World War 2 Books--and a story

Last Friday, I took a drive to the west side of town to look at some books. I bought two big boxes of mostly WW2 books. There are some very good ones in this group. The seller also had some crossword puzzle dictionaries and some small books of crossword puzzles.
Chatting with the seller, she told me a wonderful story of herself. Her recently passed husband had been her high school sweetheart. But after high school, the went their separate ways and were married for over 50 years to other people. Then, after both their spouses had passed on, they met at a high school reunion and got back together. They had 8 years together before he passed on.
I do have fun buying books for the store.

Large Print Books

The store has a good selection of Large Print books, including many Readers Digest editions with three books in one. Yesterday, I was able to purchase nearly 30 more Large Print for the store. Many are recent releases. After I write this, I will be stamping them for the store and then will have them out on the shelf.

Cane River by Lalita Tademy

Based on facts, this novel takes place on a Creole plantation on the banks of Louisiana's Cane River and follows four generations of women from slavery to freedom. Starting before the Civil War, the book goes into the early years of the twentieth century. The book is both lush and stark--the lush land of Louisiana and the starkness of life there for blacks. It is a book that sweeps up the reader while taking the reader to a not-so-far-away place and time.

Quick Review--The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

I read this book last year, brought it to the store where it sold and has just now come back. This is a memoir about an interesting childhood. From the back cover, a reviewer for the New York Times Book Review says "Memoirs are our modern fairy tales...The autobiographer is faced with the daunting challenge of attempting to understand, forgive, and even love the witch...Readers will marvel at the intelligence and resilience of the Walls kids." It is a marvelous book, full of wonderment--the readers wonder at the parents' total lack of reality, at the way the children manage to not just survive but to thrive, and when the book is finished, at the tribute to the human spirit.

Quick Review--The Chinchilla Farm by Judith Freeman

This is a Trade Paperback fiction which came into the store a while back and got sidetracked to my house so I could read it. I finished it the other day and thoroughly enjoyed this book. On the back cover, one reviewer is quoted as saying "Elegant and unexpected..." and this book truly is that. The way it moves along, the interesting people found along the way, all this and more delights. Another reviewer says "Purely, simply, beautiful." That really does sum it up. Another reviewer said "Under the plain honesty and generosity of Judith Freeman's writing is a delicate and impressive artistic strength. I read The Chinchilla Farm right through as a fascinating story, but... it lingers in my mind as a true journey through the desert of the West and of the Soul." YES! It is fiction, but it is true. It is about the west and it is about each person who reads it.

Ray Hunt

This really has nothing to do with the book store.
The great horseman Ray Hunt has passed on.
I never met him in person, only saw him on a few videos and read his book. But as many have, I have benefited from his teachings. Of far more importance, my horses and the horses of many others have benefited from his teachings for his work taught the human to better understand the horse and to be able to effectively communicate with the horse.
Ride on Ray--may your light shine on forever.

Quick Review--Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah

The subtitle of this book is "The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter". Born in 1937, her life coincides with a tumultuous time in Chinese history and her own history was shaped by the larger Chinese events. The book is well written and moves along swiftly introducing the many interesting characters of the author's life. If you like reading about Chinese history as personally seen and also like a good memoir, this is a book to read.
It is currently in the store with the other memoirs.

The Miss Zukas Mysteries

This is a pleasant series of mysteries by Jo Dereske. Miss Zukas is a librarian in a small city in Washington state. As with any good mystery, the main enjoyment of the book is not finding out "who dun it" as the journey of getting there. Miss Zukas is an interesting person to know and she has an interesting cast of characters around her. The description of the city and the climate are also enjoyable.
I picked up one book and at first was not that enthralled by the character, but she grew on me enough that I read the next book and then two more. It does help to read these in order, but not strictly necessary. For anyone who wants a pleasant, enertaining easy reading mystery, I do recommend these.

New (to the store) Spirituality Books Out on the Shelves

I have just finished processing some new-to-the-store spiritual books. They range from a bunch from Unity to some on the spiritual aspects of Yoga, to meditation, and some other misc. topics. This is quite an interesting batch of books. They are on the shelves with the other spiritual books.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyers

This is one hot series. For months people have been asking for it but none have come into the store as people are holding on to their copies. Finally, last week, a copy of the first of the series, Twilight, showed up. I sidetracked it home to read.
It is written for "Young Adults" but many adults have been reading it. Over the years, I have read many Young Adult books and enjoyed them. This was not one of those. I felt that the author panders to teenage girls rather then writing a good story. There are holes in the plot and the book is just tedious. It is enlivened by the occasional flash of humor, but the humor is too little to save the book. It does not stand up well as either a paranormal romance or a good teen book.
In any case, it is already out of the store, bought by someone who probably won't be bringing it back.