en-US Fri, 11 Apr 2025 10:12:01 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 196834601 A NEXT BIG IDEA CLUB MUST-READĚý

Well-being expert and social media sensation Stephanie Harrison of @newhappyco reveals the counterintuitive secrets to happiness and provides a practical guide to help us all learn how to live a happy life.

We all want to be happy, but happiness always seems to be out of reach â€� until now. In New Happy, happiness expert Stephanie Harrison draws upon hundreds of studies to offer a life-changing guide to finding the happiness you have been looking for, all based on a decade of research and brought to life with beautiful artwork.Ěý

It’s not your fault if you are unhappy. You have been told you’re not good enough; you need to achieve fame, wealth, and power; and you need to do it all on your own. This is Old Happy, our society’s false definition of happiness, and it’s making us miserable. In this book, you’ll learn you are enough, you have unique and important gifts, and using them to help other people leads to your happiness.Ěý

New Happy is your step-by-step guide to building the life you want. Accompanied by revelatory artwork that explains key concepts, Harrison takes you through the process of unwinding Old Happy, uncovering your own gifts, and using them to both improve your life and the world at the same time. If you have ever asked yourself, “Who am I really?� “When will I be happy?� or “What am I supposed to do with my life?� this book is for you.

Through an inspiring blend of art and science, New Happy will forever change the way that you see yourself and the world. Whether you’re wondering what career you should choose, navigating a life transition, going through a difficult time, teaching your kids what matters most, or simply hoping to experience more joy every day, New Happy offers the proven path to a happier life and a better world.]]> 288 Stephanie Harrison 0593541391 Jessica 0 to-read 4.15
author: Stephanie Harrison
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.15
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]]> 45439528
“This brilliant book offers us both the science and practice of how self-kindness is the secret sauce of fulfillment, transformation, and joy.� ―Lorin Roche, meditation teacher and author of The Radiance Sutras

Many of us yearn to feel a greater sense of inner calm, ease, joy, and purpose. We have tried meditation and found it too difficult. We judge ourselves for being no good at emptying our minds (as if one ever could) or compare ourselves with yogis who seem to have it all together. We live in a steady state of “not good enough.� It does not have to be this way.

In Good Morning, I Love You, Dr. Shauna Shapiro brings alive the brain science behind why we feel the way we do―about ourselves, each other, and the world―and explains why we get stuck in thinking that doesn’t serve us. It turns out that we are hardwired to be self-critical and negative! And this negativity is constantly undermining our experience of life.

“It is never too late to rewire your brain for positivity―for calm, clarity, and joy,� writes Dr. Shapiro. “I know this is possible because I experienced it. Best of all, you can begin wherever you are.� In short, lively chapters laced with science, wisdom, and story, Shapiro, one of the leading scientists studying the effects of mindfulness on the brain, shows us that acting with kindness and compassion toward ourselves is the key.

With her roadmap to guide you, including her signature “Good Morning, I Love You� practice, in which you deliberately greet yourself each day with these simple words, you can change your brain’s circuitry and steady yourself in feelings of deep calm, clarity, and joy. For good.]]> 256 Shauna Shapiro 1683643437 Jessica 0 to-read 4.27
author: Shauna Shapiro
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.27
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rating: 0
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]]> 53867031 28 Cyana Riley 0578690993 Jessica 0 to-read 4.29
author: Cyana Riley
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.29
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rating: 0
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]]> 217204419 “Razor-sharp, darkly comedic, and emotionally piercing. With the satirical bite of Richard Russo’s Straight Man, the introspection of Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove, and the reinvention of Andrew Sean Greer's Less, Kenney’s vivid prose transforms the mundane into unexpected hilarity.�
�Booklist (starred review)

An Indie Next & LibraryReads Pick for April

The Office meets Six Feet Under meets About a Boy in this coming-of-middle-age tale about having a second chance to write your life’s story.

Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who is afraid to live. Yes, his wife recently left him for a “far more interesting� man. Yes, he goes on a particularly awful blind date with a woman who brings her ex. And yes, he has too many glasses of Scotch one night and proceeds to pen and publish his own obituary. The newspaper wants to fire him. But now the company’s system has him listed as dead. And the company can’t fire a dead person. The ensuing fallout forces him to realize that life may be actually worth living.

As Bud awaits his fate at work, his life hangs in the balance. Given another shot by his boss and encouraged by his best friend, Tim, a worldly and wise former art dealer, Bud starts to attend the wakes and funerals of strangers to learn how to live.

Thurber Prize-winner and New York Times bestselling author John Kenney tells a funny, touching story about life and death, about the search for meaning, about finding and never letting go of the preciousness of life.]]> 304 John Kenney Jessica 0 to-read 4.26 2025
author: John Kenney
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/10
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]]> 29598689 -- The Bookbag.co.uk Being able to identify a bird's song is a skill that brings joy and fosters an appreciation of nature. Learning how to differentiate between the songs of a house finch and a goldfinch, however, is not easy. That is where this enchanting book comes into its own. It features recordings of twelve bird songs from some of the best-known garden bird species seen and heard across North America. This is an interactive board book designed for any age with features for young readers. The board pages are easy to turn. The twelve song buttons are easy to activate and each bears a portrait of the singing bird. The high-quality sound module is encased in durable plastic, and the one-inch (3 cm) speaker makes it easy to hear and differentiate the elements of a bird's song, like pitch, tempo, whistles, trills and buzzes. All twelve birds have winter or summer ranges in the United States and Canada. This means that readers are sure to see most if not all the birds. The song birds This charming book is a fun (and potentially addictive) way for all ages to delight in nature's winged singers. It's a winning gift for any occasion, from a child's birthday to a hostess gift.]]> 26 Andrea Pinnington 1770857443 Jessica 0 to-read 4.72
author: Andrea Pinnington
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.72
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date added: 2025/04/08
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]]> 30278755 The instant #1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller

"A must read for anyone hoping to live a creative life... I dare you not to be inspired to be brave, to be free, and to be curious." --PopSugar

From the worldwide bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and City of Girls the path to the vibrant, fulfilling life you've dreamed of.

Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert's books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the "strange jewels" that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.]]> 276 Elizabeth Gilbert 1594634726 Jessica 0 to-read 4.11 2015
author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: to-read
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]]> 41881472 242 Morgan Housel 0857197681 Jessica 0 to-read 4.28 2020
author: Morgan Housel
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: to-read
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]]> 216247561 How did a young Parisienne mother, celebrated for her beauty and glamour, come to lead the largest spy network in France? A powerful, heartbreaking historical novel by the New York Times bestselling author

Morocco, 1928. Eighteen-year-old Frenchwoman Marie-Madeleine is not the kind of woman who goes through life sitting down, something her new husband can attest. Her unconventionalities - rally car driving, flying planes and dabbling in intelligence work for the government - earn her a reputation, but she knows who she is at an adventurer.

Paris, 1938. As Europe teeters on the brink of war, a chance encounter with a mysterious man codenamed Navarre turns Marie-Madeleine's life upside down. Recruited to help build a resistance network known only as Alliance, she conceals her identity - and gender - as she navigates a perilous double life away from her children and the man she loves. Capture and death are only a heartbeat away.

Bestselling Australian novelist Natasha Lester passionately brings to life the true story of one of history's unsung Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, the only woman to lead a resistance network in WWII France. Her story is one of epic love, tragic loss and magnificent leadership.

Praise for the immersive, impeccably researched novels of Natasha

'A beautifully written historical novel that will have you wiping away tears' Woman's Day

'Page-turning . . . Rich with intrigue and laced with secrets' The Australian Women's Weekly

'A master storyteller' Daily Telegraph

'A sweeping story of love, betrayal and one woman's struggle to find her place in the world. Engrossing and beautiful' TANIA BLANCHARD

'Thrilling' RUTH DRUART

'Held held me enthralled from the first page' CHRISTINE WELLS]]> 448 Natasha Lester 0593726537 Jessica 0 to-read 4.55 2025
author: Natasha Lester
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/03
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]]> 61319762
Florida Book Awards Gold Medalist

New York Times bestselling author and master of nonfiction spy thrillers Larry Loftis writes the first major biography of Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch watchmaker who saved the lives of hundreds of Jews during WWII—at the cost of losing her family and being sent to a concentration camp, only to survive, forgive her captors, and live the rest of her life as a Christian missionary.

The Watchmaker’s Daughter is one of the greatest stories of World War II that readers haven’t the remarkable and inspiring life story of Corrie ten Boom—a groundbreaking, female Dutch watchmaker, whose family unselfishly transformed their house into a hiding place straight out of a spy novel to shelter Jews and refugees from the Nazis during Gestapo raids. Even though the Nazis knew what the ten Booms were up to, they were never able to find those sheltered within the house when they raided it.

Corrie stopped at nothing to face down the evils of her time and overcame unbelievable obstacles and odds. She persevered despite the loss of most of her family and relied on her faith to survive the horrors of a notorious concentration camp. But even more remarkable than her heroism and survival was Corrie’s attitude when she was released. Miraculously, she was able to eschew bitterness and embrace forgiveness as she ministered to people in need around the globe. Corrie’s ability to forgive is just one of the myriad lessons that her life story holds for readers today.

Reminiscent ofĚýSchindler’s ListĚýand featuring a journey of faith and forgiveness not unlikeĚýUnbroken, The Watchmaker’s Daughter is destined to become a classic work of World War II nonfiction.]]> 384 Larry Loftis 0063234580 Jessica 0 to-read 4.30 2023
author: Larry Loftis
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2023
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date added: 2025/04/01
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]]> 78292425 In this laugh-out-loud funny sequel to the graphic novel Huda F Are You?, the Fahmys are off to Disney World, but self-conscious Huda worries her family will stand out too much.

Huda and her sisters can’t believe it when her parents announce that they’re actually taking a vacation this summer . . . to DISNEY WORLD! But it’s not quite as perfect as it seems. First Huda has to survive a 24-hour road trip from Michigan to Florida, with her sisters annoying her all the way. And then she can’t help but notice the people staring at her and her family when they pray in public. Back home in Dearborn she and her family blend right in because there are so many other Muslim families, but not so much in Florida and along the way.

It’s a vacation of forced (but unexpectly successful?) sisterly bonding, a complicated new friendship, a bit more independence, and some mixed feelings about her family’s public prayers. Huda is proud of her religion and who she is, but she still sure wishes she didn’t care so much what other people thought.]]> 208 Huda Fahmy 0593532805 Jessica 0 to-read 4.19 2023
author: Huda Fahmy
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: to-read
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]]> 215805810 32 Suzanne Lang 0593709314 Jessica 0 to-read 4.00
author: Suzanne Lang
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/01
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]]> 3117943 Quarto, , PP.48, 48 0744518555 Jessica 4
The book was written and produced in an effort to save elephants from extinction through education and awareness. Therefore, it’s unfortunate a stronger call to action wasn’t included. In small print, that’s easy to miss, there is a paragraph on the last page that includes a website. At least that’s something.]]> 4.00 1990
author: Ian Redmond For the Elefriends Campaign
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/01
date added: 2025/04/01
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48 pages of elephant photos and facts about elephants and the impact of poaching on the elephant population. I enjoyed learning more about these magnificent creatures and agree with the previous review that this book is good for middle-school age kids.

The book was written and produced in an effort to save elephants from extinction through education and awareness. Therefore, it’s unfortunate a stronger call to action wasn’t included. In small print, that’s easy to miss, there is a paragraph on the last page that includes a website. At least that’s something.
]]> 15242271 38 Ellen Blance 0582193052 Jessica 3
In the inside cover of the book, the author thanks the “many children who talked to us about the stories and whose language is used in these books.”]]> 4.00 1977
author: Ellen Blance
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1977
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/01
date added: 2025/04/01
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A short story to help kids understand what to expect if they get hurt and go to the hospital. Story includes an example of kids being resourceful (finding a branch long enough for monster to use as a crutch), and a female doctor.

In the inside cover of the book, the author thanks the “many children who talked to us about the stories and whose language is used in these books.�
]]> 223641077
Maggie Hope has come a long way since she was Mr. Churchill’s secretary. In the face of tremendous danger, she’s learnedĚýespionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance.ĚýBut things are different now that she hasĚýsoĚýmuch to lose,ĚýincludingĚýthe possibility of a family with John Sterling,ĚýtheĚýmanĚýwho’sĚýlong held her heart.

British Intelligence has ordered Maggie toĚýassassinateĚýWernerĚýHeisenberg, theĚýphysicistĚýwho may deliver a world-ending fission bomb for she’sĚýshaken by the assignment.ĚýAn assassinationĚýis unlike anything she’s ever done. How canĚýthe AlliesĚýeven be sureĚýNazi Germany has a bomb? Determined to gather more information, Maggie travels to Madrid, whereĚýHeisenberg is visiting forĚýa lecture.

At the same time,ĚýcouturierĚýCoco Chanel has requested a meeting withĚýthe undercover agent. Chanel, a spy inĚýher own right,Ěýwith ambiguous loyalties, is meeting with the British AmbassadorĚýin Madrid—and has requested MaggieĚýjoin them.ĚýAndĚýChanelĚýprovidesĚýthe perfect cover for Maggie’sĚýtrip to Spain.ĚýThe twoĚýplayĚýcat and mouse as Maggie tries to get a better understanding of Heisenberg. ButĚýthe most shocking curveball isĚýfromĚýthe most intimate Maggie’s own motherĚýhas keptĚýa hand in the war—and has secrets of her own to share.

Maggie desperately wants to find herĚý“happily-ever-after,”Ěýbut as the war reaches a fever pitch, the stakesĚýkeep rising. Now,Ěýmore than ever, the choicesĚýshe makes will reverberate around the globe, touching everyone she loves—with fateful implications for the future of the free world.]]> 304 Susan Elia MacNeal 0593157001 Jessica 0 to-read 5.00 2024
author: Susan Elia MacNeal
name: Jessica
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/01
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]]> 83823694 The beloved, multi-award-winning duo of Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen tackle a perennial question.

