The year in Books - November

Hello everyone.
Here are my selection of reads for November.

It's All About Treo - Non Fiction

This is the incredible story of the unbreakable bond forged between Treo, the world's most highly decorated dog, and his handler Sgt Dave Heyhoe. whilst doing the most dangerous job on earth - sniffing out bombs in Afghanistan.

Dave, known to his fellow soldiers as 'the Dog Whisperer' and  Treo were sent forwards, alone and unprotected, to detect the Taloban's murderous IEDs. Soon soldiers refused to patrol certain areas unless accompanied by Treo, and the pressure on the duo became more intense. Dave and Treo would realise they needed each other more than they could have ever imagined. It is a story full of tragedy and triumph, pathos and laughter, as one man and his best friend dare all to ensure that no lives are lost.



Soldier Wives - Fiction


This page-turning soap opera interweaves the stories of three women trying to get to grips with military life.

Chrissie, orphaned young, finds solace in her career as a medic in the regiment, but will love for a married man prove her undoing?

Maddy, a brilliant Oxford graduate, is bogged down with a fretful baby and a super-ambitious officer husband. Will she be able to stand life as a regiment wife?
&
Jenna - glamorous, bad girl Jenna, who doesn't believe in rules and regulations. Will she destroy her husband's career? Or will it destroy her?

The Poppy Factory - Fiction

With the end of the First World War, Rose is looking forward to welcoming home her beloved husband, Alfie, from the battlefields. But his return is not what Rose had expected. Traumatized  by what he has seen, the Alfie who comes home is a very different man to the one Rose married. As he struggles to cope with life in peacetime, Rose wrestles with temptation as the man she fell in love with seems lost forever.

Many years later, Jess returns from her final tour of Afghanistan. Haunted by the nightmares from her time at the front, her longed for homecoming is a disaster and she wonders if her life will ever be the same again. Can comfort come through her great-grandmother Rose's diaries?For Jess and Rose, the realities of war have terrible consequences. Can the Poppy Factory set up to help injured soldiers, rescue them both from the heartache of war?


By now I will of had a few withdrawal symptoms so will need to revert back to my books.


The Military Wives Wherever You Are - Non-Fiction


The world knows what happens to British troops overseas. But the women they leave at home have challenges of their own which nobody hears about. Until now

Wherever You Are contains 25 true accounts of life as a military wife. They tell of the loneliness  and isolation of living on a military base, the difficulty of writing letters to men facing unimaginable horrors, and the overwhelming joy of seeing husbands and sons come home safe.

But these are no ordinary stories. The fortunes of these wives changed forever when they began singing together; not only did they find support, but their choir - the Military Wives Choir - captured the hearts of the nation.



The Boy in Striped Pyjamas - Fiction


The story of the Boy in Striped Pyjamas is very difficult to describe. Usually we give some clues about the book on the cover, but in this case we think that would spoil the reading of the book. We think it is important that you start to read without knowing what it is about. If you do start to read this book, you will go on a journey with a nine-year-old boy called Bruno. (Though this isn;t a book for nine-year olds.) And sooner or later you will arrive with Bruno at a fence. We hope you never have to cross such a fence.






Lest We Forget - Memoir

This skilfully compiled anthology draws on the phenomenally successful Forgotten Voices series. Lest We Forget brings together first hand recollections from the Great War to the Second World War, to vividly illustrate the impact of war. Told in the actual words of the men, women and children who lived through a century of war it is a moving insight into the greatest conflicts of the twentieth century. The testaments of those who were there depict the horrors of war, yet also provide inspiration with tales of enduring courage, sacrifice and daring. Arranged thematically into chapters such as hope, fear, the kindness of strangers, the human cost and brothers in arms, it reveals the full scope of war in all its start reality. Evocatively illustrated throughout with line drawings from the Imperial War Museum's archives, it will appeal to anyone wanting to gain an insight into not only specific conflicts, but the overarching and sometimes surprising effects of war in general. Lest We Forget vividly ensures that the wartime experiences of ordinary people will never be forgotten.



The Book Thief - Fiction

There is a small fact - You are going to Die - 1939 Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier.
Liesel, a nine-year old gorl is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.
Some important information - This Novel is Narated  By Death 
It's a small story about
a girl
an accordonist
some fanatical Germans
a Jewish first fighter
and quite a lot of thievery
Another Thing You Should Know
                        Death Will Visit The Book Thief Three Times. 



My return to school read for this month is Carrie's War which I first read in Primary School and was subsequently made into a children's tv drama.


Carries War - Fiction

'I did a dreadful thing... or I feel that I did, and nothing can change it...'
It is the second World War and Carrie and Nick are evacuated from London to a small town in Wales, where they are placed with strict Mr Evans and his timid mouse of a sister.
Their friend Albert is luckier, living in Druid's Bottom with Hepzibah Green who tells wonderful stories, and the strange Mister Johnny, who speaks a language all of his own. Carrie and Nick are happy to visit Albert there, until one day when Carrie does a terrible thing - the worst thing she ever did in her life...




As you can see there is a bit of a theme this month.


I look forward to seeing what you are reading this month as part of The year in Books project.

Happy reading one & all

Mx