All Quiet On The Western Front - Erich Remarque

"Our life alternates between billets and the front. We have almost grown accustomed to it; war is a cause of death like cancer and tuberculosis, like influenza and dysentery. The deaths are merely more frequent, more varied and terrible."

All Quiet On The Western Front - Erich Remarque

While reading this book, I felt like I was reading the journal of a soldier. Its pages gave an up-close look at World War I, revealing the horrors and emotions behind the battlefield. 

The book flowed nicely, and every event seemed to have some sort of purpose. The book was detailed, but not too gory. Enjoyable, and realistic. I thoroughly felt that the author accurately captured the reality of any war. It was almost difficult to read at times. To read of how the soldiers were trained to think and behave, to the way they interacted with family gave us an all-around perspective of war. It made history come alive and presented World War I in a touching, personal way. 

I loved the way the book was written. It was truly like reading a diary of a soldier. Told from the first-person type of view it was a good read and easy to follow. The ending was satisfying, and yet there was no true "happy ending", in a sense. It made sense with the rest of theme of this book and concluded the book nicely. 

Although this book was good, I would only recommend it to an older audience. Certainly sensitive people should take extra caution, as the facts of war in general was presented in a shockingly personal way. Yet anyone who feels they are old enough should read this book to understand and appreciate what many soldiers, even today, go through. 

The War To End All Wars - Russell Freedman

"Those who lived through World War I called it the Great War because of its massive scale"

The War To End All Wars - Russell Freedman

This past week I have studied World War I and found out what a true horror it was. Volunteer soldiers, caught by a romanticized idea of war, willingly laying their lives down. The brutal mentality towards Germans. The innocent lives of civilians. Millions of casualties. And scars that would last a lifetime. Only a little over a century ago did this war begin, yet it shaped the world in unimaginable ways. 

This book was an amazing resource of information. It covered the events from before the war until after. The information was presented in an easy to understand way and I have certainly acquired more knowledge of this historic war because of this book. The pages of this book were filled with actual photos of soldiers, the battles or affected families. It truly made the words on the page jump out, and it forced the reader to realize that World War I is more than just something learned about in history class. It was a very real event, and an awful four years of the twentieth century. 

The information in the book was very in-depth and accurate. Although it is a large book, somehow it did not feel overwhelming. I enjoyed learning and understanding more about this war from beginning to end. Indeed this book was full of information, yet everything seemed important and placed in the text for a reason. Clearly, this book was very well thought out. 

I would recommend this book to everyone living in today's society. Whether interested in war or not, this book will be a beneficial read. It's important for us, who have not lived to see World War 1, to educate ourselves on such a huge event in the past. 

The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway

“You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another.”  

The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway

This book was so incredibly awful that I don't know what to say about it. The only part I did like about this nearly 300-page book was the 13 words in the quote above. Other than that, the book was boring and seemingly pointless. I don't even know why this book is titled "The Sun Also Rises". That was not cleared up in the pages. It must have some vague meaning that I didn't catch because I was so bored.

Generally, I go into any book with optimism, and this one was no different. In fact, I was really excited to read this book. I thought it would be good. I thought it would be a new favorite. But I was wrong, oh so very wrong. Instead, this book has officially become the most boring book that I have ever been assigned to read, and I've been assigned some boring books. If it hadn't been assigned, I wouldn't have finished it. I probably would have stopped reading it after the first or maybe second chapter. I may have preferred to have read an encyclopedia, for at least then I would have gained some sort of knowledge about something, anything.

There are other reasons why I did not enjoy this book, other than its utter boringness. Primarily, this book involved the use of alcohol and occasionally cigarettes. However, alcohol was frequently mentioned. Actually, more than frequently, like on every page. To me, alcohol is a waste of time and money, and it gives no meaning or purpose to someone's life. Maybe I did not enjoy this book because the characters lives seemed too low and worthless. It appeared to me that they had no goals or wishes or desires, they just drank a whole lot and went around and did average stuff that no one cares about. And the frequent talk and use of alcohol in this book was not even considered as a problem.

