30 books in 2012

Last year I took the Goodreads 2012 book challenge and challenged myself to read 25 books. I ended up reading 30. Here are my mini reviews of my books.

 The Fault In Our Stars  by John Green Amazing and terrible and heart wrenching and hilarious. There are so many great points about life and love captured in this story. Cancer. Death. Trying to understand the vastness of infinity.

The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski This would make a good beach read. It started off okay, about self discovery and love and inner strength but I never could really get into it that much. I feel the characters were okay and geared more towards a younger age group. Good if you like melodrama.

The Unwanted Wife by Natasha Anders A surprisingly entertaining kindle purchase for $0.99. A cold unloving husband and an unwanted wife. The story line was interesting but the end was pretty predictable. It was a good quick vacation read.

The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston An enjoyable historical fiction with themes of witchcraft, love and adventure. It had an interesting and spooky twist on magic which I liked. The switching between times/stories got frustrating at times though.

I read several Holocaust themed novels in 2012. I gave mini reviews on these back in July. My favorites were Those Who Save Us and The Book Thief. 

 The Birth House by Ami McKay It was a fairly interesting story. The main character didn't grab me like she should have. There was  a struggle with traditional and modern medicine and gave a small insight to women's rights in this era.

The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaarberbol and Agnete Friis A suspense thriller that kept me turning the pages. Someone recommended this book to me. I felt like there were a lot of characters to keep track of and I wasn't really a fan of the main Nina character. I kept reading to find out what happened at the end.

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks I'm always a fan of Nicholas Sparks books even though most of them seem like the same story/characters. Sometimes it's just nice to read a nice love story with likable characters and this had all of that. This book didn't blow me away but it was entertaining.

One For The Money by Janet Evanovich Someone told me about these books and told me I would want to read them all if I read one. It didn't happen. This book did not impress me. This book was meh.

Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman I gave this book 5 stars which is shocking for me especially for a religious memoir. I loved the voice she had and the story she told. I loved learning how life was growing up in a Hasidic household. My only complaint was that ending felt rushed.

50 Shades of Gray Trilogy by E.L. James Yes I read the 50 shades books and yes I enjoyed them! The first book I was hooked, why was Gray so dark, tortured and intense? At the same time I found the writing of Ana very receptive, how many times did I read "my breath hitched". But I got past it and the writing changed slightly. I enjoyed the third book the best because I liked following the evolution of Anna and Christians relationship. I wasn't bothered by reading the BDSM parts like some people I know. To each their own, I like reading different things in stories, that's what makes them interesting.

 11/22/63 by Stephen King I don't think I've ever read a Stephen King book before this. I had it in my head that he only wrote horror stories but this story of love and time travel got me good. I enjoyed the beginning and the end even though the middle dragged a lot. He was such a good story teller and makes you wonder, how would you change the past, and if you did what would happen because of what you changed?

The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon I was really intrigued from the very beginning. I thought it was going to be a story of one character when it really was about a different character. I think the author did a good job of showing the points of views of people with disabilities. Beautifully written story full of emotion and hope.

The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorenson This book did not do it for me. I was bored most of the time reading it. The "secret" was practically non existent and I couldn't connect with either of the main characters in this story. Not recommended.

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova What a well researched and imaganitve book. It makes you think twice before answering your cell phone while driving. I found the little know and not understood condition of left neglected to be very interesting and scary at the same time.

Me and Emma by Elizabeth Flock  This book is about child abuse so that's hard to swallow. I figured out the "twist" early in the story which kind of ruined it for me. You are drawn in by these sisters and find yourself hoping they can escape their fate.

The Rules of Inheritance by Claire Bidwell Smith Honestly, I know I read this book and I know I enjoyed it because I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads but I can't really remember the story. Something about it must just not stick with me or maybe I read a riveting book before and after this and it got lost in between. I don't know but I feel like I need to re-read this one.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova I read this before I read Left Neglected and I fell in love with the way Lisa tells a story. She does an amazing job of taking you inside the mind of a person with Alzheimer's. I really felt connected with the fear and frustrations that Alice goes through as she gets progressively worse. I couldn't stop thinking about this book.

