What I read in October

Audiobooks, audiobooks, audiobooks!!! Not only have I been listening to them like a dervish, I've been preaching the audiobook word. Mostly how great they are and how convenient they are and how I can multi-task AND read. Cooking dinner and listening to my book? Check. Watering the flowers and listening to my book? Check. So many things.

This month was full of pretty heavy books. WW2 and Afghanistan. I think I need a sappy book or more Outlander for the upcoming month. Whew.

Rating scale*:

1/5 - Hated it, didn't finish.
2/5 - Tolerated it on principle to finish, didn't like it.
3/5 - Eh, didn't love it, didn't hate it. Had some good parts/kept me interested/finished it on principle.
3.5/5 - I liked parts of it.
4/5 - I liked the whole thing.
4.5/5 - I liked it a lot, but not sure I'd read it again.
5/5 - I LURVED it and I'd read it again.

*Subject to change based on my mood, the phase of the moon, or other unpredictable variables.

Skimmers, stick with the bold text (TL;DR* parts).
PS. Possible spoilers included in reviews.


Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein 4/5 (audiobook)
Having 2 Audible credits a month make me feel like a lush. I wavered on this book between liking it and not for quite a while. Mostly, I was disappointed at the lack of Scottish accent and the weirdness of the northern US accent and don't get me started on the Polish accent... #audiobookproblems Maybe I was expecting something different than what I got since this was the #2 book, which is my own fault. This book stands alone, only making references to book 1, with nothing lost if you didn't read it.

This is the story of Rose, an American, who was a prisoner at Ravensbrook concentration camp for women during WW2. The horrors of the concentration camp kept me up at night. Unfathomable things that were actually done to people and this story tells about those things. Human experimentation, starvation, horrendous living conditions, abuse, and other horrible things that happened at concentration camps.

There was never really a point in the book where I became a fan of Rose's poetry. I was hoping that it would eventually grow on me, but it never did. At least it tied into the story in a way before the end.

I was glad to see that the story had a positive ending, especially after having been kept up all night because of the concentration camp nightmares.

I listened to this book from Audible and the narrator highly annoyed me. Her voices for the Polish women was shrill and like an ice pick to my brain. Her Pennsylvania accent also felt forced.


The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty 3/5 (audiobook)
Throughout the entire book, I struggled with the 3rd person narrative. It felt like I was listening to a screenplay. That aside, the story was very enjoyable. It didn't seem like it took forever to get to the twist, which sometimes happens. I didn't go out of my way to guess what the secret was, so I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. I appreciate that Moriarty takes the time to wrap up all the story lines.

Essentially the book is about a family who live on an island and something happened and a baby was found and the family adopted the baby. 70 years later, the mystery has been solved, but has been made public.

If you can tolerate the 3rd person narrative and the fact that it felt like it took forever to get to the twist, this isn't a bad book to pass the time.


The One Man by Andrew Gross 4.5/5 (audiobook)
This book had me screaming in the car by the end. I was yelling at the characters, a literal audience to their lives. They were frustrating me, they were running out of time, WTF STOP TALKING AND DO THINGS!!! Ya know, apparently things that "thriller" readers are used to.

This book is the fictional tale of the rescue/escape of a Polish physicist from Auschwitz by a US intelligence operative. Despite knowing it was fiction, I know very little about the Manhattan Project, so it felt real at times. Then other times, I was like, there is no way this is ever going to work. As I got closer and closer to finishing the book, I still couldn't figure out if the mission was going to be successful.

I sat on the edge of my seat for almost the entire book, needing to know what was going to happen and if Blum would be successful. I really struggled with the cat thing, but if I was more upset by the cat than what was happening to humans in the concentration camps, what kind of person was I?


The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi 4.5/5 (ebook)

Afghanistan books absolutely break my heart, but I'm not well versed on the history of Afghanistan, so I'm drawn to these books for several reasons. Mostly, I'm hoping for some historical knowledge while being entertained. Also, I'm hoping for some type of understanding regarding middle eastern culture and practices and how different it is from western cultures (Islam, being a big part of that). I was told that was someone who loved Khaled Hosseini's books, this book would be right up my alley.

I struggled with the treatment of women (of course) and felt like the author was overly-subtle about the domestic abuse that takes place throughout the book. Nonetheless, this book was a good look at Afghanistan culture and the treatment of women in modern times and as always, my heart goes out to the women who are unable to fight their repression.

In Progress:

• Double Edged Secrets: U.S. Naval Intelligence Operations in the Pacific During World War II by WJ Holmes */5 (hard copy)
• Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg */5 (ebook) 
• Burying the Honeysuckle Girls by Emily Carpenter  */5 (audiobook)

On Deck:

• Randoms from the TBR list.

*TL;DR = too long, don't read