When Santa arrives at a child’s house on Christmas Eve, does he go down the chimney feetfirst or headfirst? What if he gets stuck? What if there’s no chimney? Maybe he slides under the door, as thin as a piece of paper? Or is it possible he pours himself through the faucet? What happens once he’s inside? Whether it’s shape-shifting or impromptu laundry use, Mac Barnett’s iconic talent for earnest deadpan humor and Jon Klassen’s irresistibly funny art honor the timeless question with answers both ridiculous and plausible, mounting in hilarity as the night continues. Channeling a child’s fanciful explanations (and begging for further speculation), this latest collaboration by a New York Times best-selling team will find a secure spot among family holiday traditions.]]> 32 Mac Barnett 1536234443 Jessica 0 to-read 4.27 2023
author: Mac Barnett
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: to-read
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]]> 13414803
I am a mix of two traditions.
From Daddy Christmas and Hanukkah Mama.
How lucky am I?

Holiday time at Sadie's house means golden gelt sparkling under the Christmas tree, candy canes hanging on eight menorah branches, voices uniting to sing carols about Macabees and the manger, and latkes on the mantel awaiting Santa's arrival.

Selina Alko's joyous celebration of blended families will make the perfect holiday gift for the many Americans who celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah.]]> 32 Selina Alko 0375860932 Jessica 0 to-read 3.49 2012
author: Selina Alko
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: to-read
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]]> 51287187 A heartwarming picture book with a fresh twist on a Hanukkah celebration: celebrating a ninth night with new neighbors and friends!
Ěý
It’s Hanukkah, and Max and Rachel are excited to light the menorah in their family’s new apartment. But, unfortunately, their Hanukkah box is missing. So now they have no menorah, candles, dreidels, or, well, anything! Luckily, their neighbors areĚýhappy to help, offering thoughtful and often humorous stand-in items each night. And then, just as Hanukkah is about to end, Max and Rachel, inspired by the shamash (“helperâ€�) candle, have a brilliant idea: they’re going to celebrate the Ninth Night of Hanukkah as a way to say thanks to everyone who’s helped them!

This book is not only a heartwarming and fun story, it’s also an invitation to join in a beautiful new Hanukkah tradition!
Ěý]]> 40 Erica S. Perl 1454940883 Jessica 3 4.26 2020
author: Erica S. Perl
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves:
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A playful read about siblings trying to celebrate Hanukkah after their family moved into an apartment building and could not find their special holiday items. This is a story about their new neighbors helping the kids celebrate through alternatives to their typical holiday customs, and finding the real meaning of Hanukkah.
]]> 35801646
This compelling true story follows the girls as they confront the daily horrors of Auschwitz, protecting one another, sharing memories, fears and even laughter. Always together. But when Rachel becomes ill and is taken away by Nazi guards, likely forever, Toby risks her life to use the well-hidden gold coins to rescue her little sister.]]> 32 Pnina Bat Zvi 177260058X Jessica 4 4.01
author: Pnina Bat Zvi
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.01
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
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A heartwarming true story about Jewish sisters and a miracle they survived Auschwitz, written by relatives of theirs
]]> 28648680 32 J. Patrick Lewis 1568462956 Jessica 3
Oversimplified yet educational. Reads like a comic book with large pictures and little text.

I like the visual example of some code words and the additional context in the Endnotes and Artist’s notes about the artwork - there’s historical meaning behind the images which makes this story ok the more informative.

Good for young readers]]> 3.90 2016
author: J. Patrick Lewis
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves:
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Interesting WWII history worth knowing!

Oversimplified yet educational. Reads like a comic book with large pictures and little text.

I like the visual example of some code words and the additional context in the Endnotes and Artist’s notes about the artwork - there’s historical meaning behind the images which makes this story ok the more informative.

Good for young readers
]]> 4855030
BEYOND BELIEF details the events that led up to the derailment. Josh explains how a young man destined for fame and wealth could allow his life to be taken over by drugs and alcohol. But it is also the memoir of a spiritual journey that breaks through pain and heartbreak and leads to the rebirth of his major-league career.

Josh Hamilton makes no excuses and places no blame on anyone other than himself. He takes responsibility for his poor decisions and believes his story can help millions who battle the same demons. "I have been given a platform to tell my story" he says. "I pray every night I am a good messenger."]]> 272 Josh Hamilton 1599951614 Jessica 0 to-read 4.26 2008
author: Josh Hamilton
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/29
shelves: to-read
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]]> 54508524 Marie Benedict, the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Only Woman in the Room, uncovers the untold story of Agatha Christie’s mysterious eleven day disappearance.

In December 1926, Agatha Christie goes missing. Investigators find her empty car on the edge of a deep, gloomy pond, the only clues some tire tracks nearby and a fur coat left in the car—strange for a frigid night. Her husband and daughter have no knowledge of her whereabouts, and England unleashes an unprecedented manhunt to find the up-and-coming mystery author. Eleven days later, she reappears, just as mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming amnesia and providing no explanations for her time away.

The puzzle of those missing eleven days has persisted. With her trademark exploration into the shadows of history, acclaimed author Marie Benedict brings us into the world of Agatha Christie, imagining why such a brilliant woman would find herself at the center of such a murky story.

What is real, and what is mystery? What role did her unfaithful husband play, and what was he not telling investigators?

A master storyteller whose clever mind may never be matched, Agatha Christie’s untold history offers perhaps her greatest mystery of all.]]> 292 Marie Benedict 149268273X Jessica 0 to-read 3.94 2020
author: Marie Benedict
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: to-read
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]]> 51197260 Two women. Two Flights. One last chance to disappear.

Claire Cook has a perfect life. Married to the scion of a political dynasty, with a Manhattan townhouse and a staff of ten, her surroundings are elegant, her days flawlessly choreographed, and her future auspicious. But behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems. That perfect husband has a temper that burns as bright as his promising political career, and he's not above using his staff to track Claire's every move, making sure she's living up to his impossible standards. But what he doesn't know is that Claire has worked for months on a plan to vanish.

A chance meeting in an airport bar brings her together with a woman whose circumstances seem equally dire. Together they make a last-minute decision to switch tickets � Claire taking Eva's flight to Oakland, and Eva traveling to Puerto Rico as Claire. They believe the swap will give each of them the head start they need to begin again somewhere far away. But when the flight to Puerto Rico goes down, Claire realizes it's no longer a head start but a new life. Cut off, out of options, with the news of her death about to explode in the media, Claire will assume Eva's identity, and along with it, the secrets Eva fought so hard to keep hidden.

The Last Flight is the story of two women â€� both alone, both scared â€� and one agonizing decision that will change theĚýtrajectory of both of their lives.]]> 352 Julie Clark 1728215730 Jessica 0 to-read 4.26 2020
author: Julie Clark
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: to-read
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]]> 217500852 From the bestselling author of Fractured comes a moving, heart-mending and uplifting novel of love, hope and second chances.

°Őłó±đ˛Ôâ€�

On the eve of her wedding to Adam, Lily’s best friend Josh unexpectedly walked out of her life, and she hasn’t seen him since.

Lily and Adam are blissfully happy, until he falls ill. As she cares for him in his final hours, Adam asks her to make a mysterious promise: to find Josh—and forgive them both.

This winter�

Tracking Josh down isn’t easy, but fate seems determined to bring them together. Cut off in his remote Scottish cabin by a fierce snowstorm, Lily and Josh explore their tangled feelings for each other, stretching back over the decades. But when she discovers the shocking reason behind Adam’s unexpected last wish, she’ll need to trust her heart completely�

Can Lily and Josh choose love—and find forgiveness and lasting happiness together?

Always You and Me asks: Do you choose love? Or does love choose you?]]> 394 Dani Atkins 1662527497 Jessica 0 currently-reading 4.40 2025
author: Dani Atkins
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/19
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 217182552 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Just for the Summer comes a new playful yet deeply emotional contemporary romance.

There might be no such a thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediately yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there’s nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong�

. . . unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake. But after one incredible and seemingly endless date—possibly the best in living history—Samantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. To remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be.

Only no amount of distance or time is nearly enough to forget that something between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life—and even a love—worth remembering.]]> 368 Abby Jimenez 1538759195 Jessica 0 to-read 4.24 2025
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: to-read
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]]> 219876684 In a hilarious short story from New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman, the absurdities of modern life cause one man’s solitary world to spin suddenly, and comically, out of control.

Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone?

Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.

Told in Fredrik Backman’s singular witty style with sharply drawn characters and relatable antics, The Answer Is No is a laugh-out-loud portrait of a man struggling to keep to himself in a world that won’t leave him alone.]]> 68 Fredrik Backman 1662526520 Jessica 0 3.94 2024
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/13
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves:
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]]> 219754177
Everything you've been told about dreams is wrong. Our dreams have been hijacked. Dreams aren't just fanciful thoughts; dreams are the very reason we're here. Yet, we're constantly told they're impractical, a waste of time. How to Dream, by best-selling author, therapist, and entrepreneur Deedee Cummings, is your guide to reclaiming the power of your dreams.

In this inspiring and practical book, Deedee uses her expertise and the art of storytelling to help you turn your dreams into reality. Whether you're just getting started or are well on your way, How to Dream offers doable steps and momentous mindset shifts that will make you unstoppable.

Don't let another day pass without pursuing your true potential. It's time to make your dreams a reality-starting now.]]> 162 Deedee Cummings 1951218523 Jessica 0 to-read 4.29
author: Deedee Cummings
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.29
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: to-read
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]]> 60528280
Champagne, France, 1800. Twenty-year-old Barbe-Nicole inherited Le Nez (an uncanny sense of smell that makes her picky, persnickety, and particularly perceptive) from her great-grandfather, a renowned champagne maker. Her parents see Le Nez as a curse that must be hidden and try to marry her off to an unsuspecting suitor. But Barbe-Nicole is haunted by her Grand-mere’s dying wish for her to use Le Nez to make great champagne. When she learns her childhood sweetheart, Francois Clicquot, wants to start a winery, she rejects her parents� suitors and marries Francois despite his mental illness.

Barbe-Nicole Clicquot must now cope with Francois� suicide, the difficulties of starting a winery, and the Napoleon Codes preventing women from owning a business. All this while Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, wages six wars against the European monarchs, crippling her ability to sell her champagne. Using Le Nez, she beats the impossible hardships of Napoleon’s wars, often challenging Napoleon himself. When Veuve Clicquot falls in love with her sales manager, Louis Bohne, who asks her to marry, she must choose between losing her winery to her husband, as dictated by Napoleon Code, or losing Louis.

In the ultimate showdown, Veuve Clicquot defies Napoleon, risking imprisonment and even death.]]> 331 Rebecca Rosenberg 1732969914 Jessica 0 to-read 4.24 2022
author: Rebecca Rosenberg
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves: to-read
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]]> 30076034 Precious Little Sleep, imparts effective, accessible, and flexible strategies based on years of research that will dramatically improve your child's sleep.

This book will help you tackle the thorniest sleep snags, including:


Navigating the tricky newborn phase like a pro Getting your child to truly sleep through the night Weaning off the all night buffet Mastering the precarious tango that is healthy napping Solving toddler and preschooler sleep struggles If you're looking for practical solutions to improve your child's sleep in a book that won't put you to sleep, this is for you!]]> 320 Alexis Dubief Jessica 0 to-read 4.09 2017
author: Alexis Dubief
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 176443755
“A triumph of historical fiction� ( The Washington Post ), an instant New York Times bestseller, and a Reese’s Book Club pick, set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, DC, that explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal.

1950s fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.

Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his parents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.

With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.]]> 384 Sadeqa Johnson 1982197374 Jessica 0 to-read 4.24 2023
author: Sadeqa Johnson
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves: to-read
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]]> 999644
Life's Greatest Lessons is a wise, wonderful book. In it, Hal Urban, a parent and an award-winning teacher, presents twenty principles that are as deeply rooted in common sense as they are in compassion. The topics, gathered from a lifetime of teaching both children and adults, span a wide range of readily understood concepts, including attitudes about money, understanding the real meaning of success and the importance of having fun. The book will help you find the best in the world, in others, and in yourself. Classic in its simplicity and enduring in its appeal, Life's Greatest Lessons helps us all rediscover that the desire to live a good life is timeless.]]> 167 Hal Urban 074323782X Jessica 0 to-read 4.20 1992
author: Hal Urban
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves: to-read
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]]> 53631533 "When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood."
So begins the luminous memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank's mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank's father, Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy-- exasperating, irresponsible and beguiling-- does nurture in Frank an appetite for the one thing he can provide: a story. Frank lives for his father's tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and of the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies.
Perhaps it is story that accounts for Frank's survival. Wearing rags for diapers, begging a pig's head for Christmas dinner and gathering coal from the roadside to light a fire, Frank endures poverty, near-starvation and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors--yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence, exuberance and remarkable forgiveness.
Angela's Ashes, imbued on every page with Frank McCourt's astounding humor and compassion, is a glorious book that bears all the marks of a classic.]]> 385 Frank McCourt Jessica 0 to-read 4.40 1996
author: Frank McCourt
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.40
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58935131 In this searing memoir, Congressman Jamie Raskin tells the story of the forty-five days at the start of 2021 that permanently changed his life--and his family's--as he confronted the painful loss of his son to suicide, lived through the violent insurrection in our nation's Capitol, and led the impeachment effort to hold President Trump accountable for inciting the political violence.

