The Best is Yet Unwritten (or Unread): The Great, Grand 2013 Annual Book Review

Last year, I read a few good books, but this year, man, I feel like I really delved into some interesting material that ranged a variety of topics.  But by far, the "theme" of my year was World War II/Holocaust - I have always been completely enraptured by this time in history.  How could it have happened?  What were people thinking?  What would I have done?  The Holocaust is SO hard for me to wrap my head around.  Don't be confused, I'm not one of those people who doesn't believe it really happened - talk about hard to wrap your head around?!? Who are these people?  At any rate, I read a lot of Holocaust stories, so brace yourselves for that.  They were astounding.  I actually have had to use the thesaurus multiple times to find alternate words for "amazing, wonderful, unbelievable, outstanding."  I'm very serious about that.  I decided this year to choose some favorite quotes from ea few book that really resonated with me to share with you all, as well as the reviews.
*Note: The quotes and reviews are in no certain order and don't necessarily correlate with each other ... I'm not that organized this year!*
Enjoy!

"... I believe it is important to emphasize how strongly I feel that books, just like people, have a destiny.  Some invite sorrow, others joy, some both."  - Night

Mila 18 by Leon Uris
This book was recommended to me by a sweet friend and high school student, who had recently read this for a class, and knew my interest with the Holocaust.  The book is set in Warsaw around the time of the Holocaust.  The story is narrated by an Italian journalist, Christopher de Monti, living in Warsaw who is intimately connected to many of the main Jewish characters.  Because he is Italian, not Jewish, and a journalist, he is able to maneuver between the two worlds that begin to develop - the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw and the rest of Warsaw as World War II progresses and the persecution against the Jews becomes more severe, and eventually leads to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.  It's hard to totally sum up the story, but there are many characters that you get to know and become connected to - those falling in love, those battling with moral decisions in the face of Nazi Germany, those desiring to fight back, and those who believe that the evil will pass.  Although the book is fiction, it is based on real events, and as with every Holocaust novel, it is incredibly difficult to fathom the things that the Jewish people had to suffer.  On a note unrelated to the plot, this book is also incredibly long. I got slightly bogged down at times, but am very glad I read it front to back!

"The paradox of vengefulness is that it makes men dependent upon those who have harmed them, believing that their release from pain will come only when their tormentors suffer." - Unbroken

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
I chose this book on a complete whim when I wasn't sure what to read next.  Forever ago, maybe in high school, I read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, and although I barely remember the plot line and resolution, I remember really enjoying and being impressed by the book - so I downloaded this one!  Taylor, the narrator of this story, has a unique voice that piqued my interest immediately.  I had literally NO CLUE what this book was about when I started reading it, and as I read, I still wasn't sure what it was about exactly, but I just knew I didn't want to stop reading it.  Turns out, this book is about friendship, family, and the fine line that doesn't seem to quite divide the two when love is involved.  It touched on a variety of topics - abandonment, child abuse, illegal immigration, adoption, divorce.  But none too heavily, and none too lightly.  So, let me give you a synopsis, so if you choose to read it, you aren't starting out blind in the way that I was:  Taylor is from a small, poor town in Kentucky, and decides she needs to get out and do something else with her life.  She starts out across the country and eventually ends up in Arizona, when her car breaks down - but not before she stops one night in Oklahoma at a bar to get something to eat and a baby is given to her.  So really, Taylor and this baby, end up in Arizona, and the story unfolds to include the people they meet and how they grow to be a family.  I still feel that this story has more depth than I realized, and that it's layers will start to dawn on me the more I think on the book.

"It's hard to explain, but a certain kind of horror is beyond tears.  Tears would be like worrying about watermarks on the furniture when the house is burning down." - The Bean Trees

Night by Elie Wiesel
Heart-wrenching.  This short piece is just unthinkable.  Elie Wiesel is a Holocaust survivor, and Night is his account of the German occupation in his country, Transylvania, and his experience in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald.  Knowing that the scenes being portrayed were real was one of the most grounding things about reading this book.  I couldn't put it down before bed and think, "Man, someone really came up with an unbelievable story," because the unbelievable story was reality for Mr. Wiesel.  The humanness of the words were painful - in some of the most memorable parts, Mr. Wiesel talks about how his community received warnings of the Nazi activity but brushed it off as "talk of a crazy person" (How blind and naive we can be to things that we don't want to believe!  Frightening!), and in another segment relaying his father's death, Wiesel paints a picture of how the humanity was truly stolen from each inmate, as he refuses to acknowledge his father's dying cries because he is ashamed and scared of the Nazi response to his father's weakness.  Reading this book elicited such deep emotions of need to protect and stand up for injustice.  But in that same thought I realized sickness in knowing, that even as I felt that immense need, that I am cut from the same cloth as those who did not speak out and even those who inflicted pain.  We are all only human, and we are all capable of what we choose to do and choose to not do - both are equally dangerous choices.