For some reason, my first impression of Ernest Hemingway, before reading this book, was that he was some sort of poet. Well, this book proved me wrong. The language in this book was awful, not only in word choice but also in swearing! As with the alcohol, this book used cuss a lot. It is very unpleasant to read a book with cuss words in nearly every chapter.

Throughout the book, Ernest Hemingway, for some reason, thought it necessary to describe the character's every day life. This is essentially why I was bored to death with this book. It was like reading a 10-year old's journal that consisted of the days most mundane events and details no one cares to know.

I do not recommend this book to anyone. Go ahead and read it if you so desire to be drained of energy and experience nothing but boredom, as well as constant wonder of "why am I being told this?". I think the world would be better if this book had not been published.

Around The World In 80 Days - Jules Verne

“He was so exact that he was never in a hurry, was always ready, and was economical alike of his steps and his motions.”

Around The World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne

I found this book was a very entertaining and light read. It was a joy to read the adventures that Phileas Fogg went through during his traveling.

The story starts by introducing Phileas Fogg as a very routine-orientated man. His life seems simple and boring. In actuality, I was wondering how the author was going to take such a dull character on such an exciting journey. Yet when he is challenged by his peers, Phileas Fogg cannot refuse. He bets with his friends that he can travel the world in eighty days. Throughout many strange and thrilling events, Phileas Fogg astounds his friends, as well as his fellow citizens of Europe, by the end of his journey.

I liked that this book was continually changing the scenery and events. On every page and every chapter, something new, and possibly dangerous, was going on. The book certainly managed to hold my attention until the very last page!

After finishing the book, I realized that there were certain clues as to what was going to happen softly embedded within the chapters. It was like an "A-ha!" moment when the ending finally came together. The ending seemed to be disappointing, yet amazingly things worked out for the better.

I admired how the journey around the world changed Phileas Fogg. He seemed to have a Stoic personality, where he refused to show too much emotion. By the ending, however, it was as though his heart softened and he found much joy in life. His transformation, although somewhat subtle, was a large factor that made this book so great.

Jules Verne certainly had a wild imagination. Some events in this book may have been a little overdone and extremely exaggerated, but it was fun to read. Reading this book was like sliding down a hill at a rapid pace, hitting jumps and almost crashing a few times, but coming out of it alive and ready to do it again.

Inside the O'Brien's - Lisa Genova

Gratitude and love. Joe replays the memory, and he sees his mother again and anew. Unable to walk or feed herself, unable to defend her reputation from the rumors that she was a drunk and a sinner and a bad mother, unable to live at home or hug her kids or tuck them into bed at night, she's smiling with her eyes at Joe.

Inside the O'Brien's, Lisa Genova 

If I'm completely honest, I almost cried reading this chapter. And you must know that I never cry for anything fictional.  Lisa Genova has done it once again, entangling a story of pain and love into my heart. Awakening a new realization of Huntington's Disease and the horrors of it.

I love Lisa Genova's books because they showcase, if you will, atypical diseases that are oftentimes ignored in today's society. Huntington's Disease is an incurable, fatal and hereditary disease. It causes it's victims to gradually lose all voluntary control. It was at times painful to read this book. Huntington's has been called the cruelest disease known to man, and Lisa captured every fear and horror of this disease through her words. I do find it personally frustrating that people with diseases like Huntington's, or even Alzheimer's, are often considered outcasts in society. Yet they cannot control their "weird" behaviors. I agree that cancer is also a terrible disease, but why is it that cancer patients are hailed as heroes in their death or victory, and everyone roots for them, runs marathons in their honor and... yet the family who suffers from Huntington's Disease, or Alzheimer's is pushed aside into a dark corner? Lisa explores the gruesome journey of having Huntington's, and it broke my heart. She is demonstrating that cancer is not the only disease that haunt's the human race. 

Despite the shadow cast over this book due to such a serious disease, the O'Brien family managed to find hope. And then the rest of the book seems to only be the dark before the dawn. Huntington's is real, but Lisa Genova proved that so is hope. It was an inspiring story, and I encourage you to read this book sometime this year. I could not put it down and I feel that the book has had such an impact on me, that I just want to leave it out for a bit before placing it back on the shelves. 

