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Anna Begins

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    Anna Begins 2017

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Prague Winter by Madeline Albright (750 pages)

     

    "Whatever power the Germans may have over the persons and property of the Czechs, they have little influence over their souls."

    -Czech resistance leader

     

    Madeleine Albright has long been one of my most admired women. Ambassador to the U.N. and my country's first female Secretary of State, she has fought against racism and for democracy her entire adult life.

     

    Prague Winter: A Story of Remembrance and War 1937- 1948 follows Albright's early childhood in Prague, early years spent in London during the Blitz and living in Belgrade as communism descended on Eastern Europe.

     

    Albright tells a little of the history of Czechoslovakia, but mostly life under occupation.

     

    Before becoming Secretary of State, The Washington Post traced her ancestry and found Jewish roots. Albright tells the story of her family, most of them killed in Theresienstadt.

     

    The book is extremely readable and fascinating to read about these years from the Czech point of view.

     

    Albright follows in the footsteps of her Ambassador father, who dedicated his life to democracy. Prague Winter doesn't touch on her work as a fighter for freedom and against oppression -it's about her family and the lives of those who suffered - but it does show why she chose her path and why she subscribes to her beliefs.

     

    5/5

    Anna Begins 2017

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Excellent ! I love seeing a US show which isn`t set in some big city - pluis- I can`t think of another show which shows Life on the Rez too. :)

    Oh yes, isn't the bar the Red Pony? His friend is Native American? I really want to read the book!

    Abandoned books

    in General Book Discussions

    Posted

    I know we have a topic about abandoned books, but mine is a little different. What are your criteria for abandonment?

     

    I picked up Everything I Never Told You by Celeste NG, it's the first book off my 2017 TBR list. It is terribly written and not very good. But it's only the 8th of January!

     

    Abandon or not? I'm at page 107 of 293. It's also slowing me down, I've been reading over 100 pages a day.

     

    When do you decide enough is enough??

    Anna Begins 2017

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I hope 2017 is much better for you than 2016 was, Anna! Both reading-wise and other-wise :smile2:

     

    Thanks Frankie :)

     

    Happy Reading in 2107. :)

     

    A vote from me for The Joy Luck Club. :D I`ll be interested in how you like the Longmire books too - I`m watching the latest season on TV, but have never tried the books. :)

    I keep hearing how great The Joy Luck Club is!

     

    How is the Longmire show?

    Your Book Activity - January 2017

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Oh ! I didn`t know she`d written one. Off to look it up now. :D

     

    I`m starting off the year with some rereads- Rita Mae Brown`s Mrs Murphy series. :)

    Omg it's so good, I have 100 pages left of 750 and it's only been 3 days! It's called Prague Winter.

     

    I think my next book will either be As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner or Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. My mom and I want to start 1984 on the 10th.

    Anna Begins 2017

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    A big book! I'm glad you liked reading it :). Do you think you'll read part two in the series some day?

    Thanks! I'm not going to. I don't really like the cold war period. And I lived through some of it :P I'm going to read a book about Ronald Reagan, I think that's all I can take! :D

    Anna Begins 2017

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    To Hell and Back: Europe 1914- 1949 by Ian Kershaw (594 pages)

     

    "History resists an ending as surely as nature abhors a vacuum; the narrative of our days is a run- on sentence, every full stop a comma in embryo."

    -Mark Slouka, Essays From the Nick of Time

     

    Starting with "The Golden Age" or "Gilded Age" before the first world war, Ian Kershaw begins a telling of 35 years of European history. Social change and economic prosperity were in a hey day, worries carefree. Lingering in the background - or rather, simmering- were the presence of early socialism and the beginnings of communism.

     

    A British historian, Kershaw focuses on the English role in the 35 year time period, which I liked, having read mostly US history of these years. Some of that was understandable, however to find no mention of Hiroshima or Nagasaki was astounding. Especially when the last 100 pages are devoted to the US/ Soviet struggle in the beginnings of the cold war, with little to no mention of the British.

     

    A tremendous undertaking and a well done job, To Hell and Back is the first of a two part series of modern day Europe.

    Your Book Activity - January 2017

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I didn't actually finish any books in December, though I'm working my way through three books, so my new aim is to get them done asap to give me a headstart in January.

     

    As I also basically haven't been on the forum for the past month due to illness, moving house, and Christmas, I have a LOT of posts from the 2016 blogs to catch up on! I don't want to miss any potential new additions to my TBR! :giggle:

    It's great to see you back!

    Anna Begins 2017

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Funny that - one of my aims is to read a few more doorstoppers - and the ones on my shelves are mostly history books!  Anyway, I hope it turns out to be a better year for you.  Happy New Year!

    (Afterthought: or do you mean historical fiction?).

    Well, I mostly read history, so none of them are small- I want to read Victoria: The Queen by Julia Barid... that's a good 750. I do read historical fiction too though. Roots should be on my list, at 600. I do want to re-read Gone With the Wind again this year also.

     

    Thanks for stepping in and Happy New Year to you :)

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