The Black Swan of Paris is Genevieve Dumont, a French singer based in Paris, who is the toast of Europe-- including the Nazi occupiers. Her manager Max, a Brit who speaks fluent French, also serves as the head of a cell of the French Resistance. Max has drawn Genevieve into this work through some subterfuge … Continue reading The Black Swan of Paris – Karen Robards
BLIND PONY As True a Story as I can Tell – Samantha Hart
I almost didn’t get into this book. At first, Sam Hart’s writing, in two or three sentence paragraphs, jarred me. I didn’t know if there would be a story, yet what she was saying in bits and pieces engaged my attention. I read some reviews – both positive and negative and decided to read on. Now, I cannot … Continue reading BLIND PONY As True a Story as I can Tell – Samantha Hart
Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure – Menachem Kaiser
Menachem Kaiser was raised in a close-knit Orthodox Jewish American-Canadian family. His grandfather, a holocaust survivor from Poland died before he was born. Kaiser is named for him. When, in the course of a routine visit to Poland, he has occasion to visit Sosnowiec, his grandfather’s hometown, he secures an address from his father of … Continue reading Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure – Menachem Kaiser
The Dictionary of Lost Words — Pip Williams
This is about as perfectly written a piece of historical fiction as I've ever read. It is the story of Esme from ages six to twenty-five and no--- you don't have to be a history buff, an Oxford English Dictionary nerd, a turn of the century social history expert, a fan of women's suffrage lore, … Continue reading The Dictionary of Lost Words — Pip Williams
Henry – Remembrance
I first met Henry for less than a minute in 1974. I was participating in the Harrisburg Urban Semester, interning at the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office and living with my sister Libby, who worked at the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. Her car was in the shop and I picked her up at work. I went inside … Continue reading Henry – Remembrance
It was third grade. Cursive writing. Hullabaloo and go go boots. Little kid crushes. Mrs. Powers.
Youngest in the class and weird. She inadvertently placed me near the classroom library and I read those books, early chapter books, constantly. A little below my level since I'd just finished "To Kill a Mockingbird" the previous summer, but I'd have read Dick and Jane books to avoid her acerbic, boring, unloving presence before … Continue reading It was third grade. Cursive writing. Hullabaloo and go go boots. Little kid crushes. Mrs. Powers.
They Called me Bookworm 