"In the beginning there was faith - which is childish; trust - which is vain; and illusion - which is dangerous." - Night

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling
Well, let me start by saying that this book was written by J.K. Rowling under a pseudonym, which was exceptionally confusing to me, as I was not privy to that knowledge for quite some time.  This book was a fun and easy read to me!  I liked it much better than J.K.'s other adult fiction, which I also read this year.  It wasn't as "heavy," but was rather just enjoyable! In the novel, a private detective, Strike, who is on the verge of personal and professional collapse, is given a case to investigate the suicide death of a famous supermodel, Lula Landry, which her brother suspects was actually a murder.  I enjoy a good murder/mystery/detective novel to get my mind off of everyday life, and this book was perfect for that!  It had a good little twist ending, plenty of non-murder related plot, and the ending was left just open enough that I'm hoping this could turn into a "detective series."  Don't be confused - the case was closed, but I'm thinking Strike might stick around for a few more cases, if we're lucky!

"The truth is harder than ignorance."  - Sarah's Key

Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss
Talk about a wake up call of a nonfiction book!  I have been slowly but surely picking my way through this book for the last 6 months of the year.  This doesn't indicate how intriguing and mind-blowing this book is - just that it isn't a fiction book with a plot, but rather a documentary-esque, whistle-blower kind of book with lots of information that needs to be digested piece by piece (no pun intended).  So with this one, I'd read a bit, then turn to a fiction book for a while, then pop back over to Salt, Sugar, Fat for a little more mind-blowing.  In this book, Michael Moss digs into the food industry - changes in the food industry, food production, and large food corporations; the evolution of processed food; the additions of salt, sugar and fat to get people addicted to food, to decrease production costs, to increase shelf-life, etc.  I am not naive to think that this book will appeal to all, or even cause diet revolution in those who read it (I, myself, still admit that there are times when I eat things that I KNOW are part of the food industry's ploy), but it is worth the read for the wealth of information that it reveals in relation to the food we eat, and the insight into how duped the general public is by the food industry!  It is truly crazier than I even knew!

"His cold eyes stared at me.  At last, he said wearily: "I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He alone has kept his promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people." - Night

The Keeper of Secrets by Julie Thomas
Yet another story set (at least partially) in Holocaust era!  This is a sweet story with some truly beautiful moments.  The story begins in Germany, as the Nazi Party is gaining power and steam, with a Jewish family of musicians.  The son Simon, loves to play the violin.  Cut to modern day United States, where a young adolescent, Daniel, is an excellent violinist as well.  As the boys' stories progress, Simon and his family are deported, and music begins to play a huge role in Simon's will to survive.  Meanwhile, Daniel is battling between his desire to move toward being a professional violinist at an exceptionally young age, and his desire to just be a normal kid who plays ball with his friends.  Reading portions of this story was notably haunting, as Thomas and I had the opportunity to visit Dachau when we travelled through Germany in Fall 2011, and parts of the story take place in Dachau, so I could really see the camp in my mind's eye and walked back through it in my imagination as I read.  Truly haunting.

"A small but noteworthy note.  I've seen so many young men over the years who think they're running at other young men.  They are not.  They are running at me."  - The Book Thief (said by the narrator, Death)

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
This was the first Holocaust-themed novel that I read in 2013.  I really liked it, but looking back, it paled in comparison to many of the other Holocaust books that I read this year.  And I was slightly annoyed by the ending.  I won't give anything away, but I just didn't really like the end.  But let's start from the beginning.  It's weird because this story has plot-esque connections to both The Keeper of Secrets- it switches between history and present day, as well - and Mila 18 - it also is a fictional novel based on a true event, AND is narrated by a journalist.  In this case, the historical part of the story is based on real-life event, the Vel d'Hiv roundup of Jews in Paris.  During the round up, a Jewish Parisian family, including a young girl Sarah, are deported.  However, her little brother is left behind hiding in a secret cabinet in their apartment.  Sarah makes it her mission to make it back to the apartment to reunite with her brother.  In the present day part of this story, an American journalist currently living with her Parisian husband and daughter in Paris, begins to investigate the Vel d'Hiv roundup and discovers Sarah's family's story.  And of course, the 2 stories become intertwined somewhat.  Again, I enjoyed the story, but wasn't a huge fan of the ending.  I really enjoyed learning about a part of the Holocaust that I hadn't heard much about.  I am accustomed to hearing about Warsaw and Germany deportations, but really didn't realize that French Jews were affected as well.  I'm telling you, the Holocaust is the CRAZIEST historical event!

