Although it’s already the seventh day of the month, it’s the first Monday of August. Therefore, it’s time for me to tell you about some of the books I read in July. I didn’t read as many books as I do some months, but I read one by Jennifer Coburn that I’m eager to tell you about.
Cradles of the Reich, by Jennifer Coburn
If you follow my blog, you know my favorite genre is historical fiction. I happened upon the title of this book quite by chance and was prompted to investigate it. I checked it out of the public library and read it on my Kindle.
Cradles of the Reich, by Jennifer Coburn is a wonderful piece of historical fiction research and writing. It brought to my attention a secret baby breeding scheme conducted in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. It started in 1935 and was called Lebensborn, which translates in English as Spring of Life.
In an effort to bring about the master white race Hitler dreamed of, young German girls and women were put in maternity homes where they had sex with German Army officers and other officials of the Third Reich.
There were at least 10 such Lebensborn homes were also where pregnant girls and young women who were not married were taken to be cared for and indoctrinated about the Reich, to be wined and dined, to be trained to be perfect German women, and to deliver their babies to be put up for adoption.
Cradles of the Reich follows the lives of three diverse girls and women whose paths cross in one of those maternity homes. The chapters move from one character to another, which at times pulled me out of the story.
A statement the author makes in her “Author’s Note” in the back of the book sent a chill down my spine as I immediately thought of the loss of autonomy women in the United States have experienced in 2023: “It is my hope that this novel about three German women provides fodder for discussions about the social environments that allow women’s bodies to be politicized and commoditized.”
Along those same lines, I found the following words in her “Dear Reader” section in the back of the book where she addressed questions early readers of the novel had asked her to be a chilling reminder of how it is incumbent upon us to stay vigilant: “Writing about man’s inhumanity to man was sobering…. But once I learned about this horrific program, I felt compelled to write about it because the most effective way to prevent the rise of fascism is to recognize its early warning signs. A key move in every dictator’s playbook is to control women’s reproductivity either by mandatory abortion or forced childbirth.”
I would add that it doesn’t have to be a dictator; it can be the US Supreme Court or a state legislature. Such government actions are insidious and usually presented under the guise of being for your own protection or for the protection of someone else.
Silver Alert, by Lee Smith
I heard Lee Smith interviewed about her new novel on “Friends and Fiction” on Facebook on May 24, 2023. I love to hear Lee Smith’s buttery southern accent. It was hilarious to hear her tell what inspired the novel and the fun she had writing it.
The book is about a senior citizen in Florida taking a road trip with a much younger woman.
It hurts me to write my honest reaction to Silver Alert. There were so many “F-bombs” in the first two chapters that I decided to just return it to the library. The language distracted from the story and was excessive. I was very disappointed in Lee Smith’s latest novel. She is a better writer than this book demonstrates.
Granted, there are people out there who have such a limited vocabulary that they depend on expletives and F-bombs to communicate with others. Lee Smith is not one of those people.
52 Small Changes for the Mind, by Brett Blumenthal
I must be losing it! I read this book. It all sounded new to me. I took some notes. Last week I found I’ve read the book and taken notes not once but twice before. Perhaps three times will be the charm.
The book contains a lot of sound advice that ideally the reader will put into practice one small change every week for a year. I keep reading the entire book in a few days. That must be why it’s not sticking with me.
Books I read to help my writing:
The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage, or Fiction, by Erik Bork. This book is about how the idea is at the core of all writing.
Blog2Book, by Cathy Fyock. This book tells a blogger how to take their blog posts and turn them into a book. I’m not sure that will be the case for me. I write about too many different topics.
Since my last blog post
I enjoyed the discussions my blog post sparked last week. I’ll get off my soapbox now and let everyone calm down. Just don’t forget to keep you eyes and ears open for future developments as we try to keep our right to read.
I’ve also gotten back to work on a Christian devotional book I’m writing. The tentative title is I Need The Light: 26 Devotionals to Help You Through Winter. I hope to have it out by the fall of 2024.
Just when I thought I was getting the ramifications from Windstream’s data breach sorted out, last week I received a letter telling me that all my personal and medical data had potentially been compromised in a data breach at MOVEit and Maximus, a company that stores Medicare records. It took them two months to let the specific Medicare patients know. I guess I need to just accept it as part of life in the 21st century.
Until my next blog post
Keep reading everything you want to read. I hope you hurried through my blog post today because you have a book you’re eager to return to. I’m listening to The Paris Agent, by Kelly Rimmer.
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Janet
Janet's Writing Blog 