September 2022 Picks and Pans

No five-star reads this month, but The Happiest Man on Earth was definitely life-changing. I gave one novel a 2-star rating, which is rare for me. I read two books set in the Philippines, which is totally random. I’ll be curious to hear what you have to say. Circle back to Facebook and let me know!   The Happiest Man on Earth By Eddie Jaku “Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. It is up to you.” Eddie Jaku, The Happiest Man on Earth. In this uplifting memoir in the vein of The Last Lecture and Man’s Search for Meaning, a Holocaust survivor pays tribute to those who […]

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The Twilight World Review

  “Our tasks are to remain invisible, to deceive the enemy, to be ready to do seemingly dishonorable things while keeping safe in our hearts the warrior’s honor.” ~ Werner Herzog, The Twilight World. Although German filmmaker Werner Herzog has produced, written, and directed over sixty feature- and documentary films, The Twilight World is Werner Herzog’s debut as a novelist. As the Imperial Army prepares to withdraw from Lubang Island, Philippines in December 1944, Japanese intelligence officer, Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda, is ordered to hold the island until the army returns. At first, he is with three other soldiers, but one-by-one they succumb to the jungle. They ignore leaflets announcing the Japanese […]

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