Best Books to Read When You Travel to Vietnam

Best Books to Read When You Travel to Vietnam

I was lucky enough to travel to Vietnam with 17 high school students and two teaching partners recently.  We traveled to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) from June 21st through the 23rd, 2019 as part of a larger trip to SE Asia. We also visited Cambodia and Thailand.  It was Amazing with a capital A.  

I absolutely loved Vietnam. It is beautiful and busy and bursting with energy and Saigon never sleeps. In June the weather is extremely hot with a humidity level of boiling.  My favorite place was probably our day on the Mekong river. It was so lovely.  I also really loved the Rickshaw ride through the city. It was crazy and probably dangerous but I loved it!  We ate authentic Pho and of course tried the Egg Coffee and both were so good. The food is so good!

When I travel I make it a practice to read a book or two about the people and places I'm visiting. Books help me learn so much about the history and culture of a particular place.

I've read two books on this list to prepare myself for Vietnam.
Catfish and Mandala
The Best We Could Do
Both books were so informative.
I own copies of the last two books on the list and plan to read them soon.  I hope this list is a good resource for you.

Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam

by Andrew X. Pham  

Catfish and Mandala is the story of an American odyssey—a solo bicycle voyage around the Pacific Rim to Vietnam—made by a young Vietnamese-American man in pursuit of both his adopted homeland and his forsaken fatherland. 

Andrew X. Pham was born in Vietnam and raised in California. His father had been a POW of the Vietcong; his family came to America as "boat people." Following the suicide of his sister, Pham quit his job, sold all of his possessions, and embarked on a year-long bicycle journey that took him through the Mexican desert, around a thousand-mile loop from Narita to Kyoto in Japan; and, after five months and 2,357 miles, to Saigon, where he finds "nothing familiar in the bombed-out darkness." In Vietnam, he's taken for Japanese or Korean by his countrymen, except, of course, by his relatives, who doubt that as a Vietnamese he has the stamina to complete his journey ("Only Westerners can do it"); and in the United States he's considered anything but American. A vibrant, picaresque memoir written with narrative flair and an eye-opening sense of adventure, Catfish and Mandala is an unforgettable search for cultural identity-  Goodreads


I absolutely loved this book and I learned so much about Vietnam. I highly recommend it.

The Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars by Andrew X Pham

From the award-winning author of Catfish and Mandala comes a son's searing memoir of his Vietnamese father's experiences over the course of three wars. - Goodreads

I haven't read this one but I think I will since I loved Pham's first book Catfish and Mandala. We learned a little about his dad's experience during the Vietnam war and after in his first book.  You should read this if you are visiting Vietnam and want to learn more about the war from the Vietnamese point of view.  I'm definitely adding it to my To Be Read book pile.

The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir Paperback by Thi Bui

An intimate and poignant graphic novel portraying one family’s journey from war-torn Vietnam from debut author Thi Bui.

This beautifully illustrated and emotional story is an evocative memoir about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family’s daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves.

At the heart of Bui’s story is a universal struggle: While adjusting to life as a first-time mother, she ultimately discovers what it means to be a parent—the endless sacrifices, the unnoticed gestures, and the depths of unspoken love. Despite how impossible it seems to take on the simultaneous roles of both parent and child, Bui pushes through. With haunting, poetic writing and breathtaking art, she examines the strength of family, the importance of identity, and the meaning of home.

In what Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen calls “a book to break your heart and heal it,” The Best We Could Do brings to life Thi Bui’s journey of understanding, and provides inspiration to all of those who search for a better future while longing for a simpler past. - Goodreads

I always read books about places I'm visiting as I like to learn about the history and culture of the people and places I'm going to meet and visit during my travels. This graphic novel is awesome. It is a biography of Thi Bui's family experience in Vietnam during the war and how they escaped South Vietnam on a boat. She also talks about their experience coming to America after the war and how they adjusted to life in the U.S. amid discrimination and dealing with the aftermath of the trauma they experienced. Thi Bui artwork is phenomenal and beautiful. I highly recommend this book.

Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram

At the age of twenty-four, Dang Thuy Tram volunteered to serve as a doctor in a National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) battlefield hospital in the Quang Ngai Province. Two years later she was killed by American forces not far from where she worked. Written between 1968 and 1970, her diary speaks poignantly of her devotion to family and friends, the horrors of war, her yearning for her high school sweetheart, and her struggle to prove her loyalty to her country. At times raw, at times lyrical and youthfully sentimental, her voice transcends cultures to speak of her dignity and compassion and of her challenges in the face of the war’s ceaseless fury.

The American officer who discovered the diary soon after Dr. Tram’s death was under standing orders to destroy all documents without military value. As he was about to toss it into the flames, his Vietnamese translator said to him, “Don’t burn this one. . . . It has fire in it already.” Against regulations, the officer preserved the diary and kept it for thirty-five years. In the spring of 2005, a copy made its way to Dr. Tram’s elderly mother in Hanoi. The diary was soon published in Vietnam, causing a national sensation. Never before had there been such a vivid and personal account of the long ordeal that had consumed the nation’s previous generations.

Translated by Andrew X. Pham and with an introduction by Pulitzer Prize winner Frances FitzGerald, Last Night I Dreamed of Peace is an extraordinary document that narrates one woman’s personal and political struggles. Above all, it is a story of hope in the most dire of circumstances—told from the perspective of our historic enemy but universal in its power to celebrate and mourn the fragility of human life. - Goodreads

I read this book in 2012 and it offers the reader from the Western world a view of the war from the other side of the conflict.  While some parts of the book are maybe lost in translation, much of it will give you a new perspective.  Throughout the memoir, there is death and destruction. Dr. Tram faces death daily as people she loves are shot and captured and her patients die of incurable wounds. Her depression is evident as she misses her family and her high school sweetheart. Life happens during war and Thuy shows how she survives every day when bombs are dropping around her. Powerful. 

The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

In the final days of a falling Saigon, The Lotus Eaters unfolds the story of three remarkable photographers brought together under the impossible umbrella of war: Helen Adams, a once-naïve ingénue whose ambition conflicts with her desire over the course of the fighting; Linh, the mysterious Vietnamese man who loves her, but is torn between conflicting loyalties to his homeland and his heart; and Sam Darrow, a man addicted to the narcotic of violence, to his intoxicating affair with Helen and to the ever-increasing danger of his job. All three become transformed by the conflict they have risked everything to record.

In this much-heralded debut, Tatjana Soli creates a searing portrait of three souls trapped by their impossible passions, contrasting the wrenching horror of combat and the treachery of obsession with the redemptive power of love. - Goodreads

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his trusted captain, drawing up a list of those who will be given passage aboard the last flights out of the country. The general and his compatriots start a new life in Los Angeles, unaware that one among their number, the captain, is secretly observing and reporting on the group to a higher-up in the Viet Cong. The Sympathizer is the story of this captain: a man brought up by an absent French father and a poor Vietnamese mother, a man who went to university in America, but returned to Vietnam to fight for the Communist cause. A gripping spy novel, an astute exploration of extreme politics, and a moving love story, The Sympathizer explores a life between two worlds and examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today. -Goodreads

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

I'll leave you with two photos from my trip.

Downtown Saigon.
We were walking to find a delicious cup of Egg Coffee.
Of course, I walked down the middle of the street to get this shot and was dodging motorcycles but this side street wasn't too busy.

This was our last thing to do before heading to the airport.

A view of the Mekong River and our boat. We stopped at a shop to try coconut candy and Cobra snake infused rice wine.
I loved this day on the river.
I bought a lot of souvenirs here.















I hope you get to Vietnam someday even if it's just through a good book.

 Follow me on Instagram at Booksnob24, you can view more of my travel photos there.

Remarkable Creatures

Remarkable Creatures
by Tracy Chevalier




Tracy Chevalier is one of my favorite authors. Remarkable Creatures starts off slow and told in alternating narrators it quickly picks up as the characters search to find new fossil specimens. Based on the real lives of two female fossil hunters in the 1800's, Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot and the men come around looking to profit off of their hard work. I had never heard of these two women until I read this book. These two women are as remarkable as the dinosaurs they find along the beach. Definitely worth the read.


