2022 World War II Challenge

J. Howard Miller 1918-2004, artwork details on wikimedia commons

 

2022 World War II Challenge
Host: Becky's Book Reviews (sign up here)
Dates: January - December 2022
Goals: Read, Watch, Listen, Share WWII related stuff

Books

• Fiction published during 1939-1945
• Fiction set during 1939-1945
• Fiction that is about the leading up to the war
• Fiction that is about the direct aftermath of the war
• Nonfiction books about the War
• Biographies or Autobiographies with sections about the war
  
• Poetry or verse novels with a WWII setting OR publication date
• Essays, Articles, Op-Ed pieces
  
• historical-historical (straight up historical with no sub-genres)
• historical romance
• historical mysteries
• historical coming-of-age
• historical thrillers/suspense/spy novels

Music

• 1940 POP Hits Chronology January to December  
• 1941 Pop Hits Chronology January to December
• 1942 Pop Hits Chronology January to December
• 1943 Pop Hits Chronology January to December
• 1944 Pop Hits Chronology January to December
• 1945 Pop Hits Chronology January to December

• 1939 Hits Archive (alphabetically by song title) (alphabetically by artist)
• 1940 Hits Archive (alphabetically by song title) (alphabetically by artist)
• 1941 Hits Archive (alphabetically by song title) (alphabetically by artist)
• 1942 Hits Archive (alphabetically by song title) (alphabetically by artist)
• 1943 Hits Archive (alphabetically by song title) (alphabetically by artist)
• 1944 Hits Archive (alphabetically by song title) (alphabetically by artist)
• 1945 Hits Archive (alphabetically by song title) (alphabetically by artist)
• bonus years 1938 Hits Archive (alphabetically by song title) (alphabetically by artist), 1946 Hits Archive (alphabetically by song title) (alphabetically by artist)

Films and documentaries

• any film made/released during 1939-1945
• any film set during the war 
• any documentary about the war
  

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If you would like check-in posts throughout the year, please mention it in your sign up comment. If you are neutral or don't like checking-back-in mention that too, if you don't mind. I'll do what most want--or try to remember to do so. Let's be honest, intentions at the start of the year don't always stick.

 

 

 

 

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

150. Scrooge #worstgiftever

Scrooge #worstgiftever. Adapted by Brett Wright. 2016. 112 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Jacob Marley is dead.

Premise/plot: The Christmas Carol adapted and told through text messages with plenty of emojis to spare. 

My thoughts: The book's biggest strength is that it is an absolute breeze to get through. It won't take much of your time as a reader. Of course, that could be because there isn't much substance. To be fair, there are plenty of adaptations of A Christmas Carol--on film especially. The shortest I've seen is under ten minutes. The story lends itself well to adaptation.

The book is essentially a hundred plus pages of gimmick. It is a novelty book cover to cover. If you find the idea of Scrooge and the four visiting ghosts texting hilarious to amusing, then this one might amuse you for most of the book. I personally was over the gimmick relatively early.

Because it has been adapted so many times in so many different ways, people might assume that there isn't all that much there to Dickens' characters. Some adaptations are amazing at depth of character--in particular Scrooge. But some are not--some are barely caricature. For the story to have the ability to MOVE the reader--to resonate with the reader--Scrooge must be fully fleshed out or made human. This "book" lacks ALL characterization. 

Also it is marketed as a children's book--published by Random House's children's division--yet it contains adult-ish abbreviations that aren't quite kid-appropriate (in my opinion). So I wouldn't personally recommend it for kids.

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

149. Born Behind Bars

Born Behind Bars. Padma Venkatraman. 2021. [September] 272 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Beyond the bars, framed by the high, square window, slides a small patch of sky. For months, it's been as gray as the faded paint flaking off the walls, but today it's blue and gold. Bright as a happy song. My thoughts, always eager to escape, shoot out and try to picture the whole sky--even the whole huge world. But my imagination has many missing pieces, like the jigsaw puzzle in the schoolroom. All I've learned here in nine years from my mother and my teachers is not enough to fill the gaps.

Premise/plot: Padma Venkatraman's newest middle grade novel opens in a prison (in Chennai, India). Kabir, our young hero, has spent his whole life--all nine years--in prison with his Amma (mom). He's friends with the other cellmates, his 'aunties,' and he loves, loves, loves his teacher. But though he's physically small for his age, he is past the age--technically speaking--of when he'd be allowed to stay with his mom in prison. So he's being released--without his mom--into the world. He's upset, anxious, and a tiny bit excited. What is the WORLD like? And where does he belong in it?

