As in, I am almost finished reading a really good book that I just started not long ago, and I want to share it with you. If you have ever felt like saying, “Poor me”, or thought the world was against you, or had a really, really bad day and knew it couldn’t get any worse, I have a book for you. It is called Day After Night by Anita Diamant, and you will instantly feel that you don’t have it all that bad after all. I love this book because it is about 5 or so women prisoners being held in the Atlit prison in Israel, after being liberated from concentration camps at the end of WWII. They have dreams of going to the Holy land to start new lives after the years they spent living in hell. Once they get there, life is only a little bit improved, and not at all what you might call “living”. The book also talks about the kibbutzim, the Pioneers and the Zionist movements, all dynamic forces under British rule in what was at that time Palestine. It’s especially fascinating for me because my husband was a part of the youth movement in a kibbutz at that very time, near Haifa. He is familiar with the story, the scene, the history, everything. He can recall hearing about what was happening to the refugee prisoners, and wondering if he and the others in his kibbutz would be needed to help. It’s a valuable piece of history, which will also answer some questions about what is happening in Israel today, and a well-written story that is easy to become engrossed in. Two thumbs up from me; I highly recommend it.
Category Archives: books
So, what’s taking so long?
I love to read the classics. I reread books from high school and college that I hated then but can appreciate now that I am not analyzing them to death and being tested on later. I read books I should have read long ago, and never did; I read the obscure, unknown and long-forgotten books by beloved authors who seem to be known only for those big, famous books everyone reads; and now and then I actually read something current. Usually, that means the latest Saveur that comes in the mail, or one of my monthly scrapbooking magazines. For my birthday in 2009, I was given a gift card for Barnes and Noble, which I giddily redeemed for about 13 books (thank goodness the classics are cheaper than the latest best-sellers!). A year and a half later, I have read only seven. The longest I have been with a book is the current one, Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. Now, I have this little habit of making myself a new bookmark each time I start a new book, where on the back I stamp the date in which I am starting the book, and then re-stamp it with the date I complete it. Notice the date I started Little Dorrit:
Almost seven months later, I am still not finished. Sigh. I seem to be able to read only half-a-dozen pages before I get too sleepy to read any more. I thought for sure I would finish it last night (I’m on the last chapter), but no, I was overcome by the sandman. Even if I read during the day (when do I have time?), I become drowsy after just a few pages. What is it about this book? Boring? No. In the beginning it was a little slow, but there are so many twists and turns happening now, it’s become quite the suspenseful thriller. And still, I fall asleep. I have no idea why, but nonetheless, I am determined to finish it. Tonight. I think……
Tomorrow, I hope to be posting about whatever new book I have chosen to read….I said, I hope.
