Hitler: The Memoir of the Nazi Insider Who Turned Against the Fuhrer - Ernst Hanfstaengl

Ernst was on the inside and friends with Hitler before Adolf came to power. Ernst wore some rose-colored glasses when it came to his ability to influence events, but he was one of the few that were able to get out before an "accident" happened to him.

I felt a bit bad for Ernst. He didn't really fit in on either side of the issue. He didn't like what happened to Hitler when he was influenced by those around him. Ernst tried his best, but his voice was drowned out. Before war broke out, he escaped Germany, and Ernst was captured by the British. At that point, he was a prisoner, used for a time as a consultant by the Americans, then put back into captivity.

An afterword by Ernst's son follows the memoir, and I think it's worth reading. It gives an insight into someone who knew the man better than most and doesn't put him on a pedestal. I believe the writing by Ernst flowed pretty well, even though it was a bit dry in places. I'm glad I read this one and recommend it to anyone wanting an inside look at the build-up of Hitler's rise to power. Good Book!

In the Fog - Richard Harding Davis

London Fog. It's something we've probably all heard of. A few times throughout history, the fog has been so bad it's newsworthy. This story doesn't take place during the actual fog but the day after.

Some men are relaxing in an exclusive club. They spot a man who should be at the House of Commons, and they believe the patriotic thing to do would be to delay him. The man loves a good mystery, so the men decide to tell their stories to him.

I'm not saying more than that. The story is short, and there are some twists in there that surprised me. I really liked it and plan to recommend it to my daughter. She likes mysteries, and I want to know what she thinks.

The original book was written in 1901, so the full text is available in the public domain. I initially downloaded the Google version, but I don't recommend it. There are a few pages that look like scanned book pages while the rest isn't. Also, some of the formatting didn't transfer over well. I wish I'd gotten the Gutenberg version. They're usually fine.

The writing flowed and was easy to read. For this being written in 1901, I was impressed. Good Book!

Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich

I have a special place in my heart for certain classical music. Shostakovich came across my radar recently and has quickly become a favorite. His background and story intrigued me as well and caused me to pick up this book.

This book covers the musical career of Shostakovich. He tells a lot of stories of other composers and people he's met over the years. He doesn't hold anything back, even when it comes to Stalin. The fear he endured through the years was insane. The book is a deep look into the musical process and creation. I found it intriguing, but others might find it tedious. It's listed at 575 pages, but the text stops at 363.

I didn't learn about the controversy surrounding this memoir until after I'd finished the book. My heart sank a bit to think of all the time I may have wasted reading a false narrative. But, I looked into it a bit, and I'm not sure which side of the argument is correct. The children of Shostakovich say one thing while the wife says something else. In the end, I read a book that was believable. Solomon Volkov was a real person, a Russian journalist and musicologist. I can't say for sure one way or the other what the truth is, and I'll let others debate the issue. I liked the book, and I learned a lot about the process of music creation and life in Russia during some tough times (there are verifiable facts in there such as the Holodomor). I'm giving it a Good Book! review.

Snowpiercer (graphic novel) - Jacques Lob, Jean-Marc Rochette

I've been reading some graphic novels while working my way through the current memoir. I didn't know much about this story beforehand. I knew there was a movie about a train that went through the cold and couldn't stop, but that's it. I didn't even know there was a TV show.

Originally in French, this was translated to English in 2014. The Explorers is the first installment in the four-part series. Then, it looks like there was a prequel.

A train with 1,001 cars travels without stopping. A man makes his way from the "third-class" area of the train (basically the people the rest of the train forgets about) and ends up being of interest to the president. Along the way to the front, he gets to see how the other parts of the train live. He becomes a thing of interest to a woman as well, and she wants him to bring his story to the rest of the train.

The story is bleak. That I expected. The apocalyptic landscape is different than the ones I'm used to reading. The train blasting through snow is unique to me. The entire novel was in black and white, and the version I read had typos in it, but I was able to read it fine. When I started the novel, I was curious how they got to that point. I was plopped into the middle of a train with a captured man and taken to on a ride. The background is dripped out slowly, and if I blinked, I might have missed it. I still didn't get answers to a lot of my questions, but those might be answered in other volumes.

I would like to dive deeper into this world. The original French novel was written in 1982. It's imaginative, and I was engrossed in the story. It's dark, so I don't recommend it if you're feeling low. It definitely won't make you feel better! Good Book!

The Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux

Few people are unaware of the Phantom in one form or another. I've had various exposure over the years including watching the stage show, playing games based on the story and now reading the book. During Covid, the stage show was available online, and I watched it with my kids. They came to the conclusion that basically everyone was terrible, but I always had a soft spot for the Phantom.

New managers have taken over the Paris Opera House, and with it they inherited the O.G (Opera Ghost). I loved that they call him that, and I want to use it in the future. The new managers are skeptical, but events eventually bring them around. Raoul watches his childhood friend, Christine, sing and falls in love with her. The problem is the Phantom loves her as well. It creates a love triangle that is incredibly dangerous, especially when Christine decides she only loves the Ghost when she believes he's an Angel of Music.

I went into this with two versions in my head. First was the stage show. It focuses on the music, which is legendary for a reason. The other is more recent. It's the silent film starring Lon Chaney. All the strange things I noticed in that film were actually accurate to the story. I was surprised.

