The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

My book club has decided to take a light approach to December, and this was our selection. It is a children's book so I read it this afternoon while my car was being rustproofed. It's only 79 pages so it is a fast, fun read. It was just a delightful little book. I can't wait for Darcy to read it too.

It tells the story of a small town preparing for their annual Christmas pageant. Every year it's the same thing. The same wise men, the same shepherds, the same Mary and Joseph. Until the Herdman family hears that you get free refreshments at Sunday School and decide to show up. The Herdman children usually spend their time smoking cigars and setting things on fire, so a Christmas pageant is very out of character for them. But when the 6 Herdman children are given leading roles in this year's pageant, things suddenly look very different from other years.

This book is hilarious and poignant. It made me laugh and once or twice brought a little tear to my eye. If you're looking for a great Christmas read, I can't recommend this one highly enough. If you have read Wally Lamb's Wishin' and Hopin', this is a very similar read, and now they are two of my favourites to read at Christmas.

Mightier Than the Sword by Jeffrey Archer

I have enjoyed reading Jeffrey Archer's books since I accidentally stumbled across First Among Equals as a teenager. This is book is the fifth in his current series, The Clifton Chronicles. I always like to finish a series once I start it, but after book four I was getting bored with this series. I wasn't sure if I was going to read this book or not, but I'm glad I did as it seems to have recaptured the excitement that I first enjoyed with this series.

The series follows the life of Harry Clifton who is now around 50 years old, a successful author and a loving husband and father. His wife Emma, son Sebastian, brother-in-law Giles are some of the other main characters with a few recurring villains as well.

In this book Emma is facing challenges as the Chairman of the Board of her family's shipping company, Harry is campaigning for the release of a Russian author who was imprisoned for writing a biography of Stalin which the Russian government doesn't want reaching the hands of the public. Archer takes us from London to Russia, to the US, to East Berlin as the family faces each difficulty.

It's not going to be an award-winning book, but it was a fun, light read and had compelling plot lines. Jeffrey Archer has a great way of telling a story. I love the way he leaks little clues as the stories move along and the fun ways he has of revealing surprises, often in a court room or board room. The "bad guys" are usually brought to justice with a surprising twist. It is a bit formulaic, but still fun. I do recommend the series. Book four was a bit weak, as I said before, but on the whole the series will give you what Jeffrey Archer is known for: a fun page-turner with lots of surprises.

Side note: My all time favourite Jeffrey Archer story is a short story which appeared in his book 12 Red Herrings. The first story in the book is entitled Trial and Error. I loved it!

The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede

I have never considered myself to be a lover of non-fiction. But my best reads of the past two years have all been non-fiction, so I think I'm starting to change my mind about that.

I stumbled across this book after I read Thunder Dog earlier this year. Both deal with the events of September 11, 2001 but in completely different ways.

In this book, we read the stories of various people who found themselves stranded in Gander, Newfoundland after American airspace was closed and pilots were told to land their planes at the nearest possible airport. Nearly 40 planes landed in Gander (population a little over 10,000), which resulted in 6,500 passengers finding themselves in this little town that few of them had ever heard of before. Gander dropped everything to welcome these travellers with open arms. They gave them places to sleep, food to eat, computers and phones to stay in touch with family, clothes, showers, whatever they could possibly need to get through that difficult time. Stores would often give the "plane people" whatever they needed for free, just to help out.

Churches, community groups, schools and clubs all pitched in to help. I was particularly proud of the mentions of the work of the Salvation Army and I know my former boss was actually in charge of the Army's work in Gander at that time. Everyone worked together to help others, because that is the "Newfie way".

The book follows several different individuals and families through their experiences in Gander during that week. It is a bit difficult to keep the different story threads straight, but it is usually pretty easy to remember who is being talked about. Whether is the story of the Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, the parents waiting for word about their son the NYC firefighter, the parents of the newly adopted Russian girl, or any of the others you will be drawn to the characters and their stories.

Among other things, this book caused me to think about my own Newfie roots in a new, even prouder light. I loved hearing the stories of the people of Gander opening their homes and offering support to people they had never met before. Although the "plane people" only spent a few days in Gander, friendships were formed that will probably last a lifetime.

So while there was a lot of pain and heartbreak during these days, the response of the people of Gander made an incredibly difficult time much easier. I loved this book and highly recommend it. I'm looking forward to hearing the views of the other members of my book club on Sunday evening.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

Man, it takes me ages to get through a book these days. I can't believe how long it took me to read this one. It was our book club selection for our meeting in the middle of October. I finished it today. Now I really need to get moving on November's book.

