Winter: A Berlin Family 1899-1945 by Len Deighton

This novel by Len Deighton was written following the first Bernard Samson trilogy, Berlin Game, Mexico Set, and London Match (reviews here and here). In a sense, it is a prequel to those books. It provides some background information on a few of the characters that are prominent in the trilogy. That was a major motivator in my decision to read it. And I did enjoy it from that point of view, as a look back at what came before. The Game, Set, and Match trilogy takes place in the 1980’s in London and Berlin (primarily); Winter is set in the first half of that century. But this novel stood well on its own.

 Winter is the story of two German brothers, both born around the beginning of the twentieth century. Both grow up in Germany, and both fight on the German side in World War I.  By the end of World War II, the brothers end up on different sides, one a member of the Nazi party, the other working for the Allies. This is believable in part because they are half American by birth. Their mother is from a wealthy American family, the father is a well-to-do German industrialist.

Deighton uses this story of family and friends to show the rise of the Nazi party in Germany and how it affected Germans and how they dealt with the changes in their society. There are some limitations. The story focuses on the wealthy family and does not spend much time on how Germans of lower classes were affected. Because the novel covers events over such a long span of time (1900 - 1945), characters were not always fully fleshed out, some periods and events were glossed over. Even at 571 pages, the author could not cover everything. The book ends at the Nuremberg trials.

What did I like about Winter?

The topic of World War II and Germany is a favorite of mine; thus, I found it very interesting and illuminating. Reading the book gave me a better perspective of the events in Germany's history and broadened my knowledge in that area. From what I have read, the author did a lot of research on this book. The limitations I note above are not criticisms. I enjoyed the book from beginning to end.

Reading this book makes me want to read other books on the subject. I am currently reading The Company of Strangers by Robert Wilson (a spy novel which begins in the early 1940’s and continues into the Cold War). My husband has a lot of non-fiction books about this time period. I would like to read In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larsen, and Richard J. Evan's Third Reich trilogy, especially The Coming of the Third Reich.

This counts as one of my books for the following challenges:
Mt. TBR Challenge
Read Your Own Books Challenge
A-Z Challenge
Chunkster Challenge
European Challenge

Do One Thing Different: Bill O'Hanlon

From time to time I throw a non-fiction book into my reading queue. I like to read mystery reference books, books about World War II, and some self-help books.And books about health. I am real sucker for the "Health, Fitness, and Dieting" category of books.

I had purchased this book, Do One Thing Different, years ago. Don't remember why, other than it is an intriguing idea. The subtitle is "... And Other Uncommonly Sensible Solutions to Life's Persistent Problems." The author proposes that one can solve problems better by finding solutions, rather than looking for why they are happening or blaming others. Sounds reasonable and obvious, but it is a different approach than most therapists use.

I enjoyed reading the book because I have experienced such occurrences in my own life, where I made a change and that change caused other improvements. Now to be able to do that in the future, intentionally. The author also suggests looking for other similar situations where you have found a solution that worked, and trying to adapt that solution to the current problem.

At times I found the format of the book frustrating. Some reviews I read said the content was repetitive. I felt like the summaries for each type of problem solution to be a waste of space. Perhaps I will appreciate that more when I go back and re-read the book, looking for a way to work on a particular problem. And if I don't go back and try a few, what was the point of reading it in the first place?

Actually, starting this blog was "doing one thing different." I had thought for years about a way to share book reviews, track my reading, and have a creative outlet. Yet I never felt ready or that I would do it well enough to please myself. Just recently I got interested in reading challenges and thought it would be fun and a way to motivate and direct my reading. I just bit the bullet and said "now is the time to take a chance." And that feels good.

This counts as one of my books for the Mt. TBR Challenge and also the Read Your Own Books Challenge. Also a choice for the A-Z Challenge.

Today I join my first challenge(s): To Be Read Challenges

 Bev at My Reader's Block is hosting the 2012 Mt. TBR Challenge.  I am signing up at the Mt. Vancouver level: Read 25 books from your TBR pile/s.

