Those Who Save Us

Those Who Save Us

It has been almost 2 months since I have posted a Book List book... I haven't been on the computer as much because Boyfriend is around and I don't want to waste my time with him sitting on the computer for hours. ANYWAY- I just finished this novel, Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum, about 3 weeks ago (I have read 2 1/2 other books since finishing it but this one was the best of the bunch). It makes me want to read more and more about World War II. It was an interesting look into the other side of the war as most books are written from a Jewish perspective and this novel is written from the prospective of a young German girl. Read it- you will like it.

From the Back:

For fifty years, Anna Schemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany during World War II. Her daughter, Trudy, was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Trudy's sole evidence of her past is in an old photograph: a family portrait showing Anna, Trudy, and a Nazi officer. Trudy , now a professor of German history, begins investigating the past and finally unearths the heartbreaking truth of her mother's life. Those Who Save Us is a profound exploration of what we endure to survive and the legacy of shame.

Funny Cide: How a Horse, a Trainer, a Jockey, and a Bunch of High School Buddies Took On the Sheiks and the Bluebloods... and Won.

I haven't done a book list book in a while and I don't think I have ever put a strictly horsey book up. So here you go. I bought this book, Funny Cide: How a Horse, a Trainer, a Jockey, and a Bunch of High School Buddies Took On the Sheiks and the Bluebloods... and Won, about a year ago at a discount bookstore in an outlet mall. I actually bought all 3 copies they had and gave 2 as gifts. It was written by the Funny Cide Team and Sally Jenkins. It is a story of the underdog, who wins your heart and keeps you cheering until the end. I remember watching Funny Cide race. My mom, brother and I sat in front of the TV and we each chose a horse. My mom chose Funny Cide because she liked his name. Read it- you will love it, everyone love a good fairy tale- this one just happens to be true.


"They had no business being there. They were up against million-dollar horses owned by patricians and oilmen and Arab sheiks and Hollywood producers. They were 10 working class men, and all they wanted was to win a race. Instead, they won the hearts of America."

From the inside flap:

In 2003, a three-year-old with an irrepressible personality and the unlikely name of Funny Cide became "the people's horse," the unheralded New York-bred gelding who- in a time of war and economic jitters- inspired a nation by knocking off the champions and their multimillionaire owners and sweeping to the brink of the Triple Crown.

Trained by a journeyman who had been kicking around racing for more than thirty years looking for "the one," but refusing to compromise his standards; ridden by a tough-luck jockey fighting to regain his position after years of injuries and hard knocks; and owned by a tiny stable founded by a band of high school buddies from Sackets Harbor, N.Y. (pop. 1,386), who tossed in a few thousand dollars each to follow their dream, Funny Cide became a blue-collar hero with a bit, his story crammed with colorful characters- only one of whom happened to be a horse.

Something Borrowed

So I am usually not really a 'chick flick' book reader but a few weeks ago I was at the bookstore working and kept thinking that I needed a new book. Then I rang up 3 people all within about 20 minutes all buying this book. They all said that friends had recommended it to them. They were all similar in age to myself. Then I went back to the break room for my break and had a text on my cell phone from C. It said "Hey look up Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin". To top it all off just 2 days before that a different friend was going on and on about how she loves Emily Giffin and that I should read her books. Plus this past summer I remember Yabo reading them as well and saying how good they were. So I caved and bought it and finished it in 3 days. Then I bought Something Blue (the sequel) and finished it in 4. I am not one to recommend sappy dumb romance books but these were witty and entertaining not to mention surprising! It was also very funny and it even had me cheering for the main character when what she was doing seemed totally wrong (i.e. sleeping with her best friends fiance!). Somehow she rationalizes it and you want her to win out in the end- only the end has a twist that I never saw coming! In hind sight I probably should have seen it coming but I was too wrapped up in Rachel's problems to consider the other side of it! So if you are in the mood for some light beach reading this is the one you should start off with.

From the back:
Meet Rachel White, a young attorney living and working in Manhattan. Rachel has always been the consummate good girl- until her 30th birthday, when her best friend Darcey throws her a party. That night, after too many drinks, Rachel ends up in bed with Darcey's fiance. Although she wakes up determined to put the one-night fling behind her, Rachel is horrified to discover that she has genuine feelings for the one guy she should run from. In her wildest dreams (or worst nightmare?) this is the last thing on earth Rachel could ever have imagined happening. As the September wedding date nears, Rachel knows she has to make a choice. In doing so , she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk it all to win true happiness.


