Remembering Our Veterans

We’ve expressed our thanks to veterans here in the past and on our own blogs about our own family members.

Today, we wanted to call attention to those families of soldiers currently serving our country.  As the holidays approach and they are without fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers, we wanted to highlight the good work of the USO.  For the holidays, they carefully create and send packages (Holiday Boxes) to our troops to help them celebrate the season even if they are away from home, and you can help with donations.

In Washington, D.C., the chapter is looking for help to provide Turkeys and other Thanksgiving items to local families in Turkey for Troops.  Other chapters throughout the United States and other countries surely have similar programs.  If you’re interested in helping our troops and their families this season, please locate your nearest USO Center.  Also check out the ways that you can help.

In honor of our troops who protect our nation and our freedoms, please pay homage to them in any way that you can.

Flashlight Worthy WWII/Holocaust Books

Flashlight Worthy asked Anna and myself to provide them with a list of top WWII/Holocaust books for book club discussions, and so, naturally, we did.

If you’re interested to see which books we selected for the list from all the books we read in 2009 for the WWII Reading Challenge, please go here.

What books do you think should have been on the list — that we might have missed — and why?

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Also, here’s some additional information:

Open Call for Lists of Book Club Recommendations!

Hello from Flashlight Worthy Book Recommendations (where you can find books so good, they’ll keep you up past your bedtime).

It seems the book club community has recently discovered my lists of book club books. People say they love the lists and they’re clamoring for more. That’s where you come in.

While I’ve read plenty of books, I’m looking to avid readers such as you to contribute new lists — themed, annotated lists of highly discussable books.

Can you name and describe 5+ flashlight worthy, discussable books that follow a theme? Maybe ’7 Great Books that Revolve Around Food’? Or ’6 Women’s Memoirs That Will Start an Argument’. How About ’5 Discussable Novels Set in Africa’?

Take a look at the book club books I have and give it some thought. 

If you’re interested, email me at info@flashlightworthy.com.

Thanks so much and happy reading!

Peter
(The guy who runs Flashlight Worthy)
Flashlight Worthy Book Recommendations
Recommending books so good, they’ll keep you up past your bedtime.

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!

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.

International 2009 WWII Reading Challenge Giveaways Revealed!

OK, we know the 2009 WWII Reading Challenge is long gone, but we’ve got some fun giveaways for all participants!  By the way, these are all open to anyone in the WWII Reading Challenge from anywhere in the world.

Check out these tiers and pick the one(s) that suits you best!

Overachievers giveaway:

Did you read up to or exceed your goal from the start of the challenge, reading 5+ books?  Check out this giveaway!

Finishers giveaway:

Did you officially complete the challenge by reading 5 books?  Check out this giveaway!

You Gave It Your Best Shot giveaway:

Did you read 1-4 books since the start of the WWII Reading Challenge?  This giveaway is for you!

Participants, on your mark, get set, GO ENTER!
THE GIVEAWAYS ARE NOW CLOSED!!!

WWII Post-Challenge Giveaway: You Gave It Your Best Shot

This giveaway is for participants who read from 1 to 4 books for the 2009 WWII Reading Challenge.

Although time got away from you in this challenge, we still love that you tried!

Two winners for a copy each of Libby Cone’s War on the Margins (out of print edition)

ENTER HERE

Deadline is JANUARY 17, 2010, at 11:59 PM EST; This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL!

Thanks to Libby Cone for donating books to the challenge giveaways!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!!!

WWII Post-Challenge Giveaway: Finishers

Congrats to all of the 2009 WWII Reading Challenge participants who completed the 5 book minimum for the challenge!

This is GLOBAL giveaway is for you! (All overachievers can enter this one too!)

Three winners will each receive the following:

1 copy of War on the Margins by Libby Cone (out of print edition)

1 copy of Soul Survivor by Bruce Leininger and Andrea Leininger with Ken Gross

1 copy of A Lucky Child by Thomas Buergenthal

1 copy of The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock

1 copy of The Monuments Men by Robert Edsel and Bret Witter

ENTER HERE!

Deadline is JANUARY 17, 2010, at 11:59 PM EST

Thanks to Hachette Book Group and Libby Cone for donating books to the challenge giveaways!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!!!

WWII Post-Challenge Giveaway: Overachieving Participants

Back in January 2009, WWII Reading Challenge participants were asked to set a personal reading goal for the year.  It could have been the minimum 5 books for completing the challenge or more.

Congrats for going above and beyond and meeting your goals, and as a thank you to these overachievers, we’re offering a chance to win FREE BOOKS!

If you’ve met or exceeded your personal goals for the 2009 WWII Reading Challenge, these are the books up for grabs:

Grand Prize winner:

1 copy of Words That Burn Within Me by Hilda Stern Cohen

1 signed copy of Night of Flames by Douglas W. Jacobson

1 copy of War on the Margins by Libby Cone (out of print edition)

1 copy of Soul Survivor by Bruce Leininger and Andrea Leininger with Ken Gross

1 copy of A Lucky Child by Thomas Buergenthal

1 copy of The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock

1 copy of The Monuments Men by Robert Edsel and Bret Witter

Runner-up winner:

1 signed copy of Night of Flames by Douglas W. Jacobson

1 copy of War on the Margins by Libby Cone (out of print edition)

1 copy of Soul Survivor by Bruce Leininger and Andrea Leininger with Ken Gross

1 copy of A Lucky Child by Thomas Buergenthal

1 copy of The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock

1 copy of The Monuments Men by Robert Edsel and Bret Witter

ENTER HERE

Deadline is JANUARY 17, 2010, at 11:59 PM EST

This giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY!

Thanks to Hachette Book Group, Libby Cone, and Douglas Jacobson for donating books to the challenge giveaways!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!!!

Thank You All for Helping to Make the WWII Challenge a Success

As you all know, the WWII reading challenge officially ended with the start of the new year.  We’d like to thank all of our participants for helping to make it a success.

We’ve updated the site with all of your reviews, but if we missed any and you’d like us to post them, feel free to email the links to us at warthroughgenerations at gmail dot com.

Even though the WWII reading challenge has ended, we’ll continue adding to the book reviews and recommended reading pages.  We hope you’ll continue to use them as a resource.

Also, stay tuned for the post-challenge giveaways…and those of you waiting for books from BBAW, they’ll be coming you’re way very soon.  I’m a bit behind in mailing out giveaway copies, and I apologize for the delay.

We hope you’ll all consider joining us for the 2010 Vietnam War Reading Challenge.  If you haven’t already signed up and want to, click here.

Review: MAUS I/II by Art Spiegelman

JaneFan from The Bookworm’s Hideout completed the WWII reading challenge by reading Maus I and Maus II by Art Spiegelman.

On Maus I, she says:

Volume one is very emotionally intense, as it deals with the beginning of the Holocaust, and the aftermath of Artie’s mother’s suicide decades later. We see how, during the early days of the holocaust, many Poles “sold out” the Jews, turning them in for the money. Bribes, betrayal, starvation, mercy killings, poison, suicide run rampant in this time.

On Maus II, she says:

Overall, volume two did not seem as compelling and dramatic as book one. The pace was faster, with more jumps from past to present. The wartime portions felt rushed, and the ending was sudden and felt incomplete somehow. I got the impression that Art felt forced to finish the story. There seemed to be less artistry in the words and images. There was some great factual information in volume 2 about the end of the war though.

Read her complete thoughts here.

**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!**