On December 31, 2020, Tommy Raskin, the only son of Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin, tragically took his own life after a long struggle with depression. Seven days later on January 6, Congressman Raskin returned to Congress to help certify the 2020 Presidential election results, when violent insurrectionists led by right wing extremist groups stormed the U.S. Capitol hoping to hand four more years of power to President Donald Trump. As our reeling nation mourned the deaths of numerous people and lamented the injuries of more than 140 police officers hurt in the attack, Congressman Raskin, a Constitutional law professor, was called upon to put aside his overwhelming grief--both personal and professional--and lead the impeachment effort against President Trump for inciting the violence. Together this nine-member team of House impeachment managers riveted a nation still in anguish, putting on an unprecedented Senate trial that produced the most bipartisan Presidential impeachment vote in American history.

Now for the first time, Congressman Raskin discusses this unimaginable convergence of personal and public trauma, detailing how the painful loss of his son and the power of Tommy's convictions fueled the Congressman's work in the aftermath of modern democracy's darkest day. Going inside Congress on January 6, he recounts the horror of that day, a day that he and other Democrats had spent months preparing for under the correct assumption that they would encounter an attempted electoral coup--not against a President but for one. And yet, on January 6, he faced the one thing he had failed to anticipate: mass political violence designed to block Biden's election. With an inside account of leading the team prosecuting President Trump in the Senate, Congressman Raskin shares never before told stories of just how close we came to losing our democracy that fateful day and lays out the methodical prosecution that convinced Democrats and Republicans alike of Trump's responsibility for inciting insurrectionary violence against our government.

Through it all, he reckons with the loss of his brilliant, remarkable son, a Harvard Law student whose values and memory continually inspired the Congressman to confront the dark impulses unleashed by Donald Trump. At turns, a moving story of a father coping with his pain and a revealing examination of holding President Trump accountable for the violence he fomented, this book is a vital reminder of the ongoing struggle for the soul of American democracy and the perseverance that our Constitution demands from us all.]]> 428 Jamie Raskin 0063209780 Jessica 0 to-read 4.43 2022
author: Jamie Raskin
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: to-read
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]]> 33016249 212 Elena Favilli 0997895810 Jessica 0 to-read 4.33 2016
author: Elena Favilli
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 216038747 In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.

In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.

Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.]]> 320 Ann Patchett 0063327538 Jessica 0 to-read 3.81 2023
author: Ann Patchett
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
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]]> 216052866 Invite God’s goodness into bedtime with this rhyming prayer book from Max Lucado featuring prayers and praises about God’s creation, presence, help, forgiveness, and loving heart written by Max and his wife, Denalyn. This keepsake book also includes blessings for parents to speak over their little ones. After talking to God each night, your child will fall asleep feeling joyful and cared for.

With updated selections fromĚýLucado Treasury of Bedtime Prayers, this board book edition for toddlers and preschoolers includes

original prayers that speak to the unique challenges and joys of little ones,
prayers from the Bible that small children can understand,
a heartfelt note to parents about the readiness of a child’s heart for prayer,
a “God bless this child� benediction on every page for parents to pray over their children, and
calming nature scenes of animal families.

Add this essential board book to your family’s routine to

introduce children ages 0 to 4 to the habit of talking with God each day;
model prayers of giving thanks, worshiping God, asking for help, and sharing worries; and
calm little minds and bodies with God’s peace.

With sweet and simple rhyming prayers of joy and praise, short Scriptures, and classic artwork, this prayer book makes a meaningful gift for baby showers, adoption presents, dedications, christenings, baptisms, birthdays, Easter, and Christmas. Show your kids that God listens to their prayers, and He cares what they have to say withĚýGod Bless This Bedtime Prayers and Praises for Little Ones.]]> 20 Max Lucado 1400251095 Jessica 0 to-read 4.36
author: Max Lucado
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.36
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
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]]> 215363240
Six years later Evelyn is back home in Los Angeles and working as a private investigator. The war was supposed to change everything, yet she feels stifled by convention. Then the suspected cheating husband she’s tailing is murdered, and suddenly Evelyn is back in Nick’s orbit again. Teaming up for a final mission, Evelyn and Nick begin to uncover the true nature of her case—and realize the war has followed them home.]]> 320 Shaina Steinberg 1496747917 Jessica 0 to-read 4.11 2024
author: Shaina Steinberg
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves: to-read
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]]> 53866227
May 10, 1940. The Netherlands was swarming with Third Reich troops. In seven days it’s entirely occupied by Nazi Germany. Joining a small resistance cell in the Dutch city of Haarlem were three teenage girls: Hannie Schaft, and sisters Truus and Freddie Oversteegen who would soon band together to form a singular female underground squad.

Smart, fiercely political, devoted solely to the cause, and “with nothing to lose but their own lives,� Hannie, Truus, and Freddie took terrifying direct action against Nazi targets. That included sheltering fleeing Jews, political dissidents, and Dutch resisters. They sabotaged bridges and railways, and donned disguises to lead children from probable internment in concentration camps to safehouses. They covertly transported weapons and set military facilities ablaze. And they carried out the assassinations of German soldiers and traitors–on public streets and in private traps–with the courage of veteran guerilla fighters and the cunning of seasoned spies.

In telling this true story through the lens of a fearlessly unique trio of freedom fighters, Tim Brady offers a never-before-seen perspective of the Dutch resistance during the war. Of lives under threat; of how these courageous young women became involved in the underground; and of how their dedication evolved into dangerous, life-threatening missions on behalf of Dutch patriots–regardless of the consequences.

Harrowing, emotional, and unforgettable, Three Ordinary Girls finally moves these three icons of resistance into the deserved forefront of world history.]]> 336 Tim Brady Jessica 4
I appreciated the concise writing depicting events and individuals, and flow of historical information, without it reading like a textbook biography.

I appreciated the references to Anne Frank and family as they overlapped with historical timing in the book (when they went into hiding, were captured). I appreciated learning about Hennie, Truus, Freddie and their efforts during the war and afterwards. Clearly well researched.

Photos of the women would have been a nice touch.]]> 4.21 2021
author: Tim Brady
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/19
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves:
review:
Thank you, author, Tim Brady, for shining a light on three young WWII Dutch resistance fighters and their historical contributions, to a broader audience, as they are clearly well known in the Netherlands.

I appreciated the concise writing depicting events and individuals, and flow of historical information, without it reading like a textbook biography.

I appreciated the references to Anne Frank and family as they overlapped with historical timing in the book (when they went into hiding, were captured). I appreciated learning about Hennie, Truus, Freddie and their efforts during the war and afterwards. Clearly well researched.

Photos of the women would have been a nice touch.
]]> 61192830 Perfect for readers of A Woman of No Importance, Three Ordinary Girls, and Eleanor: A Life comes the first-ever biography of Anna Marie Rosenberg, the Hungarian Jewish immigrant who became FDR’s closest advisor during World War II and, according to LIFE, “the most important official woman in the world� —a woman of many firsts, whose story, forgotten for too long, is extraordinary, inspiring, and uniquely American. Her life ran parallel to the front lines of history yet her influence on 20th century America, from the New Deal to the Cold War and beyond, has never before been told.

“Far and away the most important woman in the American government, and perhaps the most important official female in the world.� �LIFE magazine, 1952

As Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s special envoy to Europe in World War II she went where the president couldn’t go. She was among the first Allied women to enter a liberated concentration camp, and stood in the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s mountain retreat, days after its capture. She guided the direction of the G.I. Bill of Rights and the Manhattan Project. Though Anna Rosenberg emerged from modest immigrant beginnings, equipped with only a high school education, she was the real power behind national policies critical to America winning the war and prospering afterward. Astonishingly, her story remains largely forgotten.

With a disarming mix of charm and Tammany-hewn toughness, Rosenberg began her career in public relations in 1920s Manhattan. She became friends with Eleanor Roosevelt, who recommended Anna to her husband, who was then running for Governor of New York. As FDR’s unofficial adviser, Rosenberg soon wielded enormous influence—no less potent for being subtle. Roosevelt dubbed her “my Mrs. Fix-It.� Her extraordinary career continued after his death.

By 1950, she was tapped to become the assistant secretary of defense—the highest position ever held by a woman in the US military—prompting Senator Joe McCarthy to wage an unsuccessful smear campaign against her. In 1962, she organized John F. Kennedy’s infamous birthday gala, sitting beside him while Marilyn Monroe sang. Until the end of her life, Rosenberg fought tirelessly for causes from racial integration to women’s equality to national health care.

More than the story of one remarkable woman, The Confidante explores who gets to be at the forefront of history, and why. Though she was not quite a hidden figure, Rosenberg’s position as “the power behind,� combined with her status as an immigrant and a Jewish woman, served to diminish her importance. In this inspiring, impeccably researched, and revelatory book, Christopher C. Gorham at last affords Anna Rosenberg the recognition she so richly deserves.

“A fitting tribute to a trailblazer.� �Publishers Weekly

“Wonderfully told…perfect for readers of history, biography, politics, and feminism.� �Booklist

“A well-deserved first biography.� �Kirkus Reviews]]> 384 Christopher C. Gorham 0806542004 Jessica 4
“Anna Rosenberg’s impact on national policies and their implementation continues to this day. Her talent, hard work, and devotion to duty improved the lives of millions of Americans. What was vitally important to her—expansion of government services, racial integration, the democratization of the armed forces, veterans� care, and medical research investment—has all been incorporated into our way of life.�

“…[there] are a lot of things happening you just cannot sit by watching idly. I decided to do something about it.� - Anna Rosenberg

This was a really eye-opening and interesting read. It’s long, full of Anna’s historical contributions and efforts.]]> 4.18 2023
author: Christopher C. Gorham
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/21
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves:
review:
Be blown away by the remarkable powerhouse, behind monumental things we take for granted: Social Security, women in the military, and cancer research. Anna Rosenberg championed the integration of black and white combat units as well as on-base schools for the soldiers� children. She was once a household name. Thanks to this book, her massive contributions to America, as we know it, are compiled here. There is A LOT to learn and be thankful for, thanks to Anna Rosenberg.

“Anna Rosenberg’s impact on national policies and their implementation continues to this day. Her talent, hard work, and devotion to duty improved the lives of millions of Americans. What was vitally important to her—expansion of government services, racial integration, the democratization of the armed forces, veterans� care, and medical research investment—has all been incorporated into our way of life.�

“…[there] are a lot of things happening you just cannot sit by watching idly. I decided to do something about it.� - Anna Rosenberg

This was a really eye-opening and interesting read. It’s long, full of Anna’s historical contributions and efforts.
]]> 12748749 A remarkably frank, deeply moving, and inspiring memoir by Jai Pausch, whose husband, Randy, wrote the bestseller The Last Lecture while battling pancreatic cancer.
Ěý
"Jai is such a giver that she often forgets to take care of herself," Randy Pausch wrote about his wife.Ěý"Jai knows that she’ll have to give herself permission to make herself a priority."
ĚýĚýĚýĚý InĚýDream New Dreams,ĚýJai Pausch shares her own story for the first time: her emotional journey from wife and mother to full-time caregiver, shuttling between her three young children and Randy’s bedside as he sought treatment far from home; and then to widow and single parent, fighting to preserve a sense of stability for her family, while coping with her own grief and the challenges of running a household without a partner.
ĚýJai paints a vivid, honest portrait of a vital, challenging relationship between two strong people who faced a grim prognosis and the self-sacrificing decisions it often required. As she faced life without the husband she called her “magic man,â€� Jai learned to make herself a priority to create a new life of hope and happiness—as she puts it, to “feel a spark of my own magic beginning to flicker.â€�
ĚýĚýĚýĚý Dream New Dreams is a powerful story of grief, healing, and newfound independence. With advice artfully woven into an intimate, beautifully written narrative,ĚýJai’s story will inspire not only the legions of readers who madeĚýThe Last LectureĚýa bestseller, but also those who are embarking on a journey of loss and renewal themselves.
Ěý]]> 240 Jai Pausch 0307888509 Jessica 0 to-read 3.49 2012
author: Jai Pausch
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 124725488
With new details and previously unpublished photographs, this gripping, unflinching examination charts her transformation from engaging country girl to “The Beast� of Auschwitz.

By the time of her execution at thirty-six, Maria Mandl had achieved the highest rank possible for a woman in the Third Reich. As Head Overseer of the women’s camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, she was personally responsible for the murders of thousands, and for the torture and suffering of countless more.

In this riveting biography, Susan J. Eischeid explores how Maria Mandl, regarded locally as “a nice girl from a good family,� came to embody the very worst of humanity. Born in 1912 in the scenic Austrian village of Münzkirchen, Maria enjoyed a happy childhood with loving parents—who later watched in anguish as their grown daughter rose through the Nazi system.

Mandl’s life mirrors the period in which she turbulent, violent, and suffused with paradoxes. At Auschwitz-Birkenau, she founded the notable women’s orchestra and “adopted� several children from the transports—only to lead them to the gas chambers when her interest waned. After the war, Maria was arrested for crimes against humanity. Following a public trial attended by the international press, she was hanged in 1948.

