The Lost Baker of Vienna

 The Lost Baker of Vienna by Sharon Kurtzman 432 pages

Synopsis: Vienna,1946: Chana Rosensweig has endured the horrors of war to find herself, her mother, and younger brother finally free in Vienna. But freedom doesn’t look like they imagined it would, as they struggle to make a living and stay safe.

Despite the danger, Chana sneaks out most nights to return to the hotel kitchen where she works as a dishwasher, using the quiet nighttime hours to bake her late father’s recipes. As she tries to balance her love of baking against her family’s need for security, Chana finds herself caught in a dangerous love triangle, torn between the black-market dealer who has offered marriage and protection, and the apprentice baker who shares her passions.

The Lost Baker of Vienna affirms the unbreakable bonds of family, while shining a light on the courageous spirit of WWII refugees as they battle to survive the overwhelming hardships of a world torn apart.

My Thoughts: While I predicted the ending of this book pretty early on, it was still a fascinating read. Absolutely horrible what Jewish people went through during this time, but it really showed life after the Camps and showed how life was still extremely bad for Jewish people. The thing I appreciate about this book is it was inspired by the experiences of the author's own family after the Holocaust and it was very heart-wrenching. I like how they had the present in the novel and then went to the past to tell the story of Zoe's family. This book was beautifully written.

THE ELSEWHERE EXPRESS by SAMANTHA SOTTO YAMBAO

 THE ELSEWHERE EXPRESS by SAMANTHA SOTTO YAMBAO (Pgs 432)

Goodreads Revies: You can’t buy a ticket for the Elsewhere Express. Appearing only to those whose lives are adrift, it’s a magical train carrying very rare and special cargo: a sense of purpose, peace, and belonging.

Raya is one of those lost souls. She had dreamed of being a songwriter, but when her brother died, she gave up on her dream and started living his instead.

One day on the subway, as her thoughts wander, she’s swept off to the Elsewhere Express. There she meets Q, a charming, handsome artist who, like her, has lost his place in the world.

Together they find a train full of wonders, from a boarding car that’s also a meadow to a dining car where passengers can picnic on lily pads to a bar where jellyfish and whales swim through pink clouds.

But they also discover that the train harbors secrets—and danger: A mysterious stranger has stowed away and brought with him a dark, malignant magic that threatens to destroy the train.

But in investigating the stowaway's identity, Raya also finds herself drawing closer to the ultimate question: What is her life's true purpose—and might Q be connected to it?

This books was so beautiful, between the cover and interior art, plus the sprayed edges, it was sometimes hard to concentrate on actually reading it! But I did, and I really enjoyed it, I do appreciate this author.

Old Flames by Jack Ketchum

 

Old Flames by Jack Ketchum - 287 pages

Burned again. Men never treated Dora well. This latest cheated on her and dumped her. The last decent guy she knew was her old high school boyfriend, Jim. He'd said that he loved her. Maybe he did. So with the help of Flame Finders, Dora's found him again. Turns out he's married with two kids. But Dora isn't about to let that stand in her way...

This was an ok short story, not quite what I expected but ok, it also includes the short story called "Right to Life", which was brutal but a bit predictable, it was just ok as well.

Life of the Party: Stories of a Perpetual Man-Child by Bert Kreischer

 

Life of the Party: Stories of a Perpetual Man-Child by Bert Kreischer - 256 pages

Bert Kreischer doesn't know how to say "no." If he did, he wouldn't have gotten himself mixed up with a group of Russian mobsters on a class trip to Moscow, earning him his nickname: "The Machine." He wouldn't have wrestled with a bear or swum with sharks on national television. He wouldn't have (possibly) smoked PCP with a star of Saturday Night Live. And he wouldn't have been named the Number One Partier in the Nation by Rolling Stone, inspired the movie National Lampoon's Van Wilder, or performed standup to sellout crowds across the country.


The stories Kreischer shares in Life of the Party are a guidebook on how not to grow up. From his fraternity days at Florida State University, to his rise as a standup, to his marriage and first brushes with fatherhood, Kreischer shows you a path that may not lead you to maturity or personal growth. But it will lead you to a sh!tload of fun.

This was very entertaining to listen to, if you've watched his standup and like it then you'd like this.  He's so funny, while he's reading he even laughs at what he wrote.  This was very entertaining!

The Dinner Party: A Pick Your Poison Adventure by Freida McFadden

 

The Dinner Party: A Pick Your Poison Adventure by Freida McFadden - 196 pages

You're broke. You have no way to pay your rent and you're about to be evicted.

Fortunately, your friend has offered you a job working as a waitress at a dinner party... at an isolated mansion way out on Peyton's Peak. The money will be enough to cover two months' rent and get you back on your feet. It's a golden opportunity that will solve all your problems.

But the whole thing sounds really sketchy. The money is great, but there's got to be some sort of awful catch. You should probably turn it down.

Right???

As it turns out, the choice is yours. YOU get to decide if you want to go to the creepy dinner party or stay home and read a book. YOU can decide if you want to pick up the disheveled hitchhiker on the side of the highway. YOU can choose to go left or right at the fork in the road. For once, the decision is entirely in your hands.

So what are you going to do?????

This was ok, I DO like the choose your own adventure. I liked the part with the Yeti especially, but I liked choosing all the ways to go to see what happened.  

Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld

 

Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld - 480 pages

Since his first performance at the legendary New York nightclub “Catch a Rising Star” as a twenty-one-year-old college student in fall of 1975, Jerry Seinfeld has written his own material and saved everything. “Whenever I came up with a funny bit, whether it happened on a stage, in a conversation, or working it out on my preferred canvas, the big yellow legal pad, I kept it in one of those old school accordion folders,” Seinfeld writes. “So I have everything I thought was worth saving from forty-five years of hacking away at this for all I was worth.”

For this book, Jerry Seinfeld has selected his favorite material, organized decade by decade. In page after hilarious page, one brilliantly crafted observation after another, readers will witness the evolution of one of the great comedians of our time and gain new insights into the thrilling but unforgiving art of writing stand-up comedy.

I tried reading the book and I just couldn't, but listening to it on audio was so much better, it was like listening to a set of his.  Very entertaining, but he is one of my favorites.  

Caraval

 Caraval by Stephanie Garber 407 pages

Synopsis: Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful and cruel father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.

But this year, Scarlett's long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to attend. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season's Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, and her sister disappears forever.

My Thoughts: I finished this book in a day, that was how much I enjoyed this book. This book reminded me of another book I had read, but this one is much more YA friendly. I loved the idea of the Caraval performers doing what Legend (the mastermind behind Caraval) has told them to do. It's magical and mysterious, no one knows who Legend is, everyone is just playing the game and nothing is as it seems.