Special Feature: Eleanor Reads! September Edition

 

It will come as a surprise to literally no one that Eleanor and I have both done a pretty solid amount of reading when school closed in March due to COVID-19. School has started now, so our reading might slow a bit but it will never stop.

Each month I will share the chapter books we've read in that period. We've been reading chapter books since before Kindergarten and her attention span as a four year old was definitely something to brag about. Eleanor was born a reader and that makes my heart so, so happy.

    

      

 

Do the kiddos in your life have an interest in any of these?

Happy Reading,
Eleanor and Sarah

Book Review | How Mamas Love Their Babies

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book and what it attempts to do are both beautiful. Throughout the pages with simple text and captivating illustrations, we see the many ways that Mamas love their babies. Mamas love their babies by taking care of them physically, and working to support them. It also makes the message loud and clear: Mamas can have jobs that society looks down on (manual labor) or has hissy fits over (sex industry), and those Mamas love their babies just as much as Mamas in more 'normalized' job fields.

There are a few problematic things and I want to address them first. This book is beautifully diverse, but I question the choice to include the white mother and child with the 'We shall overcome' sign. I have taken Eleanor to a women's #BlackLivesMatter protest, but I would never have her holding a sign such as that. We are allies, there to support and uplift our Black and African-American Sisters, not to make it about us.

My other issue that I felt could have been explored is the idea of motherhood itself. The book starts off with describing how some mothers care for their babies inside their own bodies...and never comes back around to mothers who become mothers in other ways. Or who have children and are physically female, but do not identify as she/her. And honestly, that may have gone way over the heads of the age-range for this one, but everything else was made simple, and this could have been too.

Now, onto all the other reasons this one is still five stars even with my issues listed above.

Mamas do whatever they have to in order to make sure their babies survive and thrive. This book is a celebration of all kinds of jobs that mothers do in order to make that happen. Not only are a variety of jobs depicted, but so are a variety of women. Mothers of all races, ages, and body types are found within these pages and I think that is truly amazing. There are young mamas, obese mamas, and YES, breastfeeding mamas. As a mama who could not breastfeed for long no matter how hard she tried, I love this inclusion and I am pretty much fed up with all y'all who think women need to cover up in public. Boobs are not for you, they are for nourishing babies, so stop staring like a moron. And if you don't like seeing them, don't look. Not too difficult.

All families deserve to feel validated and I have said time and time again that representation matters. Kids need to see themselves reflected back in the books they read. Can you imagine how far this would go in making families feel valued, especially those families where mama works a job or two that is not considered 'normal'? And I am not just talking about the mama who is a sex worker. I am talking about the mamas who work in fields all day, the mamas who clean homes and office buildings, poor mamas just trying to make ends meet, mamas who work just as hard as any other mama to provide for her children. We see mamas who stay home, mamas who are pilots, artists, office workers, and so much more.

I do want to specifically address the sex worker mama depicted here. She is included in the pages where it talks about the kind of uniforms that mamas can wear while working, and how some mamas 'wear special shoes'. Mamas deserve to be celebrated for being mamas, for working hard to provide for their families. I absolutely want this book in my school library, because even if the children do not know what their mama does for a living, imagine how she would feel seeing herself reflected in a book that her child has brought home from school? Sex worker mamas are mamas and if you have a problem with that, well, you are the problem.

The illustrations did take some getting used to for me, mainly because I think the 70s were weird and awkward so that vibe was not my most favorite. However, after reading through it a few times, I liked how it all flowed together. They are real photographs depicting mamas and their children, along with the effect of crayons over some of the photos.

This is a wonderful book and deserves a place in every library - whether public, school, or home. Kids need to see themselves in the stories they read and we need to include all families in those depictions as well.

Highly recommended.

NetGalley ARC | Six Days in August: The Story of Stockholm Syndrome

I received a free digital copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Rating ⭐⭐⭐

Prior to reading this, I did not actually know where the phrase 'Stockholm Syndrome' came from, aside from some vague notion that there was a hostage situation in the 70s that resulted in the coining of that term.

Even after reading the book, it still boggles the mind as to how people held hostage could want to save their captor, but I have never been in that situation so I don't think I can or even am meant to understand it. This is, simply or not so simply, what happened and how it happen, and the aftermath.

On August 23rd, 1973 Jan-Erik Olsson walked into the downtown branch of Sveriges Kreditbank. He wore a wig and sunglasses to hide his identity, fired off rounds from his gun, and what followed became a really weird hostage situation.

From the start this whole thing was a clusterfuck. The media absolutely went nuts for it - and that's saying something, considering the nonsense we are dealing with today. I can't even imagine what it would look like had this happened in now instead of in 1973. The world was captivated by the unfolding drama playing out live on television.