This book was really good. I found Raoul as infuriating as he was in every version I've watched, and Christine is irritating as well. What was different was Erik. The Phantom became even more of a person I sympathized with. From the time he was a child, he was feared and shunned even by his own parents. Even the man who risked his life to save Erik's called him a monster. When Erik thought he found someone who loved him for himself, his dream of living like a normal person was crushed. Who can blame him for his rage? And he didn't do that much actually. His "crimes" were mostly in the past, and they were encouraged. I'm Team Erik more than ever. Good Book!

The Ever - presented by RED

The interesting thing about this one is it's related to a story and videos by one of my favorite bands - RED. This band has been at the top of my list for over 20 years, and I've dragged my husband (and the kids) to multiple concerts. The kids definitely enjoyed them, but I can't always tell with my husband. Anyway, I'd probably try to go to more concerts, but my ears aren't happy at them anymore. Even with earplugs.

Beauty and Rage is the album related to this story. Multiple videos/songs come together in this short graphic novel. The ideas are the band's, the content is written by Matt Rosenberg, and the art is done by Breno Tamura.

I'm not sure how to describe the story. It's unusual and unique. Waking up in the Red Forest, Anthony has to not only find his way out, but free himself from what holds him captive. It's a lot of Feed the Machine and Darkest Part for those familiar with the music videos. If you aren't, this probably won't make a lot of sense.

I enjoy this one a lot. Being a fan of RED might have a lot to do with it, but I like the artwork, and I feel like the story ties a lot of the videos together for me. It also makes me want to go back and listen to the music. I'm glad I got this one when it was available. Good Book!

Black, Red and White (The Circle 1-3) - Ted Dekker GRAPHIC NOVELS

Packing things away uncovers all sorts of little treasures. I've been reading a lot of graphic materials lately (some of which I haven't reviewed), but I already owned these.

They are based on a novel series by Ted Dekker that eventually involved four novels. Green was the beginning and the end. I can't remember how exactly that worked, but I remember being impressed the author pulled it off.

Thomas Hunter is part of two worlds. One is an obvious mirror of the Bible with Justin/Jesus as the savior of the people. There is also a skin disease cured by bathing in pools, and those that don't are labeled the Horde. In the other world, the fate of humanity is at risk of a virus. Thomas accidentally discloses the way to turn the vaccine into the deadly virus, and from then on, he's trying to sleep and dream in both worlds to solve problems on both sides.

The story is condensed so much it's more of a refresher if you're trying to remember the books. It's almost like whiplash trying to keep up with all the places involved. Then there are people that show up only to leave the story not long after. In the novel, there's time for these characters to develop personalities and the reader to care what happens to them.

The art style was different. At times, Thomas looked like a weird cartoon character whose expression didn't match the emotions I thought he was trying to portray. It took away from the impact moments. And I know graphic novels are capable of deep emotion (The Crow). 

I made it through all three, but since there's no version of Green, the circle is open-ended. Pair that with the thin story and the occasional art style, and it sits in the middle for me.

The Dollhouse Murders - Betty Ren Wright

I was packing up some books and put this one off to the side. I didn't keep a lot of books from when I was a young reader, so I wanted to see what prompted me to keep it. My name's even written in the front. In pen!

Amy is fed up caring for her sister. Every time she takes her somewhere, her sister's mental issues cause a problem. She's lost friends and had to change plans, but she's also protective of her. It all boils over one day when her mother is unsympathetic again, and Amy runs to her aunt.

Her aunt is visiting from Chicago to pack up and sell the family home. She understands how Amy feels and puts forth a plan to give her a break. Amy is enthusiastic about it, and she gathers her things. Once she's in the house, a dollhouse in the attic starts to try to tell her something. The dolls move, and there are lights in the rooms.

This is a young adult book, so it's short (149 pages). I read it in a few hours. The plot was unique, and the addition of the family drama was an interesting point. Amy's mother not really having any sympathy for her twelve/thirteen-year-old daughter for not wanting to be a caregiver is something I'm sure many families deal with. It was a realistic relationship, and it wasn't solved at the end. It was more realistic to have Amy get more understanding than to have her family all be perfect.

The mystery was spooky enough to give me a bit of the creeps. I remembered a little bit of the plot, but not much. I just know I won't get anyone a dollhouse in the future. Especially one with realistic dolls. I'm glad I kept this one around. It's definitely a Good Book!

Aristide: Warlord of the Resistance - David Nicolson

I've been interested in the underground resistance during WWII for quite a while. Aristide was a major player in that, but I was curious to know if this book would be interesting to me. Overall, I tend to be more partial to autobiographies.

Roger Landes (Aristide) was in France during much of the occupation period. After that, he spent a short time in Malay. He earned numerous medals and distinguished himself among his peers. The book doesn't really explain a lot of resistance operations. It's a lot of arming and supplying circuits. He was the boss basically, so it doesn't get down to the nitty gritty of how he chose people or what exactly they did.

The book starts off with an introduction by Landes. He's given his blessing to the book, so that meant a lot to me. Being partial to memoirs, I prefer to hear events from those that lived it, even if it isn't an impartial view. The writing by Nicolson was easily readable, and I wasn't overwhelmed by names, dates and places.

I appreciated the updates at the end of many of the people mentioned in the book. I was surprised by how many survived. The book itself was around 222 pages. After that, the first of 7 appendices begins. These are mostly letters and reports, but I was interested in Appendix 5, which was Roger's operational diary.

This was a fairly decent account of Landes's time in the field. I wish someone had convinced him to write the story himself, but at least his story has been preserved. I did learn a lot, and I'm glad I read this book. Good Book!