Thanks to Doubleday Books, I have two copies of The Things We Cherished to give away to my readers.
I just received my copy of this book, a story of love and betrayal set during World War II. A combination of historical mystery, legal thriller, and romance novel, I can’t wait to get started reading this one.
Description from the publisher:
The Things We Cherished
by Pam Jenoff
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Doubleday
Publish Date: July 12, 2011
Format: Hardcover | 304 pages
An ambitious novel that spans decades and continents, The Things We Cherished tells the story of Charlotte Gold and Jack Harrington, two fiercely independent attorneys who find themselves slowly falling for one another while working to defend the brother of a Holocaust hero against allegations of World War II–era war crimes.
The defendant, wealthy financier Roger Dykmans, mysteriously refuses to help in his own defense, revealing only that proof of his innocence lies within an intricate timepiece last seen in Nazi Germany. As the narrative moves from Philadelphia to Germany, Poland, and Italy, we are given glimpses of the lives that the anniversary clock has touched over the past century, and learn about the love affair that turned a brother into a traitor.
Rich in historical detail, Jenoff’s astonishing new work is a testament to true love under the worst of circumstances.
About The Author
Pam Jenoff is the author of The Kommandant’s Girl, The Diplomat’s Wife, Almost Home, and Hidden Things. She attended George Washington University, Cambridge University in England, where she received a master’s in history, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. A former Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army and State Department officer, she lives in Philadelphia, where she works as an attorney.
Giveaway Information
Contest is open to US addresses only, no PO Boxes. The book will be shipped by the publisher.
- To enter fill out the Entry Form. Comments are always welcome but you need to fill out the form to enter the drawing.
- The deadline for entry is August 22nd, midnight, central time. I will draw 2 winners using random.org. Winners will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond with a mailing address.
Contest Now Closed
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. The August host is Staci at Life in the Thumb.
I was away on a business trip for part of last week and when I returned there were a few packages waiting for me. Two review books and several wins, one with some fun swag. That doesn’t happen too often and was a nice surprise.
For review and a giveaway from the publisher, Doubleday:
Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich
Thad Roberts, a fellow in a prestigious NASA program had an idea—a romantic, albeit crazy, idea. He wanted to give his girlfriend the moon. Literally. Thad convinced his girlfriend and another female accomplice, both NASA interns, to break into an impregnable laboratory at NASA—past security checkpoints, an electronically locked door with cipher security codes, and camera-lined hallways—and help him steal the most precious objects in the world: the moon rocks.
An ARC from the author:
Skating Over the Line: A Mystery by Joelle Charbonneau
Rebecca is desperate to sell her inherited roller skating rink in small-town Indian Falls, and–finally–she has a buyer. She can’t wait to head back to Chicago, especially now that her long delinquent father has blown back into town. But Lionel, her large-animal vet boyfriend, thinks she should stay put. And the gang at the Senior Center wants her to track down the thief who’s been hot-wiring rusted-out classic cars. Unable to resist, Rebecca soon has the Sheriff’s Deputy threatening to arrest her for obstruction and strange, scary men threatening her life.
From Random House:
Let’s Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of Friendship by Gail Caldwell
“It’s an old, old story: I had a friend and we shared everything, and then she died and so we shared that, too.” So begins this gorgeous memoir by Pulitzer Prize winner Gail Caldwell, a testament to the power of friendship, a story of how an extraordinary bond between two women can illuminate the loneliest, funniest, hardest moments in life, including the final and ultimate challenge.
A win from Suko’s Notebook:
A Game of Character by Craig Robinson
The eagerly anticipated inspirational memoir from Michelle Obama’s brother, celebrating the extraordinary family members and mentors who have shaped his life.
From Crown Books:
Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon
With Shut Your Eyes Tight, John Verdon delivers on the promise of his internationally bestselling debut, Think of a Number, creating a portrait of evil let loose across generations that is as rife with moments of touching humanity as it is with spellbinding images of perversity.
A win from the publisher, Forge Books:
The book arrived with a very cool hat, beach towel and bag.
A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny, A Dog’s Purpose is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog’s many lives, but also a dog’s-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man’s best friend.
State of Wonder
by Ann Pachett
Read by: Hope Davis
Genre: Literature
Publisher: Harper Audio
Publish Date: June 7, 2011
Format: Audio CD | 12 Hours and 30 min
Rating: 4 of 5
Dr. Marina Singh, a research pharmacologist for the Vogel Pharmaceutical Company, is sent to the Amazon jungle to find out what happened to her colleague, Anders Eckman, who died under mysterious circumstances. The last person to see Anders was Dr. Annik Swenson, a gynecologist who is researching the reproductive fertility of the Lakashi, an Amazon tribe whose women have the ability to conceive into their middle ages.
Marina must find Dr. Swenson, but this will prove to be a challenge as she does not want to be found. Mr. Fox, who sent Marina to the Amazon, is not only her boss at Vogel but also her lover. She feels obligated to do as he asks and also she wants to find out what happened to Anders, who was a good friend, and to help her company as they want an update on the fertility drug that Dr. Swenson is developing.
Marina is a conflicted and passive character and at times appears to not have much common sense. She has a history with Dr. Swenson from her days in medical school and an unfortunate incident, one which haunts her to this day. Dr. Swenson is not a very likeable character and this does set up some tension between them.
