10 Day 'You' Challenge - DAY FOUR

Oh I've been looking forward to this one! The trick is going to be keeping it to only 4. Here's goes. 

1. The Bronze Horseman By Paullina Simons (and the 2 books that follow Bridge to Holy Cross & In the Summer Garden). 

The story of a young girl and her family during World War II in Russia. Oh, words can't explain this book. The history, strength and journey  .... it is a MUST READ. Once you start reading you will not be able to put it down!

2. The Pillars of the Earth By Ken Follett (and the 2nd book - World Without End). 

Set in the middle of the 12th century, this book is about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. There is nothing I love more than reading a book which is not only a fascinating story but where you can actually learn something about history and take away a new knowledge of an era. These books are outstanding!

3. The Red Tent By Anita Diamant

The book is historical fiction, that retells the story of Dinah, (found in the Biblical book of Genesis, Chapter 34). Dinah is the daughter of Jacob and sister of Joseph, a talented midwife and proto-feminist. She is a minor character in the Bible, but the author has broadened her story. The book's title refers to the tent in which women of Jacob's tribe must, according to the ancient law, take refuge while menstruating or giving birth, and in which they find mutual support and encouragement from their mothers, sisters and aunts. 


I found this book absolutely fascinating learning about how things were done and the lives these woman might have led, I highly recommend it. (Oh, but if you are about to give birth for the first time, probably a good idea to hold off reading this until after you've your baby!!!!!)


4. It was hard to choose a 4th, as there are so many books that have left a lasting impression on me however, I finally decided on The Island By Victoria Hislop. 

Summary (from goodreads.com): The Petrakis family lives in the small Greek seaside village of Plaka. Just off the coast is the tiny island of Spinalonga, where the nation's leper colony once was located—a place that has haunted four generations of Petrakis women. There's Eleni, ripped from her husband and two young daughters and sent to Spinalonga in 1939, and her daughters Maria, finding joy in the everyday as she dutifully cares for her father, and Anna, a wild child hungry for passion and a life anywhere but Plaka. And finally there's Alexis, Eleni's great-granddaughter, visiting modern-day Greece to unlock her family's past.

A richly enchanting novel of lives and loves unfolding against the backdrop of the Mediterranean during World War II, The Island is an enthralling story of dreams and desires, of secrets desperately hidden, and of leprosy's touch on an unforgettable family.

This book will get you hooked. 

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So there is my 4...let me know what your thoughts are if you end up reading any of them! 

More to come later!

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