Month: August 2011

Mailbox Monday is on tour, with August’s location being at Life in the Thumb.

Two books this week, both from Bookmooch. I’m not sure when I will ever read all these books I keep bringing into the house… I did a little bit of math work and based on the number of to-read books that I have and the average number of books I read in a year, I figured that I could go 4-5 years without bringing another book into this house and still have something to read. That’s a little bit scary! Anyways, here’s what came this week:

 The year is 1799. As Bonaparte’s army descends upon Israel, intent upon conquest, Ethan Gage finds himself embroiled in an ancient mystery in the Holy Land, searching for a legendary Egyptian scroll imbued with awesome powers. The courageous and resourceful Gage must keep the mysterious document from his enemy, Napolen – or, failing that, wrest it from him, even if it means pursuing his vengeful adversary back to France. And the wisdom of his great mentor, Benjamin Franklin, will offer Gage no solace should Bonaparte succeed in unlocking the terrible secrets of the Book of Thoth – for whoever masters its magic will rule the world.

 No longer willing to wait for the international community to stop its neighboring enemy, Israel brings down Iran’s billion-dollar nuclear program in an ingeniously conceived operation. The attack leaves a radioactive tomb and environmental disaster in its wake, and has Iranian president Amatullah calling for blood – American blood. Seeing opportunity where others fear reprisals, Mitch Rapp devises a brilliant plan to humiliate Iran’s government and push the nation to the brink of revolution. But when a back-channel meeting between CIA director Irene Kennedy and her Iranian counterpart goes disastrously wrong, Rapp is locked in a showdown with a Hezbollah mastermind in league with Amatullah – and he is given twenty-four hours to do whatever it takes sto stop unthinkable catastrophe.

Mailbox Monday is on tour, with August’s location being at Life in the Thumb.

Only one book in my mailbox this week. It’s a review book that immediately intrigued me. I can’t believe that it’s been 10 years since 9/11. I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard the news – it was during first period Algebra II during my junior year in high school. Someone was going around to all the classrooms telling the teachers to turn the news on and we all sat and watched in shock as the towers fell.

 We’re Not Leaving is a compilation of powerful first-person narratives told from the vantage point of World Trade Center disaster workers – police officers, firefighters, construction workers, and other volunteers at the site. While the effects of 9/11 on these everyday heroes and heroines are indelible, and in some cases have been devastating, at the heart of their deeply personal stories – their harrowing escapes from the falling Towers, the egregious environment they worked in for months, the alarming health effects they continue to deal with – is their witness to their personal strength and renewal in the ten years since. These stories, shared by ordinary people who responded to disaster and devastation in extraordinary ways, remind us of America’s strength and inspire us to recognize and ultimately believe in our shared values of courage, duty, patriotism, self-sacrifice, and devotion, which guide us in dark times.