You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

Whether it's through fascinating facts, or mixed with fiction, are you ready to learn some history? Let us know what you're reading and what social or political climate your book is set in. Share any interesting stories and trivia you learn along the way, and by the end of the week, we'll all be entertained and a little bit more knowledgeable.

Start reading!

Almeta and I are here! I'm reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Almeta is reading The Rival Queens. Got some great pizza and tea and are raring to go!

Since elephants have been showing up, I'm going to start with , An Elephant in the Garden. It's set at the end of WWII, during the bombing of Dresden.

I am starting with The Book Thief. I have been wanting to read this for so long. It's set in Nazi Germany before and during WWII.

I'll be starting soon - just finishing my current read first - there's a big pile just waiting for me to dive into!

Just getting started.

I've just got back from my quilting course and I had a great day. Just thought I'd check in here before I start reading. First up for me is Timeline. This book starts present day (being 1999 as that was when the book was written) and then the main character travels back in time to feudal France circa 1357. Looking forward to learning some interesting things.

@Debra - I read The boy in the striped pajamas for a toppler earlier in the year.

@Lisa - I hope you like the Book Thief, it's one of my favourites.

Alright, I'm ready to get going with The Daughters of Mars. A little bit of light reading at over 500 pages....

That sounds like some light reading, lengthwise and subjectwise.

Bright and early here in Hawaii. I have just begun Unnatural Fire. The opening scene describes the main character Countess Ashby, who- let's just say is not your typical beautiful heroine. The next introduction is to Alpiew who will be her sidekick. Omg!! Laughing out loud already!
Happy reading everyone.

The dogs are driving me insane, so we're going to the dogpark for a while. I'm taking my book and mp3 player so I can hopefully get some reading or listening done. With my luck, there will be chatty people there :)

jaxnsmom wrote: "That sounds like some light reading, lengthwise and subjectwise."

Every single one of my books in the 'pile' is WWI or WWII fictin or non-fiction - I'm going to have to read quite a lot of light reads after this week is over!

Two that I've selected are set during WWII in Germany. Seems like a similar theme here!

Am starting with The Witch of Blackbird Pond on audio - pre-revolutionary America.

Would like to read 11/22/63 - I think it qualifies but am not sure. If it doesn't, how about The Witch's Daughter? Hmm - must be almost Halloween since witches are on the menu.

Sarah, I read Timeline a few years ago and really liked it. Enjoy.

I'm starting with Abdication. It takes place during the year when Edward VIII abdicated the throne to be with Wallis Simpson.

Debra wrote: "Two that I've selected are set during WWII in Germany. Seems like a similar theme here!"

They are the obvious ones that fit the brief - I was too lazy to try and think more than that!

Roz wrote: "Sarah, I read Timeline a few years ago and really liked it. Enjoy."

Thanks Roz. I'm enjoying it so far - I haven't gone back in time yet although I've learned a little history of the place so far. Crazy as it might sound, but I never knew that England had strongholds in France and I'm intrigued to find out more about The Hundred Years’ War which I know nothing about either.

Ok, it's too late at night for that kind of book. At least I tried the first 44 pages - I'll come back to it tomorrow.

Sticking with a happy theme....Code Name Verity

Nice fall day here in Quebec, I did not make it to the library and I am not going back out. I will get there tomorrow. So i am starting to listen to The Help and I will start the book that is screaming "pick me, pick me, i know you missed Nicholas le Floch" so L'honneur de Sartine, a mystery set in France in the 1780. By the way, for the ones who love historical mystery novels, I noticed that the 1st of the series has been translated in English.

Sarah wrote: "Roz wrote: "Sarah, I read Timeline a few years ago and really liked it. Enjoy."

Thanks Roz. I'm enjoying it so far - I haven't gone back in time yet although I've learned a little history of the p..."

I noticed that timeline is available in audio. It may be a 2nd audiobook for me.

Helen wrote: "Am starting with The Witch of Blackbird Pond on audio - pre-revolutionary America.

