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Showing posts from January, 2014

An Army At Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 by Rick Atkinson

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An Army At Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 by Rick Atkinson An Army At Dawn is a history novel that focuses on the actions of the Allied forces in the beginning of the United States involvement in World War II. It explains the actions of both President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in choosing to attack North Africa instead of Western Europe in efforts to oust the Germans and win the war. This novel thoroughly examines the movements of the Allies and includes excerpts from the diaries of General Eisenhower and General Patton as well as many other officers on the Allied and Axis sides. We follow the campaign from the planning phases, through the first attacks in the fall of 1942 through victory in Tunisia in May of 1943.                 This book is Volume One of the Liberation Trilogy written by Atkinson. It is obvious that he is preparing the reader to follow him on a journey throughout the conclusion of World War II. In the open

The House Girl by Tara Conklin

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The House Girl by Tara Conklin Lu Anne Bell was an artist and the wife of a slave owner before her death in 1852. The style and subjects of her art are unlike any other from that time. The portrayal of her slaves in her drawings and paintings is the current subject of the art world in New York City, especially since the authorship of the paintings has come into question. Many now believe that Josephine, the seventeen year house girl of the Bell Plantation is the true artist and deserves the credit as such. Josephine had been Lu Anne's care taker since the age of seven and had spent little to no time away from her company, but nothing is known of Josephine after 1852. There are no records of children, of her staying with Robert Bell, Lu Anne’s husband, after her passing, or even her being sold to another slave owner.  So what happened to Josephine? That wasn’t a question Lina Sparrow was prepared to answer. She wasn’t even aware of the controversy surrounding The Bell pa

Libra by Don DeLilo

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Libra by Don DeLilo Lee Harvey Oswald the boy, the defector, the husband, the assassin, the patsy. What is the story of the man who traveled with his mother as a young child to New York, New Orleans, Texas? Who is the man that joined the marines only to become obsessed with Russia and Marxism? Why kill the President of the United States of America? And who are the CIA agents who planned an assassination attempt on the life of President Kennedy to frame Fidel Castro? Libra is a fictional account of the life of Lee Harvey Oswald from his teenage years through the assassination of President Kennedy and his own death. It ties in the lives of three CIA agents, who were apart of the failure that was The Bay of Pigs, and are coordinating the assassination attempt on the Presidents life.                 This novel, more so than anything, is believable and intriguing but I did not care for the way it was written. The story jumps from Oswald in the different stages of his life, to

Divergent by Veronica Roth

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Divergent by Veronica Roth Abnegation value selflessness. Dauntless value courage. Erudite value knowledge.  Amity value peace. Candor values honesty. What value do you cherish most? What faction do you belong to? Each student, at a certain point in their schooling, must take an aptitude test to help them determine what faction they should belong to for the rest of his life. Beatrice Prior was raised in Abnegation but never felt like she was selflessness enough compared to her parents and older brother. She hoped her aptitude test would assist her with her choice but her results are inconclusive. She is divergent, which means she could belong to more than one faction, which also means she is dangerous. Does she stay with her family in Abnegation? She could never join the Erudite who she considers arrogant and selfish. Or should she join Dauntless and discover how brave she could really be? She reveals her choice at The Choosing Ceremony and from there her life really begins.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald J ay Gatsby has a beautiful home in Long Island where he throws the most extravagant parties every weekend. Everyone attends Gatsby’s parties, even celebrities and here the liquor is always flowing, the dancing is always going and the music never stops. What Nick Carraway, the Yale graduate and bond salesman soon realizes is that no one knows Gatsby. Of course people see him and spark conversation but rumors circle with no truth to be told. People believe he is an heir to enormous wealth, or a gambler or swindler maybe even a murderer but no one knows. People simply enjoy being a part of his lavish lifestyle. Nick becomes exposed to the man that is Gatsby and the truth of his circumstance. The relationship between Gatsby and Nick’s cousin, Daisy, is revealed and the revelations continue about Gatsby and his motives for his lifestyle.                 I found the novel intriguing. Here is a man who seemingly has it all but he is essenti

A Year in Review: 2013

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Welcome to the New Year! It is now 2014 and I hope everyone is ready for the great things to come this year. The end of the month will mark a year since my first blog post! I must say that I have really enjoyed all of the books that I’ve read this year and posting the reviews of the different books on this blog. This is something that has become an integral part of my reading process. I love that I am able to share it with people who share my love and interest for books. There is definitely more to come in this new year and I am excited to share with you all that is going on as of right now. I read 83 books this year! I love it! I’m including the list of books at the end of the blog. There are quite a few books that have been read and reviewed, I simply haven’t posted them on the blog yet. I do this for consistency. I want to be able to post a new review every Friday for you to enjoy so I have stockpiled in order to keep that rate going. In case I hit a reading slump (which