View all my reviews



My dog, Titus died in May 2017 and I quit writing my blog, as grief consumed me.  I feel like I am healing and I have been watching other peoples dogs for my side hustle.  The dog viewed with Remarkable Creatures book is named Fitz.

So I'm thinking maybe I will revive Booksnob and let my blog evolve into more than a book blog.


Other books I've read and loved by Tracy Chevalier-




I hope 2019 is better than 2018.
Happy New Year!
-Laura

Literary Travel to Peru

Literary Travel to Peru

I was lucky enough to travel to Peru with nine high school students and a teaching partner recently.  We traveled from June 22nd to July 2nd, 2015.

Peru is a very cool place with such a varied geography and culture. We started our journey in Lima, Peru on the Pacific ocean and met wonderful people and ate some excellent ceviche.  We then traveled to the Andes Mountains and spent time in the Sacred Valley, at Machu Picchu and Cuzco.  The mountains are so beautiful and I have no words for how amazing it is.  I didn't want to leave.  The mountains were definitely my favorite part of the trip and the little old ladies were the best!  We then flew to Puerto Maldanado in the Amazon Rainforest where we traveled two hours downriver on the Madre de Dios and we stayed in a eco lodge.  This place was like heaven on earth and it was really hot and humid.  We fed monkeys and caiman and hiked through the jungle.  I loved, loved the loud noises of the jungle.

Whenever I travel, I choose to read a book about the place I'm visiting and it always enhances my experience.  It was hard to choose just one book to carry with me.  Here is the group of books I had to choose from.  I hope you find one or two to enhance your literary journey to Peru.

The White Rock: An Exploration of the Inca Heartland by Hugh Thompson

This is the book I carried all over Peru.  It was so perfect for me. The White Rock is full of Inca history and the history of Peru.  The White Rock has chapters titled on Inca ruins, places I visited and places I didn't.  This book was a great traveling companion and informed me of all I needed to know.  Highly recommend.  the only downside it was written around 10 years ago.  I had a hard time finding recent books written about Peru as this one seemed to be the most current.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

Following in the footsteps of the explorers Gene Savoy and Hiram Bingham, Thomson set off into the jungle to find the lost city of Llactapat. This is the story of his journey to discover it via the interconnecting paths the Incas laid across the Andes.


Eight Feet in the Andes; Travels with a Mule from Ecuador to Cuzco by Dervla Murphy

Synopsis from Goodreads:
The eight feet belong to Dervla Murphy, her nine-year-old daughter Rachel and Juana, an elegant mule, who together clambered the length of Peru, from Cajamarca on the border with Ecuador, to Cuzco, the ancient Inca capital, over 1300 miles to the south. With only the most basic necessities to sustain them and spending most of their time above 10,000 feet, their journey was marked by extreme discomfort, occasional danger and even the temporary loss of Juana over a precipice. Yet mother and daughter, a formidable duo, were unflagging in their sympathetic response to the perilous beauty and impoverished people of the Andes.

Inca Kola; a traveler's tale of Peru by Matthew Ferris

I love the cover on this one.  Inca Kola is actually the brand name of their soda pop company.  I actually bought a shirt for son that says Inca Kola.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
Paperback. Pub Date: 1993 08 Pages: 248 in Publisher: Orion Paperbacks Inca-Kola is the funny. Absorbing account of Matthew Parriss fourth trip to Peru on a bizarre holiday which takes him among bandits. Prostitutes. peasants and riots He and his three companions seem to head into trouble. not away from it. and he describes the troubles. curiosities and wonders they meet with the spell-binding fascination of a traveller relating adventures over the campfire. 'A backpacker's classic:
atmospheric. touching. instructive and compulsively readable 'The Times.

Cradle of Gold; The Story of Hiram Bingham, A Real-Life Indiana Jones and the Search for Machu Picchu by Christopher Heaney.