Would like to read 11/22/63 - I think it qualifies but am not sure. If it doesn't, how about The Witch's Daughter..."

Well, I shelved both as hf, so they must be :)

I have (finally) finished Jane Eyre, so can start toppling. I have two that would fit lined up, Mudbound (which I ordered from the library for the theme read - only just arrived) and Lionheart which is about Richard I and being by Sharon Penman will be proper historical fiction.

The one I'm not sure about is Water for Elephants. Does that fit? Seems to be written in part in reminiscence, but I'm not certain how accurate it might be.

Helen wrote: "I have (finally) finished Jane Eyre, so can start toppling. I have two that would fit lined up, Mudbound (which I ordered from the library for the theme read - only just arrived) and Lionheart whic..."

I'd say Elephants qualifies.

Ta muchly >:-)
Sometimes it's hard to tell before you start the book.

Just finished my first book, An Elephant in the Garden. The ending was very short, but it was the journey that was the story. And the relationship of everyone to Marlena. While not totally lighthearted, there was no real violence or going into depth of the struggles. I'd guess this was because it's a Juvenile/YA book, and is more appropriate for the younger age group. Still, it was a delightful read.

This story was inspired by actual events. An elephant was saved by a woman during WWII in Belfast. And the Belfast Zoo is currently looking for information about her.

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/The-...

jaxnsmom wrote: "Just finished my first book, An Elephant in the Garden. The ending was very short, but it was the journey that was the story. And the relationship of everyone to Marlena. While not totally light..."

Well done Jmom! Sounds like a very interesting book...but I'm not adding to my TBR, no I'm not...

Hey, I added yours to mine. And I shouldn't be the only one to suffer the distress of adding more than I read!

jaxnsmom wrote: "Hey, I added yours to mine. And I shouldn't be the only one to suffer the distress of adding more than I read!"

Good point ;) I mean, if your TBR isn't growing, where's the fun?!

I'm going to start Bridge of Scarlet Leaves now. It's about a newlywed couple, where the husband is Japanese and is interred after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Hi, all! I finally finished The Husband's Secret about 2pm EST, but then got pulled to other things. I decided to start with something light, so I've started listening to Mariana by Susanna Kearsley.

I started The Jungle and read for a bit before getting distracted. I'm finding it interesting so far.

I started Mount Vernon Love Story: A Novel of George and Martha Washingtonfor my first read. It bounces back and forth from the beginning of their relationship and his retirement from the Presidency. It's very interesting and covers Pre-revolutionary to Early American time periods. I'm finding it very interesting, especially considering what is going on these days!

300 pages of Code Name Verity down! And now to sleep - 1:30am is about my limit ;)

Happy reading everyone!

jaxnsmom wrote: "Helen wrote: "Am starting with The Witch of Blackbird Pond on audio - pre-revolutionary America.

Would like to read 11/22/63 - I think it qualifies but am not sure. If it doesn't, how about The Wi..."

Thanks much. Now I have two good options. Plus I am adding almost every one of the books being discussed to my tbr!!!

I started reading , which is full of history and very long (and a slow read). So far we've learned a lot:

* Watched as the Tatars rampaged through Poland
* That the first king of Poland and Lithuania was not covered in hair nor did he have enormous genitalia (they sent men to Lithuania to watch him bathe!)
* The Battle of Tannenberg between the Teutonic Knights and the Poles and Lithuanians in which the Teutonics and much of Europe had their asses handed to them
*Some recipes for roast pork, pierogies, and sausage (yes, they killed 2 pigs and shared with the poor gentry and peasants). But no elephants so far

And I'm only about 1/6 into the book. It starts in the early 13th century (after some current day [1981] action in Communist Poland) and I've made it all the way to 1646 so far. It is a slow read, but it is my main "work" tomorrow so I hope to finish.

Well life got into my way and I'm going to try to get a couple more hours in. Still reading Dear and Glorious Physician.

