None of This is True written by Lisa Jewell

Author: Lisa Jewell

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 384

Setting: London suburbsย 

Tone/Mood: Suspenseful

Subject headings: Podcasting, Interviews, Deception, Murder Investigation

Alix, a podcaster and celebrating her 45th birthday in a pub, meets Josie who is at the same pub also celebrating her 45Th birthday.ย  In the bathroom on a chance meeting they discover that both women were born on the same day in the same year and at the same hospital.ย A few days later, at another chance meeting, Josie convinces Alix to create a podcast about the two of them and call it Hi! Iโ€™m Your Birthday Twin. Alix is intrigued and looking for a new podcast topic- she agrees to interview Josie as her birthday twin.

Episode One begins with Josie telling her life story. ย She begins the podcast with details about her youth and about her relationship with her single mother, she also discusses her relationship with her husband-how they met and how she feels he “groomed” her as he was 40 years old and she a mere 13-year-old.ย  He bought her expensive gifts, treated her as an adult- he even took her to a bar.ย  He made her feel special. She figures in todayโ€™s world it would be classified as child abuse- he took advantage of her and her youth.ย 

Episodes later, Josie reveals she wants to take her life back. ย She begins to disclose secrets she has kept about her husband and his treatment to their daughters. She downright calls her husband a pedophile.ย  ย Alix is both interested and repulsed by the stories Josie is weaving.ย  She continues the podcast even though she knows she getting in too deep.

Karen’s thoughts: Amazing book! As a phycological thriller this book does not disappoint!ย  It’s fast pace and twisted plot will make you want to continue reading. Book clubs will devour this one.ย ย 

NOTE! The podcast featured in this novel was turned into a real podcast which you can listen to. Here is the link: https://www.penguin.co.uk/lisa-jewell-birthday-twin-podcast

This book is available at your public library!

World War II historical fiction

I love historical fiction!  I just finished The Librarian from Auschwitz by Antonie Iturbe and now I’m reading the Baker’s Secret by Stephen Kiernan.  I have really enjoyed getting back to historical fiction especially after the long list of mystery books I read last year.  So, if you enjoy historical fiction, focusing on World War II, here is a list just for you.  All of the titles were published this year or last and all are in heavy rotation at the public library.  Many have already been chosen for book clubs.  My next read will be The Taster by V.S. Alexander, the last book on this list. Enjoy!
  

All titles are available at your local library


World War II historical fiction with publishers descriptions
# I have read and recommend ** Books that have high circulation numbers
The Alice Network ** The Alice Network: A Novel
by Quinn, Kate
Summary: In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two womenโ€”a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947โ€”are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption. 1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She’s also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie’s parents banish her to Europe to have her “little problem” taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister. 1915. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she’s recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she’s trained by the mesmerizing Lili, the “Queen of Spies”, who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy’s nose. Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn’t heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth…no matter where it leads. 



The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir **The Chilbury Ladies' Choir: A Novel
by Ryan, Jennifer.
Summary: Letters and journals reveal the struggles, affairs, deceptions, and triumphs of five members of a village choir during World War II as they band together to survive the upheavals of war and village intrigue on the English home front.

The orphan’s tale  # ** The Orphan's Tale: A Novel
by Jenoff, Pam.
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Noa, forced to give up her baby fathered by a Nazi soldier, snatches a child from a boxcar containing Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp and takes refuge with a traveling circus, where Astrid, a Jewish aerialist, becomes her mentor.

We were the lucky ones ** We Were the Lucky Ones: A Novel
by Hunter, Georgia.
Summary: It is the spring of 1939, and three generations of the Kurc family are doing their best to live normal lives, even as the shadow of war grows ever closer. The talk around the family Seder table is of new babies and budding romance, not of the increasing hardships facing Jews in their hometown of Radom, Poland. But soon the horrors overtaking Europe will become in escapable and the Kurc family will be flung to the far corners of the earth, each desperately trying to chart his or her own path toward safety. As one sibling is forced into exile, another attempts to flee the continent, while others struggle to escape certain death by working
endless hours on empty stomachs in the factories of the ghetto or by hiding as gentiles in plain sight. Driven by an extraordinary will to survive and by the fear that they may never see each other again, the Kurcs must rely on hope, ingenuity, and inner strength to persevere. 

