Staff pick that Pat is reading...

• The Widows War: A Novel - by Sally Gunning

Obsessed with WWII - From Regan...

It's true--I am obsessed. The Greatest Generation. The worst villains in history. It's difficult to not be fascinated. If you're so inclined to post them, here are three recommendations for your blog.

• Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy  

Perspectives of the war from a variety of characters in Europe, the Pacific theater, and the U.S--from a member of the Maquis to a factory worker in Detroit. I couldn't put it down.   http://www.margepiercy.com/books/gone-to-soldiers.htm

• The Winds of War by Herman Wouk

Maybe you remember the TV mini series in the early '80s with Ali McGraw, Jan Michael Vincent, and Robert Mitchum. I do, vaguely, which is what made me pick up the book when I spotted it in the book store. I found it very compelling and learned a great deal about the details of the build up to war, too--all the way around the globe. The sequel, War and Remembrance, is almost as good. Herman Wouk is a genius. http://tinyurl.com/36lawcz

• The Bielski Brothers by Peter Duffy

http://www.amazon.com/Bielski-Brothers-Defied-Village-Forest/dp/0060935537

This is a true story of about brothers who created a settlement for more than a thousand Jews in the forest on the border of Poland and Belarus and kept them safe from the Nazis. Some were partisan fighters, too. Defiance, a movie released a few years ago, is based on this story. Here's a little more info about the Bielskis: http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/revolt/bielski.html.

Highly recommended by Pat...

• Little Bee - Chris Cleave 
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot

From John...

• A Scanner Darkly

"One movie that was similarly animated [to Waking Life] but which I enjoyed much more, actually, is "A Scanner Darkly".  One of my favorite movies, in fact.  When we first got it from Netflix, I think I watched it four times in a row.  Very interesting movie."

Recommended by Sean...

• Waking Life - Watched this with Sean the other day.  A movie you'll either love or hate, it ponders a series of life philosophies/questions/approaches and strings them together as a dream sequence.  I'll have to watch it again to revisit some of the questions/theories presented. 

From vacation buddy Regan...

• North of Unknown: Mina Hubbard's Extraordinary Expedition into the Labrador Wilderness by Randall Silvis - High marks from Regan on this one!