Well, it's late Saturday night and I need some sleep. I've listened to 1/3 of the audio version of Mariana by Susanna Kearsley and read 22% of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I didn't really start until 5:30pm EST, so I should be able to get in a lot more tomorrow.

Reading Now Face to Face in which a noblewoman bankrupted by the South Sea bubble is settling in the new world to make a new start. Very brave, those people were.

I read a lot yesterday but the book didn't fit the challenge, so only started reading The Song of Achilles just before I went to sleep. I'm 100 pages in, so I hope to finish it today.

Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "Well, it's late Saturday night and I need some sleep. I've listened to 1/3 of the audio version of Mariana by Susanna Kearsley and read 22% of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I didn't..."

You are reading Crime and Punishment a lot quicker than I ever could, and I have read it three times now! I think it took me a week to digest. Good going!

Seems as though Saturday was "nap day" not "read day"!

I am still readingThe Rival Queens which I should finish today and then I will start The Hangman's Daughter.

Enjoying myself...when I can keep my eyes open.

Well I feel like I'm making progress with Timeline. I'm back in feudal France now. I've learnt how men dress themselves so far - which order they need to put their clothes on in order for everything to stay up and in place! I'm nearly half way through the book. Fingers crossed I'll finish it today.

I am really enjoying The Book Thief so far. I have not had as much time for reading today as I thought I would so I probably won't finish it until tomorrow.

Still in my first book too, living un the unquiet street of Paris in 1790. But as expected, as it is the 9th of the series, I am enjoying it a lot.

I have unexpectedly people over for supper, so I am not going to read as much as I want to, between cooking and, as one friend is somewhat allergic to cats, and i have 2, spending a lot of time trying to make the house as hairless as I can. Ah well. Now what to cook.....

Which reminds me, what are you learning from your reading? Beside the History, of course. In Parot's book, when they eat (and they DO) they always have to ask to cook how the meal was made. So cooking in the late 18 century is what I get.

Finished The Boy in the Striped Pajamas last night and was just too tired to post here. It was a compelling story (or fable, as the author called it) with a poignant ending. It was sometimes hard to believe the 9-year old German boy, who has recently been uprooted from Berlin because his father is promoted to Commandant of Auschwitz, could be so naive about what was going on behind the fence where everyone wore striped pajamas. He can't even pronounce Auschwitz properly and says "Out-With" and calls the Führer, "the Fury." It was interesting to get his perspective about what is going on around him. Listed as a Young Adult book, I would think it a story for all ages. I read some 1-star reviews and can see why some people were outraged by the simplicity of the story. I think it's simplicity is what gives it it's weird charm. Nothing horrific is talked about in this book (well almost nothing), but a LOT is implied or glossed over. I wonder if young readers with little to no knowledge of the horrors of the Holocaust would get the point of the story. The boy's ignorance reflects how ignorant and naive so many people were during those times, just not believing anything so devastatingly awful could have truly been happening in a "civilized" world. And that wasn't the last time that genocide and such hatred reared it's ugly head in the world. The book was a quick read and definitely food for thought.

I'm starting The Stress of Her Regard today and might not finish it before I go away for the weekend on Friday. It's a thick, dense book. I'm looking forward to a change of pace and some horror/fantasy/historical fiction.

Description: When Michael Crawford discovers his bride brutally murdered in their wedding bed, he is forced to flee not only to prove his innocence, but to avoid the deadly embrace of a vampire who has claimed him as her true bridegroom.

Joining forces with Byron, Keats, and Shelley in a desperate journey that crisscrosses Europe, Crawford desperately seeks his freedom from this vengeful lover who haunts his dreams and will not rest until she destroys all that he cherishes.

I finished Mount Vernon Love Story: A Novel of George and Martha Washington last night. It was a very enjoyable story and informative as well. They should teach history like that in school - I'd have learned a lot more! It made George Washington believable as a real human being! Now I'm on to Dolley which is about Dolley Madison. Am I sensing a presidential theme here? I'll see what comes after this one!

That's was me on the couch snoozing at your place, Almeta. zzzzzzz