The boat runner : a novel ** The Boat Runner: A Novel
by Murphy, Devin.
Summary: In the tradition of All The Light We Cannot See and The Nightingale, comes an incandescent debut novel about a young Dutch man who comes of age during the perilousness of World War II. Beginning in the summer of 1939, fourteen-year-old Jacob Koopman and his older brother, Edwin, enjoy lives of prosperity and quiet contentment. Many of the residents in their small Dutch town have some connection to the Koopman lightbulb factory, and the locals hold the family in high esteem. On days when they aren’t playing with friends, Jacob and Edwin help their Uncle Martin on his fishing boat in the North Sea, where German ships have become a common sight. But conflict still seems unthinkable, even as the boys’ father naively sends his sons to a Hitler Youth Camp in an effort to secure German business for the factory. When war breaks out, Jacob’s world is thrown into chaos. The Boat Runner follows Jacob over the course of four years, through the forests of France, the stormy beaches of England, and deep within the secret missions of the German Navy, where he is confronted with the moral dilemma that will change his life-and his life’s mission-forever. Epic in scope and featuring a thrilling narrative with precise, elegant language, The Boat Runner tells the little-known story of the young Dutch boys who were thrown into the Nazi campaign, as well as the brave boatmen who risked everything to give Jewish refugees safe passage to land abroad. Through one boy’s harrowing tale of personal redemption, here is a novel about the power of people’s stories and voices to shine light through our darkest days, until only love prevails.


The diplomat’s daughter: a novel    The Diplomat's Daughter: A Novel
by Tanabe, Karin
Summary: During the turbulent months following the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor, twenty-one-year-old Emi Kato, the daughter of a Japanese diplomat, is locked behind barbed wire in a Texas internment camp, the victim of misfortune and America’s new policies of fear. Plagued by fence sickness, her world changes when she meets Christian Lange, whose German-born parents were wrongfully arrested for un-American activities. Together, they live as prisoners with thousands of other German and Japanese families, but discover that young love can triumph over even the most unjust circumstances. When Emi and her mother are abruptly sent back to Japan, Christian enlists in the US Army, with his sights set on the Pacific front–and a reunion with Emi. Sent away for her safety, Emi lives out the war in a Japanese resort town where many in the foreign community have fled, including both Jews and Nazis. When she overhears a German officer boasting of the men he has murdered in Asia, fate brings Emi back to Leo Hartmann, the son of prominent Austrian Jews, now a refugee in Shanghai–her oldest friend and her first love. Fearing for his life, Emi is determined to find Leo. But will Christian’s devotion be strong enough to stop her? Hurtled together by war, passion, and extraordinary acts of selflessness, the paths of these three remarkable young people collide as the fighting on the Pacific front crescendos. 

The baker’s secret: a novel #**  The Baker's Secret: A Novel
by Kiernan, Stephen P.
Summary: After her kind mentor is arrested because of his Jewish heritage, a young baker’s apprentice in Normandy engages in discreet resistance activities, baking contraband loaves of bread for the hungry using surplus ingredients taken from occupying forces.

A boy in winter ** A Boy in Winter: A Novel
by Seiffert, Rachel
Summary: Yasia, a farmer’s daughter who has come into town to sell produce, sees two young boys slinking through the shadows of the deserted streets and decides to offer them shelter

Beneath a scarlet sky: a novel **  Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel
by Sullivan, Mark T
Summary: In 1940s Italy, teenager Pino Lella joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps and falls for a beautiful widow, he also becomes the personal driver of one of the Third Reich’s most powerful commanders.

In Farleigh Field: a novel  In Farleigh Field: A Novel of World War II
by Bowen, Rhys
Summary: World War II comes to Farleigh Place, the ancestral home of Lord Westerham and his five daughters, when a soldier with a failed parachute falls to his death on the estate. After his uniform and possessions raise suspicions, MI5 operative and family friend Ben Cresswell is covertly tasked with determining if the man is a German spy. The assignment also offers Ben the chance to be near Lord Westerham’s middle daughter, Pamela, whom he furtively loves. But Pamela has her own secret: she has taken a job at Bletchley Park, the British code-breaking facility. As Ben follows a trail of spies and traitors, which may include another member of Pamela’s family, he discovers that some within the realm have an appalling, history-altering agenda. Can he, with Pamela’s help, stop them before England falls?

