The Next Book On My List

Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley with Ron Powers                 I was convinced I knew what I wanted to write when I sat down to begin this review. I was going to mention how everyone can recognize the photo used on the cover of this book. That it’s an example of patriotism and a symbol of World War II. It represents the integrity of the men fighting on the small island of Iwo Jima and an ode to those who lost their lives. But it’s so much more than that. That image was used as propaganda to extract more bonds from Americans in the war effort. The image was falsely portrayed and the truth pushed to the side because the image itself was so well done that the story framed around it simply had to be true. Many didn’t want to listen to the true story behind the image, the raising of the second flag on top of Mount Suribachi. That the original picture of the first flag being raised was never used and...

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri                 I don’t usually gravitate towards collections of short stories but after including Interpreter of Maladies as part of my thirty year theme, I may have to re-evaluate that decisions. These stories were beautiful. They were a look into a culture that I’m not familiar with. They had diverse characters whose lives I could vividly imagine. The stories were so diverse and extremely well imagined that I couldn’t pull away from any of them. This was so highly enjoyable that I want to read more of what it is Lahiri has to say. She was able to create these beautiful tales in such a simple and yet satisfying way. I raced through this book.                 I feel like there is a story for everyone. Whether it’s the story of a couple whose relationship is deteriorating after the birt...

The Fireman by Joe Hill                 The official name for the infection was Draco incendia trychophyton but most people simple referred to it as Dragonscale. You can see it on the skin, black lines swirling across the body with gold flecks. It becomes really apparent when someone has it if they happen to burst into flames or simply start smoking. The first burner Harper saw was outside of the school where she worked as a nurse. School closed after that incident. Then Harper decided to volunteer at the hospital which was severely understaffed after the outbreak. It wasn’t until after Harper found out she was pregnant that she saw the black lines on her own body. Her husband Jakob was disgusted with the thought of contracting the infection and even more disgusted with the idea of Harper keeping the baby. He leaves furious and returns with the twisted notion to take both of their lives. The Fireman ...

I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb                 Dominick and Thomas, the twins. Different in so many ways. Identical in nature and yet opposites in life. Dominick the teacher turned house painter. Thomas the paranoid schizophrenic that cut off his right arm in a public library to try and stop a war. This is Dominick’s story, his narrative, his examination of how his life turned out the way it is. Failed marriage, the guardian of his crazy brother, the man who never even knew who his father was. Dominick is the man still fighting for answers and to fulfill his last promise to his now deceased mother, to protect her favorite and to watch over him. But at what cost! Was he supposed to sacrifice his own sanity after fighting so hard to not be Thomas?                 From the very first page of this novel I was hooked. Dominic...

Ghosts From Our Past: Both Literally and Figuratively: The Study of the Paranormal by Erin Gilbert and Abby L. Yates with Andrew Shaffer                 Erin and Abby have come a long way since being known as “Ghost Girls” at their high school. They want you to know just how far that is. In Ghosts From Our Past: Both Literally and Figuratively: The Study of the Paranormal Erin and Abby start from the beginning of their fascination with the paranormal to their current standings. This newly revised and somewhat updated version included their current finding and techniques while still holding true to the information in the original publication.                   I’m not sure what I was expecting from this movie tie-in but at the very least I was entertained. This book “written” by the characters of the 2016 film “Ghostbus...

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch                 Have you ever wondered what your life could have been if you changed one simple thing? If you hadn’t taken that class, went to that bar, introduced yourself to the person who would be the love of your life? Jason Dessen has had those thoughts and wondered about how different life may have been. But he lives a good life now with his wife, Daniela and his son Charlie. But all that is taken away from him. He had simply went to meet an old friend of his and on the way home was forced into a car at gunpoint and made to drive to a location he didn’t even know existed. He awakes to find himself in a warehouse where everyone has been anxiously awaiting him. No one had seen him in 14 months and there are so many questions? But he doesn’t know any of these people. He has never met any of them in his life. His home is completely different than the way he left it and it...

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant                 Many people have heard the biblical story of Jacob, the man who fled from his home after stealing his brother’s blessing. He fled to his mother’s family and met Rachel by the well. He offered to work several years for Rachel’s father, Laban, in exchange for her hand in marriage. He would eventually sire many children through many wives but it was Rachel’s only child Joseph who would eventually be sold by his brothers into slavery, rise in the ranks to eventually become an adviser to the king. This story is the one that is known. The Red Tent is the story people don’t know. This is the story of Dinah, Jacob’s only daughter and the last child of his first wife Leah. But this is not only the story of Dinah, it is the story of her mother, her aunts and the many other women she met while sitting in the red tent. The tent where women gathered with the changing m...