This is the book I wanted to read but couldn't find in my local library.  Indiana Jones is based on the explorer, Hiram Bingham who is credited as the scientific discoverer of Machu Picchu.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
In 1911, a young Peruvian boy led an American explorer and Yale historian named Hiram Bingham into the ancient Incan citadel of Machu Picchu. Hidden amidst the breathtaking heights of the Andes, this settlement of temples, tombs and palaces was the Incas' greatest achievement. Tall, handsome, and sure of his destiny, Bingham believed that Machu Picchu was the Incas' final refuge, where they fled the Spanish Conquistadors. Bingham made Machu Picchu famous, and his dispatches from the jungle cast him as the swashbuckling hero romanticized today as a true Indiana Jones-like character. But his excavation of the site raised old specters of conquest and plunder, and met with an indigenous nationalism that changed the course of Peruvian history. Though Bingham successfully realized his dream of bringing Machu Picchu's treasure of skulls, bones and artifacts back to the United States, conflict between Yale and Peru persists through the present day over a simple question: Who owns Inca history?

In this grand, sweeping narrative, Christopher Heaney takes the reader into the heart of Peru's past to relive the dramatic story of the final years of the Incan empire, the exhilarating recovery of their final
cities and the thought-provoking fight over their future. Drawing on original research in untapped archives, Heaney vividly portrays both a stunning landscape and the complex history of a fascinating
region that continues to inspire awe and controversy today.

The Last Days of the Incas by Kim Macquarrie

One of the teachers I traveled with was reading this book in Peru.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

Kim MacQuarrie lived in Peru for five years and became fascinated by the Incas and the history of the Spanish conquest. Drawing on both native and Spanish chronicles, he vividly describes the dramatic story of the conquest, with all its savagery and suspense. This authoritative, exciting history is among the most powerful and important accounts of the culture of the South American Indians and the Spanish Conquest.

There is a lot of non-fiction written about Peru and is much harder to find fiction.  Yet, I found some.
These last two books are fiction:

Death in the Andes by Mario Vargas Llosa.

Mario Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian writer.  Several of his books take place in Peru but many do not.  I have never read any of his books but I noticed them in all the airport bookstores in Peru.  So reading Llosa would be a good way to experience Peru.

Here is the synopsis from Amazon:
Set in an isolated, rundown community in the Peruvian Andes, Vargas Llosa's novel tells the story of a series of mysterious disappearances involving the Shining Path guerrillas and a local couple performing cannibalistic sacrifices with strange similarities to the Dionysian rituals of ancient Greece. Part detective novel and part political allegory, it offers a panoramic view of Peruvian society; not only of the current political violence and social upheaval, but also of the country's past and its connection to Indian culture and
pre-Hispanic mysticism.

God of Luck by Ruthann Lum McCunn

I love this author and have read several of her books.  I will definitely be reading God of Luck.  The Chinese culture is prevalent in Peru, especially in Lima.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

“ Held me captive right from the start.”—Alan Cheuse, NPR, All Things Considered

“Her clear voice and simple but elegant style easily turns this work into a real page-turner.”—Library Journal

“A vivid tale of a faraway time.”—Asian Week

“Beautifully combines the hardships and brutality of the kidnapping of a Chinese man, conditions on the slave ships, and the bitterness of backbreaking labor in a foreign land with the sadness and determination of a wife and family back home. . . . A story of emotional depth and truth.”—Lisa See, author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

“Will keep readers spellbound and cheering to the final page.”—Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, author of Farewell to Manzanar

“I love God of Luck.”—Da Chen, author of Brothers

Ah Lung and his beloved wife, Bo See, are separated by cruel fate when, like thousands of other Chinese men in the nineteenth century, he is kidnapped, enslaved, and shipped to the deadly guano mines off the coast of Peru. Praying to the God of Luck and using their own wits, they never lose hope of someday being reunited.

So there you have it folks.  I wish you all the opportunity to travel to Peru and experience the wonders Peru has to offer.  If there are any books about Peru you have read and can add to the list, please put in the comments.

The Tusk That Did the Damage by Tania James

The Tusk That Did the Damage by Tania James

I have been reading a lot of books about elephants lately and when The Tusk That Did the Damage hit my radar, I knew I wanted to read it.

The Tusk That Did the Damage takes place in India and is told from three different perspectives.  The elephant, the poacher and the filmmaker.

The Elephant also known as Gravedigger begins his story by talking about the death of his herd.  Memories haunt his everyday life as he witnesses the death of his family and he is captured and put into captivity to entertain others.