I think that I can easily reach this amount in the next 10 months. I am curious to know if  I can count books that I have read between Jan. 1, 2012 and today, since I have read several of my TBR books since the beginning of the year. Doesn't matter really, because I really want to get through my own books and not buy a lot of new ones this year.

I am also joining the 2012 Read Your Own Books Reading Challenge at Tales From the Crypt.

I am partial to images of skulls or skeletons, and I love this image.

For this challenge I will attempt Level 4, 21 or more books. 

At the post where Bev describes her motivation for setting up the blog, she mentions that she read Susan Hill's book, Howard's End is on the Landing, where she describes reading only her own books for a year. I am currently reading that book, at a leisurely pace. A chapter at a time in between other reading.  I am a fan of Susan Hill's Simon Serailler series, which I devour as soon as the novels are available in the US.

I have no idea how many books I have in my TBR stacks, bookshelves, and boxes in the garage. I do have all of my fiction cataloged, but not all of the books have been accurately marked as read. If I read them many years ago and plan to read again, I don't mark as read. So it would take a while to get an accurate count (or even an estimate). But it is a lot. 

My goal this year (until September) is to only buy books written by authors that I have read previously. In other words, don't buy books for new authors (and preferably not new series, even by authors I have read). That still leaves a lot of books I could buy, but the preference is to work down the TBR piles.  In September I go to a yearly book sale where I can get books really cheap, and I don't plan to limit myself there.

Books I have read (with links to reviews):

1. Do One Thing Different by Bill O'Hanlon (03/01/2012)
2. Winter by Len Deighton (03/05/2012)
3. The Company of Strangers by Robert Wilson
4. Heads You Lose by Christianna Brand 
5. Green for Danger by Christianna Brand 
6. Bluffing Mr. Churchill by John Lawton
7. Second Violin by John Lawton (04/04/2012)
8. The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo 
9. Dying Light by Stuart MacBride
10. A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd
11. The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep by Lawrence Block
12. Cop Hater by Ed McBain
13. In the Woods by Tana French
14. A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler
15. Political Suicide by Robert Barnard
16. The Guards by Ken Bruen 
17. The Light of Day by Eric Ambler 
18. A Fall from Grace by Robert Barnard 
19. Nero Wolfe of West Thirty-fifth Street by William S. Baring-Gould 
20. Spy Hook by Len Deighton 
21. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie 
22. An Empty Death by Laura Wilson 
23. Whiskey Sour by J. A. Konrath
24. The Information Officer by Mark Mills
25. The Sleeping-Car Murders by Sebastien Japrisot 
26. Flesh Wounds by John Lawton 
27. Death of a Russian Priest by Stuart Kaminsky
28. The Suspect by L. R. Wright 
29. Under World by Reginald Hill 
30. Bullet for a Star by Stuart Kaminsky 
31. A Lily of the Field by John Lawton
32. Night at the Vulcan by Ngaio Marsh
33. The Property of a Lady by Anthony Oliver
34. Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
35. Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
36. The One from the Other by Philip Kerr
37. A Quiet Flame by Philip Kerr
38. Lament for the Bride by Helen Reilly 
39. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley 
40. A Touch of Frost by R. D. Wingfield
41. Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb
42. Zombies of the Gene Pool by Sharyn McCrumb
43. The Affair of the Mutilated Mink by James Anderson
44. To Play the Fool by Laurie R. King
45. With Child by Laurie R. King
46. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
47. The Judas Sheep by Stuart Pawson
48. The Cape Code Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
49. Kindness Goes Unpunished by Craig Johnson
50. The Monster in the Box by Ruth Rendell

Completion of Challenge: I completed this challenge on July 4, 2012, when I finished reading The Sleeping-Car Murders by Sebastien Japrisot. I will continue recording novels I have read this year from my To Be Read stacks on this post.