Once We Were Brothers

I haven't read a book I like this well in awhile. Whenever I put this book down, I couldn't wait to pick it back up and continue hearing about the story, I became totally engrossed. I enjoyed how this book was completely different than many holocaust books I have read.

Once We Were Brothers is a historical fiction book that bounces between Nazi occupied Poland and present day legal drama in Chicago. Ben Soloman, an elderly man who immigrated from Poland to Chicago accuses a wealthy and respected civic leader in Chicago of being Nazi officer and war criminal, Otto Piatek. Ben requests that a young lawyer, Catherine, essentially risk her career to take his case against one of the most powerful men in Chicago.

The legal drama between the accuser, accused and lawyer intertwined with the historical stories made this book quite riveting. It's a book I highly recommend.

Cookbooks on My Christmas List

I'm obsessed with cookbooks and I wanted to share with you which ones are on my wishlist this year. In case you're looking for a gift for me, oh I mean in case you are looking for a gift for the cook in your life.

The Homesick Texan Cookbook 

Super Natural Every Day

Girl Hunter

Canal House Cooking (Any Volumes)

The New Moosewood Cookbook or Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home

VOLTink

The New Portuguese Table

Plenty

Home Cooking with Jean Georges

Perfect One Dish Dinners

The Shadow of the Wind & Angel's Game

I just finished reading The Warmth of Other Sons: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration and where it was a very informative and interesting story about a part of our history I knew very little about, it wasn't one of those books I loved. So instead of recommending it I'm going to give you a recommendation for a couple of other books that will always be at the top of my list. If you're interested in seeing a bit more about my review of Warmth of Other Sons, you can go check it out on Goodreads. 

Now onto my recommendation. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is one of my all time favorite books and the prequel (although they can be read in any order), Angel's Game, is very good as well. The Shadow of the Wind is a gripping page turner that combines mystery, literature, love and much more, I couldn't put it down. I'm not even going to get into the details of the plot because it is so elaborate and convuluted that I'm not going to attempt to describe it to you on here. Definitely check it out the book jacket, Amazon, or Goodreads, I'm just letting you know I highly recommend this series of books. The author is Spanish and I cannot wait for more of his books to be translated!

Before I Go To Sleep

Recently, my book selections have been picked based on what my Mom has downloaded to her Kindle and therefore could share with me. Considering she reads books at a pace 10 times what I do, this works out really well as it gives me quite the selection.

I didn't really have any expectations for 'Before I Go To Sleep' by S.J. Watson, but boy did it immediately draw me in and I couldn't put it down, it's definitely a page turner. The premise of the book is that the main character is an amnesiac, and every night when she goes to sleep her memory is erased. There is a mysterious accident that caused her memory loss, she isn't sure whether she can trust her husband, and the more she figures out how to navigate her way through her amnesia, the more suspiscious everything becomes. 

Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assasin

A friend highly recommended Hellhound on His Trail to me recently and it easily moved onto my list of favorite books. It's a very detailed account that follows the lives of Martin Luther King Jr and his psychopathic killer leading up to the assasination, the author fills in a lot of interesting information that you never learn about in school. This definitely was a very compelling story that had me on the edge of my seat throughout the book. Despite knowing the ending I couldn't wait to read what would happen next, I wanted to jump into the story and get Mr. King off of the balcony myself. It's a nonfiction book that reads like a thriller.