A Single Spy  A Single Spy
by Christie, William
Summary: Alexsi Ivanovich Smirnov, an orphan and a thief, has been living by his wits and surviving below the ever-watchful eye of the Soviet system until his luck finally runs out. In 1936, at the age of 16, Alexsi is caught by the NKVD and transported to Moscow. There, in the notorious headquarters of the secret police, he is given a choice: be trained and inserted as a spy into Nazi Germany under the identity of his best friend, the long lost nephew of a high ranking Nazi official, or disappear forever in the basement of the Lubyanka. For Alexsi, it’s no choice at all. Over the course of the next seven years, Alexsi has to live his role, that of the devoted nephew ofa high Nazi official, and ultimately works for the legendary German spymaster Wilhelm Canaris as an intelligence agent in the Abwehr. All the while, acting as a double agent–reporting back to the NKVD and avoiding detection by the Gestapo. Trapped between the implacable forces of two of the most notorious dictatorships in history, and truly loyal to no one but himself, Alexsi’s goal remains the same–survival. In 1943, Alexsi is chosen by the Gestapo to spearhead one of the most desperate operations of the war–to infiltrate the site of the upcoming Tehran conference between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin, and set them up to be assassinated. 

Pearl Harbor : a novel of December 8th. Book one, The Pacific War series **  Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th
by Gingrich, Newt.
Summary: An historical novel set against the backdrop of Pearl Harbor and the beginning of World War II examines the events, decision-making processes, and strategies that led to the Japanese attack on Hawaii from a Japanese perspective.

White Chrysanthemum  **  White Chrysanthemum
by Bracht, Mary Lynn
Summary: “. . . a sweeping historical debut for fans of Lilac Girls, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Kristin Hannah that brings to life the heartbreaking history of Korea through the deeply moving and redemptive story of two sisters separated by World War II” — Provided by publisher.


The lost letter : a novel **  The Lost Letter: A Novel
by Cantor, Jillian.
Summary: Austria, 1938. Kristoff is a young apprentice to a master Jewish stamp engraver. When his teacher disappears during Kristallnacht, Kristoff is forced to engrave stamps for the Germans, and simultaneously works alongside Elena, his beloved teacher’s fiery daughter, and with the Austrian resistance to send underground messages and forge papers. As he falls for Elena amidst the brutal chaos of war, Kristoff must find a way to save her, and himself. Los Angeles, 1989. Katie Nelson is going through a divorce and while cleaning out her house and life in the aftermath, she comes across the stamp collection of her father, who recently went into a nursing home. When an appraiser, Benjamin, discovers an unusual World War II-era Austrian stamp placed on an old love letter as he goes through her dad’s collection, Katie and Benjamin are sent on a journey together that will uncover a story of passion and tragedy spanning decades and continents, behind the just fallen Berlin Wall.

The Taster  **  The Taster
by Alexander, V. S.
Summary: Amid the turbulence of World War II, a young German woman finds a precarious haven closer to the source of danger than she ever imagined–one that will propel her through the extremes of privilege and terror under Hitler’s dictatorship. In early 1943, Magda Ritter’s parents send her to relatives in Bavaria, hoping to keep her safe from the Allied bombs strafing Berlin. Young German women are expected to do their duty–working for the Reich or marrying to produce strong, healthy children. After an interview with the civil service, Magda is assigned to the Berghof, Hitler’s mountain retreat. Only after weeks of training does she learn her assignment: she will be one of several young women tasting the Fuฬˆhrer’s food, offering herself in sacrifice to keep him from being poisoned. Perched high in the Bavarian Alps, the Berghof seems worlds away from the realities of battle. Though terrified at first, Magda gradually becomes used to her dangerous occupation–though she knows better than to voice her misgivings about the war. But her love for a conspirator within the SS and her growing awareness of the Reich’s atrocities draw Magda into a plot that will test her wits and loyalty in a quest for safety, freedom, and, ultimately, vengeance.




Why buy books from the library book sale?

As you know I am a huge proponent for the public library system.  Where else can get books, magazines, DVD’s, audio books, e-books, free magazines, music downloads, and homework help all for free?  There is no better value that I can think of.  Your tax dollars pay for the public libraries so you might as well get your money’s worth.  This week our public library, the same one that I work, is having a book sale.  These book sales are a huge draw.  With the monies we generate from the sale, we are able to offer programming to children and adults.  Examples of programming include public speakers, computer classes, concerts, story times and crafts, out-reach programs, support for the Library of the Blind, and so much more-all for free.   The people in this small mid-Michigan town are very generous with their donations; last year alone they donated over 70,000 items. So when the book sale comes along there is a long line into the library.  Everyone has paper/plastic bags with them just waiting to fill them up.  The volunteers organize all the sale items for easy shopping and the prices are crazy.  Children’s books are just $1.00 per stacked inch; paper backs are just .50 cents and whatever you can fill your shopping bag with will only cost you $5.00!