For two decades, Eischeid has excavated the details of Mandl’s life story, drawing on archival testimonies, speaking to dozens of witnesses, and spending time with Mandl’s community of friends and neighbors who shared their memories as well as those handed down in their families. The result is a chilling and complex exploration of how easily an uordinary citizen chose the path of evil in a climate of hate and fear.]]> 464 Susan J. Eischeid 0806542853 Jessica 0 to-read 3.96 2023
author: Susan J. Eischeid
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
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]]> 978689 Ěý
That’s Milton Mayer, writing in a foreword to the 1966 edition of They Thought They Were Free. He’s right about the critics: the book was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1956. General readers may have been slower to take notice, but over time they did—what we’ve seen over decades is that any time people, across the political spectrum, start to feel that freedom is threatened, the book experiences a ripple of word-of-mouth interest. And that interest has never been more prominent or potent than what we’ve seen in the past year.
Ěý
They Thought They Were Free is an eloquent and provocative examination of the development of fascism in Germany. Mayer’s book is a study of ten Germans and their lives from 1933-45, based on interviews he conducted after the war when he lived in Germany. Mayer had a position as a research professor at the University of Frankfurt and lived in a nearby small Hessian town which he disguised with the name “Kronenberg.� “These ten men were not men of distinction,� Mayer noted, but they had been members of the Nazi Party; Mayer wanted to discover what had made them Nazis. His discussions with them of Nazism, the rise of the Reich, and mass complicity with evil became the backbone of this book, an indictment of the ordinary German that is all the more powerful for its refusal to let the rest of us pretend that our moment, our society, our country are fundamentally immune.
Ěý
A new foreword to this edition by eminent historian of the Reich Richard J. Evans puts the book in historical and contemporary context. We live in an age of fervid politics and hyperbolic rhetoric. They Thought They Were Free cuts through that, revealing instead the slow, quiet accretions of change, complicity, and abdication of moral authority that quietly mark the rise of evil.]]> 346 Milton Sanford Mayer 0226511928 Jessica 0 to-read 4.14 1955
author: Milton Sanford Mayer
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1955
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
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]]> 61718053
They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends� hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week� in front of those who know you best?

A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.]]> 400 Emily Henry 0593441273 Jessica 0 to-read 3.95 2023
author: Emily Henry
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 138053 32 Margie Palatini 0395866189 Jessica 0 to-read 4.23 1995
author: Margie Palatini
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 18799561 32 Aaron Zenz Jessica 0 to-read 4.16 2005
author: Aaron Zenz
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 54377375
When Vanessa Price quit her job to pursue her dream of traveling the globe, she wasn't expecting to gain millions of YouTube followers who shared her joy of seizing every moment. For her, living each day to its fullest isn't just a motto. Her mother and sister never saw the age of 30, and Vanessa doesn't want to take anything for granted.

But after her half-sister suddenly leaves Vanessa in custody of her infant daughter, life goes from "daily adventure" to "next-level bad" (now with bonus baby vomit in hair). The last person Vanessa expects to show up offering help is the hot lawyer next door, Adrian Copeland. After all, she barely knows him. No one warned her that he was the Secret Baby Tamer or that she'd be spending a whole lot of time with him and his geriatric Chihuahua.

Now she's feeling things she's vowed not to feel. Because the only thing worse than falling for Adrian is finding a little hope for a future she may never see.]]> 384 Abby Jimenez 1538715686 Jessica 0 to-read 4.13 2021
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 223199392 Two good neighbors make the best of a bad Valentine’s Day in a funny and improbably romantic short story by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Just for the Summer.

It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, and Charlotte and Seth are not looking for romance. Armed with emotional-support bear spray, Charlotte is in self-imposed isolation and on guard from men. Having a stalker can do that to a person’s nerves. Just across the hall and giving off woodsy vibes is Seth, a recently divorced arborist. As in today recently. Heights, he’s fine with. Trust? Not so much. But when disaster traps them one flight up and no way down, an outrageously precarious predicament forces a tree-loving guy and a rattled girl next door to embrace their captivity. Soon their defenses are breaking away. Considering how close they both are to the edge, Charlotte and Seth could be in danger of falling—in love.]]> 82 Abby Jimenez 1662529082 Jessica 5
Thanks Amazon Prime for the free February bonus read and introducing me to author Abby Jimenez.

I appreciate Abby’s GoodReads note, alerting readers of potential stalking triggers and references to violence. A responsible and thoughtful thing to do.

The characters are authentic, the dialogue enjoyable, the premise unique and different. Read it for yourself!]]> 4.12 2025
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves:
review:
Treat yourself to a quick, enjoyable, empowering, cheesy-good read! This short story will make you smile, lol, and you’ll fall for all the characters and their fun dialogue.

Thanks Amazon Prime for the free February bonus read and introducing me to author Abby Jimenez.

I appreciate Abby’s GoodReads note, alerting readers of potential stalking triggers and references to violence. A responsible and thoughtful thing to do.

The characters are authentic, the dialogue enjoyable, the premise unique and different. Read it for yourself!
]]> 24397056 This delightful oversized board book opens a world of vocabulary learning with a simple lift of a flap!
Organized by theme, Baby can explore the connections between objects and the words that describe them with help from their favorite Disney characters!
The colorful character illustrations and fun flaps will make this book one of your baby's favorites!]]> 12 Walt Disney Company 1484718011 Jessica 5 ]]> 4.00 2015
author: Walt Disney Company
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves:
review:
Our 21 month old loves this book and he has no idea who Mickey or the other Disney characters are. He enjoys seeing items and opening the flaps. He has another lift the flap book and is less interested in it.

]]> 214175102 Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a racially-charged murder case sets a duo of white and Black lawyers against a deeply unfair system as they work to defend their wrongfully-accused Black defendants in this courtroom drama from #1�New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci.�

Jack Lee is a white lawyer from Freeman County, Virginia, who has never done anything to push back against racism, until he decides to represent Jerome Washington, a Black man charged with brutally killing an elderly and wealthy white couple. Doubting his decision, Lee fears that his legal skills may not be enough to prevail in a case where the odds are already stacked against both him and his client. And he quickly finds himself out of his depth when he realizes that what is at stake is far greater than the outcome of a murder trial.
�
Desiree DuBose is a Black lawyer from Chicago who has devoted her life to furthering the causes of justice and equality for everyone. She comes to Freeman County and enters a fractious and unwieldy partnership with Lee in a legal battle against the best prosecutor in the Commonwealth. Yet DuBose is also aware that powerful outside forces are at work to blunt the victories achieved by the Civil Rights era. �
�
Lee and DuBose could not be more dissimilar. On their own, neither one can stop the prosecution’s deliberate march towards a guilty verdict and the electric chair. But together, the pair fight for what once seemed impossible: a chance for a fair trial and true justice.

Over a decade in the writing, A Calamity of Souls breathes richly imagined and detailed life into a bygone era, taking the reader through a world that will seem both foreign and familiar.]]> 512 David Baldacci 1538765047 Jessica 0 to-read 4.59 2024
author: David Baldacci
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 204523604 The latest adult multicultural rom-com from the acclaimed author of the Reese Witherspoon YA Book Club Pick Furia, explores the youthful heartbreak and special magic of finding love in unexpected places—at just the right time.

All Stevie Choi ever wanted was a cozy life in suburbia—a loving husband, adorable kids, a dog. That simple dream shattered into a million pieces when she was only seventeen. She’s spent the years since trying to outrun the pain and make something of herself, if only to prove to her estranged family that she’s happy and successful—even though she’s secretly yearning for another chance at love. If only she believed she deserved it . . .

So, Stevie drowns herself in her job, and in the low season, “dates� new countries, leaving her Utah home-base to circle the globe, from Paris to Cairo to Cabo San Lucas, curating a gorgeous Instagram feed—while spending every New Year alone. Then one frigid January day in Rome she meets Cristian. He would be her perfect match—if they weren’t separated by continents and obligations. Unable to say goodbye, they agree that if they’re both single at seventy, they’ll marry each other if only to have a fun companion to travel with. . . . But through the years, their friendship grows into something more, and suddenly it’s up to Stevie to choose happiness . . .

Sparkling with hope,ĚýAll Roads Lead to Rome soulfully examines all the ways a tender heart can be broken—and how faith in the future—and in oneself—can make it whole again . . .]]> 0 Yamile Saied MĂ©ndez 1496737105 Jessica 0 to-read 3.86
author: Yamile Saied MĂ©ndez
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.86
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217387944 The story of a Green Beret commander's heroism during the Vietnam War, and the long fight to recognize his bravery.

When Col. Paris Davis was selected to lead one of the secretive Green Beret A-teams organizing indigenous resistance to Communist incursions into South Vietnam, his commanding officer warned him that some of his soldiers would resent his authority. This was no surprise; there were only a handful of Black officers in the Special Forces, and the Civil Rights movement was gaining momentum back home--his detachment landed in Binh Dinh Province in April 1965, only weeks after the merciless attacks on activists marching on Selma. Davis quickly won the respect of his soldiers, and would soon fight beside him as bullets snapped past and mortars exploded overhead.

On June 18th, Davis led a group of inexperienced local villagers and Special Forces soldiers in an attack on a Viet Cong base in Bong Son. They were met by a superior enemy force, and Davis led the charge in a grueling firefight, engaging in hand-to-hand combat when his rifle jammed. He was seriously wounded, but he disobeyed a direct order to retreat until he dragged three injured Green Berets off the battlefield to safety.

Think Only This Of Me is an inspiring tale of valor and sacrifice, set against the backdrop of major escalations in both the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement. It is also a story of deferred honor and delayed recognition; Davis earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his actions, but his nomination for the Congressional Medal of Honor was repeatedly "lost." No official reason has ever been given for this oversight, but those who fought to correct it believe that it was motivated by racial prejudice. Davis was finally awarded the Medal in 2023, 58 years after the battle.]]> 272 Paris Davis 1250387655 Jessica 0 to-read 4.00 2025
author: Paris Davis
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214530402 A STEAM-packed celebration of outside-the-box thinking set during a school science fair—perfect for fans of Ada Twist, Scientist.

It’s time for the Scintillating Science Symposium, and Mo is determined to win this year’s competition. He knows his classmates are talented, but none of them are serious scientists like him . . . especially not Muriel. After all, Mo wants to be a chemist when he grows up; Muriel wants to be a cat. Besides, Mo has the best idea to turn something small into something big. He just can’t forget his secret ingredient...

As the day of the Symposium arrives, readers will love discovering the scientific surprises behind the Sunnysill Elementary students� projects, from lemon meringue pie to boogers. Ana Stretcu’s energetic and charming artwork further emphasizes how fun STEAM can be and how creativity can help answer big questions—in the classroom and beyond.]]> 40 Sara de Waal 1773219456 Jessica 0 to-read 4.38
author: Sara de Waal
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.38
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217245668 From Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a roadmap for shattering the status quo and standing up for what's right across our lives, our communities, and our country.

AN OPEN FIELD BOOK FROM MARIA SHRIVER

During the 2020 presidential election, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson oversaw the highest turnout and most secure election in the state’s history. But she was thrust onto the national stage when then-President Donald Trump falsely and publicly accused her of rigging votes. Soon after, armed protesters appeared at Benson’s house, threatening her safety and that of her husband and young son.

The intimidation did not work. Not only did Benson refuse to back down, she spoke out even louder, ultimately helping to expose the nationally coordinated effort to hinder the election.ĚýNow in The Purposeful Warrior, Benson invites us to channel our fears and frustrations into standing up for integrity and truth—not only for ourselves, but for our communities and our nation.

Becoming a Purposeful Warrior means knowing that what affects one person affects us all. It means having zero tolerance for bullies and fighting for the truth, even when it hurts. It means navigating life with grit and grace, challenging your own assumptions, and allowing your anger to point you toward your purpose.

Introducing the Purposeful Warrior principles, Benson shares powerful stories from her rise in politics—from her time investigating domestic terrorist cells in Alabama, to becoming the youngest woman to lead a top 100 law school in the U.S., to launching a coalition of major sports leagues to advance equality with the owner of the Miami Dolphins, to becoming one of only a handful of women to complete the Boston Marathon while more than eight months pregnant—as well as those of paradigm-shifters throughout history, business leaders, sports icons, and everyday heroes who embody what it means to be a Purposeful Warrior.

In times of intense conflict and anxiety, the world wants us to believe we’re powerless to make a difference. But we’re not powerless; our purpose is simply waiting to be unleashed.]]> 240 Jocelyn Benson 0593994205 Jessica 0 to-read 4.00
author: Jocelyn Benson
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 62980809
Berlin, 1936. The Landau family are at the heart of their community, running a music shop in Berlin and just trying to survive. But their lives are unravelling as Hitler's power increases and the treatment of Jewish families deteriorates. Eldest daughter, Rachel, fears for her sisters' future and will do anything she can to keep them safe. Will she find hope in the darkness?

Paris, 1936. As whispers of war travel over from Europe, American debutante Kay escapes her mother's grasp and travels as a reluctant spy from Paris to Berlin. But a chance meeting with the Landau family will change her life forever. Kay is determined to give Rachel and her sisters a fighting chance in a society where the youngest are paying the ultimate price, even if it means making dangerous enemies along the way�

As the world marches toward war, these brave women will find strength in joining forces to save the ones they love. But they will need the support of one another more than they will ever realise in order to survive…]]> 391 Jina Bacarr 1804153494 Jessica 1
The book’s summary says it’s a historical novel about two women and the Kindertransport to rescue Jewish children before the war broke out. Ha! There is hardly any details or much content dedicated to the Kindertransport, which was the reason I read this book, and the second female character has zero character development, she is simply a friend that is occasionally in the story.

Even if you enjoy light-reading historical novels, which are defined as stories “set in a historical period of time and convey the spirit, manners, and social conditions of a past age with realistic detail…� this failed to achieve much focus on the setting and time in history.

This story takes place during WWII but it’s not really about the war, despite reviews and the books description. It’s about a debutant who doesn’t want to be one, has a bad relationship with her cold hearted mother, flees to Paris, falls in love with a man and with a Jewish family in Berlin that they are able to save. There is a lot of redundancies about Katy’s feelings, mostly about her mother, the loss of her child, and feelings towards the men in her life; which is more of the focus than what’s actually happening during the war.

Even if you don’t want to read / learn about WWII, this story is poorly written and not entertaining. As another reviewer said, “Way too much filler and not enough substance.� I’m shocked I finished it and wish I simply moved onto something else.

