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We are excited to announce that this month's tag is:

World War II

Please share your reading plans and recommendations below!

Remember, for the regular monthly reads, the book can be shelved as World War II on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, or be a book that is not yet shelved that way but you feel should be.

To find books to read for this tag, please visit:

/shelf/show/...

I recommend: All the Light We Cannot See! It was my favorite book of 2015 and I thought it was beautifully written. I know many people have read it, but if you haven't, then now may be the time!

I plan to read: Regina read and reviewed The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II several years ago and it instantly piqued my interest! She has been subtly encouraging me to read it ever since.

So, I think this is the month. Added bonus? It is on the PBT 100 nonfiction list!

Other recommendations? Does anyone have any other recommendations? Perhaps a good historical fiction? I may be able to fit in two this month.

My top recommendation:
The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan.

It's all about D-Day and was written in the 50s, so the author was able to interview and send questionnaires to people who were a part of it. Amazing book!

I'm sure I'll have lots of other recommendations, but I haven't looked that far, yet.

In the meantime, these are options for me:
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
The Secret Keeper
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Dawn

My recommendation:

The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah

It's a story about sisters, love, friendship and staying strong in the face of adversity and despair.

My possible reads are:

The Japanese Lover - Isabelle Allende
The Paris Architect - Charles Belfoure
Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II - Mitchell Zuckoff

Most likely it will be the Allende book since that is a library book.

LibraryCin wrote: "In the meantime, these are options for me: ..."

Cindy, GREAT recommendations with The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History and In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin! Both of those have been on my TBR for a long time.

Linda wrote: "My recommendation: The Nightingale"

Linda, I was torn between whether to recommend that or All the Light We Cannot See. I figured whichever I went with, you would cover the other!

I say to everyone to read them both!

Nicole wrote: "Linda wrote: "My recommendation: The Nightingale"

Linda, I was torn between whether to recommend that or All the Light We Cannot See. I figured whichever I went wit..."

I agree, I was going to go with ATLWCS but you beat me to it, so it had to be TN

Well I was really hoping to read about witches and vampires but War is better than cooking (for me).

My top recommendation:
Catch-22

Other recommendations:
Fugitive Pieces
The Diary of a Young Girl
Atonement Sorry Nicole

My choices will be
All the Light We Cannot See because I will also be able to use it for shelfagories
The English Patient
NightSchindler's List

Jen wrote: " My top recommendation:
Her Privates We..."

Jen, I was also hoping for urban fantasy but I have a great choice for World War II as well!

Just a heads up that your recommendation is a book about World War I, and our tag is not the general "war" but the more specific "World War II."

That looks like it may impact some of your recommendations as well!

Nicole wrote: "not the general "war" but the more specific "World War II."

That looks like it may impact some of your recommendations as well!"

Lol, yeah I figured that out. Pretty much discounted all my recommendations. I edited it. ha ha.

I was hoping for some mindless UF but I guess I'll settle for culture, lol. I'm going to read The Book Thief and I will try to read Code Name Verity and The Nightingale.

Brandy wrote: "I was hoping for some mindless UF but I guess I'll settle for culture, lol. I'm going to read The Book Thief and I will try to read Code Name Verity and The Nightingale."

Maybe we can sneak in an urban fantasy read on our own time in protest :)

Great options for books. I would say that The Book Thief is a bit quicker read than The Nightingale, if that sways you at all, but I truly loved them both!

Code Name Verity also looks interesting! But, I just cannot start another series....

Moke wrote: "I have to admit, I have been choosing lighter subject matter lately...."

I too was hoping for something a little lighter!

While it is definitely not light, have you read Night? It is a phenomenal book and is only just over 100 pages.

Number the Stars was also very good, just over 100 pages, and is a young adult book so may be a little less dense than some of the other selections.

Just a few alternatives if you get toward the end of the month and still need to squeeze one in!

My top recommendation is The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly.



Other 5 star reads I tagged World War II:
Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut
Maus, I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History - Art Spiegelman
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
Briar Rose - Jane Yolen
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption - Laura Hillenbrand

I think I will read Miracle at St. Anna - James McBride since it is one of the oldest books on my TBR.