I was talking to one of the volunteers the other day and she revealed that our library also sells books on-line. She reported sales of $14,000 last year all from books being donated to the library and the library turning around and selling them on Amazon or EBay.  The library has such a huge on-line presence that it requires six volunteers to post the items for sale, wrap the items when sold, and ship the items to the purchaser.  I love that we can profit from someoneโ€™s donation, that’s why they donated it in the first place- they wanted the library to either sell it at the book sale or on-line, or place it in the library collection. Very few items are placed in the library collection, mostly because they are used or outdated.  So selling them only makes sense. 

Whenever I go to the book sale I pick up a few paperbacks for our vacations.  I read them and leave them– usually in the hotel room for the next guest.  I purchase sale paperbacks because it’s cheap, I don’t care if they get ruined by sand and water, and I don’t have to pack them to bring them home.  I call that a bargain ๐Ÿ™‚

 Almost ready to open the doors to the public!

  
 

 The Library Book Nook sells donated items all year round.

  Another reason I am talking about book sales today is because on Monday I made a Tomato Zucchini Tart with Mozzarella and Basil.  I found the recipe in the Best of Cooking Light cookbook that I purchased at the Library Book Nook last year for a whopping $1.50.  The Book Nook is open all year to the public and it houses recently donated items. Most items donated are directed to the Book Nook and then shifted to the book sale at the end of the year.  Not only did I help the library by purchasing this book, but I also got a great cookbook that I use often!  This week I also made a Zucchini Bread with Lemon Glaze from the same cookbook. (I should have written a post on “What to make with your garden Zucchini?”)- maybe I will!

Best of Cooking Light is on sale at Amazon for $1.72 right now, just click here! 

This is prior to baking.  I have a pizza stone from a home party I went to years ago and I use it often- to warm breads and to bake pizza.  You can get the same pizza stone here.
Yummy! Looks just like the picture ๐Ÿ™‚

 

It was delicious and I highly recommend this recipe for a quick meatless meal.

Here is a website, titled Book Sale Finder,  that will help you locate libraries in your area that are having a book sale.


Hope your week is going well.  I’ll check back on Friday with another blog highlight!  See you then friends!

โ€œWe at DAKliving” are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Healthy Breakfast/Lunch



Hello!  Just popped in so I could share a wonderful breakfast I had this morning!  I had the morning off from work so I ran, watered flowers, pulled weeds, and by the time I finished all of that- I was hungry!  I opened up my favorite new cookbook, SkinnyTaste Fast and Slow, and discovered that Gina has wonderful suggestions for healthy and quick breakfast items.  I decided on the egg and avocado toast ๐Ÿ™‚

I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into this sandwich.  The avocado was a perfect ripeness and the egg turned out superb- a little runny yet hard in the middle. Salt and pepper and I was ready. 

Yummy! I can’t tell you how much I have been drawn to Gina’s cookbook and her blog, http://www.skinnytaste.com.  Her book can be found at your local public library or you can order your own copy at Amazon- here is the link  SkinnyTaste Fast and Slow Cookbook


Alpine Valley Breads Organic Multi Grain with Omega-3 BreadDave has a wonderful bread he gets from Costco, it’s called Alpine Valley Organic. Since everything is bigly at Costco (is that really a word?), we freeze one loaf and keep one in the refrigerator.  When we are ready to defrost the frozen one, we defrost it in the refrigerator. This bread makes wonderful sandwiches and now I discovered that avocado spread on it toasted tastes delicious too!




Have a wonderful weekend! Meet me back here on Monday for a recap of our weekend-which will include running, biking, and craft beer ๐Ÿ™‚

Cheers!

Book Review: Movie Night Menus

This is a newly acquired book in our public library.

Good Day!  Last night on Instagram I posted a video highlighting this book and the menu I chose to make while watching The Graduate.


According to the authors, The Graduate is “stylishly filmed” with a soundtrack by Simon & Garfunkel. Dave’s favorite band is S&F and he has never even seen this movie.  You can imagine how excited he was when the opening credits began- I didn’t tell him about the soundtrack.  Anyway, a young Dustin Hoffman is putting off deciding which grad program to enroll in and instead decides to have an affair with a much older women,  Mrs. Robinson- who just happens to be his fathers’ business partner’s wife. When we meet Dustin he is lounging around a pool, in fact, most of the movie is near water of some sort.  Therefore the authors felt it best to include fish into the menu while watching this movie.  The Teriyaki Salmon Bowls (page 180) are easy to assemble and offer up a bit of California cuisine, since Los Angeles is the setting of the film.  The authors also offer a cocktail for each menu.  The cocktail for The Graduate was Pimm’s Popsicle, a British cocktail made up of fresh fruit, ginger beer, herbaceous Pimm’s #1, and mint.  The ingredients make a delicious looking Popsicle to be enjoyed during the movie.  We did not make the drink, although we did share a beer with our dinner.  We had a Coffee Stout by the Rochester Mills Brewing Company.  