The ending of the book was probably the most confusingly satisfying. Some things may be left unsaid, yet it gives the book a final sense of hope and peace. The message throughout the book was attempting to live every moment of life. Since the symptoms of Huntington's generally begin in the late thirties, the victims are almost sure to die a young death. One of Joe's daughter's worried about her future constantly, as the child of a parent with Huntington's Disease has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the disease. She is faced with the  hard choice of finding out if she will develop the disease through a genetic test or of leaving her gene status unknown.

Although I loved this book dearly and would highly recommend it, it did have one flaw: The language. I do understand that rage and anger are typically symptoms of Huntington's, yet this book used unpleasant words quite often. As a person who doesn't swear, I did find the language a bit disturbing and distracting from the main focus of the book.

In the end, however, this book had a profound impact on me. For some reason, I dived completely into this book and it left its mark. Lisa Genova has once again created a masterpiece. 

To see Lisa Genova talk about this book, click here

Promises to Keep - Ann Tatlock

I patted my jeans pocket, not the one I'd taken the candy wrappers from but the other one. Tucked deep inside was the necklace Daddy had given to me for Christmas. That, I was going to keep. Not for any sentimental reason, but as a reminder. If I was going to survive in this world, I  had to understand that not everything I wanted to be true was true, and not everything that looked good was good. 

-Promises to Keep, Ann Tatlock

New year... same authors. Ann Tatlock has remained my favorite author ever since Every Secret Thing, and Promises to Keep book was no disappointment. I literally could not put it down, it was in my hand every day of my winter break until I finished it. 

This book was written in a different style than the first book I read by Ann. It had a little more of a charming, cozy and humorous theme to it. It had a lighthearted tone and I found the style of writing as well as certain topics reminded me greatly of To Kill A Mockingbird. 

The story centers on eleven year old Rosalind (Roz) Anthony and her family. Her mother was forced to leave the young girl's father due his alcoholism and anger issues. Throughout the story, we catch glimpses of what Alan Anthony (her father) was like, and we see that it wasn't safe to be with him. However, he soon finds and meets Roz and mends their relationship, but in secret. He has promised to change and restore their family when the time is right,

and Roz is very excited to be seeing her father again.

It is very difficult to write about this book without spoiling the ending. Roz definitely matured by the end. She learned that trust is something that is demonstrated by someone's actions rather than their words, and old habits die hard. My eyes were glued to the page during the last few chapters from excitement, and shock.

In typical Ann Tatlock style, the last two chapters were a curve-ball from the rest of the story. Somehow, she created a beautiful story, while disrupting the happy-go-lucky personality of the book. 

I really don't want to say much more, this book left me surprised, yet pleased. It was a masterpiece in my eyes... and another Ann Tatlock book will soon be in my hands. 

Destined to Soar - K.P. Yohannan

"Look for Him in your own situations that you are facing right now. Listen to the things He speaks to your heart. Look at his life on Earth and consider what it was like for Him. Look for Him in His word.

-Destined To Soar, K.P. Yohannan

This book was, in a way, a very light read; the chapters were short and easy to finish. The content, however, was something to ponder. It was told from a Christian worldview, therefore it challenged my personal faith. To me it seemed that everything that was talked about were only simple truths that we so often forget in our "really busy" lives. It was honestly a breath of fresh air. It demonstrated an "uncluttered" way of thinking of things. 

Although K.P. Yohannan has accomplished many great things for Christ, he did not promote the gain of wealth or applause from others. I could tell from the words he wrote that he was genuine and a real human being, who faces the same things that 'average' people face. 

This is a great study book, for all ages. I believe that the topics he wrote about can be embraced by children, teens and adults alike. Chapters like Finding God's Heart, The Mark of Humility, and The Power of Oneness are topics that mature Christians need to be embracing and teaching to the younger generation. 

This book also made God appear real. As I already mentioned, I had a faith in God before reading this book. But somehow this book shed light onto His awesomeness, but also His tenderness. 

It is the simple but profound words of K.P. Yohannan that challenge you deeply, and do not seek to the change the world, but seek to challenge you personally.