I also struggled with the writing style: unrealistic and repetitive. Multiple examples of this are throughout the book, but I’ll highlight two:

- It’s hard to take this book seriously when the main character, Katy, is being perused by a Nazi SS officer, she has time to wonder if a Jew she’s trying to protect is pregnant. Really, at this very moment you have time to think about something other than escaping? “I shoot her a look. Are you�? She nods.� Give me a break! So unrealistic. It’s insulting to the real fear situations like this that actually occurred.

- While being shot at by Nazis, Katy has a flirtatious conversation with pilot Max who struggles to fly the airplane and has a lengthy internal dialogue about how she’s falling for him. All while she’s afraid of heights and bullets are wizzing past them�. If potential death was that close, I’d be behaving differently.

Additionally, it makes absolutely no logical sense that after Americans were being rounded up and sent to camps, after America entered the war, that Katy, who was previously arrested from her home at The Ritz Hotel, would return to live there for the duration of the war, collecting intelligence as a spy - this is briefly referenced at the end of the book, which was rushed and ended in haste.

I’m honestly mad at how misleading the book’s description is and makes me mistrust anything published by Boldwood Books.]]> 4.37 2022
author: Jina Bacarr
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2022
rating: 1
read at: 2023/03/19
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves:
review:
My least favorite read in a long time. Poorly written and light on history. I should have put the book down when it first annoyed me, which was early and often.

The book’s summary says it’s a historical novel about two women and the Kindertransport to rescue Jewish children before the war broke out. Ha! There is hardly any details or much content dedicated to the Kindertransport, which was the reason I read this book, and the second female character has zero character development, she is simply a friend that is occasionally in the story.

Even if you enjoy light-reading historical novels, which are defined as stories “set in a historical period of time and convey the spirit, manners, and social conditions of a past age with realistic detail…� this failed to achieve much focus on the setting and time in history.

This story takes place during WWII but it’s not really about the war, despite reviews and the books description. It’s about a debutant who doesn’t want to be one, has a bad relationship with her cold hearted mother, flees to Paris, falls in love with a man and with a Jewish family in Berlin that they are able to save. There is a lot of redundancies about Katy’s feelings, mostly about her mother, the loss of her child, and feelings towards the men in her life; which is more of the focus than what’s actually happening during the war.

Even if you don’t want to read / learn about WWII, this story is poorly written and not entertaining. As another reviewer said, “Way too much filler and not enough substance.� I’m shocked I finished it and wish I simply moved onto something else.

I also struggled with the writing style: unrealistic and repetitive. Multiple examples of this are throughout the book, but I’ll highlight two:

- It’s hard to take this book seriously when the main character, Katy, is being perused by a Nazi SS officer, she has time to wonder if a Jew she’s trying to protect is pregnant. Really, at this very moment you have time to think about something other than escaping? “I shoot her a look. Are you�? She nods.� Give me a break! So unrealistic. It’s insulting to the real fear situations like this that actually occurred.

- While being shot at by Nazis, Katy has a flirtatious conversation with pilot Max who struggles to fly the airplane and has a lengthy internal dialogue about how she’s falling for him. All while she’s afraid of heights and bullets are wizzing past them�. If potential death was that close, I’d be behaving differently.

Additionally, it makes absolutely no logical sense that after Americans were being rounded up and sent to camps, after America entered the war, that Katy, who was previously arrested from her home at The Ritz Hotel, would return to live there for the duration of the war, collecting intelligence as a spy - this is briefly referenced at the end of the book, which was rushed and ended in haste.

I’m honestly mad at how misleading the book’s description is and makes me mistrust anything published by Boldwood Books.
]]> 3635
Are you living your dream� or just living your life?

Welcome to a little story about a very big idea. This compelling modern-day parable tells the story of Ordinary, who dares to leave the Land of Familiar to pursue his Big Dream.

You, too, have been given a Big Dream. One that can change your life. One that the Dream Giver wants you to achieve. Does your Big Dream seem hopelessly out of reach? Are you waiting for something or someone to make your dream happen?

Then you’re ready for The Dream Giver .

Let Bruce Wilkinson show you how to rise above the ordinary, conquer your fears, and overcome the obstacles that keep you from living your Big Dream.

You were made for this. Now it’s time to begin your journey.]]> 157 Bruce Wilkinson 159052201X Jessica 3
A great book to give to anyone who’s stuck, graduating college, or needing direction in their life.

I’m gifting my copy to my brother in hopes this helps motivate him to recognize a dream and work towards it.

This book is an easy, short read. You can finish it in a weekend, which I recommend. The message is more powerful with limited interruptions.

I’ve accomplished dreams, but at this moment in my life feel deflated, unmotivated, uninspired. I have work to do to realize a new dream, God’s dream for me. Of course I wished a flame was lit ablaze for me while reading this, but I’m sure a spark has developed and just needs time to simmer and grow.

Closing remarks from the author:
“God has given you a Big Dream. I hope this book has convinced you to chase after that Dream with every fiber of your being� take next steps towards realizing your Dream…Now May you devote yourself to His Dream for you.� - Bruce Wilkinson]]> 4.27 2003
author: Bruce Wilkinson
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 2022/07/23
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves:
review:
This is a powerful book and message intended to shine a light and empower readers to let go of the comfortable “familiars� in their life and move towards achieving their dreams - dreams given to us by our Dream Giver, God.

A great book to give to anyone who’s stuck, graduating college, or needing direction in their life.

I’m gifting my copy to my brother in hopes this helps motivate him to recognize a dream and work towards it.

This book is an easy, short read. You can finish it in a weekend, which I recommend. The message is more powerful with limited interruptions.

I’ve accomplished dreams, but at this moment in my life feel deflated, unmotivated, uninspired. I have work to do to realize a new dream, God’s dream for me. Of course I wished a flame was lit ablaze for me while reading this, but I’m sure a spark has developed and just needs time to simmer and grow.

Closing remarks from the author:
“God has given you a Big Dream. I hope this book has convinced you to chase after that Dream with every fiber of your being� take next steps towards realizing your Dream…Now May you devote yourself to His Dream for you.� - Bruce Wilkinson
]]> 208580945 The romance of Casablanca meets the spy world of Ian Fleming in this WWII love story for the ages.In a glittering city of secrets and shadows, love is the most perilous gamble of all. Lisbon 1943. As two American librarians are drawn into a city of dangerous subterfuge and unexpected love affairs, they are forced to choose between their missions and the men they love. Brimming with evocative writing and meticulous research, award-winning author Suzanne Nelson spins a web of secret aliases, sweeping romance, and great sacrifice. Inspired by real historical figures, this is the captivating story of two remarkable young women, their bravery and heartache, and a friendship that withstands the ravages of war.

With World War II raging across Europe, best friends Selene Delmont and Beatrice Sullivan are enlisted by the U.S. Intelligence Office and sent to Lisbon—a sparkling city and hotbed of trouble, harboring exiled royalty, hunted refugees, and spies trading double-edged secrets in seductively dark corners. In official capacity, librarians Selene and Bea have been recruited to catalog the vast mountain of information gathered by the Allies, but by night, both women are undercover agents tasked with infiltrating the Axis spy network.

Where Selene is confident and brash, Bea is bookish and careful. Selene longs to escape her family’s impossible expectations and embrace her independence, while all Bea wants is to heal from heartbreak and keep impulsive Selene out of trouble. But soon, both librarians are caught up in treacherous games of deception alongside two of Lisbon’s most notorious men—the outcast Portuguese baron, Luca Caldeira, and the lethal double-agent, Gable. As Selene charms her way through lavish ballrooms and fêtes with Luca, Bea is plunged into Gable’s shadowy underworld of informants.

Victory depends upon the joint success of their missions, but when an unexpected betrayal throws a carefully spun web of lies into chaos, everything they’ve sacrificed is put at risk. As Selene and Bea are pushed to their breaking points can their friendship, and their hearts, survive the cost of war?]]> 352 Suzanne Nelson 1638931658 Jessica 0 to-read 3.92
author: Suzanne Nelson
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.92
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 131447989 0 ten Boom Jessica 0 to-read 4.58
author: ten Boom
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.58
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217109836 On Being Jewish Now is edited by bestselling author, podcaster, bookstore owner, and media company CEO Zibby Owens.


All profits from the sale of the e-book, audiobook, and paperback will be donated to Artists Against Antisemitism, a group founded by Jewish authors in the aftermath of October 7th, dedicated to fighting the spread of antisemitism.



Introduction
You Have to Laugh
I Thought We Were Friends
An (Unlikely?) Activist
Jewish Mom-Life
Bling
Am I a Good Enough Jew?
Love Stories
Jewish Pride and Joy
In Loving Memory
Happy(?) Holidays
Represent!
Quiet! The Rabbi is Talking
Conclusion]]> 321 Zibby Owens Jessica 0 to-read 4.65 2024
author: Zibby Owens
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.65
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 56897560 264 Zibby Owens 1510766391 Jessica 0 to-read 3.88
author: Zibby Owens
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.88
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 46272760 From the author of the modern classic and bestselling phenomenon The Invisible String comes a tender story about permanent loss that also celebrates the joy that animals give us in this life and beyond.

"When our pets aren't with us anymore, an Invisible Leash connects our hearts to each other. Forever." That's what Zack's friend Emily tells him after his dog dies. Zack doesn't believe it. He only believes in what he can see. But on an enlightening journey through their neighborhood--and through his grief--he comes to feel the comforting tug of the Invisible Leash. And it feels like love.

Accompanied by tender. uplifting art by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff, bestselling author Patrice Karst's gentle story uses the same bonding technique from her classic book The Invisible String to help readers through the experience of the loss of a beloved animal.

]]> 32 Patrice Karst 0316524875 Jessica 0 to-read 4.46 2019
author: Patrice Karst
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 14430774 With Koko's passing, Rick is devastated. But then one night, he is woken by Buster, a flatulent but well-intentioned messenger dog, who suddenly appears at the boy's bedside. Buster ferries Rick to a magical paradise for pets where Rick is reunited with Koko; it fills Rick's heart with joy. It's a place where cats burrow through fields of catnip, no couch is off-limits to dogs and frisbees are flung endlessly. This mysterious adventure is truly a holiday miracle! Adrian Raeside captures the special bond between humans and their pets, and with marvelous illustrations, brings a gentle humour to a story that will resonate with children and pet lovers of all ages.]]> 32 Adrian Raeside 155017584X Jessica 0 to-read 4.42 2012
author: Adrian Raeside
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 216351768
If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or frustrated with where you are, the problem isn't you. The problem is the power you give to other people. Two simple words�Let Them—will set you free. Free from the opinions, drama, and judgments of others. Free from the exhausting cycle of trying to manage everything and everyone around you. The Let Them Theory puts the power to create a life you love back in your hands—and this book will show you exactly how to do it.

In her latest groundbreaking book, The Let Them Theory, Mel Robbins�New York Times bestselling author and one of the world's most respected experts on motivation, confidence, and mindset—teaches you how to stop wasting energy on what you can't control and start focusing on what truly YOU. Your happiness. Your goals. Your life.

Using the same no-nonsense, science-backed approach that's made The Mel Robbins Podcast a global sensation, Robbins explains why The Let Them Theory is already loved by millions and how you can apply it in eight key areas of your life to make the biggest impact. Within a few pages, you'll realize how much energy and time you've been wasting trying to control the wrong things—at work, in relationships, and in pursuing your goals—and how this is keeping you from the happiness and success you deserve.

Written as an easy-to-understand guide, Robbins shares relatable stories from her own life, highlights key takeaways, relevant research and introduces you to world-renowned experts in psychology, neuroscience, relationships, happiness, and ancient wisdom who champion The Let Them Theory every step of the way.

Learn how

Stop wasting energy on things you can't control Stop comparing yourself to other peopleBreak free from fear and self-doubtRelease the grip of people's expectationsBuild the best friendships of your lifeCreate the love you deservePursue what truly matters to you with confidenceBuild resilience against everyday stressors and distractionsDefine your own path to success, joy, and fulfillment. . . and so much more.

The Let Them Theory will forever change the way you think about relationships, control, and personal power. Whether you want to advance your career, motivate others to change, take creative risks, find deeper connections, build better habits, start a new chapter, or simply create more happiness in your life and relationships, this book gives you the mindset and tools to unlock your full potential.

Order your copy of The Let Them Theory now and discover how much power you truly have. It all begins with two simple words.]]> 311 Mel Robbins 1401971377 Jessica 0 to-read 4.20 2024
author: Mel Robbins
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 212900327 In her highly anticipated debut picture book, That's My Truck! A Good Inside Story About Hitting, #1 New York Times bestselling author Dr. Becky tackles one of the most common parenting challenges head-on.

When Charlie walks into the playroom, his little sister, Pia, is playing with his truck . . . not just any truck, his favorite truck.

Charlie’s feelings completely overwhelm him, taking over his whole body, and before he knows it, he hits his sister—hard.

This engaging story not only offers parents valuable insights and strategies to address a problem behavior like hitting, but also helps children separate their behavior from identity and cope with big feelings.]]> 32 Becky Kennedy 1250326958 Jessica 0 to-read 4.08
author: Becky Kennedy
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.08
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214950766 128 Kate Chynoweth 1433845202 Jessica 0 to-read 5.00
author: Kate Chynoweth
name: Jessica
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60060431 Bearded, bad-boy barber Knox prefers to live his life the way he takes his coffee: Alone. Unless you count his basset hound, Waylon.
Knox doesn’t tolerate drama, even when it comes in the form of a stranded runaway bride.

Naomi wasn’t just running away from her wedding. She was riding to the rescue of her estranged twin to Knockemout, Virginia, a rough-around-the-edges town where disputes are settled the old-fashioned way…with fists and beer. Usually in that order.

