Lilac Girls: A Novel | 
so-soWhile I appreciated this story from a historical fiction standpoint, this one fell flat for me. I didn‘t particularly like any of the main characters and something about the way the story was pulled together just felt off. As a side note, the cover art (and the title) are really quite deceiving.
pick#BookClub for Tuesday, overall I enjoyed - if such a horrific story can be “enjoyable” 😳 - learning this was inspired by real people and true experiences. A few chapters felt clumsy but overall, I appreciate the renewed attention that historical fiction brings to “this really happened!” And why oh why do we not learn?! Caroline is inspiring with her dogged determination to do what she can for good in the world. #Sep2025 Book79 (Pic from May)
so-soRead this for book club and is not one I'd have chosen to read now given what's happening in our country's government - some terrifying similarities to where we may be headed with this Holocaust novel based on true events.
pickFinally finished listening to this. My Libby App messed up, and I had to uninstall then reinstall. It's such an emotional book. WWII Historical Fiction. If you read it, be ready for an emotional rollercoaster.
#serieslove2024 #readaway2024 #bookspinbingo
Up next…it‘s been on my bookshelf for years. I‘m using it for 2017 in the Book Girls Backlist Challenge. It‘s also September‘s #doubkespin pick!
#unreadbookshelf
#bookspinbingo
@TheAromaofBooks
so-soRealistic and grim. Here‘s to the women who wanted more than just survival.
pickWWII novel from the perspective of three women:
-a New York socialite (privileged, naive, well-meaning)
-a Polish teenager (long-suffering, innocent, inner strength)
-a German doctor (traumatized, strict, cold, horrible)
Spans from right before war breaks out through the years after, following characters during hardships and how they cope after. Based on actual people. A bit long and heavy handed, but worthwhile. I read this for IRL book club.
Just starting this nearly 500 page book to discuss day after tomorrow. Any and all speed reading tips accepted 😆
so-so⭐️⭐️ Unfortunate timing for this one. Both of my book clubs chose historical war fiction in the same month, and though one was Cold War and this one is WWII, they started running together in my head. I usually steer clear of WWII fiction because the market is so oversaturated. Tell me something different. Idk. Give me facts. I want the nonfiction this story is based on. And for Pete‘s sake, this sucker could‘ve been 100 pages shorter. #bookclub
1) Probably 50 years from the present day
2) Lilac Girls. What they did to the prisoners at Ravensbrook was enough to give me nightmares.
#two4tuesday
🎧👟 This book is not holding my attention, y‘all. #audiowalk #bookclub
#littenswanttoknow
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
A Gentlemen in Moscow by Amor Toras
Any book by Ann Cleeves
pickDid anyone else pick up the "A Point In Time" collection through Amazon Prime?
7 short stories by well-known authors.
I read "Naomi's Gift" by the author of "Lilac Girls" last night.
It was SO GOOD!
A riveting story about a baby born in a concentration camp.
Can't wait to read the next one tonight ?
Yesterday I visited the Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden in Bethlehem, CT with a friend.Our tour guide was amazing- incredibly detailed in his fountain of knowledge about both resident families.Joseph Bellamy,grandson of Jonathan Edwards,was a minister who opened the first school of theology & school of law in CT.The Ferriday‘s acquired the property in 1912.
https://ctlandmarks.org/properties/bellamy-ferriday-house-garden/
pickIt took me a little while to pick this book up, but it was amazing. I also didn't know until the author's note that some of these characters were actual people. As always, a historical fiction novel is prompting me to start some of my own research.
pickFantastic historical fiction! Another book my daughter has been trying to get me to read, and this month it was my #bookspin pick! Loved this one ❤ @TheAromaofBooks
pickIt took a while for me to get “into” the book. I did like both Kasia‘s and Herta‘s stories. All the stories skipped forward in time fairly quickly, and I would have liked for it not to skip so much time so fast, as I felt like things got missed. I could have done without Caroline‘s story altogether, and definitely without Paul. Author‘s note: Herta and Caroline were real people. Kasia and her sister were also fictional but based on real sisters.
Progress update on #NovelNovember and #Bookspinbingo. I finished both Girl With a Pearl Earring and Pretty Little Liars both a solid ⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars. Currently reading Lilac Girls.
