmas pageant is very out of character for them. But when the 6 Herdman children are given leading roles in this year's pageant, things suddenly look very different from other years.

This book is hilarious and poignant. It made me laugh and once or twice brought a little tear to my eye. If you're looking for a great Christmas read, I can't recommend this one highly enough. If you have read Wally Lamb's Wishin' and Hopin', this is a very similar read, and now they are two of my favourites to read at Christmas.

Mightier Than the Sword by Jeffrey Archer

I have enjoyed reading Jeffrey Archer's books since I accidentally stumbled across First Among Equals as a teenager. This is book is the fifth in his current series, The Clifton Chronicles. I always like to finish a series once I start it, but after book four I was getting bored with this series. I wasn't sure if I was going to read this book or not, but I'm glad I did as it seems to have recaptured the excitement that I first enjoyed with this series.

The series follows the life of Harry Clifton who is now around 50 years old, a successful author and a loving husband and father. His wife Emma, son Sebastian, brother-in-law Giles are some of the other main characters with a few recurring villains as well.

In this book Emma is facing challenges as the Chairman of the Board of her family's shipping company, Harry is campaigning for the release of a Russian author who was imprisoned for writing a biography of Stalin which the Russian government doesn't want reaching the hands of the public. Archer takes us from London to Russia, to the US, to East Berlin as the family faces each difficulty.

It's not going to be an award-winning book, but it was a fun, light read and had compelling plot lines. Jeffrey Archer has a great way of telling a story. I love the way he leaks little clues as the stories move along and the fun ways he has of revealing surprises, often in a court room or board room. The "bad guys" are usually brought to justice with a surprising twist. It is a bit formulaic, but still fun. I do recommend the series. Book four was a bit weak, as I said before, but on the whole the series will give you what Jeffrey Archer is known for: a fun page-turner with lots of surprises.

Side note: My all time favourite Jeffrey Archer story is a short story which appeared in his book 12 Red Herrings. The first story in the book is entitled Trial and Error. I loved it!

The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede

I have never considered myself to be a lover of non-fiction. But my best reads of the past two years have all been non-fiction, so I think I'm starting to change my mind about that.

I stumbled across this book after I read Thunder Dog earlier this year. Both deal with the events of September 11, 2001 but in completely different ways.

In this book, we read the stories of various people who found themselves stranded in Gander, Newfoundland after American airspace was closed and pilots were told to land their planes at the nearest possible airport. Nearly 40 planes landed in Gander (population a little over 10,000), which resulted in 6,500 passengers finding themselves in this little town that few of them had ever heard of before. Gander dropped everything to welcome these travellers with open arms. They gave them places to sleep, food to eat, computers and phones to stay in touch with family, clothes, showers, whatever they could possibly need to get through that difficult time. Stores would often give the "plane people" whatever they needed for free, just to help out.

Churches, community groups, schools and clubs all pitched in to help. I was particularly proud of the mentions of the work of the Salvation Army and I know my former boss was actually in charge of the Army's work in Gander at that time. Everyone worked together to help others, because that is the "Newfie way".

The book follows several different individuals and families through their experiences in Gander during that week. It is a bit difficult to keep the different story threads straight, but it is usually pretty easy to remember who is being talked about. Whether is the story of the Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, the parents waiting for word about their son the NYC firefighter, the parents of the newly adopted Russian girl, or any of the others you will be drawn to the characters and their stories.

Among other things, this book caused me to think about my own Newfie roots in a new, even prouder light. I loved hearing the stories of the people of Gander opening their homes and offering support to people they had never met before. Although the "plane people" only spent a few days in Gander, friendships were formed that will probably last a lifetime.

So while there was a lot of pain and heartbreak during these days, the response of the people of Gander made an incredibly difficult time much easier. I loved this book and highly recommend it. I'm looking forward to hearing the views of the other members of my book club on Sunday evening.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

Man, it takes me ages to get through a book these days. I can't believe how long it took me to read this one. It was our book club selection for our meeting in the middle of October. I finished it today. Now I really need to get moving on November's book.

I loved the idea of this book. A book about books and the people who love them. It seems right up my alley. Maybe it was the fact that it was translated from its original Swedish, but it just didn't have the magic I was expecting.

The book tells the story of Sara, a young Swedish woman who comes to visit a Amy, literary pen pal in Broken Wheel, Iowa. The two women had been corresponding about books for a while and decided to meet. Amy was an elderly woman and by the time Sara arrives in Broken Wheel, Amy has passed away. So Sara is left living in Amy's house, and making her way in this small town on her own. She decides to use Amy's extensive book collection to start a book shop, something the town has been lacking prior to her arrival.

Broken Wheel is full of unique characters, many of whom Sara has read about in Amy's letters. Now she gets to know them in real life and she falls in love with the town. However, I feel this was one of the downfalls of the book. There were too many characters and it was hard to keep them all straight. I think a couple of side plots could have been done away with to make the book flow a bit better.