During that six days in captivity, Olsson's hostages became quite attached to him, as well as his buddy Clark Olofsson, who was released from prison in the hopes that he would somehow assist the authorities with bringing Olsson out. I mean, seriously? Come on, like that was going to happen.

After six day, the whole thing finally came to an end and the hostages defended their captors, going so far as to refuse to testify against them. Instead, they helped fundraise to pay for their defense. One of the women also asked Olofsson to father a child a few years later, to which he agreed but wanted nothing to do with the child. Like, what...?

There is a wealth of information here. So much, in fact, that it is nearly a minute-by-minute account from across the entire six days which the group spent within one of the bank vaults. Based on information provided by the publisher, the account also contains information from sources and documents that have not been published before. Many involved in the original event were also interviewed and contributed to the book. I have no basis for how much of this is actually new, as it is my first book on the subject but it does seem quite thorough and detailed.

Even so, this book was a struggle for me to get through at times. Much of that does have to do with the fact that no matter how much I read of the book itself, or what I looked up on my own as I was reading, I could not wrap my head around the fact that the hostages wanted to protect their captors. Self-preservation is one thing, but to continue to defend them afterwards? I just don't get it. And like I said before, maybe we are not meant to, and that's fine, but DAMN, did I want to smack some of these people around after the first couple days.

The author has done a fine job in bringing the story to life and tells it in a readable way. He leaves some questions unanswered here and in this instance that decision actually works - things like whether or not both men were equally guilty in the situation (yes), and if the police knew what they were doing (no).

I don't know that I will pursue this subject further, as it seems that this account is well-told and thorough enough for me. Also, not really as interesting of a story as I thought it would be.

NetGalley ARC | The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book is a must-read for everyone, which I know is a tall and impossible order, but I stand by my statement.

I almost did not read this one at all. My family is very German. My last name is basically the US equivalent of 'Smith' or 'Johnson', though we dropped the umlauts quickly. As a result of this ancestry, I have long been a receptacle for any and all WWII and Holocaust knowledge I could get my hands on. Most of our family left Germany in the early 1900s, but some stayed behind. I wanted so desperately to know their experiences, and to understand on a broader scale how such horrific crimes against humanity could happen. Every project in school that could possibly relate to the Holocaust or WWII, that was my topic.

But then I became a mother in 2013 and could no longer stomach reading of these terrible atrocities, especially when children were involved. I would sob uncontrollably and not be able to finish the book.

I approached this one with some trepidation; seven years on and I still struggle reading anything having to do with crimes against children, but I am so, so glad that I read this book and I can not stop recommending it to others.

The story centers on the Kleinmann family from Vienna and reads like a novel, though it is a true story. Gustav Kleinmann, the family patriarch, and the oldest son Fritz, are arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Buchenwald. They learn to survive, relying on one another as best they can through terrible conditions. They develop a keen sense of survival, what other choice do they have?

Then the day comes when Gustav finds he is being sent to Auschwitz. They know what this means; everyone knows about Auschwitz. In that moment, Fritz knows he can not let his father go and makes the decision to go too. Fritz insists he must go with his father and the Nazis allow it, which honestly kind of surprised me. You'd think that would have been some kind of red flag, or that they would have refused in order to inflict more cruelty on their prisoners. But I guess to them one death camp is the same as another - no one was ever expected to survive Auschwitz or any of the dozens of camps and sub-camps throughout Germany and Poland.

Despite enduring such terrible treatment and atrocious living conditions, theirs is a story of love, hope, and faith in one another. The youngest child of the Kleinmann family, Kurt, had been sent to the US to escape the war. Gustav and Fritz had no idea what had become of the rest of their family; for all they knew, they were the only two left besides Kurt. They kept one another going even when giving up would have been the easiest and even expected thing to do. We find out that Tini, Gustav's wife and Fritz's mother and Herta, one daughter/sister, did not survive. Edith, the oldest daughter, was able to get to England on a work visa.

Throughout six years of absolute horror and trauma, Gustav and Fritz weather it all. They become invaluable workers in helping construct Buchenwald - Fritz learns quickly on the job, knowing that being a skilled worker at least ensures he be kept around longer than others. Gustav had been an upholsterer before their lives were completely upended and used his skills as well to become valuable to those in charge of the camp.

It is throughout this time that Gustav manages to conceal one of the small comforts that keeps him sane - scraps of paper squirreled away that become his secret journal. Had it ever been discovered, he would have been killed on the spot. Most of what we know comes from that secret journal, as well as interviews with family members - including Kurt,  and thorough research by the author.