I loved the idea of this book. A book about books and the people who love them. It seems right up my alley. Maybe it was the fact that it was translated from its original Swedish, but it just didn't have the magic I was expecting.

The book tells the story of Sara, a young Swedish woman who comes to visit a Amy, literary pen pal in Broken Wheel, Iowa. The two women had been corresponding about books for a while and decided to meet. Amy was an elderly woman and by the time Sara arrives in Broken Wheel, Amy has passed away. So Sara is left living in Amy's house, and making her way in this small town on her own. She decides to use Amy's extensive book collection to start a book shop, something the town has been lacking prior to her arrival.

Broken Wheel is full of unique characters, many of whom Sara has read about in Amy's letters. Now she gets to know them in real life and she falls in love with the town. However, I feel this was one of the downfalls of the book. There were too many characters and it was hard to keep them all straight. I think a couple of side plots could have been done away with to make the book flow a bit better.

I do like the literary references throughout the book, and one of my favourite parts is when one of the townspeople starts referring to Idgie from Fried Green Tomatoes" as her friend. There are many references to Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, so that's automatically a plus in my mind!

It's a light, fun read, but wasn't as great as I was hoping.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

I came across this book as part of a class I did last spring. I bought it in May and have been reading it ever since. I just couldn't get into it.

It is the story of Marie-Laure a young girl raised in Paris who is being raised by her father in the days leading up to World War II. Marie-Laure is blind, but her father never lets that slow her down. He teachers her how to find her way around and take care of herself. As the war breaks out and they need to flee Paris, these lessons will be invaluable.

It is also the story of Werner, a brilliant young boy growing up in Germany. Orphaned along with his sister he falls in love with the radio and in their children's home they listen to a French scientist's radio broadcasts. Werner discovers a natural ability for building and repairing radios. This skill lands him in a special school and service for the German army in WWII.

Although quite separate, their lives are intertwined in ways they could never imagine.

I wanted to love this book. I tried to love this book. But I just didn't. I think part of what kept me from being drawn into it are the short little chapters and constantly changing voices and time periods. It can be hard to keep track of where and when you are in the story and who all the characters are. Especially when your reading is spread out over several months! But the writing is beautiful, the characters are interesting, I just feel like I had a hard time getting to know them in such short, spread out passages.

It has been a long time since a book has really drawn me in. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

I've heard good things about this book and I've been meaning to give it a try for a while.  So when I was looking for a book to load on the iPad for my trip to Windsor, I decided now was the time for me to read it.

I enjoyed it, but I wasn't blown away.

This is the story of Nick and Amy Dunne.  On their fifth wedding anniversary, Amy goes missing and Nick, Amy's parents and the police are left to figure out what has happened, where she has gone and whether or not she is still alive.

Of course, as most stories go, there is more to the story than originally appears and as the book progresses more and more secrets are revealed.  It makes for a pretty good page-turner.

The book is told in both Nick and Amy's voices in alternating chapters.  I found that to be a great device to keep me reading.  One of Amy's chapters would end on a suspenseful note, then I'd have to read Nick's chapter, then by the time I figured out what had happened to Amy, I was wondering what was happening to Nick.  And so I kept reading.

My main problem with the book is that the main characters were, for the most part, despicable.  There just isn't anything likable about them and you can't really find yourself cheering for either one of them.  It's hard for me to say more without revealing some major plot points, but I will leave it that neither of them are nice people.

Aside from that it is a well-written and suspenseful book.  If you are looking for an exciting summer read, this would be a good choice. It would be a great vacation book.  If you're a character-driven person, this may not be the book for you.

Now to see the movie and see how that compares.

Love, Anthony by Lisa Genova

I've been meaning to read this book for a number of years, but for some reason I never got around to it.  I recently saw it on a bargain table at the bookstore so I picked it up and began reading it a few weeks ago.  I wonder if I would have liked it more if I had read it a few years ago.

I was told this is a story about a boy with autism.  It's true, that is an important component of the book, but definitely not the main one, as I read it.

This is the story of Beth and Olivia, two women on journeys to figure out where their lives are headed after their marriages each break up.  The demise of Olivia's marriage was related to the death of her son, Anthony, who was on the autism spectrum.  Beth's marriage ended due to her husband's infidelity, and she is rediscovering her passion for writing in her healing.  She writes a story about a boy named Anthony, who is on the autism spectrum.

The journey each woman is on is painful and lonely.  It hit a little close to home and made this book less enjoyable for me.

However, I was fascinated with the sections of Beth's book as they appeared in this book.  Lisa Genova is a neuroscientist so this book is well researched and well written.  I feel it can help give some insight into what a child on the autism spectrum faces on a daily basis.

It is a great book, just not a great one for me right now.