"But it's also true that some people never have anybody to lose, and I think that's got to be so much worse." - The Bean Trees

Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure, and the Man Who Dared to See by Robert Kurson
Back in 2011, it seemed like memoirs were all over my booklist, the way the Holocaust is this year.  This is one of the few memoirss I read this year, and it was a really cool choice!  This is actually a biography of Mike May (so I guess it isn't exactly a memoir after all), a man who was blinded at the age of 3 from a chemical explosion accident.  Despite not being able to see, Mike is raised to believe that he can do anything that anyone else around him can do, and he does that and more!  Reading about the amazing things that Mike not only attempts, but accomplishes, is insane and inspiring!  He does things that make you say, not "That is amazing for a blind person," but "Holy crap that is amazing. PERIOD!,"  It makes me wonder if I am actually living to my full potential and if I am taking enough risks in life.  If he can do it, certainly I can too!  This book is a dangerous read for someone with wanderlust and adventurous-lust in that regard!  But one of the main moments of Mike's story comes when he is given the opportunity to undergo a corneal transplant surgery which may restore his vision.  A lot of the book revolves around his decision-making process and his experiences with new vision at "mid-life" with a wife and children that he only knew through touch, smell, sound, and love.  I thoroughly loved this book and couldn't help but be moved by Mike's spirit throughout!

"It wasn't who a person believed himself to be or what he pretended he would do in a given situation. It was what he did when he got there that defined him." - Crashing Through

The House Girl by Tara Conklin
This book was recommended to me by an ex-coworker and friend who I rarely see, but do appreciate!   Oddly enough, this book was also flip-flopped between history and present day.  I see more patterns in my reading by the moment!  This wasn't my favorite book of the year, but it wasn't unenjoyable.  It was ok.  The book switches between pre-Civil War Virginia and modern-day New York.  The Virginia storyline follows a young slave girl (the house girl, actually), who loves painting and hopes to escape from her master Lu Anne Bell to freedom.  The New York storyline follows a young, aspiring lawyer at a large firm who undertakes a case to that is drawing into question the work of a famous antebellum painter, also Lu Anne Bell, which could pave the way for reparations cases to come.  I wasn't fully connected to either storyline, which is why I think this wasn't at the top of my list from the year, but both stories were interesting.  I mean, I finished the book!

“They didn't understand it, but like so many unfortunate events in life, just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it isn't so.” - Lemony Snicket's The Bad Beginning

And The Mountains Echoed by Kahled Hosseini
It is no secret that I love this author!  He never ceases to spin beautiful stories that force you to step outside your life, and into another world that isn't in your comfort zone.  I love that he paints Afghanistan in colors of humanity, when I am so accustomed to matter-of-fact news reports, and negative terrorist blurbs.  In this story, there are many characters and stories to get involved in.  Each story involves families and siblings.  There is a brother/sister relationship, where they are separated and raised in completely different lifestyles.  There are 2 sisters, one of whom feels she doesn't measure up to the other and is bound to care for her sister as she becomes invalid.  There are mother-daughter relationships, daughter-father relationships, brotherly relationships.  It's hard to say exactly what the story is about because there are so many stories, but each story is complicated and moving in it's own way.

“There are many, many types of books in the world, which makes good sense, because there are many, many types of people, and everybody wants to read something different.”  - Lemony Snicket's The Bad Beginning

Inferno by Dan Brown
I read Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code.  Haven't read The Lost Symbol, but 2/3 other "Robert Langdon" books aren't too shabby.  Angels and Demons was superior to DaVinci Code in my humble opinion, but I enjoyed both for their addictiveness and intricate web of clues.  Inferno did not fail to provide the same type of entertainment and was super easy to read and get lost in for that reason.  In this story, Robert Langdon is retracing his steps after suffering amnesia to try and uncover all the pieces to the mystery related to clues that are tied to Dante's Inferno ... and of course will save the world from mass disaster.  Doesn't get much more suspenseful than saving the world!  Again, if only I were a book snob, and only loved high literary works ... but, alas, I'm not.  I love to read for guilty pleasure as much as the next schmuck!

