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Back to topKathleen's Picks
I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. Two months after I retired from teaching, Judy asked me to think about part time work at Island Books. I could not believe my good luck, a legitimate reason to indulge my love of reading, guilt free. My reading tastes are rather eclectic, slightly more fiction than non-fiction but a good mix. Lately World War II seems to be a theme, ordinary people doing extraordinary things on a daily basis. I am presently on a quest to read more books that make me laugh out loud.
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This is the fascinating story of Elizabeth Smith, an English major from rural America who became the premier code breaker for the United States during both World Wars.
This is probably my all time favorite autobiography. Growing up in South Africa during apartheid, Trevor Noah had much to be angry and bitter about. This, however, is a book of celebration and hope. There were many parts that I found myself laughing out loud. Noah attributes his success to his mother who was determined to show him a world full of possibility.
A young woman follows the cries of babies and finds a box car of abandoned infants and toddlers. She chooses one to replace the infant she just lost. They and many others are saved by a traveling circus moving freely through Nazi occupied Europe.I loved these characters, all hiding something but all helping each other to survive.
I loved this book. The rich language and characters took me to a different time and place. I experienced the heat of the south in summer and the buzzing of the bees in their hives. Lily is yearning to know more about her mother. In her search, she finds three bee keepers who share her mother's story and embrace her as their own.