It's Monday What are you reading?A Bitter Truth, Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend

 Book Journey hosts this weekly event where we celebrate what we are reading for the week as well as books completed the previous week. I use  this weekly meme as a way to give short, concise thoughts on the books I've read.

Sheila at

Good morning all,  it's Monday what are you reading?  Well,  I just finished two books, the first being : A Bitter Truth , Charles Todd. (forgot to scan the cover, sorry).  This was a Bess Crawford Mystery.  Bess is a nurse, serving during the WWI in France.  On her occasional return to England to visit her family, she encounters "mysteries".  I particularly like the relationship between Bess and Simon.  Simon is the silent superhero in Bess' life/mysteries.  Each of these mysteries is a connection to the war and the behind the lines adventures of infidelity and crime. This one focused on orphans of soldiers, left behind when their mothers are killed and fathers return to their wives in England.  The heartbreaking events occur often, soldiers nurses become "fond of" die.  Orphans go missing or are doomed to lives of hardship.  All the while the aristocrats complain about not having enough  luxury.  I love the cars that need to be cranked, and the idea of "dressing" for dinner.  (as you know I like to be in pajamas, my idea of dressing for dinner). I read this book for the War Through the Generations Challenge, and thoroughly enjoyed Bess and Simon and one cannot help but wonder, "where will this relationship go".?  While I like a good love story,  I also think it's so very rare to have a steadfast relationship between a man and a woman based on devotion, loyalty and respect, no sex. So we shall see...

book # 2

memoirs of and imaginary friend, Matthew Dicks.  I suspect the title without capitalization is due to the fact that the imaginary friend doesn't know, or was not imagined to be grammatically correct.

An excellent book.  I thought I'd be more annoyed at the narrator being a young boy,(as I was in The Bear) but if I had read this book when my children were very young,  I would have learned to behave as a better parent.
This is a story narrated by the imaginary friend, of a young boy, with issues.  He's bullied in school, labelled and loved.  He has huge difficulties relating to others, but is very bright.  He is thrust into a scary situation and manages to deal with it, much to the surprise of his parents.  I really hate when parents are portrayed as the bad guys, but perhaps that is what children feel.  I'm sure this is all a passage of time.  However, a must read for anyone ... but especially for mom/dads.  Enlightening and scary all at the same time. I may have Book Hangover.

Up next:  The Illusionist.

Teaser Tuesday... Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English

My Teaser today is not from a book, it's from the mailman. He's such a tease. I deduced that a large envelope meant some kind of offer for further study, I phoned my eldest to discuss, and we concluded at 10 p.m. (yes I waited all day, the tease arrived unusually early) Yes, my son received a large envelope with a return address that was most acceptable. (Usually it's Amazon.ca, he orders a great # of books.) Since it's a federal offense to open mail not addressed to you,or so my boys keep telling me,  and I really wanted him to get the good news first, I had to watch it sitting there ALL DAY.  YES it is good news.  He's been offered admission to a Graduate Studies Program.  WOO HOO! his mother is delighted I think he is too. I will enjoy yet another first day of school.  After grade eight they really didn't want to pose for pictures, but knew their mother would nag the cr_p out of them if they didn't.  WOO HOO again.

On the other front of reading, I've finished reading Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English, Natasha Solomon.  I REALLY enjoyed this story.  I don't know why I have a link to refugees, and England but I do. Perhaps it's my parents being refugees and the many stories we listened to about their encounters throughout those years in their lives we will never really understand, or perhaps it's a previous life I'm remembering (time travel you know).   I loved all the characters and the story line delightful.  I know how Sadie felt trying to remember her mother and father, and holding on to the past that was so sacred to her.  How brave refugees are,imagine leaving everything you know to trade it in for a life that you thought would be a whole lot safer and happier and then to find out it was not all that you thought it would be AND never being able to go back. I remember some forty years ago, when my parents first returned to their homeland for a short visit.  I was with my mom, she hadn't seen her brother since he was twelve and here he was middle aged, she knew little about them and yet the visit seem to flow together as though they had been together all those years.  She darn near died when she saw the shambles her family home was in.  WAR is such a waste of everything.  My parents, just like the Rosenblums, rebuilt their lives and became proud Canadians, but one wonders?

I read Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English as part of my Regan Arthur Challenge
I'm also reading off my shelves this summer, no new books for at least June, July and August and I'd like to say part of the War Through the Generations Challenge WWII, but I'm a couple of years late on that one, so we'll say it's part of my What's in a Name.


Up next, The Wisdom of Hair, Kim Boykin.

Mr. Lincoln's Drummer... a quick review

Mr. Lincoln's Drummer

My thoughts:  This was a short YA book, I was tieding my bookshelf and re-discovered it.  I'm also in the Civil War Challenge and thought this is it. 

I hate to say I enjoyed this book, I mean really who likes a war book, that's very descriptive, but I did.  I don't think I would have recommended it to the students of the age group it is recommended for, perhaps just a little older, although just a little older wouldn't find it cool enough.  War through the eyes of a child is even more disturbing than usual, and considering this is based on a true story it is even more important.  I think the two thing that again "wacked" me in the head was the sheer number of deaths, thousands on both sides, at each battle. I had no idea it was so vast, where the heck did everyone come from, surely the population of the U.S. was not that large.  I shall have to do some research.  The second was the very innocent encounter Willie had with Jeb, how very sincere they were with each other, and yet loyal soldiers.  Jeb being the enemy you know.  As this is a short little read, I suggest it to you for a quick study.