The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor FIC Can

I loved this book.  It combined two things I love - the backdrop of WWII and a story that switches between the past and present.  The past begins in 1938 in Austria and the present is Los Angeles, 1989.  In Los Angeles Katie Nelson is going through a bad period.  Besides going through a divorce (not her idea) her father has finally been moved into a nursing home as he is sinking further into dementia.  Since Katie is moving she is forced into cleaning out her house.  One of her “finds” is a stamp collection of her father’s.  It was her father’s passion (he was always looking for a treasure) but she has no interest in it.  Katie opens up the phone book and finds an appraiser named Ben.  He indeed does find a type of treasure.

Kristoff lives in Austria.  He is not Jewish but he is an apprentice to a master Jewish stamp engraver.  Kristoff stays in the house with his teacher and family.  It is not an easy thing to learn but he is determined to do it.  But on the night of Kristallnacht Kristoff’s teacher disappears and soon Kristoff finds himself working with the resistance.

I love learning about history and find it fascinating.  This is a look into the brave people of the resistance.  It is also the story of an abiding love.

Click for availabilty.

Richard Nixon: The Life by John A Farrell 973.924 Far

I should not be reading books connected to politics.  Really - I need a break from all of that. However, there were some documentaries on TV about Watergate which I watched.  Then I happened to see an interview with the author.  So I was hooked.  I felt fairly well-versed in the saga of Nixon.  Turns out I just knew a little bit.  There was a whole lot more to find out.

This book won’t appeal to everyone. But if you like history, biographies, or politics you just have to read it!  I think it was very well-written and kept me interested even though I knew how the story was going to end.  Farrell seemed to give an unbiased insight into Nixon’s life from beginning to end.  I didn’t like Nixon before I read the book and my opinion didn’t change after I finished. I did feel I understood a bit better some reasons for his actions.  There were many things that shocked me.  There were many things that could be in an article in a current magazine with a few names being changed.

I’ll share one story that I thought was telling.  When a President moves into the White House his advisers always want to create a certain persona for him.  What makes a President look more approachable than a dog?  So they got one for Nixon (I think I remember it was a Golden Retriever).  The idea was the dog could hang out in the Oval Office next to Nixon’s desk.  They tried to get the dog to do it but the dog didn’t want to hang out with him.  Food for thought.

Nixon famously said: “I am not a quitter” - and I was never tempted to quit while reading this book!

Click for availability.

We are All Made of Stars by Rowan Coleman FIC Col

Stella works as a night nurse in a hospice and rehabilitation center in London.  Part of what she does is write final letters from dying patients to family or friends or, in one case, an extremely annoying neighbor.  Her promise is that these letters will be mailed only after the patient has passed away.

Through Stella and the hospice and the letters she writes, we meet:
Stella herself who is struggling with the changes to her husband and marriage after he returns from Afghanistan severely injured.
Hope who at 21 has used her diagnosis of cystic fibrosis to stay closed in on herself.
Hugh who still lives in his family home years after his mother committed suicide and his beloved father passed away.
Grace, newly admitted to the hospice, whose last letter causes Stella to rethink her promise not to mail it until after Grace passes.
Jake, the cat, whose many lives bind everyone together.

All of these people are hiding from themselves and others.  Over the course of the book, they meet themselves head on and deal with issues that they have been avoiding.

I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't wait to see how it would end.  What could have been a sad and depressing book is far from it.  I look forward to reading other books by this author.

Click for availability.