Read the World - Guinea - The King of Kahel

Book: The King of Kahel
Author: Tierno Monenembo
Pages: 306
Book takes place in the country: yes (around 50%)
Author is from the country: YES
I have visited: NO

This is my 157th book for the year.

Ticking off another African country book!

This is the story of Frenchman Olivier de Sanderval.  He made his way to Guinea, Africa, in the late 1800s  to conquer the empire of Fouta Djallon.  The book takes us through his want to make a kingdom for himself in Guinea, and build a railroad in this part of the world.  Loosley based on his real life, this book gives us a picture of what de Sanderval went through to accomplish his goals in this part of the world.

This book was fair.  It was hard to follow at times, but for the most part, a good story.  It had some comic parts and left me wandering if this is how the author viewed de Sanderval's move to Africa and his want to be king, or this is how this man actually was.  The story is wild - back and forth between France and Guinea during de Sanderval's late adult life.

I am keeping this for my Guinea book for now.  I don't think there are many books or authors from this country, so it stays.

Stars: 3

Read The World - Palau - Vanished

Book: Vanished - The Sixty Year Search For The Missing Men of World War II
Author: Wil S. Hylton
Pages: 320
Book takes place in the country: YES
Author is from the country: NO
I have visited: NO

This is my 156th read for the year

The story is about 11 airmen in World War II that vanished in Palau.  Most were sure it crashed into the ocean, but some people thought the men parachuted to safety.  Others thought some of the men returned to the United States and started new lives.   But the bottom line was that the airmen were never seen again and the airplane was never found.

For 60 years people have searched for the plane and for clues around the crash.  The Government, the families, scientist, divers - a group effort of people kept turning up nothing.  But the determination of those invested in the search never gave up on bringing closure to this mystery.

This book tells the stories of the airmen, the stories of the searches, and the history of Palau.  It is a well told story that pulls it all together.  The fact that these folks spent 60 YEARS looking for this plane is incredible.  But solving this mysterday proved to take a lot of time, a lot of man power, and a lot of patience.  I commend all of those who took this on to bring peace to the families of the missing men.

Stars: 4

Read The World - Chad - The Roots Of Heaven

Book: The Roots Of Heaven
Author: Romain Gary
Pages: 432
Book takes place in the country: YES
Author is from the country: NO
I have visited: NO

This is my 155th read for the year.

This is mainly the story of Morel a survival of a Nazi camp who travels to Africa to try and stop the slaughter of elephants.  He has a mission to make hunting elephants illegal.   The story takes place in the 1950s.  Morel gathers a few followers to help him on his campaign and becomes either hunted or aided by African nationalist, European colonists, and an American Journalist who becomes facinated with the elephants and their plight.

This is a great book.  It is very well written, and walks us through Morel's time in Chad.  He is a French Nationalist who made it his mission to save these animals from cruel hunting especially for their ivory.  The book is full of discussion on environmentalism and the unrest in Africa.  It actually took me longer than I expected to read because it is not a light read by any means.  The pages are heavy with detail and you need to take your time to get the complete story.  But it was worth the time.

Stars: 4

Extra Book: Mindhunter

Book: Mindhunter
Author: John Douglas
Pages: 448

This is my 154th read of the year

Even though we are 9 days into December, this was the first book I finished in December. 

I listened to this as an audiobook, and it was excellent in that format.

This is the stories from the author's 25 years as an FBI agent where he used psychological profiling to solve some of the toughest crimes.  He helped capture and interview many serial killers and assassins over his career and became one of the most well known and well respected FBI psychologists of his time.

This was an incredible book.  The stories are numerous in the book, and - while gruesome - they were intriguing to listen to.  We learned in depth details of the crimes of some of the most notorious serial killers, and how John and his team caught them.  We got into the minds of these criminals as John tries to figure out how they work.  Many times he was called in to try and figure out exactly the kind of person they were looking for after a crime had been committed.  His skill lead to the capture of many killers.

Definitely worth the read.  I am going to rank it as one of the best reads of the year. Just know that the content of the book is at times hard to read and the details are numerous about the crimes.  The book is well written, and John's story incredible.

Stars: 5

Read The World - Turkey - 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds In This Strange World

Book: 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds In This Strange World
Author: Elif Shafak
Pages:320
Book takes place in the country: YES
Author is from the country: YES
I have visited: YES (but just briefly)

This was my 153rd read for the year.

This was also the last book I completed in November!

This is the story of Leila.  She has just been murdered, and for 10 minutes and 38 seconds, her brain remains active.  In those 10 minutes, she recalls her life and the lives of her friends while she hopes to at least be found and given a proper burial.  We are taken from birth through death and learn where she came from, and how she came to be where she is now.

Half of this book was pretty good.  The other half was just okay.  During the first half of the book, I am intrigued to learn about Leila's life, and that of her friends and family.  As the minutes tick by, each chapter gives us another picture into who she was and how her life was shaped.  But after the 10 minutes are up, the second half of the book isn't as interesting, in my opinion.  It drags on as her friends try to give Leila some peace.  I think the idea was a good one, but it didn't need to be half the book.  I think this would have been a better read - for me - if the reflections during the 10 minutes would have been just about the entire story.

Again - this is just my opinion, and I think the idea of this book is a great one.  I really did enjoy the premise of what might go through one's mine in the minutes after the heart has stopped, but the brain hasn't.  

Stars: 3 1/2- 4

There is a great quote in this book that I wanted to save and share

"Childhood is a big, blue wave that lifts you up, carries you forth and just when you thought it woudllast forever - vanishes from sight.  You can neither run after it nor bring it back.  But the wave, before it disappears, leave a conch shell on the shore.  Inside the seashell is stored all the sounds of childhood."

Read The World - Puerto Rico - Stories From Puerto Rico

Book: Stories From Puerto Rico
Author: Robert L. Muckley/Adela Martinez-Santiago
Pages: 192
Book Takes Place in the country: YES
Author is from the country: YES
I have visited: NO

This is my 152nd book for the year

This is a collection of short stories and legends of Puerto Rico.  There are 18 stories in all - each only a few pages long.  The stories are short, but they are entertaining and easy to understand.  I love legend stories from these different countries.  I have found a few of these books for my Read The World challenge, and I think they make an excellent addition to the shelf.

This book is only half in English and the other half is in Spanish.  If you are learning Spanish, it would be a good side by side book in order to practice.  So it is less than 100 pages of one language of reading - something you can easily tackle in a few hours.   Check this one out.

Stars: 4

Extra Book - The Babysitters Club Boy Crazy Stacey

Book: The Babysitters Club Boy Crazy Stacey
Author: Ann. M Martin
Pages: 176

This is my 151st book of the year

This is a book that I read with my youngest children.  They love the new graphic novel versions of this classic series.

Stacey and Mary Anne are invited to go along with the large Pike family on a beach vacation.  They will be babysitting and helping with the children to give the Pike's parents a break.  The girls are excited for a chance to spend 2 weeks on the beach and earn summer money at the same time.

The vacation starts off well, but soon Stacey starts to fall for a lifeguard she meets at the beach.  It starts to interfere with her babysitting duties which upsets Mary Anne.  No matter how many warnings Mary Anne gives Stacey, she just can't seem to stay away.  

This is a cute story.  My kids chuckles at Stacey's antics.  The graphic novel style of the novel gives life to the story and allows them to see what was going on - not just imagine it in their minds.  It is a quick read, and fun as well.  We have enjoyed all the books in this series and are hoping there are more to come.

Stars: 4 1/2