Recently I read the novel Anna Karenina which, to my surprise, I liked. It is a complex novel and upon doing more research on the subject, I decided it merits its own Fun Facts post.

“Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy is a fictional book which was first published between 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger. Even though the complete novel was published to mediocre reviews, others consider it the best realistic-fiction story written.

Turning the Screw…. Florence & Giles is an intriguing Gothic tale, well thought-out and deftly plotted. It owes much of its inspiration to Henry James’s ‘The Turn of the Screw’ and is a tribute to that classic story of misguided and obsessive madness. Set in remote and crumbling New England mansion, twelve-year-old orphan Florence is neglected by her guardian uncle and banned from any formal education as her absent uncle has strong opinions on the dangers of a clever woman. Ignored by the minimal staff of the house and left to her own devices, she finds the abandoned library, teaches herself to read and devours books in secret – she appears a resourceful and intelligent young heroine. Keeping her self-taught accomplishments a secret from all, she considers them her own personal triumph, seeing herself as literary and articulate against all the odds. She insists on narrating her own story in a language of her own invention. This contrived language is a little awkward to get used to. Her insistence on turning nouns and adjectives to verbs and verbs to nouns “no budgery was to be had. I was in a weepery of frustration” – can rather grate and irritate at first, but…

Former Distinguished University Teaching Professor of History and current author Douglas R. Skopp

After the war ended, Brenner has accidentally taken on a new identity and becomes a janitor in the courthouse where the Nuremberg Trials are being heard. Trying to heal is conscious, Brenner writes a letter to his wife which set up each chapter of the book.

Solomon Kugel moved is family to Stockton, New York, a town famous for nothing which is why Kugel likes it so much. Kugel hopes to begin again. However, Kugel gets something he didn’t bargain for, an elderly, foul mouthed Anne Frank living in his attic writing a sequel to her book and a lunatic burning down old farmhouses.

The Coldest City by Antony Johnston (art by Sam Hart) is a graphic novel taking place during the Cold War in Berlin, Germany, following an MI6 agent

On this day in 1883 Lebanese author, poet and artist Khalil Gibran was born. Growing up in the United States, Gibran has written in English

Known by his code name Snow, Owens becomes a remarkable spy and the first great double-cross agents who played a major role in the war’s victory.

The book is peppered with GI slang and phrases in French and German which I liked, the writing is engrossing and very good for a first time author