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda I adored this book and couldn't put it down. The story follows two families well and how they are intertwined. A very compelling story full of struggles with birth, miscarriage, adoption and love of a child. I found it very inspirational. 

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If you're on Goodreads maybe you want to take the 2013 book challenge too? I'm doing it again this year. This time I'm challenging myself to read 30 more books! Join me!

Currently Reading: Holocaust Novels

Lately, I've been reading a lot of stories about the Holocaust and WWII in general, but mostly the Holocaust. I think the interest really began back in November when I drove an hour away to a Holocaust memorial where a concentration camp used to be here in Germany. I didn't even share that on the blog at the time. That was haunting.

Most of us have read the story of Anne Frank, and learned about the Holocaust and WWII in schools, but really how much do we know? I for one know that I never thought about it much further than that. I felt moved to learn more and read these people's stories so that they would not be forgotten.

When we first moved to Germany, I actually had several older people who were shocked we would live here and voiced their opinions to me. One lady actually told me "I can't believe you live there, I would refuse. I don't even want to visit Germany." Kind of a harsh statement but one I can understand if you've had family who were persecuted by the Germans. Not everyone in Germany hated Jews though and if you read these stories you'll see that. Just like the story of Anne Frank, whose friends hid her and her family, there are random of acts of kindness during these hard times.

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I promise not to give away any spoilers to these books, but I wanted to share what I've been reading and give a small mini review. So that maybe some of you will be intrigued like I was to read something outside of your bubble.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay "the book that made my Mother NOT want to visit France". She was reading this when she came to visit me over Christmas and I read it shortly afterwards. This story breaks your heart as you follow a young Jewish girl who is round up out of Paris and taken to a concentration camp. It's told from two time periods, one in the 1940's and one in 2002 where we're with a journalist who is writing an article about the roundup of the Jews in Paris. This was the first of the Holocaust related stories I read and after that I wanted more.

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum - I felt like this story was taking place in the village next to ours. Anytime I drove past the old bakery in the village of Schonenberg-Kubelberg I felt like this was the scene for this story. It felt very close to home. It took me a long time to get "out" of this story. I loved that it was told from a  German point of view. One of the best books I've read in a long time. I gave it 5 stars!

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman - You know the ending of the book in the first few pages but it's the story that builds up to that ending that really grips you. As you can tell from the title of the book, two lovers are separated during the Nazi invasion, Their stories are told separately. It's so heart wrenching and beautiful. So full of love and horror at the same time.

The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust by Edith Hahn Beer, Susan Dworkin - interesting point of view and struggle of one Jewish woman to hide herself with the enemies and ultimately survived. Not my favorite, but a great story nonetheless 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - has an intriguing way of being told. It's narrated by Death. Yes, Death as in the "grim reaper" but not as creepy as we think. At first it was hard to get used to this way of reading but then I began to love it. The narrator gives us little tidbits along the way that are interesting or important facts but don't need a whole chapter to tell. This was a reccomneded book for me by Goodreads because of my other currently read books. At first I wasn't that interested in the short bio and almost skipped over it. The only thing that grabbed my attention was the fact that it was rated 5 stars almost across the board by Goodreads readers. I'm definitely glad I read it. It's one of my favorites now!

Stella's Secret by Jerry L. Jennings - this book was a cheap kindle grab for a couple of bucks. I loved her story and the way she spoke reminded me of the interviews of the old couples in When Harry Met Sally. I really felt like I was sitting in a room listening to her tell her story, which is what the author intended. To me, this story tells a lot about the Jewish Ghettos the terrible conditions they had to survive before even being sent to the horrors of the concentration camps.

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So those are the things I've been reading on my kindle lately. Do any of these sound like something you'd like to read? Do any of these stories grab your attention like they did me? Do you know of any other Holocaust stories to recommend? Do you have any stories you've enjoyed reading lately that you can recommend. I'm flying to Florida in exactly a week and need some new good books!