Too bad for Naomi her evil twin hasn’t changed at all. After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves her with something unexpected. The niece Naomi didn’t know she had. Now she’s stuck in town with no car, no job, no plan, and no home with an 11-year-old going on thirty to take care of.

There’s a reason Knox doesn’t do complications or high-maintenance women, especially not the romantic ones. But since Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, the least he can do is help her out of her jam. And just as soon as she stops getting into new trouble he can leave her alone and get back to his peaceful, solitary life.

At least, that’s the plan until the trouble turns to real danger.]]> 572 Lucy Score 1945631848 Jessica 0 to-read 4.15 2022
author: Lucy Score
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58690308 One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming....

Nora Stephens� life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters� trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.]]> 377 Emily Henry 0593334833 Jessica 0 to-read 4.09 2022
author: Emily Henry
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 216730636
In this innovative biography, Ruth Franklin explores the transformation of Anne Frank (1929�1945) from ordinary teenager to icon, shedding new light on the young woman whose diary of her years in hiding, now translated into more than seventy languages, is the most widely read work of literature to arise from the Holocaust.

Comprehensively researched but experimental in spirit, this book chronicles and interprets Anne’s life as a Jew in Amsterdam during World War II while also telling the story of the diary—its multiple drafts, its discovery, its reception, and its message for today’s world. Writing alongside Anne rather than over her, Franklin explores the day-to-day perils of the Holocaust in the Netherlands as well as Anne’s ultimate fate, restoring her humanity and agency in all their messiness, heroism, and complexity.

With antisemitism once again in the news, The Many Lives of Anne Frank takes a fresh and timely look at the debates around Anne’s life and work, including the controversial adaptations of the diary, Anne’s evolution as a fictional character, and the ways her story and image have been politically exploited. Franklin reveals how Anne has been understood and misunderstood, both as a person and as an idea, and opens up new avenues for interpreting her life and writing in today’s hyperpolarized world.]]> 440 Ruth Franklin 0300248121 Jessica 0 to-read 4.22
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average rating: 4.22
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]]> 203164564
Detroit, 1960. Lila Pereira is two years old when her angry, abusive father has her mother committed to an asylum. Lila never sees her mother again. Three decades later, having mustered everything she has—brains, charm, talent, blond hair—Lila rises to the pinnacle of American media as the powerful, brilliant executive editor of The Washington Globe. Lila unapologetically prioritizes her career, leaving the rearing of her daughters to her generous husband, Joe. He doesn’t mind—until he does.

But Grace, their youngest daughter, feels abandoned. She wishes her mother would attend PTA meetings, not White House correspondents� dinners. As she grows up, she cannot shake her resentment. She wants out from under Lila’s shadow, yet the more she resists, the more Lila seems to shape her life. Grace becomes a successful reporter, even publishing a bestselling book about her mother. In the process of writing it, she realizes how little she knows about her own family. Did Lila’s mother, Grace’s grandmother, die in that asylum? Is refusal to look back the only way to create a future? How can you ever be yourself, Grace wonders, if you don’t know where you came from?

Spanning generations, and populated by complex, unforgettable characters, Like Mother, Like Mother is an exhilarating, portrait of family, marriage, ambition, power, the stories we inherit, and the lies we tell to become the people we believe we’re meant to be.]]> 336 Susan Rieger 0525512497 Jessica 0 to-read 3.76 2024
author: Susan Rieger
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2024
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]]> 209035148 From Robert Dugoni, Jeff Langholz, and Chris Crabtree comes an epic and inspiring novel—based on true events—about love, heroism, and resilience during the darkest chapters of World War II.

Sam Carlson is a projectionist in small-town Minnesota, where fantasies unspool in glorious black and white—for him and for his sweetheart, college-bound math whiz Sarah Haber. When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Sam is sent to the Philippines and captured as a POW. Brutalized but unbroken by the Bataan Death March and POW camps, Sam is one of 1,800 starved and weakened prisoners herded into the cargo hold of a barbaric hell ship called the Arisan Maru, his survival doubtful.

Determined to use her math skills on the home front, Sarah is recruited to Washington, DC, into the covert field of code breaking. When Sarah intercepts a message about a Japanese convoy, the US Navy’s mission is sink the Arisan Maru and send it to the bottom of the South China Sea. Now, the lives of the two young lovers are about to inadvertently collide in one of the most shocking acts of World War II.

Anchored in an extraordinary true story and breathlessly recreated, Hold Strong is a one-of-a-kind novel that explores faith, courage, survival, and coming home against insurmountable odds.]]> 503 Robert Dugoni 1662516320 Jessica 0 to-read 4.68 2025
author: Robert Dugoni
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.68
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]]> 52041421 A contemporary guide to life, love, and happiness inspired by the extraordinary artist Frida Kahlo.

Revered as much for her fierce spirit as she is for her art, Frida Kahlo stands today as a brazen symbol of daring creativity. She was a woman ahead of her time whose paintings have earned her generations of admirers around the globe. But perhaps her greatest work of art was her own life.

What Would Frida Do? explores the feminist icon's signature style, outspoken politics, and boldness in love and art, even in the face of pain and heartbreak. The book celebrates her larger than life persona as a woman who loved passionately and lived ambitiously, refusing to remain in her husband's shadow. Each chapter shares intimate stories from her life, revealing how she overcame obstacles by embracing her own ideals.

In this charming read, author Arianna Davis conjures Frida's brave spirit, encouraging women to persevere, to create fearlessly, and to stand by their own truths.]]> 232 Arianna Davis 1541646320 Jessica 0 to-read 3.30 2020
author: Arianna Davis
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.30
book published: 2020
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]]> 221473261 Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

It is the summer of 1919 and Constance Haverhill is without prospects. Now that all the men have returned from the front, she has been asked to give up her cottage and her job at the estate she helped run during the war. While she looks for a position as a bookkeeper or—horror—a governess, she’s sent as a lady’s companion to an old family friend who is convalescing at a seaside hotel. Despite having only weeks to find a permanent home, Constance is swept up in the social whirl of Hazelbourne-on-Sea after she rescues the local baronet’s daughter, Poppy Wirrall, from a social faux pas.

Poppy wears trousers, operates a taxi and delivery service to employ local women, and runs a ladies� motorcycle club (to which she plans to add flying lessons). She and her friends enthusiastically welcome Constance into their circle. And then there is Harris, Poppy’s recalcitrant but handsome brother—a fighter pilot recently wounded in battle—who warms in Constance’s presence. But things are more complicated than they seem in this sunny pocket of English high society. As the country prepares to celebrate its hard-won peace, Constance and the women of the club are forced to confront the fact that the freedoms they gained during the war are being revoked.

Whip-smart and utterly transportive, The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club is historical fiction of the highest order: an unforgettable coming-of-age story, a tender romance, and a portrait of a nation on the brink of change.]]> 448 Helen Simonson 1984801333 Jessica 0 to-read 4.11 2024
author: Helen Simonson
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.11
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]]> 216052887 Unraveling the tangled roots of her family takes her places she never expected.

Veronica Stratton, a specialty food broker with a business riding close to the margins, visits her parents in idyllic Estes Park for Christmas. With the holiday comes a DNA test from her younger sister and an engagement ring from her longtime boyfriend. The test confirms her secret she's adopted. The ring rattles her even more, and she realizes that she might not be as ready to commit as she'd thought.

With so much that she'd counted on suddenly falling apart, Veronica is looking for an escape. Inspired by her best friend, she plans to go to Europe to see four of the places listed on her DNA ancestry report. She treks to County Mayo in Ireland; the Dordogne region of France; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Tuscany in Italy. She hopes to learn a bit about where her family lived and to make more connections for her struggling business, but she finds that each stop brings her visions of her ancestors that raise more questions than they answer. And among those pressing questions is how brooding Irish restauranteur Niall Callaghan will fit into her visions for the future.]]> 368 Aimie K. Runyan 1400237289 Jessica 0 to-read 4.03
author: Aimie K. Runyan
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.03
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]]> 212807703 Two women in Nazi-occupied Paris created a daring escape line that rescued dozens of Allied servicemen. With one in a German prison camp, the other wrote a book about it—a memoir that was built on lies. Now the bestselling author of Eighty Days shares their incredible, never-before-toldĚýfull story.

Etta Shiber and Kitty Bonnefous are the unlikeliest of two seemingly ordinary women, an American widow and an English divorcĂ©e, living quietly together in Paris. Yet during the Nazi occupation, these two friends find themselves unexpectedly plunged into the whirlwind of history. With the help of a French country priest and others, they rescue untold numbers of British and French soldiersĚýtrapped behind enemy lines—some of whom they daringly smuggle through Nazi checkpoints in the trunk of their car.

Ultimately the Gestapo captures them both. After eighteen months in prison, Etta, a New Yorker of Jewish descent, is returned to the United States in a prisoner exchange. Back home, hoping to bring attention to her friend Kitty’s bravery, Etta publishes a memoir about their work. Paris-Underground becomes a publishing sensation and Etta a celebrity. Meanwhile Kitty spends the rest of the war in solitary confinement in a Nazi prison, entirely unaware of the book that has been written about her � and the deeds that have been claimed in her name.

In researching this story, Matthew Goodman uncovered military records, personal testimonies, and Etta Shiber’s own never-before-seen wartime letters. Together they reveal, for the first time, the shocking truth behind Etta's bestselling memoirĚýand the unexpected,Ěýfar-reaching consequencesĚýof its publication. More than just a story of two women’s remarkable courage, Paris Undercover is also a vivid, gripping account of deceit, betrayal, and personal redemption.]]> 448 Matthew Goodman 0593358929 Jessica 0 to-read 4.01 2025
author: Matthew Goodman
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2025
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]]> 210670920 The galvanizing true story of a group of remarkable women in the 1970s male-run world of business, banking, and finance. They didn’t play by the rules. They changed them and made history.

In the 1970s, a new wave of feminism was sweeping America. But in the boys� club of banking and finance, women were still infantilized—no credit without a male cosigner, and their income was dismissed as unreliable. If bankers weren’t going to accommodate women, then women had to take control of their own futures. In 1978 in Denver, Colorado, the opening of the Women’s Bank changed everything.

It was helmed by bank officer B. LaRae Orullian and the brainchild of whip-smart entrepreneur Carol Green, who forged a groundbreaking path with their headstrong colleagues, among Judi Foster, investment research whiz; Edna Mosley, unyielding civil rights advocate with the NAACP; Mary Roebling, renowned financial executive; Betty Freedman, a socialite and fundraiser; and Gail Schoettler, a formidable Denver mover and shaker for social justice. Coming together and facing their own unique road to revolution, they built the most successful female-run bank in the nation. It wasn’t easy.

Give Her Credit follows the challenges, uphill battles, and achievements of some of the enterprising women of Denver who broke boundaries, inspired millions, and afforded opportunities for every marginalized citizen in the country. It’s about time their untold story was told.]]> 209 Grace L. Williams 1542025478 Jessica 0 to-read 3.71 2025
author: Grace L. Williams
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.71
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]]> 3410367
The Gestapo considered her so dangerous, they put a price on her head, forcing her to escape over the Pyrenees mountains--and on an artificial leg. When she got to England, she was reassigned to France, disguised as an old peasant woman. Her spy circuit captured 500 German soldiers and killed more than 150, while they sabotaged Nazi communication and transportation facilities. Hitler's forces were hot on her trail, yet her daring intelligence activities and indomitable spirit defied the expectations of even the Allies until the very end of the war.

To the Germans, she was "the lady with a limp." To the Allies, she was a savior. This is her true story, and her ONLY biography to include actual information from those brave men who were a part of her spy circuit.]]> 288 Judith L. Pearson 159921072X Jessica 0 to-read 4.24 2005
author: Judith L. Pearson
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2005
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]]> 75858652
January, 1945 . 14-year-old Moshe Kessler steps off the train at Buchenwald concentration camp. Having endured the horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau, lost touch with his entire family, and survived the death march in the freezing European winter, he has seen more than his share of tragedy.

Moshe knows only one thing about Buchenwald. Everyone knows it.

If you want to survive, you have to get to Block 66.

The Germans are cruel and determined � but they are not prepared for Buchenwald’s secret resistance, which rises up with one mission only: to protect the camp’s children from harm.

This is the incredible true story of Moshe Kessler and Block 66 � the children’s block that was at the forefront of one of the most shocking and inspiring stories of Holocaust survival.]]> 243 Limor Regev Jessica 0 to-read 4.45
author: Limor Regev
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.45
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]]> 54304028
In Hunt, Gather, Parent, Doucleff sets out with her three-year-old daughter in tow to learn and practice parenting strategies from families in three of the world’s most venerable communities: Maya families in Mexico, Inuit families above the Arctic Circle, and Hadzabe families in Tanzania. She sees that these cultures don’t have the same problems with children that Western parents do. Most strikingly, parents build a relationship with young children that is vastly different from the one many Western parents develop—it’s built on cooperation instead of control, trust instead of fear, and personalized needs instead of standardized development milestones.

Maya parents are masters at raising cooperative children. Without resorting to bribes, threats, or chore charts, Maya parents rear loyal helpers by including kids in household tasks from the time they can walk. Inuit parents have developed a remarkably effective approach for teaching children emotional intelligence. When kids cry, hit, or act out, Inuit parents respond with a calm, gentle demeanor that teaches children how to settle themselves down and think before acting. Hadzabe parents are world experts on raising confident, self-driven kids with a simple tool that protects children from stress and anxiety, so common now among American kids.

