Two months since last post!

I really need to be reading more. It's not like I don't own enough books to keep me busy. Plus I do have some on my Kindle that need to be finished. I'm still reading Map of Time and am enjoying it. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness, the second in her series, just came out too so I have quite a bit of reading.

A friend and I visited the bookstore in town finally. It has been there for two years I believe. When you walk in it is just book after book. It's amazing how much he has in the small space. Sadly most of his business is through online sales. But I picked up three old books (not sure if they are classics or not). They are short books so they shouldn't take me too long once I finally sit down to read them. I'll have to schedule reading into my days.

"The Map of Time"

I have had this book for awhile and was never really pulled in within the first chapter. But recently I sat down and made myself keep reading and now I am hooked. Felix Palma is writing about a man in the upper class of London who falls for a prostitute. He begins the book in the present and goes to the past to bring the reader up to the present. There are of course murders of prostitutes taking place which I was starting to link to the infamous Jack the Ripper and then Palma comes out and introduces this serial killer to the plot through newsclippings and articles. Now I'm definitely hooked.

"The Grand Defiance" finished

I would recommend this book; especially if you like action and history. However, I was not left in a good mood at the end of the book. I know there can't always be happy endings.
**Spoiler Alert**
I knew that de Forge would escape and make it back to France. However, I was upset with how the French government capitulated to Germany and Hitler about the return of de Forge to the Germans. I know that France was occupied by Germany at this time. I just would have thought there would have been more resistance and ability to get de Forge to the Americans. De Forge was left to be on the run with his family. He did have an amazing escape from prison and I believe that helped morale with some French. But all in all I was disappointed with how the French handled his escape once he was out of Germany. Frizell did a great job though with suspense and action. I was continually turning the page to see what happened next on de Forge's flight.

"The Grand Defiance"

Alright - I'm still reading "Dracula" but I did start reading "The Grand Defiance" by Bernard Frizell. It is another book that I found downstairs in my mom's collection. It was written in 1972 and although it is based around the fictional French General de Forge who escapes from a Nazi prison camp; it is based on fact. This is a period of time that has always fascinated and intrigued me. The book is moving along pretty quickly and is bringing in different aspects of WWII and how prisoners, depending on rank, were treated. I am really liking this book.

"blood red horse"

I just finished "blood red horse" and enjoyed it. This is a good young adult book set in the time of the crusades. It is centered around a horse, Hosanna, and the two brothers and girl that are a part of his life. You see the way Hosanna touches everyone he meets. The brothers travel with their father and many others to the crusades. Grant shows you what the travel was probably like and how life was back at home for the women. It is the first in a trilogy so I will have to eventually read the rest to see what happens to the family and of course King Richard.