I do like the literary references throughout the book, and one of my favourite parts is when one of the townspeople starts referring to Idgie from Fried Green Tomatoes" as her friend. There are many references to Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, so that's automatically a plus in my mind!

It's a light, fun read, but wasn't as great as I was hoping.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

I came across this book as part of a class I did last spring. I bought it in May and have been reading it ever since. I just couldn't get into it.

It is the story of Marie-Laure a young girl raised in Paris who is being raised by her father in the days leading up to World War II. Marie-Laure is blind, but her father never lets that slow her down. He teachers her how to find her way around and take care of herself. As the war breaks out and they need to flee Paris, these lessons will be invaluable.

It is also the story of Werner, a brilliant young boy growing up in Germany. Orphaned along with his sister he falls in love with the radio and in their children's home they listen to a French scientist's radio broadcasts. Werner discovers a natural ability for building and repairing radios. This skill lands him in a special school and service for the German army in WWII.

Although quite separate, their lives are intertwined in ways they could never imagine.

I wanted to love this book. I tried to love this book. But I just didn't. I think part of what kept me from being drawn into it are the short little chapters and constantly changing voices and time periods. It can be hard to keep track of where and when you are in the story and who all the characters are. Especially when your reading is spread out over several months! But the writing is beautiful, the characters are interesting, I just feel like I had a hard time getting to know them in such short, spread out passages.

It has been a long time since a book has really drawn me in. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

I've heard good things about this book and I've been meaning to give it a try for a while.  So when I was looking for a book to load on the iPad for my trip to Windsor, I decided now was the time for me to read it.

I enjoyed it, but I wasn't blown away.

This is the story of Nick and Amy Dunne.  On their fifth wedding anniversary, Amy goes missing and Nick, Amy's parents and the police are left to figure out what has happened, where she has gone and whether or not she is still alive.

Of course, as most stories go, there is more to the story than originally appears and as the book progresses more and more secrets are revealed.  It makes for a pretty good page-turner.

The book is told in both Nick and Amy's voices in alternating chapters.  I found that to be a great device to keep me reading.  One of Amy's chapters would end on a suspenseful note, then I'd have to read Nick's chapter, then by the time I figured out what had happened to Amy, I was wondering what was happening to Nick.  And so I kept reading.

My main problem with the book is that the main characters were, for the most part, despicable.  There just isn't anything likable about them and you can't really find yourself cheering for either one of them.  It's hard for me to say more without revealing some major plot points, but I will leave it that neither of them are nice people.

Aside from that it is a well-written and suspenseful book.  If you are looking for an exciting summer read, this would be a good choice. It would be a great vacation book.  If you're a character-driven person, this may not be the book for you.

Now to see the movie and see how that compares.

Love, Anthony by Lisa Genova

I've been meaning to read this book for a number of years, but for some reason I never got around to it.  I recently saw it on a bargain table at the bookstore so I picked it up and began reading it a few weeks ago.  I wonder if I would have liked it more if I had read it a few years ago.

I was told this is a story about a boy with autism.  It's true, that is an important component of the book, but definitely not the main one, as I read it.

This is the story of Beth and Olivia, two women on journeys to figure out where their lives are headed after their marriages each break up.  The demise of Olivia's marriage was related to the death of her son, Anthony, who was on the autism spectrum.  Beth's marriage ended due to her husband's infidelity, and she is rediscovering her passion for writing in her healing.  She writes a story about a boy named Anthony, who is on the autism spectrum.

The journey each woman is on is painful and lonely.  It hit a little close to home and made this book less enjoyable for me.

However, I was fascinated with the sections of Beth's book as they appeared in this book.  Lisa Genova is a neuroscientist so this book is well researched and well written.  I feel it can help give some insight into what a child on the autism spectrum faces on a daily basis.

It is a great book, just not a great one for me right now.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

This is a bit of a hot book right now and is my selection for my book club for this year.  It won't be on our book club schedule for a few months yet, but I wanted to give it a read early to see how I felt about it.

Rachel is a woman who rides the train from the suburbs into London every day.  Taking the same trains every day, looking out the windows, she starts to see some familiar scenes each day.  One area she likes to keep an eye on is the street where she formerly lived with her husband before their marriage ended.  A few doors down, a new couple has moved in.  She often sees them out on their terrace and has invented a history for them.  One day she sees something amiss at their house, and when she reads in the news that the woman who lives in that house has gone missing, she feels she needs to get involved.  But not only has she invented a history for these people, Rachel is also an alcoholic who often has blackouts where she can't remember anything that happens to her for a period of time.  So can her information be trusted?  Will her desire to help only cause problems to the investigation?

