Book Reading Inn

Natalie W

Brrrr, its so cold outside! Fall seems like it flew by and winter has set in.

I've been so busy, between homeschooling my son and my job I haven't had much time to do anything else. Longing to snuggle on my couch, wrapped in a blanket, reading.

I have to admit tho, I've been watching a lot of TV shows. My fav. House MD , Bones, CSI (CSI Las Vegas, Miami and NY), and some others. So reading has been sparse.

I've also been playing some online games with my son, since he doesn't have any friends to play them with. Cafe World is one of them, on Facebook.

So , I'm currently reading a very good book. When I first started reading it, I thought, "oh no, a war book!" But I stuck with it and finding its very hard to put down.

Its called Hard Way Home by Dennis Wesley Clark - Thirteen POW's in Vietnam find out about a "purge" and must escape to save their life. They each have to decide their escape plan , either by walking home, walking to Thailand and turn themselves in or escape out to see. What I like about reading this was the pictures. Pictures of the country, the diagrams, the routes. It helps in visualizing the scene.

There are some very sad parts and parts where my heart was racing, anxious and scared! The back of the book says " This fact based fiction novel leaves the reader questioning what is real, what is fiction, and what is possible." Thats what I'm wondering! Its definitely a powerful story. I haven't read the end yet and I'm anxious to see what happens. There is also a sequal novel, The Grudge and I can't wait to read it. I highly recommend reading these.

From his website:

Dennis Wesley Clark accumulated a diverse set of experiences that uniquely prepared him for insightful story telling. As a youth he came familiar with the high Sierras and the wilderness of northern Canada. Later he lived in Costa Rica, Honduras and Venezuela learning the language and culture. He served in the Army in Vietnam. As an artillery Staff Sergeant he worked at the bases along the DMZ in the light artillery and later as ‘tactical combat advisor’ on heavy caliber anti-craft weapons used in a ground to ground role. In college he graduated top in his class in Finance and later earned a MBA. He worked in the aerospace and defense industry at various locations in the USA and England specializing in fixing ‘broken operations’ and later consulting. He visited Eastern Europe shortly after the departure of the Russians seeing the impact of their occupation. Now, as a novelist, expect this unique background to be woven into stories that will tantalize you with weave of combat, industry, and diverse cultures.

Thank you Mr. Clark for allowing me to read these wonderful novels.

I'm also reading a book for the Barnes and Noble First Look club. Its called

The Postmistress

by Sarah Blake. From Barnes and Noble:

Filled with stunning parallels to today's world, The Postmistress
is a sweeping novel about the loss of innocence of two extraordinary women-and of two countries torn apart by war.

On the eve of the United States's entrance into World War II in 1940, Iris James, the postmistress of Franklin, a small town on Cape Cod, does the unthinkable: She doesn't deliver a letter. In London, American radio gal Frankie Bard is working with Edward R. Murrow, reporting on the Blitz. One night in a bomb shelter, she meets a doctor from Cape Cod with a letter in his pocket, a letter Frankie vows to deliver when she returns from Germany and France, where she is to record the stories of war refugees desperately trying to escape.

The residents of Franklin think the war can't touch them- but as Frankie's radio broadcasts air, some know that the war is indeed coming. And when Frankie arrives at their doorstep, the two stories collide in a way no one could have foreseen. The Postmistressis an unforgettable tale of the secrets we must bear, or bury. It is about what happens to love during wartime, when those we cherish leave. And how every story-of love or war-is about looking left when we should have been looking right.

About the Author
Sarah Blake lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, the poet Josh Weiner, and their two sons.

So far I haven't really gotten into it. I've only read a couple of chapters but it seems like there's so much much going back and forth, I get lost and have to make notes . But after reading the chat, I'm not alone and people have said after they got past the first few chapters it got better. I hope it does! If your interested in reading the chat, the link is here.

I also owe a HUGE apology to Laurel-Rain Snow and to Sassy . They sent me awards quite awhile ago and I'm just now posting about it!

Thank you so much Laurel for the Dragons Loyalty Award! What a beautiful picture.

The Dragon's Loyalty Award is an award for the loyal fan/commenter, whether the recipient is a fellow blogger or just a someone who follows and comments regularly.Here are the rules:

* If you have a blog, post it on your blog with a link back to the site who gave it to you.

* Leave them a comment on their site, email, etc. to let them know.

* If you don't have a blog but have a website, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or other type account, post there with a link back.*

And thank you Sassy!! For the wonderful Humane Award.

The Humane Award is for:
This award is to honour certain bloggers that are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn't for them, my site would just be an ordinary book review blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. I thank them and look forward to our growing friendship through the blog world.

I will have to do the nominations at another time. Thanks again to both of you!

Best regards,