4.5

I have always loved the mountains. I’ve lived right along the Wasatch Mountain Range for almost my whole life, and enjoy spending a lot of time in them – hiking, camping, fishing. Even though I have enjoyed being in the mountains, I’ve never had the bug to do big climbs. I sure love reading about them though. It started with “Into Thin Air”, and after that I was hooked.

This book was a pretty quick read for me. I devoured it over the course of a few days. I loved reading all the descriptions of the climbs, and trying to imagine what it was like actually being up there. Chris Kopczynski is not a climber I had heard of before, but he accomplished an impressive list of feats. While I enjoyed reading about his different climbs, I also enjoyed when he asked himself what he was doing. He had a family and a job, but all he could think about was the next climb. It made me think about what drives some people to do the things they do, especially when it seems as if that drive to do one amazing thing is ruining another.

There were parts that seemed a little repetitive – he stated after almost every climb he wrote about that the climb after the summit is the most dangerous – some of the conversations seemed a little oddly written, and anyone who doesn’t have a basic understanding of climbing and the terms used may be confused as to what’s going on, but overall it was a fascinating book and a definite recommend for anyone who climbs or is interested in the subject.

3.5

This was yet another aspect of WWII that I didn’t know much about; the French resistance in the Riviera. I do always enjoy reading about different parts of the war that I don’t know much about, even if it is in fiction form. These stories help keep everything alive. Each time I read something new in a fiction novel about the war, I try and find out more about the actuals events, so I can try and learn and understand more about what happened.

After Lana loses her husband and unborn child, she gets an offer to join the resistance in the Riviera. She takes the offer and joins up with Guy, another resistance member. The story moves swiftly; almost too swiftly at times. The story starts right when Lana loses her husband, then moves right into her joining the resistance. There is plenty of down time where Lana attends parties and visits with her neighbor, Giselle, while trying to keep up the appearance of being Guy’s mistress. However, when it comes times for raids on Jewish homes and the resistance’s part in helping them escape, the details are very glossed over. Lana’s role is to find out when the raids will occur, instead of helping in the actual escapes. I wish a little more detail had been to the rest of the resistance members in helping them escape though. I just felt a little disconnected from the story when there was a buildup of planning the escapes and then they’re done with very little detail on them. 

Lana was a good character for the most part. However, she could be quite naive at times, and the arguments she would have with Guy got to be a bit much. Guy is rather closed off, preferring to focus entirely on his work in the resistance, instead of trying to be too close to Lana. When the book veered into romance territory between the two, it seemed rather abrupt, like it just had to be thrown in there. The relationship moved quickly between the two, going from first kiss to marriage proposal in no time flat. I think their relationship could have worked better for me if it hadn’t been so quick, and if the characters themselves had acted more like it was something they wanted early on.

Overall I enjoyed the book. There’s just a few things that could have been changed to really make it stand out for me.

3.5

While the writing in this book is beautiful, I had such a hard time getting into it because I wasn’t sure what was going on for the longest time. And even after finishing it, there’s still things I don’t quite understand. Sometimes it works in books, and sometimes it doesn’t, and this is one instance where it didn’t really work for me. If it hadn’t been for the writing itself, I probably would have DNF’d it instead of pushing through. I think this book would work well for people who love good writing styles and don’t mind a little confusion in the story; otherwise I can see many people getting frustrated and not finishing it.

This book was pretty fascinating, though not quite as accessible as other science books I’ve read. While the author does explain everything, sometimes the explanations are a little more than what the average reader will understand. This is understandable since the author is an astrophysicist and the target audience is either people in that field or interested in it, but unless you are in the field or have studied a lot about it, there’s a few things you may not get. I don’t think it detracts from the book much though, and can still be read by people with little understanding of the subject without too much difficulty.

The different scenarios for how the universe could end are all fascinating and scary. We won’t see any of them in our lifetimes, or in many millions of years, but I am interested to know which one of them ends up being the scenario that ends it all. It is a little sad to think that eventually nothing will be here, but I hope the theory that it ends and begins again comes true. There is still so much about the universe we don’t know and understand, so who knows; maybe it’ll be something else we haven’t even thought of that ends it. The fields of astronomy, astrophysics, etc. learn so much every year that our understanding and knowledge is constantly changing. I love reading about it all and can’t wait to see what the future brings on these subjects.

4.5

When I got this book, I actually didn’t know about the American Library of Paris. I hadn’t heard of it before, even though I’ve been to Paris. I was intrigued about the book taking place in a library during WWII, and it did not disappoint.

I loved that this book featured real people as well as fictional ones, and that a lot of the events actually happened. I had thought at first that the book was completely fictional, though the author does take some liberties and fills in certain events with her own imagining. After I finished it, I tried to find out more about some the people who were in the book that actually existed, such as Ms. Reeder and the Comtesse de Chambrun. I also enjoyed learning about another part of the war that I didn’t know before. As one of the most important events in history, I am always trying to find out more than just the basic facts.

Odile was a great character. She was smart and strong, but at the same time she had insecurities and fallacies, which made her more human. There is one part where she is wondering what kind of people could let a war like this happen and turn a blind eye to those in need. Later on, she realizes we can all be those people, as she made a mistake that caused suffering to someone she cared about. We can say that we will act whenever we see something wrong happening, but we really don’t know what we’ll do until we’re in that situation. And as much as people say they are brave and will do the right thing, when it comes time to act, they may very well turn a blind eye for any number of reasons. Odile had been trying to do her part in one regard, but had feigned ignorance in another. And while I didn’t like the choices she made at times, I do think they fit with her character and the story, and made her more realistic.

The setting in the library was fantastic. I felt as if I were there. I had never seen pictures of the library before I read this, but I could imagine it pretty well. The library was a sanctuary for the characters; somewhere they could go to get away from the stress of the war and feel safe. I think libraries are that way even today. I enjoy going to my local library to pick up new books, and I love going to the older libraries around the city and just sitting inside and relaxing, because they are still a sanctuary where you can go and just be.

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys WWII novels and libraries and good stories.

3.5

Most of the WWII books I’ve read dealt with events during the war, so it was a nice change to read a book taking place after the war. There are so many storied about the war, but those stories didn’t end when the war did. There was a lot of aftermath that isn’t discussed.

I enjoyed both Vera and Edith. They were too girls struggling with what happened to them, and trying to rebuild their lives the best they could. They had been through so much, but just because the war was over didn’t mean the hardships were. I did get a little frustrated with Edith at times, but I still enjoyed her character overall. Vera was a good main character. She just wanted to get her life in order and move on from the past, but that was easier said than done. I liked Anton, but I really hate how he made the choice for Vera about their relationship. He didn’t even give her a chance to decide. I hated Ricardo. I could tell from the moment he showed up that he was no good. I do think the book wrapped up a little too neatly though. It feels like the author wrote everything in Venezuela with Ricardo the way she did so she could have the perfect ending. It didn’t quite sit right with me, but it wasn’t a huge deterrent.

I do wish I knew what parts of the book were inspired by the author’s mother. I would love to know which parts were part of her mothers life, and which parts were the author’s storytelling. And I hope to read more books dealing with the aftermath of the war, whether they’re fiction or non-fiction.