He looks at the world with WONDER and hope. He's heard stories, tales, even legends...but he's never lived "in the real world."

Born Behind the Bars mainly chronicles his time OUTSIDE bars. Readers join Kabir on his quest to find his paternal side of the family. (His mom was Hindu; his dad was Muslim). Can he find his dad? or his dad's family? Will he be welcomed into the family? Is there ANY way for him to 'save' his mom?

My thoughts: I would not want to read this story in the hands of any other author. But Venkatraman manages to tell this heavy story with hope and wonder. It's not that she scrubs out or erases the injustice and cruelty. It's that she's given Kabir the ability to see the world--in all its shades and colors--with hope. Yet at least to me Kabir does not come across as irritatingly naive like David Copperfield or Pinocchio.

I read this book in one sitting. I loved the short chapters. I breezed my way through this book with all the feels.

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

148. A Surprise for Christmas

A Surprise for Christmas And Other Seasonal Mysteries. Martin Edwards, Editor. 2021 (US) 2020 (UK). 304 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Love mysteries and suspense? Enjoy holiday/winter themed short stories? I recommend Martin Edwards' newest collection for the British Library Crime series. The series includes novels and short story collections. (I have read several in this series, but not all by any means!)

The stories included in this collection are as follows:

The Black Bag Left On a Doorstep by Catharine Louisa Pirkis
The Hole in the Wall by G.K. Chesterton
Death on the Air by Ngaio Marsh
Persons or Things Unknown by Carter Dickson
Dead Man's Hand by E.R. Punshon
The Christmas Eve Ghost by Ernest Dudley
Dick Whittington's Cat by Victor Canning
A Surprise for Christmas by Cyril Hare
On Christmas Day in the Morning by Margery Allingham
Give Me a Ring by Gilbert Lucy Malleson
Father Christmas Comes to Orbins by Julian Symons
The Turn-Again Bell by Barry Perowne

I found the collection to be a blend of familiar authors and new-to-me authors. Most of the stories stayed within the mystery/suspense genre. A couple, however, flirted with other genres or sub-genres. For example, stories that focused on crimes from the criminal point of view. One story is definitely ALL thriller. (Give Me a Ring was a LONG thriller-esque story that kept me turning pages.)

I enjoyed almost all of the stories within this collection. (Perhaps with the exception of Father Christmas Comes to Orbins. I don't know WHERE I've read the story before. Perhaps in another Christmas-themed collection. But I didn't enjoy it the first time around. A few paragraphs in, I was THAT STORY AGAIN??? 

Still for the most part I can wholeheartedly recommend this collection for those that enjoy this genre. 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

2022 Historical Reading Challenge

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2022

Host: The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader (sign up post)

