Saturday, January 29, 2022

A bookish update...


I'm currently finishing up two books set during WWII:  The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan and Jacob the Liar by Jurek Becker. They're both excellent reads, and I like each of them for different reasons. I meant to finish at least one of them earlier this week so I could post about it today, but that obviously didn't happen. Life got unexpectedly busy. Which means I have no review for you today. But I do recommend both of these books if you're looking for an interesting WWII read. 


Jacob the Liar especially has a different take on things; it's set in a Jewish ghetto in Poland. And The Kitchen Front, set in England, centers around four women and a cooking contest. I'm hoping to finish both of these books this weekend because I have a new stack of library books that I just checked out of the library yesterday waiting to be read:

The Precipice by Paul Doiron
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Weigell Lindsay
The Runaway by Nick Petrie
Brass Carriages and Glass Hearts by Nancy Campbell Allen
Echoes of the Dead by Spencer Kope
The Winter Girls by Roger Stelljes

I know I said I wanted to read more books from off my own shelves this year, but library books keep coming due, and I keep putting more on hold. It's a bookish addiction. Hopefully I can work a few of my own books into the mix in February. That's the plan anyway. Wish me luck! Until then, here's something funny to make you laugh:

(Thank you, John Atkinson!)


Have a great weekend...and Happy Reading!





42 comments:

  1. Love the WHO titles!

    I've yet to properly get back to the library for browsing but still reserving and have seven on my shelf at the moment, including a Tad Williams which is so big you could use it as a house-brick. Heehee. I'm going to look up The Kitchen Front as that sounds like my find of thing. Have a good weekend, Lark!

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    1. The Kitchen Front is just a fun read; I like the four characters in it, and the food & cooking part of it is something I haven't run across in other WWII books. :)

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  2. *dies laughing* that graphic! OMG, it’s golllldddddd!!!!!! You find the best graphics!!

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    1. Isn't that the funniest? John Atkinson's work always makes me laugh! :D

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  3. I absolutely loved Jacob the Liar. The protagonist is such a wonderful character. Once you've done yours, you can head over to my page, see how we compare.

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    1. It took me a chapter or two it get into the narrative voice of Jacob the Liar, but once I did I've been enjoying it. I like Jacob and little Lina, and Mischa and Rosa. It's good, but it's also sad, and I have a feeling the ending is going to get even sadder.

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    2. I won't tell you much about the ending but it is definitely a very worthy book to read.

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  4. There's something compelling-like-no-other about World War II books, I think. My book club just can't get enough of them.

    You've got a nice stack of books awaiting you.

    And thanks for the humor!

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    1. WWII books can be so interesting and fun to read. I like when they highlight an aspect of that time period that I'm not already familiar with. :)

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    2. It teaches us to be alert and not to forget what happens, I think that's what attracts us to these books.

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  5. Both of these sound good! Thanks for the recommendations!

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    1. They're good reads. I hope I can still say that when I read their endings! ;D

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  6. I have the same problem. I want to read the books on my shelves, but the library due date haunts me. I have decided to do no library months. I'm not sure how often though. I'm still working it out.

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    1. A no library month is a good idea. I should try to do that at least once this year!

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  7. I have 12 checked out from the library right now and that is much less than I've been having on my shelf. I'm still loving and exploring my new library and also delighted to find little tricks to get myself on the hold list right when the book is ordered. My previous library didn't have that. ;-)

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    1. I love when I'm first on the hold list for a new book! I don't always manage it, but I try. And I'm glad I'm not the only one who checks out too many library books. Libraries are the best! :)

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  8. Both of those WWII books sound like stellar reads. And it looks like you've got a lot of great reading ahead of you with all those library books. Happy reading! Hope you have a lovely weekend, Lark! :)

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    1. I do have a lot of reading ahead of me! But having lots of good books around makes me happy. :)

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  9. I've been curious about Jacob the Liar--it will be interesting to see what you think when you finish it.

    Ha, and Atkinson, hilarious as usual!

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    1. Once I got used to the narrative voice of Jacob the Liar I've been enjoying it. It's a quiet, more introspective novel, and it'll probably end sad. But there are some funny moments in it, too. And I like several of the characters.

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  10. Love those alternative WHO titles. It is hard to kick our bookish addiction, isn't it? Not that we really try!

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    1. Apparently it's very hard for me to kick my library book addiction! I'm always checking out too many books, and then never having time to read my own.

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  11. oh my those are funny! what a great sense of humor!

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    1. All of John Atkinson's stuff is incredibly funny. You should check out his website! It'll have you smiling all day.

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  12. That graphic is perfect! So funny.

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    1. It made me laugh when I saw it, so I had to share. :D

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  13. I like books set during WWII, both historical ficton and books written during that time. Both of these sound different (which is nice) and have great covers. I will look around for them.

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    1. The Kitchen Front was a great read! So heartwarming. And Jacob the Liar was really good, too, just much sadder.

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  14. It's an ongoing addiction, right? I do the same, lol. Love the WHO recommendations, lol.

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    1. It is an ongoing addiction...and one I can't seem to break! Glad I'm not the only one with that bad library habit. ;D

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  15. Was Jacob the Liar turned into a movie? I seem to remember a movie with Robin Williams with the same title. Both of the WWII book sounds good. Your library books all look good too. I hope you enjoy them! I think I have Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore on my wish list, so I'll be curious to know what you think about that one especially. That last one about Alice is hilarious. :-) I hope you have a great week, Lark!

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    1. Yes, that's the one. I have a link to it in my blog but you can find it easily on IMDb.

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    2. I ended up really liking both The Kitchen Front and Jacob the Liar! And I hope Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore is as good as it sounds. :)

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  16. I hope you are able to read all the library books that you want to.

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    1. Thank you! I really just need to learn to not check out so many. :)

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  17. Library books are making it hard for me to meet my 2022 goals of reading more from my own shelves...foolishly, I aimed for 50%...and reading more classic fiction than ever. Every time I walk into my library, the first thing I see is the New Books shelves - and it's all over.

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    1. Ha! I know what you mean. Those displays of New Books are dangerous. I always end up checking out more books than I went in for, which then means I don't have time to read my own books. :D

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  18. Love the cartoon. 100 Days of Solitude for sure. I once had to do 4 weeks of quarantine during an early travel trip to visit my parents. Ugh. I'll have to think of a quarantine book title.

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    1. Four weeks of quarantine! That's a long time. And I wish I was clever enough to think up a quarantine title!

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  19. That illustration cracks me up! Thanks for sharing, Lark! :)

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