Page 22 of 29

The Light Between Oceans – book & movie

June 14, 2017 /

I recently plowed through The Light Between Oceans, enjoying the suspense of how the situation could possibly play out:

In the aftermath of WWI, a veteran takes a post as a lighthouse keeper at Janus Rock, which is hours by boat off of the coast of Australia. He and his new wife are the only people on the island, and they try to start a family. After multiple miscarriages and stillbirths, they are heartbroken. But then… a boat containing a dead man and a healthy baby drifts to their shore!

This book was a quick and entertaining read that required me to consider the morality and implications of these people’s choices. The ending was so emotional for me that it left me dehydrated the next day after staying up way past my bedtime to finish it in peace! I know this is not a new release (2012), but if you have not read this yet, I do recommend it! It left me desperate to discuss the situation with someone; it would be a great choice for a book club.

Why I love new books – a Blogoversary post

June 8, 2017 /

For my very first blog post on LesliesBookcase.com one year ago today, I wrote about why I love old books.

Before this blog, I had not read “new books” in many years because I had been working on my M.A. in English Literature, specifically studying Joyce’s Ulysses, and after that I was trying to read through my bookcases.

So for several years, decades even, best sellers and new releases were not on my radar, but now…

In the past year thanks to this blogging adventure, I have discovered how much I ALSO LOVE NEW BOOKS.

So in honor of my “blogoversary” here are 5 reasons I love new books. I apologize to my old books; please do know I still love you and plan to read you too (but maybe not as much).

World War II historical fiction – a reading list – UPDATED

May 25, 2017 /

This post is updated periodically when I find new WWII fiction to recommend.

Like many other readers, I have a fascination with the WWII genre. These stories give me insight into the time period when my grandfather was fighting a war across the world and my grandma was raising children on the home front. These are the times I never asked enough about. Even so, their answers and experiences, had asked all the questions I wish I would have, would be vastly different than those of someone living in occupied France or being bombed in London or experiencing the horrors in Germany and Eastern Europe.

Soon, as this generation leaves us, all we will have left are stories. Thankfully the authors whose books I profile below and others like them have done the daunting amount of work to recreate these experiences. Yes, it may be historical “fiction” but most of these authors spent years researching and interviewing survivors. I learned more about historical events from these books than I ever did in a class.

These stories are not always enjoyable. Parts of them are horrifying. So why put myself through this and why recommend this reading to you? For me it is a way to honor everything that was sacrificed and everyone who was lost. I also enjoy looking for the good and the helpers in the tragedies. It is also self-reflective: What would I have done? How would I have handled that experience or horror? For what it’s worth, after reading all of these books, I have a better understanding of this time period, human nature, and myself.

I will continue adding to this list as I read book in this genre that I recommend.

A WWII Historical Fiction Reading List

The Women in the Castle – the latest in WWII fiction

May 25, 2017 /

I just finished reading The Women in the Castle: A Novel, a solid addition to the WWII fiction genre that filled the void since I enjoyed The Nightingale and several others from the past few years.

In fact I am working on a WWII fiction reading list and I am going to keep this post short so I can get back to compiling that before Memorial Day! I have been compiling this reading list for several months now but keep wanting to “add one more” to the list…

The beginning of this new novel by Jessica Shattuck reminded me of Belgravia, where socialites are enjoying a party – this time in a Bavarian castle – and love is in the air. But war is on the horizon, so the fun is short lived and duty calls both soldiers and resistors away.

For all you thrill seekers: The Perfect Stranger

May 15, 2017 /

Last year for Leslie’s Bookcase’s very first official book review I read All the Missing Girls: A Novel by Megan Miranda.

You may remember that I loved the book and recommended you clear your schedule and read this book immediately!

This year I had the opportunity – thanks to NetGalley – to download Miranda’s latest novel, The Perfect Stranger, in exchange for another honest review.

In this mystery/thriller, a failed journalist, Leah (though her failing is one a reader can sympathize with), runs into an old friend “Emmy” and decides to move away with her for a fresh start. When “Emmy” disappears soon after their move, Leah realizes that — on paper or the world wide web — the Emmy she knows doesn’t even exist. Leah’s credibility is once again at stake and she even becomes a suspect in Emmy’s disappearance. Thus Leah must work to uncover the truth herself.

Freefallin' was "0914" on my favorite jukebox.

What’s your favorite Tom Petty song?