I had a little trouble relating to Marina’s agreeing to be sent off to the Amazon with little preparation and no understanding of the jungle. Her lack of experience was immediately evident. Somewhat predictably things go wrong from the start as she loses her luggage not once, but twice, doesn’t know enough to keep her valuables in a carry on bag and also manages to lose her GPS phone. If you can accept that someone like Marina would actually make this trip, it is a wonderful setup for the development of her character and the story about to unfold. In spite of the initial predictability, the story does work.
The author makes the jungle comes alive with her description of the river, insects, reptiles, the Lakashi tribe and the danger and disease of living in the Amazon. As much as I love the outdoors I would never want to be stranded in the jungle. I enjoyed the science aspect of the book but did not find there to be a lot of science detail. If anything the science part was weak. The story focused more on the complex issues of right vs wrong and the ethics of scientific research. There were a few surprises in the end, two of which I suspected and one that I never saw coming.
I listened to the audio version and was very pleased with Hope Davis’ narration. Her stern, callous voiced Dr. Swenson was in stark contrast to Marina’s passive voice. The descriptive nature of the author’s writing made the book easy to listen to.
I will confess, this is my first Ann Patchett book. I know, where have I been! I can’t compare this to her previous work but I can recommend it as an interesting and engaging story. I look forward to reading more of her work.
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Source: I received a copy of the audiobook from Harper Audio for review.
The Purple Martin is the largest of the North American Swallows. They can be found across most of the US and Southern Canada except for the interior mountain areas.
Martins are unusual because they nest in colonies. The eastern Martins nest almost exclusively in man made multi-unit birdhouses like the one below and are now dependent on humans to provide them with nesting sites.
Part of last month’s birdwalk was a presentation on Purple Martins. This Martin house is on a golf course and is monitored by a volunteer from the bird club. It’s on a retractable pole and can be brought down to ground level allowing monitoring and an up close look into the nests. This group of Martins is accustomed to people and did not appear upset that we were looking at their little ones. They gathered on several of the roosting poles and observed us observing them.
Above are two photos of the nests. The first one only has eggs. The second one has older nestlings that will soon be leaving. There are three youngsters in there. Two are hiding but one curious bird sat up to look around. (Click photos for sharper images).
The parents were patiently waiting for us to leave so they could resume caring for their youngsters. They were sitting high up on one of the roosting poles. The dark glossy bird is the male, the female has whitish underparts. If you look closely you can see they are holding a meal of bugs in their beaks for the hungry babies.
Interesting Facts:
- The Purple Martin eats flying insects which it catches in flight.
- Birds in Eastern North America now nest almost exclusively in birdhouses, but those in the West use mostly natural cavities.
- The male and female build the nest and feed the young and the couples are monogamous. Only the female incubates the eggs.
- Native Americans hung up empty gourds for these birds to nest in before Europeans arrived in North America. It is theorized that the Martins kept the Crows away from their corn crop.
- The Martins spend their winters in Brazil and return to the same nesting area each spring.
- The Purple Martin Conservation Association supports the study of the Purple Martin, and has more information available on its web site.
For more bird photos check out my previous Weekend Birding posts.
I link up my bird photos on Saturday Snapshot hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
Almost Wordless: This Eastern Tiger Swallowtail spent about an hour on my Spotted Joe-Pye Weed. Since I put in a patch of native prairie plants last year I have seen a lot of butterflies, bees and even hummingbirds.
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More Wordless Wednesday.
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. The August host is Staci at Life in the Thumb.
I received two audiobooks from the publisher for review.
To Be Sung Underwater
by Tom McNeal
Judith Whitman always believed in the kind of love that “picks you up in Akron and sets you down in Rio.” Long ago, she once experienced that love. Willy Blunt was a carpenter with a dry wit and a steadfast sense of honor. Marrying him seemed like a natural thing to promise. But Willy Blunt was not a person you could pick up in Nebraska and transport to Stanford. When Judith left home, she didn’t look back.
Twenty years later, Judith’s marriage is hazy with secrets. In her hand is what may be the phone number for the man who believed she meant it when she said she loved him. If she called, what would he say?
Silver Girl
by Elin Hilderbrand
Meredith Martin Delinn just lost everything: her friends, her homes, her social standing – because her husband Freddy cheated rich investors out of billions of dollars.
Desperate and facing homelessness, Meredith receives a call from her old best friend, Constance Flute. Connie’s had recent worries of her own, and the two depart for a summer on Nantucket in an attempt to heal. But the island can’t offer complete escape, and they’re plagued by new and old troubles alike. When Connie’s brother Toby – Meredith’s high school boyfriend – arrives, Meredith must reconcile the differences between the life she is leading and the life she could have had.
With all the wonderful summer fruit now available at the markets, a fruit salad is a great dish to serve at get togethers and picnics. I find certain combinations of fruit behave better together than others. The one I created for the July 4th picnic was delicious.
Ingredients
• ½ small seedless watermelon
• ½ large cantalope or honeydew melon (or a bit of both)
• 1 cup red grapes
• 1 cup green grapes
• 1 pint strawberries
• ½ cup blueberries
• 2 kiwis
Preparation
- Cut melons into chunks about 1½ inches square and place in a large bowl.
- Wash grapes, blueberries and strawberries. Add grapes and blueberries to the bowl.
- Peel and slice kiwi. Slice the strawberries in half if they are large.
- Arrange the strawberries and kiwi on the top of the salad.
The easiest way to peel a kiwi is to use a spoon. A good video on how to cut a kiwi at about.com.
I didn’t have blueberries to add the salad in my photo but I normally use them. They add some color and taste fine with the melons.
Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Participation is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.
Under My Apple Tree 