“It's a funny thing... but people mostly have it backward. They think they live by what they want. But really, what guides them is what they're afraid of. What they don't want.”  - And The Mountains Echoed

How to Eat a Cupcake by Meg Donahue
Talk about reading for guilty pleasure!  A book named for how you should eat a cupcake??? Yes, please!!  I think I downloaded this book because it was on the "Under $2.99" list, and it wasn't a Harlequin romance or vampire novel.  I actually ended up enjoying it a good bit, even though it was a tiny bit predictable.  The story is about a broken friendship between Julia (a has-it-all, perfect rich girl) and Annie (the daughter of Julia's family's housekeeper).  The two girls were practically sisters as children, but then a betrayal ruins their friendship in high school.  Years later, through a random series of events, the girls go into a strictly business partnership to open a cupcake shop together ... and in the process begin to find some healing for their friendship.  Again, not the highest literary piece, but a nice read!  And WARNING: You WILL want to eat cupcakes at some point while reading this book!!

"A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship." - The Book Thief

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Books 1 (The Bad Beginning), 2 (The Reptile Room), and 3 (The Wide Window) by Daniel Handler a.k.a. Lemony Snicket
Yes, I did read 3 kids books.  And, yes, I did love them.  And, no, I'm not even close to joking.  These books were so quirky and fun!  I'm not totally sure why I picked up the first one - if I recall correctly, it was on sale for like $1.99 on my Nook, and I figured "What the heck! Why not?"  Well, it turns out, the reason that they put books like this on sale is because they know that they are super good reads, AND that there are 11 more that you'll want to buy ... and those will NOT be on sale for $1.99.  This is the primary reason I've only read three of them.  At any rate, the books are about the 3 Baudelaire children, who are orphaned and sent to live with relatives.  Each book (as far as I can tell) is their experience living with a different relative, and also trying to escape the first relative they were sent to live with, Count Olaf, who is trying to steal their fortune.  The books are super quirky, which I loved. And one of my favorite things, is how the author uses such character and voice in his writing - for example, he has a comical and unique way of explaining the meaning of "big" vocabulary or figurative language that he uses in his stories.  I love it!  I can't wait to read these books to my kids!!

"When you have lived as long as I have ... you find that cruelty and benevolence are but shades of the same color."  - And The Mountains Echoed

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
There aren't words.  For this book.  Best. Fiction. Book. Of. The. Year.  Maybe ever.  I am in book love.  I was confused and very much NOT in love with this book when I began reading it.  You see, I missed an important detail - the narrator is Death.  Figuring that out, about 2 chapters in, really helped me align myself with the book and from that moment on it was head-over-heels for me!  The story follows a young girl, Liesel, as she is sent to live with foster parents during Nazi-occupied Germany.  In the story, Liesel learns to read and write, and gains comfort from books, as well as learns the power of words, during the difficult events that are happening in her community and country.  I can't say enough how I fell in love with each character differently.  My favorite by far was Papa, sweet, dear Papa.  I still get teary just thinking about him.  I think, for me, that was what was so wonderful about this book - I very literally spanned the range of emotions in reading it.  I giggled, I sighed, I longed, I hoped, I feared, I empathized, and I most certainly shed a tear!  This book was not written to just be read, but to be felt!

"... I'm always finding humans at their best and worst.  I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both."  - The Book Thief

A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash
My friend Christina recommended this book!  I listened to it on audible, and I could be found with my headphones in at any free moment!  This book follows the story of a small town church, which has a new zealous pastor, who encourages revival-style services including snake handling and unusual healings.  This particular church begins to affect the family of two young brothers, Jess and Stump, who get caught in the middle of the church's activities.  I don't want to give anything away by saying more, but I really enjoyed this book, and the readers helped as they gave awesome voices to the the narrating characters (Jess, the older brother; Adelaide Lyle, a community member and midwife; and Clem Barfield, the local sheriff).  I would definitely recommend this book for a thoughtful but gripping read!

