It’s already November and I hate to say it but I’ve not been super excited about too many of the books I’ve read thus far in 2019. I think (hope) I’m yet to find my favorite book(s) of the year. Maybe it will be on this fall and winter reading list below, which includes sequels and more fantastical than usual (for me). Although I gravitated towards all the tantalizing new fiction, I did include a memoir and some non-fiction about an insect!
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I’m excited to tell you about yet another new work of WWII historical fiction, The Lieutenant’s Nurse by Sara Ackerman.
Previously I have recommended lots of this genre set in Germany, Poland, England, and France, but this is the first book I’ve read since From Here to Eternity that is set in Hawaii, right before and during the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
On November 28, 1941, Eva Cassidy travels to Hawaii aboard the SS Lurline to start a post as an Army Core nurse and meet her likely fiancé who is stationed there. But when she meets the dashing Lt. Clark Spencer on the ship and learns that the United States may be closer to war than she feared, her future becomes more complicated.
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KEY WEST WITH KIDS
I’ve been to Key West before, so I know it’s not considered a family vacation spot. However, we were all going to be in Florida anyway, and I’ve been missing my favorite quirky island. Who knows when I would be so close again??
So we took our kids to Key West!
We found a lot to do there as a family. The kids complained it was “too much walking” and “too much stuff for adults.” Ha, yes, have to agree there. But we (all) still had a great time!
Here’s what we did in Key West with kids:
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OUR TRIP TO LEGOLAND FLORIDA
When I’m not reading, I’m planning vacations. I like to share our experiences in case I can help someone else. Plus it’s fun for me to relive my vacation while writing this.
Today I’m going to tell you about the first stop during our fall break travels, LEGOLAND in Florida.
Because it’s near Orlando, LEGOLAND has a reputation as an add-on to Disney World, and compared to Disney it doesn’t get much love. But we just went to Disneyland last year and my kids (who love building Legos) are at the upper range of this park’s audience (ages 2-12), so we decided to make LEGOLAND a primary destination and even stay on property. I’m so glad we did!
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I’ve just returned from a wonderful vacation – which I will tell you about in future posts – and I’m not even unpacked, but I HAVE to tell you about the amazing book I read while traveling. It was so good:
The Things We Cannot Say: A Novel by Kelly Rimmer
Just when I think I may have reached my limit for WWII historical fiction, I find another book in this genre to recommend.
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I’ve read so much WWII historical fiction, but I’m always looking for something new in this genre that gives me an additional perspective. This new book by Kristin Harmel, an author I’ve previously enjoyed, is set in the Champagne region of France during German occupation:
Mixing past and present, love and betrayal, this is the story of two couples who run a winery and another that run a restaurant, each making different choices to survive while serving the Germans.
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I want to recommend new historical fiction about an American actress who married the Prince of Monaco. It was delightful:
Meet Me in Monaco: A Novel of Grace Kelly’s Royal Wedding by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
Grace Kelly is attending the Cannes Film Festival in 1955 when she first meets Prince Rainer of Monaco. This story covers their awkward first meeting and builds to the royal wedding that captured the world’s attention while intertwining a secondary story about “normal” people who meet because of Kelly’s visit to Cannes.
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ODE TO MY CD COLLECTION – also in my bookcases
This is a companion post to one from my archives: Ode to vinyl records.
In an effort to declutter and minimize, I have been going through my house: selling, tossing, and donating. This week, I ended up staring at the bookcase that held my CD collection.
Like many people, I have not listened to an actual CD for years…but going through my collection renewed my appreciation for my CDs. Because these CDs were really important to me at really important times in my life.
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This title is likely to get some attention, as it did laying around my house, but the book I just read, Stoner (New York Review Books Classics) by John Williams is not about drugs at all; the main character William Stoner doesn’t event drink alcohol.
William Stoner moves from his modest family farm to attend the University of Missouri in 1910, initially to study agriculture but instead he falls in love with the study of English literature. He stays on to get his PhD, joins the faculty, and teaches for 40 years. This is a serious novel about a professor who experiences personal and professional agonies but also times of determination and exuberance.
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I picked up The Cuban Affair: A Novel by Nelson DeMille because I was eagerly anticipating a cruise to its settings (Key West & Cuba).
Mac, a 35-year-old veteran has settled in Key West as a fishing boat captain. When he is approached by an anti-Castro group to charter his boat to Cuba for a dangerous mission under the guise of a fishing tournament, Mac accepts the job with the hopes of earning $3 Million for his trouble.
This book is set during the “Cuban Thaw” (2014 or 2015) when America was relaxing its restrictions related to Cuba. But between the time I picked up this book and actually read it, my own travel plans suddenly changed due to President Trump’s policy reversal that Americans can no longer travel to Cuba.
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