This is a truly stunning work of art, and a testament to the love and bond of a father and son. There can never be 'too many' memoirs of this horrific time in our world's history. Each person and experience was unique. All are worthy of being known.

Highly, highly recommended.

NetGalley ARC | The Ballad of Ami Miles

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have long identified as a cover-snob and I don't really try to hide it at this point. I was obsessed with this covers as soon as I saw it. Fellow bloggers have read and reviewed it and the story was interesting enough that I requested it and was surprisingly approved.

I don't typical do dystopian post-apocalyptic stuff. But I am endlessly intrigued by cults and that is how this one hooked me.

First up, the only negative for me is that the ending felt a bit rushed. Even so, I really enjoyed the story.

Ami has been raised in complete isolation within the "safety" of her family's survival compound/trailer dealership. I put safety in quotes because now that she is old enough, it has been decided she will marry a man chosen for her in order to bear children. Most women are sterile in this new world and Ami is one of the few who can still become pregnant.

Ami's mother left long ago, though Ami has been lied to about how and why. Once her chosen husband-to-be arrives and Ami realizes what is going on, she is aided by one of her aunts and escapes her 'destiny' - it was comforting to see that despite her aunt choosing to stay (and she did not really have a choice anyway), she did not want this life for Ami any more than Ami wanted it for herself.

Alone and unsure, Ami heads toward the place her mother might be, searching for this missing part of her life and hopeful that she will find something better than what she left behind - despite that being all she has even known.

Despite being this dystopian/post-apocalyptic world, this is very much a coming-of-age story and we are privy to the day-to-day happenings once the old world has completely gone and the brave new world is upon us. This is the new normal, and it is treated as such. I found this to be helpful in my case specifically, because I don't much care for the battles/world-falling-apart parts, they simply do not appeal to me. It is not an action/adventure story so if that is what you are after, this is probably not one that you would enjoy.

Ami finally reaches the community where her mother has, at least at one point, found refuge. I do not want to say a whole lot because I do not want to give away the story. It is in this hodge-podge community that Ami feels a sense of belonging and meets people so vastly different from her. She has to reconcile the thoughts drilled into her head by her horribly racist and misogynistic grandfather with the reality of what she finds with those who have taken her in.

Ami learns so much about herself and what she wants out of life, and that growth is not without setbacks and bumps in the road. But she never gives up, and knows that she could never return to her life before these discoveries. This is a story full of both hope and heartbreak, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Recommended.

Book Tag | Book Addiction

 

I found this just now when I was visiting CK's blog, Seeking a Little Truth.

1. What is the longest amount of time you can comfortably go without picking up a book?

Less than 24 hours. I have to read every day, whether it is my own books or with Eleanor. When I don't, I feel jittery and unfocused.

2. How many books do you carry on your person at any one time?

I always have my Kindle with me on occasions where Eleanor is not with me and I know I will be waiting - like getting an oil change, or at the doctor/dentist. If Eleanor is with me, we have one of her chapter books.

3. Do you keep every book you buy or are you happy to pass them on to make space for more?

It always surprises people with how few books I actually own. I tend to not reread, because I read nonfiction most of the time. Once a book is read it goes into the bag to be resold to Half Price Books. If it is on the Kindle, it is deleted. I also very rarely buy new books, so I have little issue with deleting a $.99 book from the Kindle. I keep books that are special - Dan Jones (of course), and an assortment of others, favorites from my childhood, etc.

4. How long would you spend in a bookshop on a standard visit?

Not terribly long. I mainly buy used books from Half Price Books, so I can sell them back to buy more. I always head straight for the US and World History sections, where I can find what I want pretty quickly. It depends how many books I find that I am interested in that I have to scan to add to my Goodreads to-read shelf! When Eleanor is with me it takes a bit longer, but not much. If I am looking for a book that I want to keep, I shop at a "new books" bookstore if HPB does not have it new - which they sometimes do. Probably no more than half an hour. Except for the time that I met a man whose wife is a descendant of Eleanor of Aquitaine. We chatted for a looooooong time.

5. How much time per day do you actually spend reading?

At least an hour, either to myself or with Eleanor. On weekends like this when she has to go to her dad's house, I can spend the entire weekend reading and blogging.

6. Where does the task 'picking up a book' appear on your daily To Do list?

That's kind of a weird question. I do not make daily to-do lists. The only to-do list I keep is related to everything I have to do at school, preparing materials for students, meetings, etc. At some point in the evening Eleanor and I will read together, and after she goes to bed I read anywhere from 1-3 hours.

