A Special Report for Book Lovers
Greetings to new and returning subscribers! I post slice-of-life blogs on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. If there is a 5th Tuesday, I post a Special Report for Book Lovers. This is it!
Beyond sharing the five books I’ve enjoyed most in the last several months, I will share the shortlist of nominees for the Women’s Prize in Fiction. This prize was established in 1996. It is for the best full-length novel of the year written in English and published in the UK. The winner receives £30,000.
One of the reasons I am sharing it is that there are two books on the list that I read and didn’t particularly love. I wonder if any of you have read them and can offer your opinions?
And finally, I will tell you about a nonfiction book. It’s odd for me to read non-fiction, and while the book was very good, there are two novels with a similar topic that I liked even better and will share. A couple of other books will get thrown in to this Newsletter for good measure…
Thus, lots of books to talk about!
Before I start, this is a reminder that I am now an Affiliate Marketer on Amazon. This means my book reviews will include a link to the book on Amazon. If you purchase the book using my link, I will earn a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.
But here is a crazy (and wonderful) fact – if you use my book link to get to Amazon and then buy anything, I still earn a small commission even if you don’t buy the book. More details here. Thank you for supporting my Book Blog in this manner.
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Here are my five favorite books this quarter:
- Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn
- We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein
- The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave
- Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
- Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood
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NOTE: Click the “Book Title” to get my review.
Click “Amazon” to get other readers’ reviews.
Book Title: Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn
Brief synopsis: This book introduced me to a part of history I had never heard about, was shocked to hear about, and that everyone needs to hear about, the Lebensborn program. It existed from 1935-1944 and its goal was to increase the birthrate in Germany.
One more thing to say: Though I do not talk about it in the review, one of the most famous people born through the Lebensborn program was Anni-Frid Lyngstad, one of the female members of the band, ABBA.
Learn more about Cradles of the Reich on Amazon.
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Book Title: We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein
Brief synopsis: This book is historical fiction about the Warsaw Ghetto in WWII. It’s a wrenching tale. You will see why it was chosen as a Read with Jenna book.
One more thing to say: One of the characters in the novel is part of the Oneg Shabbat Society, a group that recorded the life stories of the people in the ghetto, thus allowing the Jews to write their own history. Such records were then buried for safekeeping. Some of the burial sites were found in 1946 and more in 1950. An amazing find! An amazing story!
Learn more about We Must Not Think of Ourselves on Amazon.
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Book Title: The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave
Brief synopsis: Adult step-siblings get to know each other as they investigate their father’s death. Surely his fall from the cliff wasn’t an accident…
One more thing to say: I have read one other book by this author and enjoyed it too. It is The Last Thing He Told Me. It was turned into a TV series in 2023 and starred Jennifer Garner.
Learn more about The Night We Lost Him on Amazon.
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Book Title: Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
Brief synopsis: See what you think about Gail Bains. Does she lack people skills? Does she need to read Manners for the Mystified? Or is she just prickly? You will learn all about her in this novel as she interacts with her ex-husband and daughter on the daughter’s wedding weekend.
One more thing to say: Anyone who has been poisoned by carrying a secret can identify with and learn from Gail Bains.
Learn more about Three Days in June on Amazon.
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Book Title: Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood
Brief synopsis: Grace Adams seems a lot less than amazing. Indeed, she seems like a mess! It takes the reader a while to figure out why – and to feel compassion – in this story of woman with marital difficulties and teenager troubles.
One more thing to say: Graces’ character has been compared to the titular character of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, another mess of a character who earns the reader’s compassion.
Learn more about Amazing Grace Adams on Amazon.
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And now here is the 2025 Women’s Prize Shortlist for Fiction.
Winners will be announced on June 12th. I have read two of the books and had the same complaint for each of them. Namely, they contained too much lesbian sex. You will find links to my reviews in the list.
- Good Girl by Aria Aber
- All Fours by Miranda July
- The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji
- Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
- The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
- Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
Just one more comment about this list – though I did not read Elizabeth Strout’s new book yet, it is considered to be the fifth book in the “Amgash Series.” I have read the first three in the series and I wrote about all three when I reviewed Oh William! Here are all of the book titles with a link to my review(s).
- My Name Is Lucy Barton – published in 2016
- Anything Is Possible – published in 2017
- Oh William! – published in 2021
- Lucy by the Sea – published in 2022
- Tell Me Everything – published in 2024
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And last but not least, I read a non-fiction book, which is highly unusual for me. It is called Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail, by Andrea Lankford. In the book, the author focuses on three hikers who disappeared on the PCT between 2015 and 2017 and she tells of the four years she helped search for them.
For me, the main thing to discuss from a book of this nature is how a family goes on when they are unsure if their loved one is dead or alive. I read two fictional accounts of children who have gone missing from a family – not through hiking – and the question is haunting for me. The two fictional accounts are:
- The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
- What Could Be Saved by Liese O’Halloran Schwarz
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Thank you!
Lorie
I enjoyed your reviews quite a lot! I recommend that you might enjoy reading (and perhaps reviewing?) Once We Were Home, by Jennifer Rosner. It shares a similar theme with Cradles of the Reich, but a bit more broadly.
Thanks for the recommendation, Rose! Sadly, there are so many different angles available when talking about the Holocaust…