Claire’s Top 5 Picks
1. ‘The Japanese Lover’ by Isabel Allende
2. ‘The Secret Daughter of the Tsar’ by Jennifer Laam
3. ‘Fear The Dark’ by Kay Hooper
4. ‘The Golden Son’ by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
5. ‘Franklin’s Lost Ship’ by John Geiger
‘The Japanese Lover’ takes place in 1939 as the world goes to war. Alma Belasco’s parents send her overseas to live in safety with and aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco.
There she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the son of the family’s Japanese gardener, and between them a love blossoms. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family—like thousands of other Japanese-Americans—are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government.
Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world.
‘The Secret Daughter of the Tsar’ – This is the story of three women Veronica, Lena, and Charlotte and how these three vastly different women are connected. Veronica, an aspiring historian living in present day Los Angeles, meets a mysterious man who may be heir to the Russian throne. Lena was a servant in the imperial Russian court of 1902 and is approached by the desperate Empress Alexandra. Charlotte, a former ballerina living in World War II-era occupied Paris, receives a surprise visit from a German officer. This book is thrilling from its first intense moment until its final, unexpected conclusion.
‘Fear The Dark’ – A SCU (Special Crimes Unit) investigates a troubling string of disappearances. How do you find someone who has vanished without a trace? Something strange is happening in the small mountain town of Serenity, Tennessee. People going on routine errands never reach their destination. It’s as if they simply disappear. Over the past few weeks, it’s happened to five men and women—and now a child. The town is already on the edge of panic, but the mysterious events take a murderous turn when a cop is killed. Now, the FBI team hunt for the lost has turned into something very personal…and very dangerous.
‘The Golden Son’ – This is an international tale of two childhood friends grappling with parental and cultural expectations as they embark on journeys of self-discovery. As adulthood approaches, they grow apart. Anil is the first in his family to leave India, the first to attend college, the first to become a doctor. Half a world away in Texas he is caught up in his new life, experiencing all the freedoms and temptations of American culture. He Is determined to carve out his own life in America. In India Leena dreams of a strong true love like the one shared by her parents and she leaves her beloved home to join her new husband’s family in a distant village. Then things start to go wrong; Anil makes a medical mistake with tragic results, his first love begins to fray, and a devastating event makes him question his worth as a doctor and as a friend. On a visit home, he rekindles his friendship with the woman who seems to understand him better than anyone else. But their relationship is complicated by a fateful decision made years earlier. As the two old friends discover each other again, thev must also weigh the choice between responsibility and freedom, and between loyalty and love. A good read.
‘Franklin’s Lost Ship’ – The greatest mystery in all of exploration is the fate of the 1845-1848 British Arctic expedition commanded by Fir John Franklin. All 129 crewmen died, and two ships seemingly vanished without a trace. Now one of Franklin’s lost ships, HMS Erebus, has been found in the summer of 2014. In this book readers will learn about the challenging search efforts and the ship’s discovery, while also revisiting the story of the original Franklin expedition and the many early rescue efforts. Featuring the first underwater images of Erebus and some of the first artifacts recovered from the ship, as well as archival documents, this book weaves together a story of historical mystery and modern adventure.
As the cold weather closes in, there is nothing better than reading a good book in front of a fire or tucked under a blanket on the couch and your library has a lot of good books waiting for you to check them out. Also when you do venture outside; the Mindemoya library has several workshops between now and Christmas – Thursday, December 3 at 6:30 pm. Al Boyd from theOPP will be here to talk about the many different scams that you should be aware of so you will not be bilked out of your hard earned savings. Also Thursday, December 10 at 6:30 Nancy Lyne will be here to show you how to make a lovely fabric Christmas ornament.
In January there will be several different workshops taking place until the end of March, please look at coming events in the Expositor or read the many flyers posted all around town.
In order to continue to have these kinds of events we need you to attend them and show your support.
See you at your library!
