Reader's Ink discussion

Okay, I think we're now set up with a discussion folder for The Book Thief.

Yikes! I better get reading!

Isn't that my line! Seems I'm usually the one that you all leave in the dust. I'm getting better at keeping up and prioritizing. Looking forward to chatting with you all on Thursday.

Ok. I've gotten too far behind- there's no way I'll finish the book...partly because I finished last months book so late!

So, I'll come back to The Book Thief another time. For now, it'll be shelved and I'll start fresh with the new book tomorrow. And this time I'll make finishing it a priority! Hope you all enjoy the discussion.

What other Holocaust/WWII-era books have you all read? Like every other high school student, I've read Night. Also have have read The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. I feel like I've read others, but I'm just drawing a blank . . . .

I finished a series about 9-12 months ago by Sandra Grey, and they were called Trespass, Tribunal, and
Traitor. There was a little bit of romance, a little bit of discussion on faith while serving in the field, and challenges with the opposition during that war time. I really liked the series. It was a lot different than some of the more "expected" war reading out there. Another of my most favorite books of all time at the moment is "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society." That book touched me in ways I didn't know it could. Coincidentally, I had checked it out from the library and took it with me when my husband and I went to Germany 2 1/2 years ago. Even though the book was about the Guernsey Island, to hear them talk about the Germans, made it feel so real to me. I LOVED and still LOVE that book. I've read it a multiple of times, as it has touched me so masterfully and deeply.

I too liked the Hiding Place, to be able to thank the Lord for "Fleas" so they could read their Bible and not be searched so much, meant a lot too! Great story.

I guess I'm a lot older than you folks. We did not read Night in school, so it wasn't until we started reading Book Thief that some fellow readers started also asking different books we've read, and that was very poignant reading to me. Short and difficult, but a great way to get the kids in school reading that type of book, I'm sure.

I just came across my copy of The Diary of Anne Frank... I read it in 9th grade then again as an adult. It was an important book for me and I will probably pass my copy along to my stepdaughter to read too.

My aunt has highly recommended Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which is about Japanese internment camps and is set in Seattle.

Julie, I forgot about that book. I'll ditto the recommendation. It's a book about two different times of life of a father and his son. I think you'd enjoy it. I read it last summer and it was really good.

My two cents / recommendations ...

I read Comedy in a Minor Key earlier this year. The author is a Jewish man who was in hiding during WWII. The novel was translated into English for the first time in 2010, and it's ... poignant. The title is pitch perfect - it's darkly comedic but so bleak.

On the nonfiction side, I enjoyed Hitler's Holy Relics. It takes place in Germany in the immediate aftermath of WWII and focuses on the quest by American forces to preserve Germany's cultural and artistic heritage.

Sarah's Key.....loved it...going to be a movie soon

Thought the movie for Sarah's Key came out this past summer?? Kristin Scott Thomas starred, right?

For anyone who liked Sarah's Key, A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka would probably be another fun read.

your right....wow I am way behind.

Emily, thanks for the rec.

So this discussion is making me rethink my next pick for book club. I'd decided on When Washington Was In Vogue by Edward Christopher Williams over Death of the Adversary by Hans Keilson. When Washington was in Vogue is different than anything we've read to date (and seemed like a good summer read), but, seeing the discussion here, I'm starting to wonder if Death of the Adversary would generate better discussion. Thoughts? Preferences?

Here's a brief rundown on both novels:

When Washington was in Vogue is a "lost" epistolary novel of the Harlem Renaissance, detailing a young man's entrance into Black high society of 1920s Washington, D.C. It's considered short on plot but long on insights into that time period and society.

Death of the Adversary (written, like Comedy in a Minor Key, while the author was in hiding during WWII) details a young man's fascination with a rising politician (a fictional, unnamed version of Hitler) in 1930s Germany. The novel was retranslated into English into 2010, and the new translations supposedly captures the intricacies of the original German text in a way previous versions have not.

Also: The Wilmette (IL) Public Library just selected State of Wonder as their 2012 One Book, Everybody Reads selection. Now I'm REALLY looking forward to reading it, because they have a great record of picking really fantastic books. Thanks, Alisha!

If I have any say in the matter, I've read some good stuff about "Washington" and not so much "Death." My vote is for Washington.

I'm for State of Wonder too!! Alisha and I talked about that when she posted it awhile back.

As far as Sarah's Key, it's a 3-4 hankie book if you haven't read it. It was really touching to me. Haven't heard of "Long time ago," will have to check into it. Night all.