Dates: January - December 2022

# of Books: I'm aiming for Ancient History -- 25 Books

What I Read for The Challenge
1) Road of Bones (Billy Boyle #16) James R. Benn. 2021. [September] 312 pages. [Source: Review copy]
2) Hawaii. James A. Michener. 1959. 1136 pages. [Source: Library]
3) The Chilbury Ladies' Choir. Jennifer Ryan. 2017. 371 pages. [Source: Library]
4) Exodus. Leon Uris. 1958. 610 pages. [Source: Library]
5) I Must Betray You. Ruta Sepetys. 2022. [February] 336 pages. [Source: Library]
6) The Kitchen Front. Jennifer Ryan. 2021. 408 pages. [Source: Review copy]
7)  The Last Kingdom. (The Last Kingdom #1) Bernard Cornwell. 2004. 351 pages. [Source: Library]
8) A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice. Rebecca Connolly. 2022. 320 pages. [Source: Review copy]
9) Yours Cheerfully. (The Emmy Lake Chronicles #2) A.J. Pearce. 2021. 304 pages. [Source: Review copy]
10) The Great Passion. James Runcie. 2022. [March] 272 pages. [Source: Library]
11) The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle. Jennifer Ryan. 2022. [May] 432 pages. [Source: Review copy]
12) Alias Anna: A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis. Susan Hood. 2022. 352 pages. [Source: Library]
13) Louisa June and the Nazis in the Waves. L.M. Elliott. 2022. 320 pages. [Source: Library]
14) Katherine. Anya Seton. 1954. 512 pages. [Source: Bought]
15) When the Sky Falls. Phil Earle. 2022. 320 pages. [Source: Library]
16) Cyrano de Bergerac. Edmond Rostand. Translated by Gladys Thomas and Mary F Guillemard. 1897. 240 pages. [Source: Bought]
17) Sense and Second Degree Murder. Tirzah Price. 2022. [April] 416 pages. [Source: Library]
18) Front Page Murder. (A Homefront News Mystery #1) Joyce St. Anthony. 2022. [March] 304 pages. [Source: Library]
19) Death on a Deadline (Homefront News #2) Joyce St. Anthony. 2022. [November] 304 pages (guess). [Source: Review copy]
20) My Own Lightning. (Wolf Hollow #2) Lauren Wolk. 2022. [March] 320 pages. [Source: Library]
21) The Belle of Belgrave Square. (Belles of London #2) Mimi Matthews. 2022. 432 pages. [Source: Review copy]
22) The Peach Rebellion. Wendelin Van Draanen. 2022. 416 pages. [Source: Library]
23) The Bachelor and the Bride. (The Dread Penny Society #4) Sarah M. Eden. 2022. [September] 368 pages. [Source: Review copy]
24) Lines of Courage. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2022. 400 pages. [Source: Library]
25) A Gambling Man. (Archer #2) David Baldacci. 2021. 432 pages. [Source: Library]
26) Laura's Shadow (Doors to the Past) Allison Pittman. 2022. [August] 256 pages. [Source: Review copy]
27) The Siren of Sussex. (Belles of London #1) Mimi Matthews. 2022. [January] 400 pages. [Source: Review copy]
28) Long Way Home. Lynn Austin. 2022. [June] 391 pages. [Source: Review copy]
29) Dream Town. (Archer #3) David Baldacci. 2022. 432 pages. [Source: Library]
30) The Star That Always Stays. Anna Rose Johnson. 2022. 224 pages. [Source: Library]
31) African Town: Inspired by the True Story of the Last American Slave Ship. Irene Latham and Charles Waters. 2022. 448 pages. [Source: Library]
32) The Lindbergh Nanny. Mariah Fredericks. 2022. [November] 320 pages. [Source: Review copy]
33) Miraculous. Caroline Starr Rose. 2022. 352 pages. [Source: Library]
34) Singing with Elephants. Margarita Engle. 2022. [May] 224 pages. [Source: Library]
35) Magic of Ordinary Days. Ann Howard Creel. 2001. 304 pages. [Source: Library]
36) A Light Beyond the Trenches. Alan Hlad. 2022. [March] 362 pages. [Source: Library]
37) From the Shadows (Billy Boyle #17) James R. Benn. 2022. [September] 336 pages. [Source: Library]
38) We Own the Sky. Rodman Philbrick. 2022. [September] 208 pages. [Source: Library]
39) Beauvallet. Georgette Heyer. 1929. 272 pages. [Source: Library]
40) Marmee. Sarah Miller. 2022. [October] 432 pages. [Source: Library]
41) Flying Fillies: The Sky's The Limit. Christy Hui. 2022. [July] 202 pages. [Source: Library]
42) The Door of No Return. Kwame Alexander. 2022. 432 pages. [Source: Library]
43) Making Bombs for Hitler. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2012/2017. 191 pages. [Source: Review copy]
44) Five Decembers. James Kestrel. 2022. 432 pages. [Source: Library]
45) Murder at Mallowan Hall. Colleen Cambridge. 2021. 272 pages. [Source: Library]
46) The Picture Bride. Lee Geum-yi. Translated by An Seonjae. 2020/2022. 320 pages. [Source: Library]
47) Emily of Deep Valley. Maud Hart Lovelace. 1950. 304 pages. [Source: Library]
48) Switchboard Soldiers. Jennifer Chiaverini. 2022. 464 pages. [Source: Library]
49) Great or Nothing. Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, and Jessica Spotswood. 2022. 400 pages. [Source: Review copy]
50) Winterkill. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2022. [September] 288 pages. [Source: Library]
51) A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews. 2018. 175 pages. [Source: Bought]
52) A Darcy Christmas: A Holiday Tribute to Jane Austen. Amanda Grange, Sharon Lathan, Carolyn Eberhart. 2010. 290 pages. [Source: Library]
53) The War Below. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2014. 256 pages. [Source: Review copy]
54) Murder at Morrington Hall (Stella and Lyndy Mystery #1) Clara McKenna. 2019. 304 pages. [Source: Library]
55) Stolen Girl. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2010. 208 pages. [Source: Review copy]
56) Prisoner of War. Michael P. Spradlin. 2017. 272 pages. [Source: Review copy]
57) The Enemy Above. Michael P. Spradlin. 2016. 240 pages. [Source: Review copy]

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews