The Book Nook: Fall Installment

I was a psychology major so I won't pretend to be a literary critic and use lots of fancy language (as much as I'd like to be able to) to tell you about my favorite book this fall. Since the kids began school, I've read several books: Eat, Pray, Love (I'm not sure how I felt about this book yet. While I enjoyed Italy, I met her experiences in India and Indonesia with some reservation); Good-bye, I Love You (timeless classic about loving people for who they are and leaving the judgement to the Heavens), Hiding in the Spotlight and the autobiographies of Marie Osmond (this is a feel-good book, but if you are like me, you will find yourself tiring of Marie trying to convince you that she's just a regular mom like you and me) and Harry Reid (I read only half of this book -- while I enjoyed the personal history of growing up in Searchlight, NV and early politicking in Las Vegas/Henderson, I didn't enjoy the second thread of his political history starting around Sept. 11 up to the election of President Obama. Senator Reid is venomous in his attacks of George Bush and his whitehouse. Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of Bush, or any politician for that matter, but I am especially not fan of a self-aggrandizing political posturing. Can't we all just get along??) (if you can't already tell, I am not a real fiction reader). My favorite by far was Hiding in the Spotlight. I heard about it on NPR (here is the link) in the wee hours of the morning and was so riveted by what I heard I actually managed to remember the title for several hours until I was able to get to the computer and request it from the library. The proper title is: Hiding in the Spotlight: A Musical Prodigy's Story of Survival, 1941-1946. The book tells the story of the author's mother, Zhanna Arshanskaya Dawson, who as a teenage girl escaped from the Holocaust with her sister after the rest of their family was murdered, by assuming new identities and playing piano for German soldiers. I cannot imagine anyone not loving this book -- you will be on the edge of your seat following the girls around eastern Europe during the war. There is also a wonderfully delicious ending for all of us romantics around here as well. I hope you request the book and I hope to hear that you enjoyed it as well!Well that's it for this installment. Although I can be a fast reader, I only read at the crosswalk and while waiting for the kids at Kung Fu and soccer, so the progress is slow and steady. Happy reading.