The poacher tells his brother's story.  It is complex and full of revenge because the Gravedigger took the life of their 17 year old cousin Raghu.  You must know the story of their life for you to understand their role as poacher.

The filmmaker is an American in India making a documentary on elephants and the Vet who treats them.  From behind the camera and in conducting interviews, she tries to piece together the truth.

Tania James is an excellent writer who has crafted a thoughtful, complex novel that speaks of current day issues.  The elephant is becoming endangered as poachers hunt them for the ivory in their tusks. Elephants are powerful creatures with an amazing memory and a matriarchal society.  Poachers are being paid high wages to rid their farmland of animals that wreak havoc on their crops and livelihood in India.

The Tusk That Did the Damage is a page-turning, can't wait to find out what happens next, sort of book.  It is devastatingly beautiful and tragic and brilliant.  I have fallen in love with Gravedigger and the poacher and the filmmaker.  My heart aches for each of them and I wish the story didn't have to end. Unfortunately every story must come to an end and so this is my recommendation;  Read slowly and tell everyone you know to read it.

Disclosure:  I was given a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Cartographer of No Man's Land by P.S. Duffy

The Cartographer of No Man's Land by P.S. Duffy

1917.  World War 1 is being fought in the trenches of France and Belgium.  An ocean away in Nova Scotia, Angus McGrath is a sailor whose livelihood is changing, he is adrift and caught in a family divided.  His wife is distant, his father a domineering pacifist and his son, Simon Peter is growing up in the turbulent, anti-German world of World War One.  Ebbin, his best friend and brother in law, is counted among the many missing soldiers in the war and Angus decides to join the war as a Cartographer to look for him.

When he gets to England, he finds too many Cartographers and instead is sent to the front line trenches in France as a soldier.  He leads his men in the battle for Vimy Ridge all the while trying to make sense out of what he learns happens to Ebbin.  Meanwhile at home, the village is quickly changing and Simon Peter is growing up and trying to make sense out of a world that has been demoralized.

Told in alternating chapters, The Cartographer of No Man's Land captures the voices of Angus and Simon Peter, as father and son, an ocean apart.  The novel also captures the emotional intensity of war and the horror that surrounds it as well as the emotional divide it creates in the people who fight and their loved ones back home.

The history of Vimy Ridge and the Canadian soldiers who fought valiantly to win the small piece of land from the Germans is told insightfully.  I learned so much about this battle which is so important to the Canadians.  Duffy says in her author note that "Vimy Ridge is as iconic to Canadians as Gettysburg is to Americans." Pg 369.  There were regiments of soldiers who wore kilts into battle.  I had no idea until now.  I love it when a story teaches me about history and helps me make connections to the world we live in.

2014 marks the 100 year anniversary of the start of World War 1 and I am trying to read and learn as much about World War 1 as I can.  I'm so glad I found P.S. Duffy's novel as she has created a memorable story, with a cast of creative characters that will linger in my mind for a long time.

The Cartographer of No Man's Land is a novel about WWI but it also a novel of peace and the anti-war movement.  It is full of love, longing and loss and it is sure to touch your heart as it did mine.  It is a beautiful, powerful story.

The Cartographer of No Man's Land has been selected as one of 6 finalists for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize in fiction.

Here are links for the prize and book finalists.
http://daytonliterarypeaceprize.org/

http://daytonliterarypeaceprize.org/2014-finalists-press_release.htm

The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar

The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar

Two women meet once a week for an hour.  One woman, Lakshmi, tried to commit suicide, feeling desperate and hopeless as a woman confined in a loveless marriage.  The other woman, Maggie, is Lakshmi's therapist and treats her unconventionally, blurring the lines between professionalism and her personal life.    These two women forge a friendship based on one hour a week.

Maggie and Lakshmi's lives converge even as they travel different paths in life.  Lakshmi's is an immigrant from India and Maggie is an African American married to an Indian from Calcutta.  They have many things in common, both of their mother's died when they were teenagers.  Their families live far away and are out of their reach.  They have both done things they regret.  Told in alternating chapters, each woman's voice is heard loud and clear.

