Lynn

Backlist Book Picks Christmas Books

December 6, 2019 by Lynn Leave a Comment

We 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.

We took the last few weeks off from sharing our backlist book picks, but today we are back with two great Christmas reads.

It is the first week of December so we thought it was the perfect time to get you in the Christmas mood with some reading. Yes, books and Christmas can go together. Both of the books we are sharing today are great fiction reads for this time of year.

One of the books is a newer backlist book that was published in 2017. The other book is an older backlist book that was published over seventy years old.

Both books are ones that I enjoyed and both would make great reads or Christmas gifts this year.

Last Christmas in Paris

I really enjoyed Last Christmas in Paris and right now the Kindle version of this one is a great price. It is historical fiction book. Not only is it about Christmas, it is about WWI. So much is written about WWII, but not a lot is written about WWI. I enjoyed reading about WWI for a change. This book is a little bit like a cross between a Hallmark movie and the book The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. If you enjoy either of those I think you will enjoy Last Christmas in Paris.

Miracle On 34th Street

Did you know that the movie Miracle On 34th Street is based on a book? I had no idea it was until I read the book a couple of years ago. If you love the movie I think you will enjoy the Miracle on 34th Street book. The book is actually a kids book or at least a book for young adults or early teens. I actually enjoyed the book way more than the movie. Yes, I know it is a classic movie, but it has never been my favorite Christmas movie. The book though was really good. If you enjoy seeing the difference between book vs movie I think you will enjoy this one. And since the book is over seventy years old it is definitely a backlist book pick. In fact, I think it is the oldest book that we have featured for backlist books.

Nonfiction World War II Books

November 4, 2019 by Lynn 6 Comments

We 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.

Do you enjoy reading books about WWII? We are sharing a huge list of nonfiction World War II books.

Fiction books are great, but our go to books will probably always be nonfiction. We love the true story.

Although it is difficult to say reading about such a horrific event as WWII is enjoyable, it is one of our favorite time periods to read about for good reason. There is so much written on the subject.

WWII was a difficult time period. Even though it created horrible circumstances, it also created great heroes. Many innocent people suffered and died due to World War II, including those at the hand of Hitler. But many people, often everyday people, became heroes for fighting for those that couldn’t fight for themselves.

WWII teaches us so much about human nature–both the good and the bad.

Many people say that history repeats itself, and there is a lot of truth in that. Reading about history and informing ourselves of the events that have already happened helps us to avoid repeating the past. In addition, it helps shape and inspire the heroes of tomorrow.

We have read quite a few books on WWII, both non-fiction and fiction. However, the non-fiction ones are almost always our favorite.

We love to read the real story–what really happened as opposed to a fictitious story. The reality is that when a book is written well, real life will read like fiction.

However, the nonfiction books unveil the extraordinary acts that really happened rather than ones that are just loosely based on things that happened. That is the case with many of the books listed below, and that is why they made our list of great Nonfiction World War II books.

The books below are all ones that we have read. Although some of them are rough and deal with very tough topics, war is a rough realty. It is not pretty. Bad things happen to people, including women and children, but we need to know what happened to those who came before us so that we can prevent such atrocities from happening again. Reading books like the ones listed below allow us to do that.

We love finding new book as well. Do you have a favorite WWII book that is not on our list?

Flag of Our Fathers

Voices of the Pacific

A Stranger To Myself ( Written by a German Soldier)

Irena’s Children

I Could Never Be So Lucky

No Ordinary Joes

Flyboys

Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends

The Nazi Officer’s Wife

Helmets and Lipstick

The Hiding Place

Alice’s Piano

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me

Latest Book Reviews

October 28, 2019 by Lynn 4 Comments

We 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.

We have twelve new book reviews up!

The twelve recent reads include some great fiction, an epic multi generational historical fiction book, and some great nonfiction.

Our goal is to hit five hundred book reviews by the end of the year and we are getting so close. We currently have four hundred and forty seven book reviews up.

Those are all books that we have read. We only share books that Grace or I, or someone in our family, has read. We can’t wait to hit the five hundred mark.

You can find our full list of book reviews here.

Now for our recent book reviews.

Murder at the Breakers

I recently shared my love of this mystery series. Murder at the Breakers is the first book in the Gilded Newport Mystery series. If you love cozy mysteries this is a great read. This book and the entire series are set in Rhode Island during the Gilded Age. It is full of high society, mystery, and a little romance. If you like cozy mysteries I think that you will enjoy Murder at the Breakers.

The Pact

The Pact is one of my favorite books from my nonfiction books for every state challenge. It is also another one of the books that I would have never picked up if it hadn’t been for this challenge. The Pact shares the inspirational story of three men who grew up in Newark, New Jersey. This story shares the power of hard work, and the power of people to encourage others in big and small ways. The Pact would be a great book to give as a gift to a college student or teen.

Deep River

Deep River by Karl Marlantes is an epic multi generational story of a family that lives on the Washington Oregon border during the early 1900’s. I picked this book up at a small bookstore in Cannon Beach, Oregon during a trip that my husband, and I took to Oregon for our 25th anniversary. This is not the typical type of book I would buy on vacation, but the book was based in an area I am very familiar with because I grew up in the NW corner of Oregon. Deep River is also by an author from a coastal town in Oregon that I have been to many times. The subject of the book though was what finally sold me on it. Deep River might be the longest book review that I have shared, so be sure to read my full review of it.