@Andrew65 @TheAromaofBooks
pickI‘m not sure exactly how I feel about this book. It‘s well written, an interesting story based on real people and events. I guess it‘s that I have a lot of ambivalence about how it ends. The best description I can think of is “messy,” but then real life often is messy. It‘s a reminder that there aren‘t always clear resolutions, and mixed emotions emotions are real. This is probably the most realistic WWII novel I‘ve read and I recommend.
🎃 3 books going: tagged book plus The Shift and The Invention of Nature
🎃 music rehearsal Saturday, then first live performance at our church in a year and a half on Sunday. Excited!
🎃 good friends
#wondrousWednesday
I borrowed this from my daughter-in-law, even before she‘s read it, so I really need to get this back to her. Besides, I haven‘t read a WWII novel in what, two weeks, I‘m way overdue 🤣🤣
pickIt is tragic that the horrors of WWII are so expansive — in scope & scale — that even after studying the era in relative depth for my history degree & reading many historically inspired novels, I can still encounter new aspects to shock & repulse me. Yet the experiences of the Ravensbruck Rabbits did just that.
All the same, the book — fiction, with the added punch & power of being based largely on fact — is moving, fascinating, & worth a read.
pickI loved this story of three women and their stories of world war 2. This book has me interested in learning more about the women who survived Ravensbrück.
pickThat‘s a wrap on #bbrc. I have read so many amazing books that I never would have read if it was not for this challenge. I was also introduced to new genres that I have come to love. When I started this book I had no idea it was based off of real people. @LibrarianRyan and @Sarahreadstoomuch do you want me to update my google forms, I can if you would like me to. Everything is up to date on story graph. Thanks so much for putting this together!
so-soGood read, Confronting. Didn‘t realise it was based on a true story until the end.
Story of polish ‘rabbits‘ during WWII
pickMy #doublespin for April. So glad I finally read this - just a great book! @TheAromaofBooks
Thanks for the tag @The_Penniless_Author ?
? Days get longer, temperature gets higher, flowers smell beautifully
? No, not that I've noticed
? The tagged book's title was actually translated "When the Lilac Blooms" by the local publisher
pickImpossible to put down but so hard to read.
pickI finished it! Given the subject matter, I had trouble finishing this one but I am glad I stuck with it. The story of a real life NY socialite who helped the Ravensbruck Rabbits, a group of prisoners who were experimented on. Told in alternating viewpoints, the one that most affected me was that of Dr. Herta Oberheuser, who performed many of the operations. I tend to prefer non fiction to historical fiction but I enjoyed this, it was well done.
Oh boy, did I ever have a day today. I‘m not sure why I was so cranky but I just felt like I was spinning my wheels. But I had a lovely meal with my eating helper Whiskers, and I‘m in my pyjamas and determined to make some headway on Lilac Girls tonight!
1. None come to mind right away, but I‘m not very good at coming up with songs 🤷♀️
2. Bookmarks and totes 👜 Give me alllll of the totes!
3. I don‘t really have a preference, I just want a character I can connect with.
#wondrouswednesday
@Eggs
pickThe start of spring semester with Grad school made this a slow read unfortunately. However, I am so glad I finally picked this one up, after a friend made a good case for it in her recommendation to me 💙 I loved how the author based this off of real women, and thorough research. 😔The fact of the evil that humans are capable of,& even when putting horrific cruelties put upon other human beings they will still hold firm to the belief they are⬇️
pickCurrently listening to Lilac Girls, thoroughly enjoying this audio book
so-soThe irony that I finished this book seconds before entering a cemetery... Now, out of five stars, I give it three. There seems to be moments where the direction of this book was all over the place. Then again, I do recognize there must be hardship when writing about a real life historical event.
I‘ve had this one awhile and I‘m just now getting to it. It was given to me by a family member and I am just now giving it a go. Let‘s see how it goes. #litsy #holocaust #historicalfiction
Reusing a Starbucks cup and hooked to this book on this rainy, yet sunny, afternoon✨
Our power is out but I can‘t put Lilac Girls down!
pick⭐⭐⭐⭐
A very compelling historical fiction set in 1939. We get a look into the lives of 3 very different women when Hitler's army invades Poland. Caroline is in New York, Kasia is in Poland, and Herta is in Germany.
Any book dealing with concentration camps is difficult for me to absorb. Knowing all those courageous souls were tortured, punished, and starved is maddening. I liked how this book is set up and switches to differing points of view.