Cora wrote: "I think I will read Miracle at St. Anna - James McBride since it is one of the oldest books on my TBR...."

Cora, that book does look good! And, you gotta love getting those lingering books off the TBR!

My #1 recommendation FICTION is City of Thieves by David Benioff

Books I've read and recommend - FICTION
Suite Française - Nemirovsky
Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein
A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
The Madonnas of Leningrad - Debra Dean
The Invisible Bridge - Julie Orringer
The Reader - Bernhard Schlink
Stones from the River - Ursula Hegi
The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion - Fannie Flagg

#1 NONfiction recommendation is Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl

Other NONfiction recommendations
Flags of Our Fathers - Bradley
In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors - Stanton
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption - Hillebrand
The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer - O'Connor


As for what I'll read - All the Light We Cannot See is an upcoming F2F bookclub selection, so that's at the top of my list.

I've gone through our 100 Non-Fiction list and I think I've found eleven books that fall solidly within the World War II tag/shelf:

Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose

Flags of Our Fathers by James D. Bradley

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan

If This Is a Man by Primo Levi

Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission by Hampton Sides

Maus, I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

Night by Elie Wiesel

Cora wrote: "I think I will read Miracle at St. Anna - James McBride since it is one of the oldest books on my TBR. ..."

I love McBride's writing. This was his first novel. There's definitely some magical realism going on in this book ... in case that sways you.

Here's a link to My review

Book Concierge wrote: I love McBride's writing. This was his first novel. There's definitely some magical realism going on in this book ... in case that sways you."

Thanks for the heads up, I enjoy magical realism so it actually makes it more appealing.

Nicole wrote: "I've gone through our 100 Non-Fiction list and I think I've found eleven books that fall solidly within the World War II tag/shelf..."

Thanks for pulling those out! We do have several great options on the PBT 100 nonfiction list and I know I plan on reading one of them.

I have not looked very closely, but I bet the PBT 100 fiction (which is a PBT Group Shelf) also has some solid World War II options.

My top recommendation for this month is:
Those Who Save Us, by Jenna Blum

Other recommendations:
Life After Life
Night

As for my own plans, I think the only book I really want to read is:
The Diary of a Young Girl

I started it when I was a kid and never finished it. I really should

My plans for February will be to finish reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand (published in 2010 - January tag/shelf).

After Unbroken, I plan on picking up All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Then, if I get to them, maybe:
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
Night by Elie Wiesel
A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson

Lisa wrote: "As for my own plans, I think the only book I really want to read is: The Diary of a Young Girl..."

Lisa, The Diary of a Young Girl is an excellent selection!

I see also that you are recommending Life After Life. Have you read A God in Ruins yet?

I just finished it and really enjoyed it! I posted my review in the folder for books that fit the February tag (the perk of being an admin and getting to post some reviews in advance to serve as examples!) if you want to take a look. I listened to it on audio and it was wonderfully done.

Nicole wrote: "My plans for February will be to finish reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand (published in 2010 - January tag/shelf)...."

Great plan, Nicole!

Nicole wrote: "I have not looked very closely, but I bet the PBT 100 fiction (which is a PBT Group Shelf) also has some solid World War II options. "

I've found three books so far off of the 100 Fiction list but I don't have the complete list on my shelf to go through, I only kept the books I have read or plan to read.

Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

My one recommendation would be The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult.

There are a couple that I may read:

The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

So my number one recommendation is one I have seen others mention, Corelli's Mandolin.

I also recommend:

The Book Thief
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
Maus, I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
The Rape of Nanking
Skeletons at the Feast

I am currently reading The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, but would love to get to The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II or Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission.

Top recommendation:
Life and Fate--Vasily Grossman
Sort of the War and Peace in stature for WW2, it was written by a Russian Jew who served as a war correspondent on the Eastern Front--outstanding!

