Summer Reading Celebration

Cute. Manga is great for light reading and entertainment

I loved the movie. Read the book. Loved the book. Separately though. Is my brain fully formed?

Isla loves how this book is full of photographs that match up to each different section, so she can learn simple ballet while going through the book.

Once again, boring work is made lighter with the addition of an audiobook, The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris, read by actor Richard Armitage. It is a work of historical fiction but based on a true story. The author captures the dehumanizing experiences, barbarous acts taking place in the prison camp and ambiguity of feelings among the survivors. This story is first and foremost a love story between Lale who is the tattooist and Gita, both prisoners in Auschwitz. That story is very enjoyable. I didn’t care for the reading by Armitage. Though he attempted many voices, they sounded very much alike. His tone and inflection were inconsistent at page turns and this was distracting. Even with that, I recommend the book because it has a good story in it.

This history of the influenza pandemic of 1918-1920 was written for young adults, but is informative and even engaging reading for adults as well. It captures the horror of the flu pandemic and the First World War, and puts it into context using photos, letters, songs, art, and even children’s games. Science didn’t have a clear understanding of the differences between bacteria and viruses at that time, and the book chronicles the research of the day as well. When the book was published in 2018, 100 years after the events it describes, the cover depicting a woman wearing a cloth mask was quite arresting. Even though the mask is commonplace now, I recommend this book as a must read for anyone wishing to learn more about pandemics and their effects on various aspects of society and culture, and how the current pandemic was expected any time, by epidemiologists.

This was a amazing book. I enjoyed reading about the "sea women" and went further to find videos about these amazing women. This is a way of life that I never knew existed!! I have read other books by Lisa See and this is definitely my favorite.

Cute story. Read with Grandson.

Pleasant read of historical fiction set in Ireland in the 1920's during the Irish war for independence from England. The story involves the daughter of the English overseer who has been sent to the area to keep things in check. In an unprecedented move, her father allies her to apprentice at an Irish owned jewelry shop. The owners son is dead st against it because of who she is. While the story feels predictable, the history is well researched. The writing lacks the depth of best sellers, but it was a pleasant enough read.

I relistened to this book this summer. "People are starving for the awe of God." is one of the basic premises of the book. The book is divided into two parts (although you won't find a formal division in it.) The first part is all about the awe of God. Dyke uses vivid illustration to help the reader grasp God's great ess and what we are missing by allowing ourselves to to accept a shallow, domesticated version of a powerfully grand God. The second half deals with what theology calls the eminence of God. That means that he allows us to relate to him and is close to us. There are some beautiful quotes in this book, but the following sums up Dyke's message: "Our souls find satisfaction only in the God that is grand enough to worship and close enough to love. We need both, but the church today has by in large focused too much on the closeness if God and forfeited His grandness. "The tiger has been tamed. We aren't moved by God's greatness and splendor." If you want to get some of that reverence back, I recommend this book.

Daine is on her way to Cathak with the delegation for peace between Tortall and Carthak. In this third installment of The Immortals Quartet, Daine is summoned to the Emperor's home to heal his sick birds but the gods have other plans for her. Numair, Alanna the Kings Champion and Kit are back for another thrilling adventure filled with treachery, new animals and gods aplenty. Will Daine survive her encounter with the gods and a emperor bent on making the world bend the knee to him alone? I love these characters, especially Daine, Numair, Alanna and so many others! A great series and one of my favorite cover art!