Then if you like that one move right on to Something Blue which is Darcey's side of the story and what happens after Something Borrowed.

The Secret Bride

The Secret Bride is an amazing book for all of you historical fiction fanatics. It was written by Diane Haeger (who also wrote The Ruby Ring which is fantastic as well). The main character is Mary Tudor (King Henry VIII's youngest sister). It has drama, love and pain. Just read it- you will like it!

From the Back:

Mary Tudor, the headstrong younger sister of the ruthless King Henry VIII, has always been her brother's favorite- but now she is also an important political bargaining chip. When she is promised to the elderly, ailing King Louis of France, heartbroken Mary accepts her fate, but not before extracting a promise from her brother: When the old king dies, her next marriage shall be solely of her choosing. For Mary has a forbidden passion, and she is determined to forge her own destiny, through her own cunning, courage, and passionate boldness.

The Secret Bride is the triumphant tale of one extraordinary woman who meant to stay true to her heart and live her life just as her royal brother did- by her own rules.

A Long Way Gone: The True Story of a Child Soldier

This book was one that I just happened to see during one of my many wanders through the bookstore (Can you believe that now I am paid to do that? I should have started this job a long time ago!). Anyway I was looking for something new and different. I also wanted something true. I was feeling a bit sheltered in my Midwest lifestyle and needed something to throw a little dose of reality into my ever so peaceful existence out here on the farm. So I was wandering through the memoirs and nothing really seemed to be catching my attention. After several attempts to read the back of different books (my mind kept wandering and I never see it as a good sign when the back of the book, which is supposed to highlight some key points, can't keep my attention) I found A Long Way Gone: The True Story of a Child Soldier by Ishmael Beah. It is a very fabulous and very eye opening memoir of a child soldier. It is simply the story of a child who is caught in the civil war in Sierra Leone. This book does not give much historical background to the civil war in Sierra Leone and I actually got online to find out more about it. I passed this book along to Boyfriend to read once I was finished and he loved it as much as I did.

From the back:

'Why did you leave Sierra Leone?'

'Because there is a war.'

'Did you witness any of the fighting?'

'Everybody in the country did.'

'Cool.'

'I smile a little.'

'You should tell us about it sometime.'

'Yes, Sometime.'

This is the story of Ishmael Beah's childhood - how, aged just 12, he fled from rebels attacking his village to wander a violent land, before being conscripted into the army - where he learnt that he too was capable of terrible acts. Once he emerged he decided to tell his story, a story of the loss of innocence and the power of redemption.

This is the first first hand account of how wars are now fought: by children, on drugs, with AK-47s. In more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, there are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah was one of them.

Water For Elephants: A Novel

Water For Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen was recomended to me by my best friend. When she recomended it I bought it and then it sat on my shelf for quite a while. I just kept thinking 'a book about the circus? Seriously Tada?' I just couldn't bring my self to read a book about the circus when there were so many fabulous books out there that I couldn't wait to read. Well I took Water For Elephants: A Novel with me on vacation. While sitting by the pool for 4 days I managed to read 3 books. So for the plane ride home all I had left was Water For Elephants: A Novel. I had it almost finished by the time we got home and finished it within the next few days. I LOVED IT! It has everything a great book needs! Drama, pain, romance and suprise. Great Book! Would reccomend it to anyone!

"As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival."

Note: Sara Gruen also wrote 2 lovely books with horses in them. They are called Riding Lessons: A Novel and Flying Changes: A Novel. I really enjoyed both of those books as well.

The Kommandant's Girl

One book that I just happened to pick up on a whim and ended up reading straight through in one day was The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenoff. I had never heard of her or the book but was captured by the cover and then ultimately sold by the description on the back.

"September 1939. Overnight, Jewish nineteen-year-old Emma Bau's world is turned upside down when Germany invades Poland. And after only six weeks of marriage, her husband Jacob, a member of the Resistance, is forced to flee. Escaping the ghetto, Emma assumes a new, Christian identity and finds work at Nazi headquarters. As secretary to the charismatic Kommandant Richwalder, Emma vows to use her unique position to gather intelligence for the Resistance, by any means necessary. "

The Book Lists

So one thing I just love is reading. Lately I am very into historical fiction. I promise to keep you (if there is anyone there) up to date on any new books that just turn out to be lovely. I will make the titles of the books into links to the Amazon page for that book.