Welcome to the December 4, 2011 edition of book review blog carnival. Book Reviews Zohar presents Thoughts on: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami posted at Man of la Book. Zohar presents Thoughts on: The Family Affair by Leon H. Gildin posted at Man of la Book. Sarah Ahmad presents Frankenstein posted at The Book Nook. Zohar presents Thoughts on: The Emperor of Lies by Steve Sem-Sandberg posted at Man of la Book. Books Raphael presents Great American Stories Ten Unabridged Classics posted at Extreme eBooks, Audiobooks and Software Downloads, saying, “These ten classic stories from four of America’s greatest authors of the 19th and early 20th century were selected for their literary importance as well as their dramatic oral qualities. The stories include Mark Twain’s “The One-Million Pound Bank Note,” “A Visit to Niagara,” and “A Mysterious Visit;” Stephen Crane’s “The Blue Hotel;” Ambrose Bierce’s “The Eyes of the Panther;” and Jack London’s “The Love of Life” and “To Build a Fire.”” Fiction Sandor presents 4. Eddard: The Burger King Cometh! posted at Mummers Farce, saying, “Looking at the Song of Ice and Fire series with a particularly juvenile bent.” Non Fiction Kevin presents 7 Wealth Building Strategies | Invest It…

The Emperor of Lies by Steve Sem-Sandberg is dark and disturbing, but it has some humor, such as a ghetto residents asking what they would do with guns.

The Cat in the Doll Shop was not only a book that I enjoyed reading, but that my daughter enjoyed listening to – and times like those, my friends, are priceless

Even though The Day Before Happiness is not a long book, it is full with details about life in Naples, people behavior and well developed characters

The story is not a cookie cutter “feel good” one, but it seems more realistic, I wouldn’t be surprised if the author based this story on actual events.

About: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami is a fictional novel which takes place between two worlds. The book was originally written in Japanese and became a best seller almost immediately. 944 pages Publisher: Knopf ISBN-10: 0307593312 My rating for 1Q84 – 5 Buy & Save on 1Q84 through the ManOfLa­Book affil­i­ate account on: Ama­zon | Kin­dle | Book Depos­i­tory US | Book Depos­i­tory UK More books by Haruki Murakami Thoughts: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami is not a complex novel, but it is long. The book asks an important question “what is reality”? I’ve worked with many marketing people over the years, the one important lesson they have taught me is the “perception is everything, reality is nothing”. At first, my structured mind that sees the world in 0s and 1s couldn’t comprehend what they were saying. However, with a little bit of contemplation I came to realize that they were right. After all, we live in a fake world. The news we watch are fake, the food we eat is fake (that’s why many immigrants have their own food stores), the promises made to us by our leaders and captains of industry are hollow and broken almost without delay. Mr. Murakami starts off…

Rosa Feurmann found herself in the Hotel Polski in Nazi Occupied Warsaw as part of an investigation of Jewish partisans as to exactly what is going on in there. Rumors were afloat that rich Jews were able to buy their way to freedom using false documents. However, Rosa is detected by the Gestapo Colonel in charge of the hotel and becomes his personal servant.

Georg Letham is unhappy in his marriage but happy in his research. When the opportunity knocks he injects his older, wealthier and well insured wife with the lethal poison Agent Y. However, as good as a physician as Georg is he botches up the cover-up. Not only does he leave the syringe in the crime scene but also confesses to his father, an official in the Austrian bureaucracy.

With all the action and adventure, this is ultimately a melancholy book. Allon is a flawed hero (but aren’t they all), who is, this time, out for revenge

As those who follow this blog know that I love books about the military, fiction and non-fiction. In honor of Veterans Day I thought I’d post a list of books I enjoyed over the past year or two about this subject. I assume we all love to read about something which is close to our hearts, whether it’s a place, a feeling or an experience. I know I do. Non-Fiction: Citizen Soldiers by Stephen Ambrose A fas­ci­nat­ing book about the Euro­pean the­ater in World War II, as told by the men on the front lines, not a media hug­ging offi­cer or a dry his­to­rian. Ambrose cap­tures the sense of his­tory from both sides of the fence, sticks to the facts as we know them and keeps his com­ments to a minimum. Command Influence By Robert A. Shaines A cap­ti­vat­ing book in which Mr. Shaines recounts his mem­o­ries as a defend­ing lawyer in the case of The United States v. Lt. George C. Schreiber. Lt. Schreiber was the appointed scape­goat in a trial for the mur­der of a Korean man (whose real name was never found). Mr. Shaines, a mil­i­tary attor­ney on the Lieutenant’s defense team, was fight­ing a bat­tle which…