RESOLUTE, by Martin W. Sandler

An absolutely fascinating story of Great Britain's obsessive search for a Northwest Passage through Arctic waters in the early-to-mid 1800's. Martin Sandler relates history with a story-teller's skill. Some non-fiction can be a slow read, but not "Resolute." I couldn't put it down--the images of the explorers' hardships stayed with me long after I finished the book. If you enjoy history, you'll love "Resolute."

UNBROKEN, by Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken is sub-titled "A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption." It is all of that and more. When I finished Hillenbrand's remarkable recounting of Louis Zamperini's saga, I missed Louie. The author so involves the reader in Zamperini's life that I felt intimately connected with him.

As a boy, Zamperini had been a wild delinquent, but when he hit his teens his older brother guided him to channel his energy into running. Zamperini's talent carried him to the Berlin Olympics in 1936. Then when war came, he enlisted as a lieutenant in the Army Air Corps.

Two years later, his plane was shot down over the Pacific Ocean, and as far as the world knew, Louis Zamperini was dead. For the reader of Unbroken, the story is just beginning. Along with two other surviving crewmen, Zamperini struggled to a tiny life raft and began his extraordinary odyssey.

If Unbroken were told in pedestrian prose, it would still be a captivating story. However, Hillenbrand's gifted writing raises this book to the highest level. As an example of her literary skills, here are a couple of sentences from the book:

"Gathered in drifts against the buildings were some two hundred whisper-thin captive Allied servicemen. . . . They were as silent as snow."

I highly recommend Unbroken, both as a history and as a celebration of the human spirit. The book does contain graphic and heart-wrenching scenes depicting Zamperini's ordeal, so I don't recommend this story for younger readers.

Once you’ve read Unbroken, I'd love to hear your opinion. You can contact me through Facebook or through the contact page here on my website.

WRITERS [ON WRITING], Collected Essays from The New York Times

Writers [on Writing] contains essays from forty-six contemporary authors reflecting on what impels a writer to write. Some of the essays are hilarious--how could Carl Hiaasen be anything but funny?

Some are deeply serious, as is Elie Wiesel's piece titled, "A Sacred Magic Can Elevate the Secular Storyteller," in which he tells of his struggles in trying to put the Holocaust into words. He says, "I felt incapable and perhaps unworthy of fulfilling my task as survivor and messenger. I had things to say but not the words to say them."

As a writer, I was able to identify with sections of many of the essays. One, by Carolyn Chute entitled, "How Can You Create Fiction When Reality Comes to Call?" had me laughing out loud. Ms. Chute begins the piece with waking up in the morning filled with ideas and ambition to write, then details each interruption in her day. There are many of them. Babies, dogs, husband, UPS man, friends. By the end, it's four in the afternoon and she hasn't written a word. A friend drops by, one of many during the day, and as she tells it:

"'How’s your book coming along?' Pete asks. I laugh."

End of essay.

I read Writers [on Writing] over a couple of months, one essay at a time, so I'd have the opportunity to think about each one. For writers, the messages shared in this book are inspirational in the sense that we recognize our own foibles in other authors, which somehow makes us seem normal.

I'd recommend Writers [on Writing] even to people who have no interest in writing, but love reading. The insights in this volume will enrich the time you spend with books. And for writers--run out a buy a copy. It's a keeper.

If you've read it, please let me know which essays were your favorites.

Dewey--The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World

I picked up Dewey because I'd noticed that a number of my reading friends on Shelfari had it on their shelves. I love dog stories, being a confirmed "dog person." But we have a cat, too, so I thought I'd give him equal time.

The title, Dewey, The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, intrigued me. How could a small-town library cat, or any cat, touch the world?

Then I remembered "fup" (his name was never capitalized), the bookstore cat at Powell's City of Books in Portland, Oregon. For years, a "fup story" was featured at the close of every issue of Powell's Books News. A couple of years ago, when the sad announcement came that fup had died of old age in his basket at Powell's Technical Books, I cried. I emailed my daughter, who lives in Portland, and she cried, too. I posted a tribute to fup on Powell's blog, as did hundreds of other mourners from all corners of the globe.

So, remembering fup I can understand how his predecessor, Dewey, touched the world. When still a tiny kitten, Dewey was found shoved into a book return box on a freezing morning in Spencer, Iowa. Dewey's story is told by his "Mom," Vicki Myron, assisted by Bret Witter.

The reader sees Dewey grow and blossom from a kitten to king of the Spencer Library. Myron intersperses Dewey's story with the recovery and growth of Spencer after the depressed farm market of the early 1980's. (Remember Willie Nelson's "Farm Aid" concerts?) She also shares her own life experiences through the Dewey years, giving the reader a true sense of how Dewey touched the world, and, most especially, Vicki Myron.

Dewey, The Small-Town Library Cat is a touching story of the impact animals have on our lives.

I think I'll go pet my cat now.