Our dinner turned out perfectly!  We loved the marinated salmon and I added fresh pineapple and a dab of avocado as well. The recipe made enough for left overs, which is perfect since I don’t cook everyday.  Oh , and we loved the movie!

Overall, I love the idea of watching old classic movies and pairing them with a new cocktail and dinner menu.  “This book highlights some of the greatest dining and drinking scenes to appear on screen from the 1930’s to the mid-1980’s.” (p. 7).  The authors watched hundreds of films to curate the list of films in this book. They discovered that there were actual cocktails named after famous actors and films. They began hosting dinner parties and watching films with friends and thus this book was conceived.  For at title to make it into this book the film had to have a “rousing food and drink scene.”  The authors created the menus after they watched each film.  The book gives the reader suggestions on how to throw a great movie party while explaining each recipe in great detail.  

I used to watch old movies with my mom on sick days, but Dave has never really watched any of the films listed in the book…so, guess what we will be doing monthly?!! 

For next month, our dinner and movie will include a “Murder Mystery Dinner”!  We will watch The Thin Man and enjoy a Dry Martini, Whitefish toast, Rosemary Roasted Almonds, Oysters on the half shell, and a box of dark chocolates.   The authors suggest that The Thin Man is a glamours excuse for a cocktail pajama party…I might have to include some of my teacher buddies!  


Here is a list of some of the movies and menus in the book:

  • The Sting– Menu: Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza
  • Some Like It Hot– Menu: Manhattan-Marinated Flank Steak and Velvet Potatoes
  • Casablanca– Menu: Roasted Eggplant Tagine
  • The Divorcee– Menu: Beet Red Devil Cake with Chocolate Frosting
  • Grand Hotel– Menu: German pancake with Ham and Gruyere or Berries and Cream
  • Dodsworth– Menu: Neapolitan Seafood Stew
  • The Philadelphia Story– Menu: Upscale Cheesesteak with Truffle Brie
  • Funny Girl– Menu: Chicken Liver Pate with the Works

I’ll keep you posted on the Classic Film parties we partake in and always post some pics as well.

Thanks for stopping by ๐Ÿ™‚

Your kids SHOULD take advantage of the summer reading program the Public Library offers!

All public libraries offer a summer reading program and YOU should definitely get your kids or grand kids signed up.  The program works like this- the child reads for 15 mins. a day and records his time on a calendar provided by the library.  Each week the library offers a reward for the student for reading and recording their reading time. It’s a win win for you and your child.  I remember when the girls were young and I would sit them down on the couch and instruct them to read.  I would also tell them that after reading we could go outside and play. I loved it because the house was quiet and both girls were entertained.  Olivia would end up falling asleep and Lauren and I would continue reading in silence-it was magical.  I have such fond memories of each of us looking at pictures books and reading chapter books.  One story that we read aloud was Beverly Clearly’s Dear Mr. Henshaw, a book about a little boy who is writing letters to his favorite author.  This starts off as a class assignment, but when Mr Henshaw actually writes back, a friendship is forged and the letters become very personal.  This is such a lovely story about a young boy looking for guidance and friendship and he finds it in his favorite author.  Dear Mr. Henshaw won the Newbery Award in 1984.  You can never go wrong with a Newbery Award book- they are always books written for the young and always seem to contain a moral lesson. 

 More on the Newbery Award and a list of the book winners

Build A Better World artBack to the Public Library Programming – The theme this year (each year the Library of Michigan comes up with a new theme) is “Build a Better World”.
The Library of Michigan website has so much useful information for librarians and parents. This year’s focus is helping kids think globally and how they can help their community.  Books, displays, speakers, and programming all promote the idea of constructing a better world and community involvement. Although, students can read anything they want, their book choices don’t have to focus on community, the idea is to just get them to read:)

National Honor Society students get their service hours by volunteering at the library throughout the summer.

Every Wednesday most Libraries have a children’s program going on.  Today, we had puppetry, singing, and dancing from the Michigan Storytellers Guild.  They were very entertaining.  It’s nice that the library offers these programs (for free) because it breaks up the day and week for parents and kids.  Not only are the programs fun, but they also offer a learning opportunity.

Feel free to share stories you have read with young children.  

Dr. Seussโ€œReading can take you places you have never been before.โ€


โ€• Dr. Seuss