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.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

This is a bit of a hot book right now and is my selection for my book club for this year.  It won't be on our book club schedule for a few months yet, but I wanted to give it a read early to see how I felt about it.

Rachel is a woman who rides the train from the suburbs into London every day.  Taking the same trains every day, looking out the windows, she starts to see some familiar scenes each day.  One area she likes to keep an eye on is the street where she formerly lived with her husband before their marriage ended.  A few doors down, a new couple has moved in.  She often sees them out on their terrace and has invented a history for them.  One day she sees something amiss at their house, and when she reads in the news that the woman who lives in that house has gone missing, she feels she needs to get involved.  But not only has she invented a history for these people, Rachel is also an alcoholic who often has blackouts where she can't remember anything that happens to her for a period of time.  So can her information be trusted?  Will her desire to help only cause problems to the investigation?

This is a fun, fast-paced book with some good twists and turns.  It's not going to go down in history as one of the great thrillers of all time, but it is a fun, exciting read.  It is being called the next Gone Girl, but I can't really comment on that, because I haven't read that one.  It's a quick read and I think you'll probably enjoy it.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

It has been a long time since I finished a book in a day.  But with this short little book I managed to get through it today while Becca was napping.

This is the selection for my book club's meeting next week and it was an absolute delight.  I had no idea what the book was about, but I fell in love with it right away.

The book is a series of letters that passed back and forth between Helene Hanff in New York and Frank Doel, a bookseller in London.  Helene sees an advertisement for his shop in a magazine and begins what becomes a 20-year, transatlantic correspondence.  In the process a friendship develops between the two, along with his wife and other members of the shop's staff.  She sends gifts to help them through the post-WWII rationing in England and often plans visits which always fall through for various reasons.

Both correspondents are fun and witty and their letters are delightful.  Their discussions of antique books are fascinating (especially when her dislike of any sort of fiction is shattered by reading Pride and Prejudice).

It is 97 pages long, with some of those pages being short letters.  It is a very light, very quick read.  I highly recommend it for an easy, fluffy read.  You won't regret it.