Happy Leap Day!
With an extra day added to the year you can find time to read more books! Here are some of the new releases out this week in Fiction and Non- Fiction plus a great young adult novel. Download them to your kindle or purchase through Amazon or local indie bookstore.
By Blood Ellen Ullman
Cain at Gettysburg by Ralph Peters
Children of Wrath by Paul Grossman
Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke
Hunting Sweet Rosie by Jack Fredrickson
Living Proof by Kira Peikoff
Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult
The Scar by Sergey Dyachenko
So Damn Lucky by Deborah Coonts
Songs of the Earth by Elspeth Cooper
The Starboard Sea by Amber Dermont
Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas
Bleed for Me by Michael Robotham
Touchstone by Melanie Rawn
Trail of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz
Unwanted by Kristina Ohlsson
The Husband Hunt by Lindsay Sands
The Variations by John Donatich
Victims by Jonathan Kellerman
Redwood Bend by Robin Carr
Yours, Mine, and Ours by Maryjanice Davidson
Don't miss the follow up to the fabulous YA novel Wither by Lauren DeStefano - Fever! Plus, Amanda Hocking releases Torn...
And for non-fiction:
Outlaw Platoon by Sean Parnell and John Bruning
The Ten, Make that Nine Habits of Very Organized People by Steve Martin
Talking with My Mouth Full by Gail Simmons
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Inside North Korea: Escape from Camp 14
Mark your calendars for March 29. This is the release date for one of the best non-fiction books I have read this year. Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Hardin takes you inside the hidden 'Hermit Kingdom' like no other book I have read.
I have long been fascinated by North Korea and the atrocities that are reported to be committed inside the country's borders. I gobble up books about the country and have really enjoyed non-fiction accounts such as Somewhere Inside by Laura Ling and Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick. However, Escape from Camp 14 is a whole new ballgame.
How would you feel if you did not know what a bed was - you always slept on the floor, fighting others for a space near a heat source in bitter cold months? Could you survive on a diet of thin cabbage soup while doing hard labor? How would you live without a winter coat, shoes, or even new clothes?
And this is the simple stuff. Simple? From the first pages you will be immersed in life in a North Korea prison camp where children and adults fight and scavenge for food, snitch on their parents, and do not understand the word compassion.
Up to 200,000 people are currently in North Korea prison camps, many only there due to the supposed crimes of their parents or other family members. The camps are isolated, making any attempt at escape an immediate failure - and certain death. But, one young man did escape and this is his remarkable story. Shin Dong-hyuk was born in Camp 14 after his family was sent to the political prison camp for acts of 'treason' against the Dear Leader committed by his father's brothers. While there he competed with his mother for food and saw her and his brother brutally executed.
With today's dicey political situation, this book is very timely. It gives you great insight into the tortuous lives of the many individuals in North Korean prison camps. Plus, it follows Shin Dong-hyuk from childhood to working in inhumane conditions, and we see him plan his escape and his difficult adjustment to the free world.
As you read the book you can search Google Earth and see where events took place. This is the first time I had done this while reading a book and is was awesome. I was able to see where Camp 14 is and the border towns with China that Dong-hyck passed through on his escape.
Yes, you will have to wait to March 29 to purchase this book - as a hardback or kindle download - but you can read other excellent books about the 'Hermit Kingom' while you wait. Nothing to Envy and Somewhere Inside offer intriguing views of the Dear Leader and the North Korean people.
I have long been fascinated by North Korea and the atrocities that are reported to be committed inside the country's borders. I gobble up books about the country and have really enjoyed non-fiction accounts such as Somewhere Inside by Laura Ling and Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick. However, Escape from Camp 14 is a whole new ballgame.
How would you feel if you did not know what a bed was - you always slept on the floor, fighting others for a space near a heat source in bitter cold months? Could you survive on a diet of thin cabbage soup while doing hard labor? How would you live without a winter coat, shoes, or even new clothes?
And this is the simple stuff. Simple? From the first pages you will be immersed in life in a North Korea prison camp where children and adults fight and scavenge for food, snitch on their parents, and do not understand the word compassion.
Up to 200,000 people are currently in North Korea prison camps, many only there due to the supposed crimes of their parents or other family members. The camps are isolated, making any attempt at escape an immediate failure - and certain death. But, one young man did escape and this is his remarkable story. Shin Dong-hyuk was born in Camp 14 after his family was sent to the political prison camp for acts of 'treason' against the Dear Leader committed by his father's brothers. While there he competed with his mother for food and saw her and his brother brutally executed.
With today's dicey political situation, this book is very timely. It gives you great insight into the tortuous lives of the many individuals in North Korean prison camps. Plus, it follows Shin Dong-hyuk from childhood to working in inhumane conditions, and we see him plan his escape and his difficult adjustment to the free world.
As you read the book you can search Google Earth and see where events took place. This is the first time I had done this while reading a book and is was awesome. I was able to see where Camp 14 is and the border towns with China that Dong-hyck passed through on his escape.
Yes, you will have to wait to March 29 to purchase this book - as a hardback or kindle download - but you can read other excellent books about the 'Hermit Kingom' while you wait. Nothing to Envy and Somewhere Inside offer intriguing views of the Dear Leader and the North Korean people.
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