Sunday, April 5th, 2009


“This is not a book for the faint-hearted. It took a strong stomach to write it. It could require another to read it.” – Brenda Ralph Lewis
Mass murders of virgins. Burning people alive at the stake. Debauchery. Insanity. Incest. These are the tragedies that some of European monarchs that Ms. Lewis mentioned in her book. I can’t say that I enjoyed this book because some parts were so difficult to read. However, it is a well-written book with illustrations.
I normally don’t read horror books, but I love history so much that I ended up buying this. It also helped that I got it at a great bargain from Barnes and Nobles. I thought the book might be an interesting addition to my history book collection. Although I skipped (and later returned) some of the beginning chapters due to its content, the end of the book wasn’t all too bad. At least I was able to keep my dinner.
All in all, I did like the author’s writing approach because it felt like she was right there telling me the story. Due to its subject matter, I don’t think this is history book that everyone would like to read. but if you like shocking and intriguing stories, then this book is for you.


Now a national best seller, this debut novel has become one of my favorite books. Set in Seattle during the 1940’s, this is the story of Henry Lee, son of Chinese immigrants. Though he is an American citizen, he endures the prejudice of his peers. Yet he gains a friend in Keiko Okabe, a Japanese American. Their friendship blossoms into something deeper but their happiness doesn’t last long after Keiko is forced to be separated from Henry.

I won’t go any further than that because I don’t want to ruin the ending. I was so touched by this book that I actually emailed the author (something I had never done before) and thanked him for writing such marvelous work. Mr. Ford was nice enough to reply.

This book gets high recommendations from me. I think readers will find this enjoyable and well worth reading.