Book: “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen

Good evening readers….

I imagine many of you have read Water for Elephants.

This book was on the New York Times Best Seller list for twelve weeks in 2006 as a hard cover book, and was back in first place on the NYT Best Seller list as a paperback in 2007.  The book has also won many other awards.

The major themes in the novel include: circus life during the depression, and our rich heritage of traveling circuses; emotions, self-esteem, love and mental illnesses.

Another theme in the novel is the care, feeding, training and transportation of the animals in the circus.
Ms. Gruen is an excellent writer, and brings the characters, scenes and story development in her book to life.

I always say if a novel can cause me to feel a range of emotions, then that is a barometer of a good book.  Of course there are other measurements I consider when rating a novel, but my “emotion-barometer” holds true in many cases.  In Water for Elephants, I felt anger, joy, sadness, frustration, and compassion.  I also enjoyed reading about the old traveling circuses.

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If you haven’t read it…..check it out!  If you have, perhaps you’d enjoy reading it again, or seeing the movie!

Thanks for stopping by~
Judy 

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Book: “Little Bee”

Little Bee,by Chris Cleave, is a very special book.  It is about two women, one from England, the other a Nigerian refugee.   One fateful day, they meet and one has to make a very difficult decision, one that will affect their lives forever.

The writing is wonderful, the character development is excellent, and the storyline of a refugee is one that parallels people from many countries today.  This book will tug at your heart and make you laugh~but the thread that connects every page is the strong feeling of HOPE.

Don’t miss this one….

Book: “In The Sea There Are Crocodiles”

This book is the story of a young Afghan boy named Enaiatollah Akbari.  The book begins when he is ten years old, just as his mother abandons him in Pakistan to save his life.   Enaiatollah recounts the next five years with an amazing memory.  He survives dangerous situations, scrambles to find food, and makes friends along the way.  The writing is charming.  The author is Fabio Geda, who interviews Enaiatolla.  213 pages.

Warmer temperatures……reading outside!

The weather is beautiful right now.  I’m taking advantage of it by grabbing some reading time in my favorite outdoor spot.  It’s a simple front porch glider, but it’s peaceful and quiet and a perfect place to enjoy the latest book.