Sons of Wichita

Sons of Wichita by Daniel Schulman is a book I do not think I would have picked up if I hadn’t challenged myself to read a nonfiction book for every state. Reading often stretches you outside your comfort zone. It takes you places you may never have gone if you hadn’t read a certain book. I love business books. I love a good story about a family or person, but Sons of Wichita isn’t my normal type of business book. In the end though I am really glad that I read it.

Detroit Hustle

Detroit Hustle by Amy Haimerl was my Michigan book for my nonfiction books for every state challenge. Can you tell that I have been really working on this challenge? I really want to finish my books for every state challenge by the end of the year. This book that I choose for Michigan was a fun read, and I really enjoyed it.

My Story

It is hard to say that I enjoyed the book My Story by Elizabeth Smart because it is such a tough read. I read this as my Utah book for my nonfiction about every state challenge. I was having trouble coming up with a book for Utah, and I saw this ebook on sale. I decided that it would be a good book for Utah since it was such a riveting story when it happened. I am glad I read this book. It is a powerful story of not giving up and about forgiveness.

The Ghost Ships of Archangel

The Ghost Ships of Archangel was a neat book to read. I thought that this was a interesting story that I had not heard about before. It was a little scattered for me to say I loved it, but overall it was great story. If you love the Navy side of World War II, you might really enjoy reading some of William Geroux’s writings.~ Grace

The Knife Man

Okay, so I love reading medical things. I do not actually like to see them in person, but I do enjoy reading about them. This was such a fascinating book, but if you hate reading detailed medical things and reading about cadavers this book might not be for you. I learned so much from The Knife Man. Wendy Moore did a great job of writing this book to make it so fascinating. ~Grace

In Farleigh Field

In Farleigh Field has been in my to read pile for quite awhile. I finally picked it up, and I can see why this book has such great reviews. I love the fact that it was a serious topic, but included mystery, romance, and even some humor. It took me a few chapters to get into the book, but once I did I couldn’t put it down.

The Man from the Train

If you love conspiracy stories, ideas, or just plain crime tales, The Man from the Train is a great book for you. I loved reading it. It was gory and had some sexual stuff, but if you can deal with that or can skim over it, you will do just fine. I learned so much about early police work and fingerprints and how the justice system was sometimes misused.~Grace

Sergeant Stubby

If you have been reading my book reviews, you know I love animal stories from All Creatures Great and Small, The Dog who could Fly, Rin Tin Tin, and so on. I added Sergeant Stubby to my have read pile this summer. It was fun. I knew some of Stubby because he is one of the most famous war dogs, but it was good to read his full story.~Grace

Gifted Hands The Ben Carson Story

I loved this book because it was a success story. It was very well written and had a good view on how hard work can help people to become better. Ben Carson also had a wonderful mother who worked hard to raise and teach her boys. Gifted Hands is a very encouraging book as Ben Carson tells readers about his life. This is a fantastic read. ~Grace

Backlist Book Picks

October 18, 2019 by Lynn Leave a Comment

We 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.

It is time for another Backlist Book Picks list. Backlist Book Picks is our weekly feature where we share two backlist books that we loved. New releases are great, but there are so many older books that often get forgotten about.

This week for our two backlist books we are combining WWII, animals, and nonfiction.

If you love WWII books and haven’t read these we highly recommend them. The second one is fairly well known even though it was published over ten years ago.

The first one though is a book that not very many people know about. It is one of my favorite WWII nonfiction books because it covers a part of WWII that not very many books do. I have recommended it so many times to people that enjoy WWII books.

Have you read either of these?

Elephant Company

Elephant Company was one of my favorite books of 2015. It is half war book and half animal book. This is a look at a part of the world during WWII that very few people know about. We read a lot about Europe, Japan, and the Nazis, but this book takes us into the lives of those living in Burma during WWII. I have read a lot of WWII books, but none that have dealt with Burma and that part of the world. I had trouble putting this book down once I started reading it. It is an amazing story of animals and what they can do. If you love WWII books this is a must read!

The Zookeepers Wife

I love World War II stories and animal stories, so The Zookeepers Wife was a definite read for me. The story is well written. This is a true story with amazing people in it. This story connected with Irene’s Children which I read recently. There were many interacting events that were described in both stories which gave me a good view of what it would have been like in Poland during the German occupation. Both books are great WWII reads.

Gilded Newport Mystery Series

October 15, 2019 by Lynn Leave a Comment

We 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.

Do you love reading cozy mysteries or books set in the Gilded Age? Gilded Newport Mystery Series is a mystery series set in Rhode Island during the Gilded Age. It is full of high society, mystery, and a little romance.

In the Gilded Newport Mystery series, reporter Emma Cross lives in Rhode Island. She is a distant relative of the Vanderbilt family, but lives a more normal everyday life than her wealthy relatives. However, as a relative to the Vanderbilt family, she often mixes with the high society life of the Gilded Age.

Emma is a strong character who is often at the wrong place at the wrong time. Murder and mystery seem to follow her and her circle of wealthy family and friends.

What I love about these books is that it is good mix of mystery, strong characters, romance, and history.

Cozy mysteries are meant to be just that: cozy and fun to read. They are not deep, complicated stories. They are usually easy and fun reads.

But a cozy mystery doesn’t have to be cheesy or boring. They can be fun, more lighthearted, and still be interesting. In a couple of these books, I had the mystery figured out partway through the book, but most of the books in this series kept me guessing until the end.

And can we talk book covers for a minute? I love the covers on these books. They are beautifully done and fit the story of each book so well.

I have read all the books so far in this series and enjoyed them all.

Gilded Newport Mystery Series listed in order starting with the first book in the series.