“... I've learned to just go ahead and take fairness out of the equation. If you do, things stand the chance of making a whole lot more sense.” - A Land More Kind Than Home

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Lauren Hillenbrand
I did read a lot of WWII era books, eh?  But this one was set apart from the others because it focused on a segment of the war that I know little about, and, at least in my realm, is not touched on nearly as often: the Japanese-American side of the conflict.  Of course, most are familiar with Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima, and the A-bombs, but to me, those are the 2 "biggies" and then there are a few things like kamikaze pilots that get tossed around. Otherwise, my knowledge of this portion of the conflict and it's brutality was extremely limited.  Boy, did this book open my eyes!  I can't say enough how shocking and unbelievable this book was for my brain.  It is a biography of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic track star and adolescent mischief-maker, who went to war, survived a plane crash, survived the open ocean, survived Japanese prison camps, and then how he had to struggle to deal with a "normal" life and overcome his demons afterward.  I have to meet this man.  I'm not sure how, but I feel such a strong need to have known him in the flesh after reading about the things he endured.  There were moments throughout this book when my mouth was literally hanging open, and I had to check to be sure it was a true account.  I absolutely can not fathom having survived even one item in the string of events he encountered, much less all of them.  Truly mind-boggling.  In addition, I just felt like I had been ignoring for years this massive portion of history by dismissing the Japanese conflict in favor of focusing on the German conflict, and although I don't ever want to give the impression that I think blanket-group-hate is appropriate, I can certainly understand why the generation that witnessed and lived through this era held such strong negative attitudes toward the Japanese.  I mean, wow!  Between them and the German Nazis, there was some serious craziness taking place.  A must read!

“They say, Find a purpose in your life and live it. But, sometimes, it is only after you have lived that you recognize your life had a purpose, and likely one you never had in mind.”  - And The Mountains Echoed

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
I downloaded this book on Audible with a free download (that's really a given since I don't ever download from Audible if it isn't free.  I'm a cheapo) way at the beginning of the year, and finally listened to it around maybe October or November.  I'll confess, I downloaded it because I had some vague knowledge of a "controversy" surrounding the book.  Unfortunately, I thought the controversy had something to do with Capote having possibly committed the murders and written about it ... but alas, it wasn't nearly that dramatic, I realized about halfway through the book when I finally used the trusty source of Wikipedia to look up the controversy (there is question as to whether some of the book is factual, and there was also a separate myth that Capote perhaps wrote Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird, as they were close friends - so, no real scintillating thrillers there).  This is a strange book - strange topic; strange writing; strange in the way I felt like I wanted to read it, but also didn't feel overly addicted to it; strange Audible reader.  I don't mean to give this book a bad review, because I actually did like it!  It's just that I can't put my finger on WHY I liked it.  In case you're not familiar, In Cold Blood is the "true, journalistic" telling of a real-life murder of a family of four in a small town Kansas and the pursuit of the murderers.  What I guess is kind of strange about the book is that there isn't really huge suspense because you always know who committed the murders, and if you know the history of the case, you know that they eventually get caught, so it's not like you're waiting to discover anything necessarily.  For me, there was just this eerie need to continue reading and learn more.  But there is never a huge climax and resolution, per se, because theoretically you already know the ending when you start.  I guess the idea of looking into the murderers' minds is more drawing than anything, which is, in and of itself, disturbing.

“I don't know if you've ever noticed this, but first impressions are often entirely wrong.”  - Lemony Snicket's The Bad Beginning

 I hope I am able to read this much in the next year with all the changes coming!  Maybe while I'm up in the wee hours nursing.  On my "To Read" list for the upcoming year, I have:
 - Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum: Another Holocaust book.  Shocking.  I've heard that it is a good one.
 - The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: My friend Meaghan (who is cool enough to actually be in a book club, something I still haven't gotten around to doing), has been reading this one, and says it is really good.  I trust her judgment, and am itching to get started on it!  Although, I'm not really sure what it's about ... she may have told me but I can't remember!
 - More Lemony Snickets!  They are so fun and easy to read.  Maybe I can read them aloud to baby girl, and get her started early on loving fun books!
 - Radical and Follow Me by David Platt: I've head that both are really striking, challenging and make you reevaluate your life.  They are both spiritual, Biblical books.  That's all I know ... other that they have been sitting on my bookshelf for probably an entire year.  Time to get reading!!
 - On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam: Well, I've received 2 copies and at least gotten 10 other "you must read this book before you have a baby" recommendations, so I'm not going to argue with the masses.  Who knows if I'll actually use this method, but for heaven's sake, I am certainly going to read it!  (And I should probably add a handful of other baby books to my list, but they're just not nearly as entertaining as my pleasure reads.)
 - Wild: Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed: This book was recommended to me by a friend, and I have it downloaded on Audible with every intention of listening to it.  As a matter of fact, I've started it multiple times, but just never at a very good time, which has caused me to end up putting it down without having gotten very far.  2014 can be the year for Wild!

And with that I will wish a you wonderful New Year full of great books and lots of inspiring words, because words are important ... as Elie Wiesel said in Night: "Those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow."