Review: A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY by John Irving

Bookatopia recently read and reviewed A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving for the Vietnam War Reading Challenge.  Here’s a snipped from the review:

The problem I had with this book is that it is unnecessarily long, and while reading I often found myself thinking that some parts only diverted you from the story and should have been left out. This made the story slow at times and I would have definitely enjoyed it more if it was shorter.  When it was good though, it was really good and I couldn’t put it down. The thing I liked the most is the depth of the characters, Owen Meany by himself is probably the most powerful character I have encountered so far in a book.

Check out the full review.

**Attention participants:  Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Review: ‘HOW TO TELL A TRUE WAR STORY’ by Tim O’Brien

Ardent Reader recently reviewed a short story from a collection, Postmodern American Fiction.  Here’s a snippet of the review:

Half is told from O’Brien’s point of view as a solder; the other half is from years later when he’s become a storyteller.  . . . Essentially, O’Brien says a storyteller must have the ability to shape their listeners’ experiences and opinions and get people to believe what they have to say.

Check out the full review.

**Attention participants:  Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Review: THE WEDNESDAY WARS by Gary D. Schmidt

For the Vietnam War Reading Challenge, Tina Says. . . recently reviewed Newbery winner The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt.

Here’s a snippet of her review:

Set during the Viet Nam war, at first Holling’s life seems far removed from the events in Viet Nam, yet even his life in New York is touched by the events in Asia. Each and every chapter was filled with such humor I had a hard time not chuckling out loud. As I was reading I felt as though Schmidt’s writing was much like Richard Peck’s when it came to humor.

Read the full review.

**Attention participants:  Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Review: DRAGON HOUSE by John Shors

The 2010 Vietnam War Reading Challenge has just begun, but some participants already have started reading and reviewing Vietnam War-related books.

Carrie of Books and Movies recently reviewed Dragon House by John Shors.  Check out what she had to say:

Dragon House is not an easy book to read. It is beautifully written and the characters are so real – and that is what made it difficult. I came to love these characters, and reading the details of the abuse and privation they suffered was heartbreaking.

Read the full review.

**Attention participants:  Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Review: THE QUIET AMERICAN by Graham Greene

The 2010 Vietnam War Reading Challenge has just begun, but some participants already have started reading and reviewing Vietnam War-related books.

Carrie of Books and Movies recently reviewed The Quiet American by Graham Greene.  Check out what she had to say:

From the outside, The Quiet American looks like a small, simple book, but the powerful feelings it creates in the reader are anything but simple.

Read the full review.

**Attention participants:  Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Review: THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O’Brien

Michele at A Reader’s Respite recently sent in a link to her review of another Tim O’Brien book, The Things They Carried.  Here’s a little of what she had to say about the book:

All facets of the war are examined within these pages: the brutal death of a close friend, the suicides that came later, the political insanity, the day-to-day drudgery. The elegant combination of these facets don’t provide any answers or larger moral story. There is, however, the distinct impression that a catharsis may have been reached for O’Brien and that, in and of itself, makes the book worth your time.

Read the full review.

**Attention participants:  Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

WWII Challenge Giveaway Winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered our post-challenge giveaway.  And the randomly chosen winners are…

Overachievers grand prize: Carol

Overachievers runner up: Cheryl

Finishers: Kaye, Kris, Heather

You Gave It Your Best Shot: Wisteria, Dar

Congratulations and happy reading!

Again, we’d like to thank all of the WWII challenge participants for making our very first reading challenge a huge success!

Review: IN THE LAKE OF THE WOODS by Tim O’Brien

Another participant, Lynda of Lynda’s Book Blog, has reviewed another 2010 Vietnam War Reading Challenge book.  Here’s what Lynda had to say about Tim O’Brien’s In the Lake of the Woods:

Written from the perspectives of a variety of characters, this is a mystery which is at times painful to read, yet compelling.

Check out the full review.

**Attention participants:  Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Review: MY DETACHMENT by Tracy Kidder

The 2010 Vietnam War Reading Challenge has just begun, but some participants already have started reading and reviewing Vietnam War-related books.

Shannon of After the Fire Came a Gentle Whisper read and reviewed My Detachment by Tracy Kidder.  Here’s a little of what she had to say:

Unique among Vietnam War memoirs, My Detachment features no grunts humping long distances, no coming to terms with one’s mortality in the midst of a firefight, no teetering on the brink while battling a drug habit in the midst of war. Rather the story centers around Kidder’s year in Vietnam as a rear echelon lieutenant who ended up in Army Intelligence after graduating from Harvard.

Check out the full review.

**Attention participants:  Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

Breaking WWII-Related News

Miep Gies, woman credited with saving Anne Frank's Diary

On Jan. 11, 2010, Miep Gies, the woman credited with saving and smuggling out Anne Frank’s famous diary died at the age of 100.  She helped hide Frank’s family from the Nazis.  Check out the full story at The Washington Post.

Also, Anna did a great article about Gies and her memoir at the Baltimore Literature Examiner.  Go check it out.