The Story Hour is such a good novel.  Umrigar has crafted a novel of friendship that blurs the lines of race and class.  The Story Hour is about love and marriage and forgiveness and transcendence.  It is a universal story that every reader will be able to relate to and I applaud the creative storyline.   Umrigar covers some tough stuff with the pages of The Story
Hour, like suicide, loneliness, immigration, race, class, abuse, death, grief and so much more.

This is the second novel I have read by Umrigar.  For me, this book is better than The Space Between Us.  I felt The Story Hour was compelling and interesting.  I liked the counselor, patient storyline and I liked that Lakshmi's story was told in broken English and Maggie's story reflected her conflict in treating Lakshmi unconventionally.  While the story is sad and hard to read at times, it is hopeful and ultimately an excellent novel that I will share and recommend to friends.

I will leave you with my favorite quote.
"That how you build me, Maggie.  Hour by hour. Story by story. Day by day.  That how you give me my whole lifes."  Pg 316.

War Brothers. The Graphic Novel

War Brothers. The Graphic Novel by Sharon E. McKay
Artwork by Daniel Lafrance

War Brothers is based on true events about Kony and the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) and the kidnapping of children to conscript into their army of child soldiers. Told from the perspective of a child named Jacob, who lives in Uganda and who was kidnapped from school with his classmates.

War Brothers takes you through Jacob's harrowing journey into the forest and into the indoctrination of a child soldier.  He watches his best friend succumb and kill innocent people for if he doesn't, he wouldn't be allowed to eat.  Jacob protects a boy younger than him and constantly thinks about escape and the love of his father.  He holds hope close to his heart to survive the nightmare that has become his life.

Jacob's story mirrors the story of so many children in the world today.  Kony is still out there, stealing children and making them into soldiers and needs to be stopped.  Young women kidnapped ultimately become slaves, or brides and are used for sex.  Punishments for running away or not following orders are severe and many times, death sentences.

The artwork in War Brothers is stunning.  The pages and panels vary from light pastel when things are going well for Jacob to pages that are dark and full of bold colors when Jacob is suffering.  While this is a hard book to read because of the subject matter, the artwork is compelling and well-done and contributes to the power of the story.

There are so many issues in the world that need our attention and the issue of Child Soldiers should be at the top of the list.  Child and soldier are two words that should not go together in our enlightened world.

Everyone needs to read this book!

Update on High Summer Read-A-Thon

                                                   Update on High Summer Read-a-Thon

So far my reading progress has been very good.  My writing has taken a back seat to my reading and I kinda wanted to get more writing done but Oh well.

So far I have read 3 books and am on track for reading 7 books during this read-a-thon.

Here are the 3 books I have read and a short review of each.

Book #1 War Brothers. The Graphic Novel by Sharon E. McKay and artwork by Daniel Lafrance

I read War Brothers on Monday 7-21.  Wow. This book has left me speechless. The artwork= Amazing! The story based on true events about Kony and the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) and the kidnapping of children to conscript into their army of child soldiers. Told from the perspective of a child named Jacob, who was kidnapped from school with his classmates. Everyone needs to read this book!

Book #2 The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald

I read The Bookshop on Tuesday 7-22.  A novella of 10 chapters about a woman who opens a book shop in England near the North Sea. She opens her bookshop in an old haunted house near the sea. Another woman in town, who is connected in higher places wants Florence to turn the old house into an art center and Florence refuses. This is her downfall as this woman is vindictive and controlling and will not rest until she has her way. This novel is not about a quaint English town, it is a book about small town life in England, tradition and manners, and about daring to be different.

Book # 3 The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

I finished The Lady and the Unicorn on Wednesday, 7-23.  This wonderfully imagined novel is based on a set of 6 tapestries called The Lady and the Unicorn. They were made sometime in the 15th century probably in Brussels for a French Aristocrat. Chevalier creates a story imagining who the supposed artist and weavers are and creates a great story about the tapestries. It is interesting to learn about tapestry making and life and love in the 15th century. I really enjoyed this novel. Included in the pages of the book are 6 images of the colorful tapestries. Each tapestry represents one of the 5 senses and the 6th, incidentally my favorite one, is called My Soul Desire.

I'm currently reading Vacationland by Sarah Stonich and loving every word.  I'm also reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.  Both of these I will finish by the end of the readathon.