This is a fun, fast-paced book with some good twists and turns.  It's not going to go down in history as one of the great thrillers of all time, but it is a fun, exciting read.  It is being called the next Gone Girl, but I can't really comment on that, because I haven't read that one.  It's a quick read and I think you'll probably enjoy it.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

It has been a long time since I finished a book in a day.  But with this short little book I managed to get through it today while Becca was napping.

This is the selection for my book club's meeting next week and it was an absolute delight.  I had no idea what the book was about, but I fell in love with it right away.

The book is a series of letters that passed back and forth between Helene Hanff in New York and Frank Doel, a bookseller in London.  Helene sees an advertisement for his shop in a magazine and begins what becomes a 20-year, transatlantic correspondence.  In the process a friendship develops between the two, along with his wife and other members of the shop's staff.  She sends gifts to help them through the post-WWII rationing in England and often plans visits which always fall through for various reasons.

Both correspondents are fun and witty and their letters are delightful.  Their discussions of antique books are fascinating (especially when her dislike of any sort of fiction is shattered by reading Pride and Prejudice).

It is 97 pages long, with some of those pages being short letters.  It is a very light, very quick read.  I highly recommend it for an easy, fluffy read.  You won't regret it.

All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews

I have mixed emotions about this book.  I didn't love it as I read it, but the more I think about it now that I'm done, it's growing on me.

This is the story of Efrieda and Yolandi, Mennonite sisters from Winnipeg.  Now grown women, Elf and Yoli live very different lives.  Elf is a world-renowned concert pianist, Yoli is the author of a somewhat successful series of rodeo books.  Elf has a very successful, happy relationship, Yoli has a string of broken relationships and shame about the fact that she "sleeps around".  Elf is suicidal, Yoli is determined to save her.

This is the story of their sisterhood.  Looking back on their childhood in a strict Mennonite community, Yoli (the narrator) looks at their lives and what brought them to where they are today.  Elf has made several attempts to take her own life, and each time Yoli is by her side, encouraging her to fight on.  So when Elf asks Yoli to take her to Switzerland to help her end her life legally, on her own terms, Yoli is torn.

This is a story of love, of sisters, of mental illness, of the difficulty of living when you don't want to live anymore.  And what is love, to allow your sister to go, even to help her die, or to ask her to keep living for your own sake?

Miriam Toews own father and sister committed suicide, so this book has a lot of her own story in it, which makes it more difficult to read at times.

But with all that being said, there are times when this book is laugh-out-loud funny.  Yoli is a very funny character and her way of expressing herself was humourous, even in the sad situations in which she found herself.  She is a very likeable, endearing character.

I'm glad I read it, but I don't think I'd ever read it again.

Emancipation Day by Wayne Grady

First of all, let me say how happy I am to be done my book club selection with more than a week still to go before our meeting!

But secondly, I didn't really enjoy this book.  It's the story of the Lewis family during World War II and the years immediately following it.  Jack Lewis is stationed in St. John's NL with the Navy where he meets and marries Vivian.  But he is always guarded about his life and family, so that when they return to his home in Windsor, ON after the war is over, many surprises await her.  The story is told in alternating voices between Jack, Vivian and Jack's father, William Henry.

It's a story about family, race, and what it is that makes us who we are.

I found the character of Jack to be irritating.  He is stubborn, sullen, selfish and dishonest. He just bugged me.  Vivian was quite a likable character, but I felt sorry for her because of the way she was treated by Jack.

My favourite thing about this book is that fact that it was partially set in Windsor, where I lived for so many years.  It was cool to read about the places I know so well, even in a different time period.

So, I don't really recommend this book.  But if you are interested, it is a fairly quick, mostly light read.  Some descriptions of the 1943 riots in Detroit can be a bit disturbing, but all in all it is a fairly light book.

Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier

I read this book several years ago and quite enjoyed it.  It was a selection for my book club for our February meeting, so I thought I'd just flip through it before the meeting.  But when I opened it, I realized I remembered very little about the story so I ended up doing a complete re-read of the book.

Rebecca is the story of a shy, young, unnamed woman who meets and falls in love with Maxim de Winter a handsome widower.  His wife, Rebecca, had tragically drowned a year ago.  After he proposes to our heroine, she moves with him to Manderley, his expansive English estate.

The problem is, she feels the shadow of Rebecca everywhere she turns.  Rebecca's favourite flowers are still placed in the house every day.  Rebecca's favourite meals are still served.  The new Mrs de Winter is constantly being told that she is, "nothing like Rebecca".  Maxim seems distracted and sad.  She feels he regrets marrying her and that he wants Rebecca back.

Her youth and shyness prevent her from talking to anyone about it and she becomes tortured with thoughts of Rebecca's presence.  Added to her insecurity is the presence of Mrs Danvers, the housekeeper who had been Rebecca's personal maid.  She has kept Rebecca's room perfectly preserved since the night of her accident and clearly has no interest in having a new Mrs de Winter in the house.