Other recommenations: (* denotes link to my review)
--fiction
*The Thin Red Line--James Jones
*The Young Lions—Irwin Shaw
The Winds of War--Herman Wouk
*Berlin Wild--Elly Welt
Bomber--Len Deighton
Goodbye Mickey Mouse--Len Deighton
*The Invisible Bridge--Julie Orringer
*City of Thieves--David Benioff
*All the Light We Cannot See--Anthony Doerr
Corelli's Mandolin--Louis de Bernières
Mother Night--Kurt Vonnegut
*The Buddha in the Attic—Julie Otsuka
*A Man without Breath--Philip Kerr
The Polish Officer--Alan Furst
Stallion Gate--Martin Cruz Smith

--Non-fiction
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest—Stephen Ambrose
*A Bridge Too Far—Cornelius Ryan
*Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission--Hampton Sides
*Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign 1941-1945--Evan Thomas
No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II-- Doris Kearns GoodwinWar Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War—John Dower
A Chorus of Stones: The Private Life of War--Susan Griffin
Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War—William Manchester
*The Drowned and the Saved—Primo Levi

Books to try reading:
The Way Back to Florence—Glenn Haybittle
Stones from the River—Ursula Hegi
Prgaue Fatale--Philip Kerr
The Garden of Evening Mists--Tan Twan Eng
Fugitive Pieces—Anne Michaels
Sentinels of Fire—P.T. Deutermann

Nicole wrote: Lisa, The Diary of a Young Girl is an excellent selection!

I see also..."

Thanks for the suggestion Nicole! I haven't read that yet so I'll check it out!

LibraryCin wrote: "My top recommendation:
The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan. ..."

Great top recommendation. His writing was great for "A Bridge Too Far" so I will consider it.

Jen wrote: "...Other recommendations: Fugitive Pieces..."
I aim for that one this month.

Book Concierge wrote: "My #1 recommendation FICTION is City of Thieves..."
That is an awesome choice, as is Invisible Bridge. I aim for your recommended Stones from the River this month.

The lack of nesting sure puts one's responses out of place.

Michael wrote: "Top recommendation:
Life and Fate--Vasily Grossman
Sort of the War and Peace in stature for WW2, it was written by a Russian Jew who served as a war correspondent on the Eastern Front--outstanding!..."

I had to pick this up. I like that this is written from a different perspective than most of the books I know.

I just got The Girls of Atomic City as a prize from my library for completing their winter library bingo. That may have to be my read for February. I also have All the Light we Can Not See. So many good choices for this tag.

My top recommendation is: A Thread of Grace - achingly beautiful, wonderful characters, marvelous writing

Other recommendations are:
City of Thieves (great audio)
The Book Thief - for those few who have not read it
The Narrow Road to the Deep North - Man Booker

I plan to read two of the following:
The Rape of Nanking (already reading)
Life After Life - enough said
Every Man Dies Alone (4.2 rating with over 7,000 ratings)
Fatelessness - Nobel author

Denizen wrote: "My top recommendation is: A Thread of Grace..."

Oh man! A Thread of Grace is another one I have been wanted to get to!

My number one recommendation would be The Complete Maus. I read this eons ago (or so it feels). One of the first graphic novels I read that blew away the boundaries of "comics".

Or Jamilia by Chingiz Aitmatov - one of my all time favorites.

On my tbr:
Night by Elie Wiesel
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

The Investigation by Lee Jung-Myung
Barefoot Gen, Volume One: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima by Keiji Nakazawa
Cause for Alarm by Eric Ambler

and added Life and Fate based on Michael's recommendation.

Also found on my scan of the first 10 pages: Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Twoby Joseph Bruchac - has anybody read this (or any other on subject)?
And Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent 1934-41 by William B. Shirer. I read his book on WW2 and loved it. But that was nearly 30 years ago...

Rachel wrote: "I just got The Girls of Atomic City as a prize from my library for completing their winter library bingo. That may have to be my read for February. I also have All the Light we Can Not See. So many..."

Read Atomic City with me :)

Top Recommendation: The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story, which is a non-fiction book written by poet and naturalist Diane Ackerman. It tells the account of the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, Jan and Antonina Zabinski, who helped save hundreds of people during the Nazi invasion. The author uses Antonina Zabinski's unpublished diary as a resource. I learned a lot that I hadn't known before about how the war affected the lives of people in Poland. It's a memorable story about really courageous and resourceful people.