How is your progress?
What are you reading?

World Book Night 2014

World Book Night 2014

I am a first time participant in World Book Night 2014.  I signed up to give away 20 copies of Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.  Unofficially I have given away books to my students on this day for a couple of years to mark the International Day of the Book.  Today it was great to give away an official book and get in the World Book Night book lover tradition.  I am feel so important and blessed to be able to share my love of reading with students.

I chose to giveaway Code Name Verity for a variety of reasons.  First, I wanted a YA title to give away to 9th graders.  Second I wanted a super good book that would appeal to the guys and the girls in class that was based in history (because I am a history teacher).  Third, Code Name Verity was given the Printz Honor award and that is my favorite book award so I knew students would LOVE it.

I gave away lots of books in my class today (including Code Name Verity).  Each person in my class and some who came from other classes, chose a book they wanted to read from my front table. It is so fun to give away good books and books you love.  I had several kids ask me what the best book on the table was and my answer was always Code Name Verity.

I can't wait till next year.
Happy Reading!!

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

                                                 
                                             The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

Have you ever read a book you couldn't wait to tell everyone about it? Well if you have, you know how I feel as I say to you; You. Have. To Read. The Ghost Bride.  I want to shout from the rooftop or at least all over the internet:  Read The Ghost Bride.  It is AWESOME!

The Ghost Bride takes place in colonial Malaya in 1893.  Li Lan is 18, beautiful and the daughter of a bankrupt opium addict.  She has zero marriage prospects until her father is approached by the wealthy Lim family with a proposal.  A proposal to marry their dead son and to become his ghost bride.  Li Lan must consider her future and visits the Lim mansion where she learns that Lim and the Lan families are connected.  She meets the Lim heir and finds herself attracted to him.

In her heart Li Lan does not want to be a ghost bride.  But nightly she is visited by the dead son of the Lim family.  He invades her dreams and weakens her spirit, stealing bits and pieces of her strength and resolve.  She seeks help from her Amah as her body gets sicker and sicker.  Eventually her body is caught between the realm of the living and the dead and her spirit breaks free to enter a parellel spirit world.  The Chinese afterlife.

Choo has created a sensational, creative, and fascinating Chinese afterlife, complete with the creation of the Plains of the Dead.  The Plains of the Dead is the most interesting place.  It is parellel to our world and you must travel far to get there.  Ghosts stay there until they are up for reincarnation and live their afterlife in a way similar to the life they just left.  No one knows that Li Lan is not dead and still a living spirit caught between worlds.

Choo is an amazing storyteller.  I can't wait until she writes her next book because I will be first in line to buy it.  In many ways I hope she writes a sequel to The Ghost Bride.  The plot is so darn cool and original.  And the characters are so real and imaginative and full of mystery and myth.

The Ghost Bride is a mix of Chinese culture, history, religion, and folk beliefs.  You will be drawn into another world, another place and time and will take great pleasure in a sensory filled reading experience.  All of these elements are woven into a superb story that will keep me raving about this book for a long time to come.

The Ghost Bride is my favorite read of the 2014 so far!

A Star for Mrs. Blake by April Smith

A Star for Mrs. Blake by April Smith

2014 marks the 100 year anniversary of World War I.  In 1917-18, the Americans entered the war, toward the end, to support the allies and defeat the Germans.  116, 516 American soldiers were killed and paid the ultimate sacrifice.  30, 000 soldiers were buried overseas in American cemeteries.  In 1929, the U.S. Congress voted to send U. S. mothers overseas to visit their sons' graves in France.  6,693 mothers made the trip.

A Star for Mrs. Blake takes on a little known piece of history and brings it to life.  Cora Blake is from a small fishing town in Maine and her only son, Sam lost his life during WWI.  In February 1931, Cora receives a letter from the U.S. Government inviting her on a trip to France to visit the grave of her son, buried near Verdun.

Five women join Cora's group, known as Party A, and they travel together by ship to Paris, bonded by the loss of their sons. Each woman harbors their own secret pain as they journey to see the final resting place in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery.  They are accompanied by an Army nurse, named Lily and Lieutenant  Thomas Hammond.  Once they reach France, their pilgrimage is anything but ordinary.