The book starts off fairly slowly, but really picks up in the second half.  An elaborate costume ball, a shipwreck and a gruesome discovery add to the excitement.

As our book club discussed this book on Sunday evening we talked about our frustration with not knowing Mrs de Winter's first name.  I understand that it was left out to emphasize how unimportant she felt and how she didn't feel like a woman when compared to the perfect Rebecca, but it is still frustrating.  Even writing this post has been difficult without a name to use.  It's an interesting device.
It's a great book, I highly recommend it.  If you liked Jane Eyre, you'll like this one.  It's got a similar feel to it,with the mysterious first wife and the big English estate.  In fact as I was re-reading this one, I was confusing the story with Jane Eyre in my mind.

Apparently Alfred Hitchcock made this into a movie.  I think I might check it out.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

What a lovely book this was to read.  It was recommended to me by a friend who loves it and wanted me to read it.  I'm glad I did.

I knew very little about the book when I started it and I'm kind of glad about that.  I loved the lyrical writing style (although it sometimes sped up my nodding off at the end of a long day) and quickly fell into the story.

It's the story of Santiago, a young Spanish shepherd who heads to Egypt in search of his Personal Legend (always capitalized throughout the book).  Everyone has a personal legend, but very few actually find it.  You must listen to your heart, follow the omens and understand the Language of the World.  Of course, he meets many challenges along the way and questions the validity of his search, but decides to continue on.

It's a theme I've been encountering over and over again in recent months.  Find your dreams and do what it takes to achieve them.  When I heard Chris Hadfield speak in November, this was essentially the message he gave us.  Set a goal and make decisions in your life that will help you achieve that goal.  You might reach it, or you might not, (believe it or not, he didn't), but your life will be richer and fuller for having worked for what you want.

The Rosie Effect, by Graeme Simsion

Meh.  I expected to like this book a lot more than I did.  When I read The Rosie Project I loved the character of Don Tillman and couldn't get enough of the book.  I loved the story of how the man who has Asberger's but doesn't know it falls in love and marries a woman who is the opposite of his expectations.

Naturally I was excited when I heard there was going to be a sequel.  Fantastic!

In this book, Don and Rosie have moved from Melbourne to New York City.  Once there, Rosie discovers she is pregnant.  The rest of the book follows their preparations for parenthood, along with the challenges that change presents to their still fairly new marriage.

I just felt like Rosie had a complete personality shift in this book.  In the first book, she seemed to really understand Don and the quirks that make him "not average".  But in this book there are many situations where it seems she is expecting him to change who he is.  I don't think the Rosie we met in the first book would do that.  As a result their marriage hits a crisis point.

Maybe it's just that I'm still not interested in reading about marriages in trouble.  Hard to say.  But I don't think that's it.  I just found her pretty unlikeable in this book.

Don still has some laugh out loud moments, and learns some great things about himself.  Some of the situations are more than a little far-fetched and then resolved too easily.  But it's a light read, it can be read quickly and might make you laugh at the end of a busy day.

Thunder Dog by Michael Hingson with Susy Flory

I feel like this blog post would be complete if I just said, "Read this book!"  But there is so much more I want to say.

What a great book!  This was a selection for my book club for our January meeting.  I wasn't finished it in time for that meeting, but I'm glad I finished it afterwards.  This book is the account of Michael Hingson and his guide dog as they escaped the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.  Michael became blind as a premature baby, after being exposed to too much oxygen in the hospital.

Not letting that stand in his way, Michael worked hard, went to college and embarked on a career in sales that landed him a job in the World Trade Center. After receiving his first guide dog at the age of 15, he didn't go anywhere without his dog by his side.  So Roselle was there with him on that day, as she was any day.

The story weaves together their experiences on September 11th, along with stories from Michael's childhood, giving you an understanding of what it was like for him to grow up blind.  Fascinating stuff.

There are so many good things about this book, but my what struck me the most was the attitude of Michael's parents.  Michael was born in 1950.  After his blindness was discovered, doctors recommended that he be placed in residential care, to ease the burden on his parents.  This wasn't something his parents would even consider.  They brought Michael home, and taught him that there wasn't anything he couldn't do and that allowed him to reach his full potential.  He wasn't treated any differently than other kids, he went to public school, he rode a bike (leading to one of my favourite scenes in the book) and even bought himself a Ford Mustang!  But his life could have been very different.  If his parents had taken that advice, he would have had a very different experience.  I love the bravery they showed, long before that was the common approach for parents to take.  It's a great lesson for all of us in how we treat people we perceive as "different".  

I can't recommend this book highly enough!  It's an easy read, you'll likely find it fascinating and work through it quite quickly.