Not only does Doucleff live with families and observe their techniques firsthand, she also applies them with her own daughter, with striking results. She learns to discipline without yelling. She talks to psychologists, neuroscientists, anthropologists, and sociologists and explains how these strategies can impact children’s mental health and development. Filled with practical takeaways that parents can implement immediately, Hunt, Gather, Parent helps us rethink the ways we relate to our children, and reveals a universal parenting paradigm adapted for American families.]]> 352 Michaeleen Doucleff 1982149671 Jessica 0 to-read 4.11 2021
author: Michaeleen Doucleff
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.11
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]]> 132707
Comprehensive, accurate, and doctor-approved, Caring for Your Baby and Young Child provides the very latest state-of-the-art information,

� Basic care from infancy through age five
� Guidelines and milestones for physical, emotional,
social, and cognitive growth
� A complete health encyclopedia covering injuries, illnesses,
congenital diseases, and other disabilities
� Guidelines for prenatal and newborn care with sections
on maternal nutrition, exercise, and screening tests during pregnancy
� An in-depth guide to breastfeeding, including its benefits,
techniques, and challenges
� A complete guide for immunizations and updated information
on vaccine safety
� A guide for choosing child care programs and car safety seats
� Ways to reduce your child’s exposure to environmental hazards,
such as tobacco smoke
� New sections on grandparents, stay-at-home dads,
computers and the Internet, and much more

Caring for Your Baby and Young Child is an essential child care resource for all parents who want to provide the very best for their children—and the one guide pediatricians routinely recommend and parents can safely trust.]]> 784 Steven P. Shelov 055338290X Jessica 0 to-read 3.96 1991
author: Steven P. Shelov
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.96
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]]> 655518 192 Elizabeth Pantley 0071476903 Jessica 0 to-read 3.56 2006
author: Elizabeth Pantley
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2006
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]]> 38103723
I felt the same way when my children were small and I was struggling to get them to do things. I felt enormous empathy for them, but wasn’t sure what the alternative was to threatening, bribing or putting them into time out.

It’s been my mission since then to find another way. I’ve now been working in Montessori education for nearly 15 years and love to learn from the 100 toddlers and parents I see every week in my classroom. I am so happy to share with you what I have learned and help you understand your toddler better too.

This book is the result. Your comprehensive guide to raising toddlers in a Montessori way.

A quick aside for those of you that don't know Montessori. It is an alternative education system where, instead of the teacher standing at the front of the classroom telling the kids what they need to know, the children are free to explore a classroom of well-designed materials covering language, mathematics, daily life skills and more. The result is that the children are able to follow their unique natural rhythm and development as well as learn with concrete learning materials to make discoveries for themselves. But that's it. It's not just for school aged children - you can apply exactly the same ideas in your home and with your toddler.

And when I say toddler, I'm talking about children around 1 to 3 years, give or take a few months.

Each section of the book is super practical and it is beautifully designed to make it even easier to read. It’s perfect if you are a busy parent, carer or even grandparent. And it doesn't matter if you are brand new to Montessori or have been using Montessori for a while - or even if you aren't planning to send your children to Montessori school. You can read it from cover to cover. Or just open up the book at a page that interests you and you will find something practical you can try today.

You’ll learn how to set up your home to get rid of the chaos and bring back some calm into your lives. You will get the tools to work together with your child. How you can lead, guide and support them, especially when they are having a hard time (and throwing themselves on the ground in the most inconvenient of places). You’ll also get ideas to create Montessori activities at home that are just right for your toddler.

You will find answers to your questions. To see there is another more peaceful way to be with your toddler. To help you plant the seeds to raise a respectful and responsible human being. To work on a relationship with your toddler which you will be building on for years.

So are you ready to say goodbye to frustration and hello to peace and calm? It’s time for us to learn to see through our toddler’s eyes - The Montessori Toddler.]]> 245 Simone Davies 9082796902 Jessica 0 to-read 4.28 2018
author: Simone Davies
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2018
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]]> 54110546 Drawing on principles developed by the educator Dr Maria Montessori,Ěý The Montessori Baby Ěýshows how to raise your baby from birth to age one with love, respect, insight, and a surprising sense of calm. Cowritten by Simone Davies, author of the bestsellingĚý The Montessori Toddler , and Junnifa Uzodike, it’s a book filled with hundreds of practical ideas for understanding what is actually happening with your baby, and how you can mindfully assist in their learning and development. Including how
Ěý]]> 288 Simone Davies 1523512407 Jessica 0 to-read 3.91
author: Simone Davies
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.91
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]]> 133572
� maintaining intimacy and romance
� replacing a culture of criticism and irritability with one of appreciation
� preventing post-partum depression
� creating a home environment that nurtures physical, emotional, and mental
health, as well as cognitive and behavioral development for your baby

Complete with exercises that separate the “master� from the “disaster� couples, And Baby Makes Three helps new parents positively manage the strain that comes along with their bundle of joy.]]> 272 John M. Gottman 1400097371 Jessica 0 to-read 3.75 2007
author: John M. Gottman
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2007
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]]> 213186 Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child is John Gottman’s groundbreaking guide to teaching children to understand and regulate their emotional world.

Intelligence That Comes from the Heart

Every parent knows the importance of equipping children with the intellectual skills they need to succeed in school and life. But children also need to master their emotions. Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child is a guide to teaching children to understand and regulate their emotional world. And as acclaimed psychologist and researcher John Gottman shows, once they master this important life skill, emotionally intelligent children will enjoy increased self-confidence, greater physical health, better performance in school, and healthier social relationships. Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child will equip parents with a five-step “emotion coaching� process that teaches how to:

-Be aware of a child's emotions
-Recognize emotional expression as an opportunity for intimacy and teaching
-Listen empathetically and validate a child's feelings
-Label emotions in words a child can understand
-Help a child come up with an appropriate way to solve a problem or deal with an upsetting issue or situation

Written for parents of children of all ages, Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child will enrich the bonds between parent and child and contribute immeasurably to the development of a generation of emotionally healthy adults.]]> 240 John M. Gottman 0684838656 Jessica 0 to-read 4.18 1997
author: John M. Gottman
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1997
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]]> 173007277 siblings without rivalry 0 Elaine Mazlish Adele Faber Jessica 0 to-read 4.13
author: Elaine Mazlish Adele Faber
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.13
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]]> 12816644 288 Adele Faber 0393342212 Jessica 0 to-read 4.19 1972
author: Adele Faber
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1972
rating: 0
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]]> 213870691
December 1903: While Wilbur and Orville Wright’s flying machine is quite literally taking off in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with its historic fifty-seven second flight, their sister Katharine is back home in Dayton, Ohio, running the bicycle shop, teaching Latin, and looking after the family. A Latin teacher and suffragette, Katharine is fiercely independent, intellectual, and the only Wright sibling to finish college. But at twenty-nine, she’s frustrated by the gender inequality in academia and is for a new challenge. She never suspects it will be sleuthing�

Returning home to Dayton, Wilbur and Orville accept an invitation to a friend’s party. Nervous about leaving their as-yet-unpatented flyer plans unattended, Wilbur decides to bring them to the festivities . . . where they are stolen right out from under his nose. As always, it’s Katharine’s job to problem solve—and in this case, crime-solve.

As she sets out to uncover the thief among their circle of friends, Katharine soon gets more than she bargained She finds her number one suspect dead with a letter opener lodged in his chest. It seems the patent is the least of her brothers� worries. They have a far more earthbound concern—prison. Now Katharine will have to keep her feet on the ground and put all her skills to work to make sure Wilbur and Orville are free to fly another day.]]> 305 Amanda Flower 1496756096 Jessica 0 to-read 3.67 2024
author: Amanda Flower
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2024
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]]> 212294438 'I cannot think of a better time for a book like Shift or a better author to write it' - Angela Duckworth

In Shift, renowned neuroscientist and bestselling author Dr Ethan Kross opens up his lab to reveal the mechanics of emotions, why we have them and how we can manage them effectively. Essential tools are hidden in plain sight - in our senses, our attention and ability to shift perspective, in our relationships with other people and the physical and cultural spaces we occupy.

Through compelling stories and an exploration of the latest science in emotion research, Dr Kross shows how you can master emotional decision-making for a happier, healthier and more productive life.

'A rare double threat. His academic research is world-class... and don't we all need help regulating our emotions?' - Dan Pink]]> 288 Ethan Kross 0593444418 Jessica 0 to-read 3.85
author: Ethan Kross
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.85
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]]> 223422252 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

An epic and intimate tale of one couple across sixty years as world events pull them together and apart, illuminating the Chinese diaspora and exploring what it means to find home far from your homeland.

A single choice can define an entire life.

Haiwen is buying bananas at a 99 Ranch Market in Los Angeles when he looks up and sees Suchi, his Suchi, for the first time in sixty years. To recently widowed Haiwen it feels like a second chance, but Suchi has only survived by refusing to look back.

Suchi was seven when she first met Haiwen in their Shanghai neighborhood, drawn by the sound of his violin. Their childhood friendship blossomed into soul-deep love, but when Haiwen secretly enlisted in the Nationalist army in 1947 to save his brother from the draft, she was left with just his violin and a note: Forgive me.

Homeseeking follows the separated lovers through six decades of tumultuous Chinese history as war, famine, and opportunity take them separately to the song halls of Hong Kong, the military encampments of Taiwan, the bustling streets of New York, and sunny California, telling Haiwen’s story from the present to the past while tracing Suchi’s from her childhood to the present, meeting in the crucible of their lives. Throughout, Haiwen holds his memories close while Suchi forces herself to look only forward, neither losing sight of the home they hold in their hearts.

At once epic and intimate, Homeseeking is a story of family, sacrifice, and loyalty, and of the power of love to endure beyond distance, beyond time.]]> 512 Karissa Chen 0593712994 Jessica 0 to-read 4.32 2025
author: Karissa Chen
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2025
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]]> 53991683 A stirring and romantic historical novel about nineteenth-century Vienna and the tragedy and dynamic passion that inspired Ludwig van Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.

Vienna, 1800. Countess Julie Guicciardi’s life is about to change forever. The spirited eighteen-year-old is taking piano lessons with Ludwig van Beethoven, the most talented piano virtuoso in the musical capital of Europe. She is captivated by his volatile genius, while he is drawn to her curiosity and disarming candor. Between them, a unique romance. But Beethoven has a secret he’s yet to share, and Julie is harboring a secret of her own, one so scandalous it could destroy their perfect love story.

When Beethoven discovers the truth, he sets his emotions to music, composing a mournful opus that will become the Moonlight Sonata. The haunting refrain will follow Julie for the rest of her life.

Set against the rich backdrop of nineteenth-century Vienna, The Woman in the Moonlight is an exhilarating ode to eternal passion. An epic tale of love, loss, rivalry, and political intrigue. A stirring portrait of a titan who wrestled with the gods and a woman who defied convention to inspire him.]]> 381 Patricia Morrisroe 1503958752 Jessica 0 to-read 3.86 2020
author: Patricia Morrisroe
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/17
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]]> 42691 Exodus for an epicĚýĚýstory of hate and love, vengeance and forgiveness andĚýĚýforgiveness. The Middle East is the powerfulĚýĚýsetting for this sweeping tale of a land where revengeĚýĚýis sacred and hatred noble. Where an Arab rulerĚýĚýtries to save his people from destruction butĚýĚýcannot save them from themselves. When violenceĚýĚýspreads like a plague across the lands ofĚýĚýPalestine--this is the time of TheĚýĚýHaj.]]> 525 Leon Uris 0553248642 Jessica 0 to-read 4.03 1984
author: Leon Uris
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1984
rating: 0
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]]> 58598295 Honeysuckle Season comes an evocative dual-timeline novel detailing one woman’s journey to discover the hidden stories of her family’s seaside resort.

When a shipwreck surfaces, old secrets are sure to follow.

Or so goes the lore in Ivy Neale’s hometown of Nags Head, North Carolina. When Ivy inherits her family’s beachfront cottage upon her grandmother’s death, she knows returning to Nags Head means facing the best friend and the boyfriend who betrayed her years ago.

But then a winter gale uncovers the shipwreck of local legend—and Ivy soon begins to stumble across more skeletons in the closet than just her own. Amid the cottage’s clutter are clues from her grandmother’s past at the enchanting seaside resort her family once owned. One fateful summer in 1950, the arrival of a dazzling singer shook the staff and guests alike—and not everyone made it to fall.

As Ivy contends with broken relationships and a burgeoning romance in the present, the past threatens to sweep her away. But as she uncovers the strength of her grandmother and the women who came before her, she realizes she is like the legendary shipwreck: the sands may shift around her, but she has found her home here by the sea.]]> 360 Mary Ellen Taylor 154203258X Jessica 0 to-read 4.16 2022
author: Mary Ellen Taylor
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> 59891634 Ěý
InĚý SMART The Power of Saying More with Less , Ěý Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz teach readers how to say more with less in virtually any format. They also share communications lessons learned from their decades of experience in media, business and communications.
Ěý]]> 224 Jim Vandehei 1523516976 Jessica 0 to-read 3.91 2022
author: Jim Vandehei
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 215805855 The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before distills her key insights into simple truths for living with greater satisfaction, clarity, and happiness.

The right idea, invoked at the right time, can change our lives. Drawing from her long studies of happiness, and also from the challenges she’s faced herself, writer Gretchen Rubin has discovered the “Secrets of Adulthood� that can help us manage the complexities of life. To convey her conclusions, she turned to the aphorism—the ancient literary discipline that demands that a writer convey a large truth in a few words.