April Smith has created a beautiful, heartfelt novel that will make you question war and its inevitable consequences.  The characters are sweet and compelling and will make you keep turning the pages.  The shadow of a future war is upon them as they tour a country still re-building itself.  Smith has written a well rounded novel of the horrors of WWI without actually writing a novel about WWI.  A Star for Mrs. Blake takes place between the World Wars and in my opinion is extremely well written and is a reminder and a cautionary tale for mothers everywhere.

A Star for Mrs. Blake moved me to tears.  Tears for the boys we have lost and for the mothers who miss them.

The Gathering by Anne Enright

The Gathering by Anne Enright
A short review

There has been a death in the family.  Veronica's brother, Liam drowned himself in the sea and now Veronica must collect the body from England and simultaneously hold herself together.  As the family of nine siblings comes together to say goodbye to their brother in the family home in Ireland, Veronica must guard her deepest secret while she is coming apart at the seams.  She fears her memories have warped and corrupted her and possibly Liam.

Enright has created an unreliable and creative narrator in Veronica.  While reading it, several times I found myself confused and thought this book is crazy and it doesn't make sense, until I figured out that Veronica was verging on major mental illness and trying to make sense out of a past that didn't make sense at all.  By golly, I got it.  The lightbulb in my brain went off.  Enright is pure genius.
My book club did not agree and many just skimmed while I perused the book.  Maybe it's because I related to the main character, Veronica and saw myself in her crisis that the book held meaning for me.  I'm frankly not sure.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"History is only biological - that's what I think.  We pick and choose the facts about ourselves - where we came from and what it means." pg 162

"I am all for sadness, I say, don't get me wrong.  I am all for the ordinary life of the brain.  But we fill up sometimes, like those little wooden birds that sit on a pole - we fill up with it, until donk, we tilt into the drink." pg 175

I liked (not loved, but truly liked) the book and thats all I can say.  You must read it and decide for yourself.  Go on now.  Give it a go.

The Gathering won the Man Booker Prize in 2007.

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
The Cousin's War.  Book Two.

Margaret Beaufort is the mother of Henry Tudor and she never doubts, not even for a second, that Henry is the rightful heir to the throne and the true King of England.  The Red Queen begins in the Spring of 1453 when Margaret is betrothed to the King's half brother, Edmond Tudor, (a man almost 3 times her age) at age 9.  She marries at 12 and gives birth to a son, her only child, when she is 14.  She is promptly widowed.

Margaret Beaufort is a devout Catholic and a deeply religious woman who has a vision that her son will be King one day and that the House of Lancaster will be restored to the throne.  Margaret Comes of age during the Cousin's War between the Lancasters, Yorks and Tudors.  The York's wrested control of England away from their cousin, mad King Henry VI.  Edward of York reigns as King with his sons and his brothers, George and Richard as future heirs.   Margaret duty is to put her son on the throne and the odds are against her but she knows God is on her side.  Even though God is on Margaret's side, she truly creates her own destiny and that of her son, by ruthless cunning, scheming and sacrificing her own happiness.

After Philippa Gregory wrote The White Queen about Queen Elizabeth of York she wanted to tell the other side of the story in the Cousin's War (also known as The War of the Roses) and she wrote Margaret Beaufort's story in The Red Queen.  I truly am addicted and in love with reading Gregory's books about this period in history.  So far I have read three book is this series.
The Lady of the Rivers
The White Queen
The Red Queen
The next book in the series for me is The Kingmaker's Daughter about the Neville girls Isabel and Anne who married King Edward of York's brothers, George and Richard.


I adore Philippa Gregory and her historical fiction novels. I can't get enough of history told from the perspective of the women and the political intrique behind the rulers who wear the crown. History is told and written by the winners and so often women voices are left out of the historical narrative. Philippa Gregory recreates that written historical record with meticulous research and shares English history from a different point of view. I always learn so much when I read Gregory and she makes it interesting and memorable. It is not like learning history from a textbook, it is definitely more fun than that. She has written more than 20 books on English history based in the Tudor period and The Cousin's war period.

Write on Philippa Gregory!