Sanctuary by Ken Bruen

I love Ken Bruen! I love his writing style, his characters and anxiously await any new releases of his.

Sanctuary continues the story of Jack Taylor, an ex-Irish guard. Taylor is a man who seems to invite danger and pain wherever he goes.

Taylor is ready to leave Ireland and come to the States when he receives a note that includes a list of people to be killed. So far 2 have already been crossed off the list and it's up to him to discover who is doing this and why. This is nothing new to him and he reluctantly dives in and tries to convince the police that this is a serious threat. As usual, they have no use for Jack but he ends up winning in the end--at least he solves the case.

Jack has his usual battles with his addiction to alcohol and his propensity to anger those around him, but I still am anxious to find out what will happen to him next. I guess I like Jack as well. I'm always rooting for him!

If this sounds interesting to you, you may want to go back and read the previous Jack Taylor novels as well!

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Sarah's Key is a story of the imprisonment of French Jews and the lasting effects of a young girl's journey. Julia is a writer and discovers that the family apartment she is about to move into used to be inhabited by a Jewish family that was taken during the Vel d'Hiv Roundup. Her initial writing assignment is to write a piece on the history of this Roundup, but once discovering the connection her inlaws have with this event in history she becomes obsessed with the family that used to live there--especially the little girl Sarah.

Sarah is a young Jewish girl who was taken from her house in France by her country's own policemen. She is very scared and is not sure what is happening, but at first feels secure in the fact that these are Frenchmen so it probably isn't so bad and that she will soon return to her home. Add to the fact that her little brother is hidden in their secret hiding place in the apartment and she is the only one who knows where he is and has the key to open the secret compartment.

As Julia pursues the story she finds out many things about her husband's family, a part of WWII history that she wasn't aware of and finds many things in herself that has been lost or forgotten.

This is an unforgettable story about the horrors of war and the perseverance of people in difficult situations.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

What a book! I cannot even believe I made it thru the 800+ pages of Anna Karenina, but I did. This book was a book discussion book, so I had to read it, but then I fell in love with it and couldn't put it down. Add to the fact that it is a classic and totally readable how could you not like it.

The book is about several Russian families and their lives and loves. Even though the book is named after Anna I found other characters much more interesting like Kitty and Levin. As the story progresses many things happen to them all. Usually I find Russian stories very difficult to read, it seems that the characters are often called by so many different names that I get confused AND I can never pronounce the name. I must admit in this book I just started glancing at the names and then continuing on so I didn't stumble while reading. (Does that make sense?)

Tolstoy does a great job of transforming his characters as the story progresses and in the end you can see just how far they have come!

Don't be intimidated by the fact it is a classic, or that it has so many pages: it's worth the time!

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

This is a book I have wanted to read forever. It just seemed like I never got around to it but I think this was the perfect time. In the past several years I have found a new author I like: Ken Bruen. He writes about the Irish guard and I love it. His style is fantastic and it prepared me for reading this book.

I don't know much about Ireland except for what I read in fiction books, but Frank McCourt's childhood certainly portrayed a view of Ireland that leaves the reader wondering how he survived it. He grew up in the 1930's and this book takes you thru his teen years and WWII.

He was the oldest of eight(?) children and became the man of the house once his father disappeared for good. The family's life struggles are unbelievable. I cannot even begin to tell you the things they endured. He did not want to end up like his father and was determined to get a job as soon as he turned 14. He worked in various places and saved his money so that he could return to America. This is where the book ends.

He has since written 2 more memoirs 'Tis and Teacher Man. I plan to read these in the near future.