Other recommendations:
The Book Thief
The Complete Maus
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Hiding Place
City of Thieves

My possibilities:
All the Light We Cannot See
Catch-22
Cryptonomicon - which is described as being set both during World War II and current day, and would also satisfy the Shelfagories category for a book with more than 750 pages.

Michael wrote: "LibraryCin wrote: "My top recommendation:
The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan. ..."

Great top recommendation. His writing was great for "A Bridge Too Far" so I will consider it."

Thanks, Michael! I'm going to have to look up:
A Bridge Too Far
as well, then. :-)

Kimber wrote: "Top Recommendation: The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story, ..."

Ooooh, I really liked
The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story,
as well. Great recommendation!

Michael, I checked under Cornelius Ryan and also found
The Last Battle.

Have you read it?

I didn't get around to doing any recommendations before the group went live beyond my top recommendation (I'll post that again!):
The Longest Day

I will add more recommendations to that now:
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption / Laura Hillenbrand
Skeletons at the Feast / Chris Bojalian
22 Britannia Road / Amanda Hodgekinson
Shanghai Girls / Lisa See
Tallgrass / Sandra Dallas
The Distant Hours / Kate MortonAuschwitz: A New History / Laurence Rees
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet / Jamie Ford
Climbing the Stairs / Padma Venkatraman

I feel like I need to read all the instructions. You guys are linking books, and stuff! :)

I just got The Nightingale on audio. I will recommend The Last of the Just

Oh, look at me ... learning as I go!

Nicole wrote: "I feel like I need to read all the instructions..."

Very nice, Nicole! :-)

Chiming in with books that haven't been mentioned though there have been some terrific books recommended ;)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The Beast's Garden ~a retelling of Beauty & The Beast set in Nazi Germany by one prolific Aussie author, Kate Forsyth

For myself, I currently have a library book due back in 3 days but I'm gonna have to renew it since I haven't touch it since bringing it home! The Great World by David Malouf (another Aussie)

By the way, does anyone know any good books set in Bletchley Park during WWII? I loved the tv series, , and woud love to read something set there... I've read one a couple of weeks ago, The Amber Shadows (ARC), but it wasn't quite what I was looking for...

Michael wrote: "Top recommendation:
Life and Fate--Vasily Grossman
Sort of the War and Peace in stature for WW2, it was written by a Russian Jew who served as a war correspondent on the Eastern Front--outstanding!..."

If I hadn't just started The Goldfinch, I might consider Life and Fate - just not up to going from 600+ pages to 900+ pages. It's one I'd love to read some other time.

Wow. This is tough. So many books I would like to read. I don't think I can add anything that hasn't already been mentioned as a recommendation, but I did especially love The Book Thief if you haven't gotten to that one.

I just bit the bullet and ordered a hardcover of The Complete Maus. I can't recall the last time I did that!

I would love to squeeze in The Nightingale and Catch-22, both of which I own, but who am I kidding, lol?

I would recommend Corelli's Mandolin or something by Primo Levi. I am going to read Midaq Alley which is set in Egypt in the early 1940's so LT has it tagged WWII and I am reading it for 1001 group and I hope it really will work for both groups. That would be really good. Otherwise I have a lot of other possibilities such as Survival in Auschwitz

I have The Narrow Road to the Deep North in audio, I may also read that one this month.

My recommendations are as follows (all fiction but the last two):

- The Winds of War
- Eye of the Needle
- King Rat
- The Rhinemann Exchange
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
- In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors
- When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II

I am going to try to read three books this month. They are as follows:

- City of Women
- The Blue Star
- City of Thieves

Kristel wrote: "I would recommend Corelli's Mandolin or something by Primo Levi. I am going to read Midaq Alley which is set in Egypt in the early 1940's so LT has it tagged WWII and I am r..."

Good idea Kristel. I have Midiq Alley on request. Nice to know it might fit.

LibraryCin wrote: "Michael, I checked under Cornelius Ryan and also found The Last Battle. Have you read it?"

Thanks for the recommendatio. The winding down of the war is less of a draw for me because of less uncertainty about outcomes. If I had enough ambition I would pursue Rick Atkinson's trilogy, which ends with The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945.