Perhaps you’re paralyzed by indecision, struggling to navigate a big change, fighting a temptation, or puzzled by the behavior of someone you love; whatever you face, the right aphorism can help. From procrastination to the pursuit of happiness, Secrets of Adulthood is filled with witty and thought-provoking reflections such Ěý

“Recognize that, like sleeping with a big dog in a small bed, things that are uncomfortable can also be comforting�“Accept yourself, expect more from yourself�“Easy children raise good parents”� “What can be done at any time is often done at no time�
For anyone undergoing a major life transition, such as graduation, career switch, marriage, or moving, or for those just encountering everyday dilemmas, these disarmingly brief aphorisms will inspire you by articulating truths that you never before noticed—and instantly recognize.]]> 176 Gretchen Rubin 0593800737 Jessica 0 to-read 3.72
author: Gretchen Rubin
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.72
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> 56495 336 Rick Warren 0310276993 Jessica 0 to-read 3.97 2002
author: Rick Warren
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 54860831 A riveting story of World War II and the courage of one young woman as she is drafted into Churchill’s overseas spy network, aiding the French Resistance behind enemy lines and working to liberate Nazi-occupied Paris�

London, 1941: In a cramped bunker in Winston Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms, underneath Westminster’s Treasury building, civilian women huddle at desks, typing up confidential documents and reports. Since her parents were killed in a bombing raid, Rose Teasdale has spent more hours than usual in Room 60, working double shifts, growing accustomed to the burnt scent of the Prime Minister’s cigars permeating the stale air. Winning the war is the only thing that matters, and she will gladly do her part. And when Rose’s fluency in French comes to the attention of Churchill himself, it brings a rare yet dangerous opportunity.

Rose is recruited for the Special Operations Executive, a secret British organization that conducts espionage in Nazi-occupied Europe. After weeks of grueling training, Rose parachutes into France with a new codename: Dragonfly. Posing as a cosmetics saleswoman in Paris, she ferries messages to and from the Resistance, knowing that the slightest misstep means capture or death.

Soon Rose is assigned to a new mission with Lazare Aron, a French Resistance fighter who has watched his beloved Paris become a shell of itself, with desolate streets and buildings draped in Swastikas. Since his parents were sent to a German work camp, Lazare has dedicated himself to the cause with the same fervor as Rose. Yet Rose’s very loyalty brings risks as she undertakes a high-stakes prison raid, and discovers how much she may have to sacrifice to justify Churchill’s faith in her . . .]]> 418 Alan Hlad 1496728432 Jessica 2
This book was a massive disappointment. There are so many things that bothered me, where do I begin?

I almost stopped reading multiple time and should have. The writing was boring and redundant. The editing poor, with words missing from sentences multiple times. The dialogue poor. Relationships underdeveloped and lackluster.

Our main character goes through SOE training, befriends a fellow agent, a mom who leaves her child behind to free France. Multiple times her young daughter is mentioned. Yet when she is captured, our main character cares more about a French Resistance fighter, she recently met, who was also captured, and wants to rescue him. There’s no mention of wanting to rescue her friends. Some friend she is! It was infuriating.

The writing forced romantic relationships to manifest upon the reader vs developing them into something plausible, believable.

Our resistance fighters and SOE agents too quickly share and reveal too much about themselves and their work that it’s unrealistic. In reality, when sharing information could mean life or death, it wasn’t easily shared.

Hunches and assumptions were made without any background or explanation. For example the network is infiltrated and people are captured but how this happened wasn’t clear.

The one good thing about this book, that other WWII historical fictions I’ve read hasn’t done, was to included a little bit of everything within its pages: Churchill, London air raids, roundup of Jews, SOE and resistance fighters, Nazi sympathizers, Operation Jericho, concentration camps, etc. However, the writing barely scratches the surface on any of these things, missing opportunities to educate readers or paint a more accurate picture of the time. For example there is a light reference to a Nazi Death Train. It is described as:

“Rose pressed her nose to a small crack in a wooden slat of a train car. She inhaled a smidge of fresh air, a brief reprieve from the stench of sweat, urine, and feces. Inside the crammed compartment were forty-three women, a blend of political prisoners, Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and criminals, all of whom were condemned for crimes against the Nazi regime�

…The carriage jerked, and the train slowed to a stop. Rose, exhausted from the journey and lack of food, hoped for a German soldier to replenish the empty communal water bucket.�

This pitiful description fails to capture the true horror of the Nazi Death Trains.]]> 4.51 2021
author: Alan Hlad
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/14
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves:
review:
If the book’s intended audience is YA, I can maybe understand some of the author’s choices�

This book was a massive disappointment. There are so many things that bothered me, where do I begin?

I almost stopped reading multiple time and should have. The writing was boring and redundant. The editing poor, with words missing from sentences multiple times. The dialogue poor. Relationships underdeveloped and lackluster.

Our main character goes through SOE training, befriends a fellow agent, a mom who leaves her child behind to free France. Multiple times her young daughter is mentioned. Yet when she is captured, our main character cares more about a French Resistance fighter, she recently met, who was also captured, and wants to rescue him. There’s no mention of wanting to rescue her friends. Some friend she is! It was infuriating.

The writing forced romantic relationships to manifest upon the reader vs developing them into something plausible, believable.

Our resistance fighters and SOE agents too quickly share and reveal too much about themselves and their work that it’s unrealistic. In reality, when sharing information could mean life or death, it wasn’t easily shared.

Hunches and assumptions were made without any background or explanation. For example the network is infiltrated and people are captured but how this happened wasn’t clear.

The one good thing about this book, that other WWII historical fictions I’ve read hasn’t done, was to included a little bit of everything within its pages: Churchill, London air raids, roundup of Jews, SOE and resistance fighters, Nazi sympathizers, Operation Jericho, concentration camps, etc. However, the writing barely scratches the surface on any of these things, missing opportunities to educate readers or paint a more accurate picture of the time. For example there is a light reference to a Nazi Death Train. It is described as:

“Rose pressed her nose to a small crack in a wooden slat of a train car. She inhaled a smidge of fresh air, a brief reprieve from the stench of sweat, urine, and feces. Inside the crammed compartment were forty-three women, a blend of political prisoners, Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and criminals, all of whom were condemned for crimes against the Nazi regime�

…The carriage jerked, and the train slowed to a stop. Rose, exhausted from the journey and lack of food, hoped for a German soldier to replenish the empty communal water bucket.�

This pitiful description fails to capture the true horror of the Nazi Death Trains.
]]> 217182446 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Calamity of Souls comes David Baldacci’s newest novel, set in London in 1944, about a bereaved book shop owner and two teenagers scarred by the second world war, and the healing and hope they find in one another.

Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters is up to no good, but for a very good reason. Without parents, peerage, or merit, ducking school but barred from actual work, he steals what he needs, living day-to-day until he’s old enough to enlist to fight the Germans. After barely surviving the Blitz, Charlie knows there’s no telling when a falling bomb might end his life.

Fifteen-year-old Molly Wakefield has just returned to a nearly unrecognizable London. One of millions of people to have been evacuated to the countryside via “Operation Pied Piper,� Molly has been away from her parents—from her home—for nearly five years. Her return, however, is not the homecoming she’d hoped for as she’s confronted by a devastating reality: both her parents are gone.

Without guardians and stability, Charlie and Molly find an unexpected ally and protector in Ignatius Oliver, and solace at his book shop, The Book Keep, where A book a day keeps the bombs away. Mourning the recent loss of his wife, Ignatius forms a kinship with both children, and in each other—over the course of the greatest armed conflict the world had ever seen—they rediscover the spirit of family each has lost.

But Charlie’s escapades in the city have not gone unnoticed, and someone’s been following Molly since she returned to London. And Ignatius is still reeling from a secret Imogen long kept from him while she was alive—something so shocking it resulted in her death, and his life being turned upside down.

As bombs continue to bear down on the city, Charlie, Molly, and Ignatius learn that while the perils of war rage on, their coming together and trusting one another may be the only way for them to survive.]]> 448 David Baldacci 1538742055 Jessica 0 to-read 4.19 2025
author: David Baldacci
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214152173
From his acclaimed stage triumphs to his legendary onscreen work in the Star Trek and X-Men franchises, Sir Patrick Stewart has captivated audiences around the world and across multiple generations with his indelible command of stage and screen. Now, he presents his long-awaited memoir, Making It So, a revealing portrait of an artist whose astonishing life—from his humble beginnings in Yorkshire, England, to the heights of Hollywood and worldwide acclaim—proves a story as exuberant, definitive, and enduring as the author himself.]]> 480 Patrick Stewart 1982167742 Jessica 0 to-read 4.33 2023
author: Patrick Stewart
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 211025407 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780593712993.

An epic and intimate tale of one couple across sixty years as world events pull them together and apart, illuminating the Chinese diaspora and exploring what it means to find home far from your homeland.

A single choice can define an entire life.

Haiwen is buying bananas at a 99 Ranch Market in Los Angeles when he looks up and sees Suchi, his Suchi, for the first time in sixty years. To recently widowed Haiwen it feels like a second chance, but Suchi has only survived by refusing to look back.

Suchi was seven when she first met Haiwen in their Shanghai neighborhood, drawn by the sound of his violin. Their childhood friendship blossomed into soul-deep love, but when Haiwen secretly enlisted in the Nationalist army in 1947 to save his brother from the draft, she was left with just his violin and a note: Forgive me.

Homeseeking follows the separated lovers through six decades of tumultuous Chinese history as war, famine, and opportunity take them separately to the song halls of Hong Kong, the military encampments of Taiwan, the bustling streets of New York, and sunny California, telling Haiwen’s story from the present to the past while tracing Suchi’s from her childhood to the present, meeting in the crucible of their lives. Throughout, Haiwen holds his memories close while Suchi forces herself to look only forward, neither losing sight of the home they hold in their hearts.

At once epic and intimate, Homeseeking is a story of family, sacrifice, and loyalty, and of the power of love to endure beyond distance, beyond time.]]> 512 Karissa Chen Jessica 0 to-read 4.25 2025
author: Karissa Chen
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: to-read
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]]> 211025454 From New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis, an utterly addictive new novel that will transport you from New York City’s most glamorous party to the labyrinth streets of Cairo and back.

Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity. But after an unbearable tragedy strikes, Charlotte knows her future will never be the same.

New York City, 1978: Eighteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for iconic former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who’s in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala, hosted at the museum and known across the city as the “party of the year.� Though Annie soon realizes she’ll have her work cut out for her, scrambling to meet Diana’s capricious demands and exacting standards.

Meanwhile, Charlotte, now leading a quiet life as the associate curator of the Met’s celebrated Department of Egyptian Art, wants little to do with the upcoming gala. She’s consumed with her research on Hathorkare—a rare female pharaoh dismissed by most other Egyptologists as unimportant.

That is, until the night of the gala. When one of the Egyptian art collection’s most valuable artifacts goes missing . . . and there are signs Hathorkare’s legendary curse might be reawakening.

As Annie and Charlotte team up to search for the missing antiquity, a desperate hunch leads the unlikely duo to one place Charlotte swore she’d never return: Egypt. But if they’re to have any hope of finding the artifact, Charlotte will need to confront the demons of her past—which may mean leading them both directly into danger.]]> 352 Fiona Davis 0593474279 Jessica 0 to-read 3.93 2025
author: Fiona Davis
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 211004934 Are you your own toughest critic? Learn to be good to yourself with this clear and compassionate guide.

Do you set demanding standards for yourself? If so, a lot likely goes well in your life: You might earn compliments, admiration, or accomplishments. Your high standards and hard work pay off.

But privately, you may feel like you’re falling behind, faking it, or different from everybody else. Your eagle-eyed inner quality control inspector highlights every mistake. You try hard to avoid criticism, but criticize yourself. Trying to get it right is your guiding light, but it has lit the way to a place of dissatisfaction, loneliness, or disconnection. In short, you may look like you’re hitting it out of the park, but you feel like you’re striking out.

This is perfectionism. And for everyone who struggles with it, it’s a misnomer: perfectionism isn’t about striving to be perfect. It’s about never feeling good enough.

Dr. Ellen Hendriksen—clinical psychologist, anxiety specialist, and author of How to Be Yourself—is on the same journey as you. In How to Be Enough, Hendriksen charts a flexible, forgiving, and freeing path, all without giving up the excellence your high standards and hard work have gotten you. She delivers seven shifts—including from self-criticism to kindness, control to authenticity, procrastination to productivity, comparison to contentment—to find self-acceptance, rewrite the Inner Rulebook, and most of all, cultivate the authentic human connections we’re all craving.

With compassion and humor, Hendriksen lays out a clear, effective, and empowering guide. To enjoy rather than improve, be real rather than impressive, and be good to yourself when you’re wired to be hard on yourself.]]> 320 Ellen Hendriksen 1250291879 Jessica 0 to-read 4.09 2025
author: Ellen Hendriksen
name: Jessica
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 205804581 Love comes home for the challah-days in this sparkling romance.

Snow is falling, holiday lights are twinkling, and Abby Cohen is pissed. For one thing, her most annoying customer, Seth, has been coming into her cafĂ© every morning with his sunshiny attitude, determined to break down her carefully constructed emotional walls. And, as the only Jew on the tourism board of her Vermont town, Abby's been charged with planningĚýtheir fledgling Hanukkah festival. Unfortunately, the local vendors don’t understand that the story of Hanukkah cannot be told with light-up plastic figures from the Nativity scene, even if the Three Wise Men wear yarmulkes.

Desperate for support, Abby puts out a call for help online and discovers she was wrong about being the only Jew within a hundred miles. There's one Seth.

As it turns out, Seth’s parents have been badgering him to bring a Nice Jewish Girlfriend home to New York City for Hanukkah, and if Abby can survive his incessant, irritatinglyĚýhandsome smiles, he’ll introduce her to all the vendors she needs to make the festival a success. But over latkes, doughnuts, and winter adventures in Manhattan, Abby begins to realize that her fake boyfriend and his family might just be igniting a flame in her own guarded heart.]]> 368 Amanda Elliot 0593815831 Jessica 0 to-read 3.80 2024
author: Amanda Elliot
name: Jessica
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]>