May 7, 2017 /

Author’s Note: I originally wrote this post before seeing the band on their 40th Anniversary tour last May. I will forever be grateful I saw him and the band in person; however, I truly believe that a relationship between a fan and music is not fostered in a huge arena, but through a jukebox, or through a speaker in a house, in a car, or on a walk. At least that is how it was for me. Rest peacefully, Tom Petty, and thank you. – October 3, 2017

What’s your favorite Tom Petty song?

Ask this question to 10 different people and you are likely to get 10 different answers.

It’s a difficult question for many people to answer. But not me. I have my absolute favorite, and of course, several runner-ups. I’m sharing some thoughts and memories of these particular songs below.

Other people’s answers sometimes surprise me, and I at first think, Hmmm I wouldn’t put that one in my top Petty songs, but then when I listen to it again, I hear more of what they hear in it. I’m also sharing some of these below.

The Yellow Envelope – an enjoyable memoir of traveling and giving

May 3, 2017 /

Can you imagine quitting your job and selling your house and possessions to travel the world for an indefinite amount of time?

I can, and I can’t.

Adventurous Leslie, who existed in college and for a few years afterwards, would consider this. Mom Leslie, who exists now, of course would not.

Adventurous Leslie who is somewhere still deep inside of me (maybe??) especially appreciated The Yellow Envelope: One Gift, Three Rules, and A Life-Changing Journey Around the World, a memoir by Kim Dinan that reads as a travel and relationship diary. It is honest, engaging, and beautifully descriptive about many places in the world I will likely never see firsthand.

It is, however, the additional element of the “yellow envelope” that moves the memoir beyond just another story of a couple traveling the world.

New fiction about WWII brides on The Queen Mary

May 1, 2017 /

Apparently during WWII 100,000 European women married American soldiers! So after the war, the U.S. government sent thousands of these women to America on The Queen Mary luxury liner, which is now docked in Long Beach, CA.

The latest of my many WWII fiction reads, A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner, follows the stories of three war brides as they experience the horrors of the war, meet their husbands, and later make the trip on the Queen Mary “across the ocean.” Of course as in many modern novels the chapters jump back and forth between past and present so a reader learns key information at various times to make the story most intriguing.

A fun and giftable cookbook featuring meatloaf

April 17, 2017 /

Rarely do I find a useful cookbook that is also fun to read, but this one is both: A Meatloaf in Every Oven: Two Chatty Cooks, One Iconic Dish and Dozens of Recipes – from Mom’s to Mario Batali’s.

A sampling of the passion these authors have for meatloaf:

“Show us a person’s meatloaf and we’ll show you that person’s soul. Meatloaf is a mirror: You are how you loaf.”

and

“Meatloaf is a metaphor: It’s life made loaf. You take what’s precious (in this case, the meat) and stretch it as far as it’ll go.”

This cookbook obviously focuses on meatloaf but it includes recipes from traditional to vegetarian to cultural favorites. The recipes include favorites from several famous chefs to politicians on both sides of the aisle. In total you get about 50 meatloaf recipes grouped into categories with dialogue and commentary included. There is a section at the end that includes yummy sides.

The book also provides helpful basic tips and techniques that span loaves:

Buy this book for a teenager – The Hate U Give

April 17, 2017 /

I just finished The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, the book it seems like “everyone is reading” and loving. This book currently has 4.72/5.0 stars on Goodreads!

Starr Carter is a 16-year-old black girl who has already witnessed the shooting deaths of two of her friends. The second of which is the basis of this book.

Her friend Khalil is unarmed and is shot by police while reaching for a hairbrush. This particular story is fiction. But it is inspired by and pays tribute to all those stories which are not fiction. The rest of the novel follows the aftermath and investigations in to the death and Starr’s personal journey to use her own voice to seek justice for Khalil.

“People like us in situations like this become hashtags, but they rarely get justice,” notes Starr.

I picked this book up with high expectations, not only because of the buzz surrounding it but also because this is a topic I am passionate about.

Leslie's Bookcase

Page 22 of 29

The Light Between Oceans – book & movie

Why I love new books – a Blogoversary post

World War II historical fiction – a reading list – UPDATED

The Women in the Castle – the latest in WWII fiction

For all you thrill seekers: The Perfect Stranger

What’s your favorite Tom Petty song?

The Yellow Envelope – an enjoyable memoir of traveling and giving

New fiction about WWII brides on The Queen Mary

A fun and giftable cookbook featuring meatloaf

Buy this book for a teenager – The Hate U Give

Let’s Keep in Touch!

Posts by category

Support Leslie’s Bookcase

WHAT I’M READING NOW

Disclosure on Affiliate Links

Copyright

Let’s Keep in Touch!

Subscribe to Leslie's Bookcase via Email

Support Leslie’s Bookcase

Meta