7. How many books do you reckon you own in total?

Around 600 on the Kindle currently, and another couple hundred on the two five-shelf book cases and the two-shelfer that is part of my headboard. Probably have around 1,200 at the moment combining those numbers, but this number is always changing as I sell books back once I am done with them.

8. Approximately how often do you bring up books in conversations?

Depends on who I am with and what our relationship is. I do not typically recommend books to people I do not know very well, unless they ask and are interested in a specific topic. Friends who know I love to read are constantly asking if I have read this or that, if they should read it, etc.

9. What is the biggest book (page count) you have finished reading?

The English and Their History by Robert Tombs, which came in at 1040 pages. However, I have been working on The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer for a couple years, which tops 1,600 pages.

10. Is there a book you had to get your hands on against all odds?

None of the books I am interested in keeping are hard to find. Once I have the funds to do so I am going to begin collecting the varying UK/US covers of all of Dan Jones' books, but those also will not be hard to find as he's kind of popular and all.

11. Is there a book you struggled to finish but refused to DNF?

Nope. I used to struggle with DNFs in general because I am very competitive, even with myself, so I felt like I had to finish every book I ever started. But then I realized that was stupid, because there are so many books waiting for me to pick them up and now I DNF at-will. I could be 50 pages in, I could be 5 pages in, even 200 in, and if I decide I am done, I am done.

12. What are three of your main book goals for 2021?

Nothing spectacular. I need to complete the President Challenge I set for myself back in 2016. I also need to get more reviews done because I am hopelessly behind on those, which you can see and gawk at HERE. I am aiming to read 300 books, also but might have to adjust this depending on how reviewing goes.

13. Have you ever converted someone into a reader?

I made Eleanor a reader before she was even born. I started reading to my little sea monkey fetus at about six month pregnant. I read Where the Wild Things Are to her twice a day during the week (upon waking and before going to sleep) and more on the weekends. When Mom and I brought her home from the hospital, Mom was holding her and I began reading the story to her for the first time post-partum. Eleanor turned her head in the direction of my voice and didn't move until the story was over. She's been surrounded by books her entire life and has three three-shelf bookcases of her own crammed with all kinds of reads in her play room.

14. Describe what books mean to you in 5 words.

As necessary as breathing air

Your Annual Reminder that it's Possible to be a Majorly Ridiculous Nonfiction Fangirl And Not Be Sorry One Bit

Every year I like to remind people that not only did I get to meet Dan Jones and he signed all of my books, but that we had a whole conversation about Eleanor of Aquitaine. He even gave me advice for my own book on about Eleanor and it definitely helped me refocus my attention and energy for that project.

Jones was on his book tour for The Templars and the closest he came to Omaha was STL on September 26th, 2017. Mom, Eleanor, and I drove eight hours down and met my BFF Roxy who drove from Chicago with her husband and daughter.

  

 

He's published a few more books since then, so I guess he has to come back to the US to sign some more. Plus there are some UK editions I have now which also require a signature...

If you are interested in medieval history, I would suggest starting with The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England. It is fantastic. This is the book in which I met Eleanor of Aquitaine for the first time. As a result, one might say that Dan Jones named my baby because there is no other name that would so perfectly fit my own mighty girl 😆

Happy Reading!

Sarah

Stacking the Shelves #113

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature co-hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It is a chance to showcase all the goodies you've collected throughout the week, whether they're bought on-line or in-store, an ARC or a final copy, borrowed from a friend or the library, physical or digital, etc.

Gift From Author/Publisher (via NetGalley)

Happy Reading!

Sarah

Tackling the TBR Week 34 AND 35: Sept 8 - Sept 21, 2020

  

My TBR has been out of control for YEARS. Then in January of 2019 I started tracking weekly my true reading/acquiring habits, and voila! I have been able to keep on top of things a little bit better. I may never get below 1,000 books, but at least I won't be topping out over 5,000! When a book cover is linked, it goes to the review here on my blog.

I will be posting on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and the last day of the month. Feel free to join in if you'd like!

If a book is linked in the 'Books Read' section, you can click the cover to go to my review.

+++++++++++++++

Previous Week's TBR Total: 3,123

Currently Reading

   

              

Books Added to TBR

         

Books Removed from TBR: 0

Books Read

           

Books DNF-ed: 

Duplicates Removed: 0

New TBR Total: 3,123

Breaking even, I'll take it!

I want to note that I DNF-ed 'Where Madness Lies' only because it is fiction and I have so many requests right now directly from authors/publishers that I have to get to. I hope to go back to the book in the future because it is beautifully written and I am only setting it aside right now due to lack of time.

Any of these catch your eye? Have you already read any? Let me know!

Happy Reading!

Sarah