Weekend Book Friends #3

Posted July 17, 2020 by elzaread in Weekend Book Friends / 24 Comments

Greetings Humans! Gosh, can you believe it’s finally Friday? It feels as if at least 50 days have passed since we last had a Friday. My mommy and daddy are  home safely and are both back at work. Or at least Mommy was until Wednesday, and then the school got closed due to Covid 19. Bummer for some, for me it means cuddles.

It’s been awfully cold across the country and I’m sure everyone in South African would love to just stay in and cuddle. If only everyone knew how to take good care of fluffy little kittens, they could have all done that. Alas. I came from a shelter where it’s rather obvious that Kitten Care 101 still need to be mastered.
Mommy is working online and I am patiently waiting for her to close the laptop and open her book. I like the book that she’s reading now, it makes her ponder quite a lot and she strokes my head while doing so. I’ll just go ahead and share it with our Friday Friends while I wait.

For our first stop, we will pay a visit to Gilion over at Rose City Reader to share our Book Beginnings.  Every Friday you can link up and share the first sentence of your current read (or the one you plan to devour over the weekend), as well as your initial thoughts and impressions. Hashtags are the one thing I do know on social media, so simply #bookbeginnings so we can find each other.

Mommy’s feature for today is a book that was recommended to her over 3 years ago. She bought it on her kindle and then it just laid there. Patiently waiting for the right time to be read. That’s a secret power that all books possess. There is a right time for them to be read, you won’t even know when they gently nudge you to be opened and turn to page 1.

 

Devil at My Heels by Louis Zamperini The inspirational and extraordinarymemoir of one of the most courageous of the greatest generation, Louis Zamperini: Olympian, WWII Japanese POW and survivor.

A juvenile delinquent, a world class NCAA miler, a 1936 Olympian, a WWII bombardier: Louis Zamperini had a fuller than most, when it changed in an instant. On May 27, 1943, his B–24 crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Louis and two other survivors found a raft amid the flaming wreckage and waited for rescue. Instead, they drifted two thousand miles for forty–seven days. Their only food: two shark livers and three raw albatross. Their only water: sporadic rainfall. Their only companions: hope and faith–and the ever–present sharks. On the forty–seventh day, mere skeletons close to death, Zamperini and pilot Russell Phillips spotted land–and were captured by the Japanese. Thus began more than two years of torture and humiliation as a prisoner of war.

A stirring memoir from one of the greatest of the “Greatest Generation,” DEVIL AT MY HEELS is a living document about the brutality of war, the tenacity of the human spirit, and the power of forgiveness. (Goodreads)
 
The book opens with a forward by Senator John McCain and I must just share the following quote from him:
“Like Louis Zamperini, I learned the truth in war: There are greater pursuits than self-seeking. Glory is not a conceit or a decoration for valor. It is not a prize for being the most clever, the strongest, or the boldest. Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself, to a cause, to your principles, to the people on whom you rely and who you rely on in return.”
 
Chapter 1, however, starts with the following line:
“I’ve always been called Lucky Louie.”

 

Next we will pay a visit to Freda over at Freda’s voice who hosts the Friday 56. Don’t show up empty handed though!

  • Grab a book (Yes, any book. But it might get you to your other Friday activities a bit quicker if you just grab the book you are currently reading)
  • Turn to page 56 or 56% on your e-reader
  • Find a sentence or two (your other Friday activities might determine this)
  • Post it!
  • Remember to post your link on Freda’s Voice and to visit the other guys in the linky.
  • And  last but not least, don’t forget to list the title of the book and the author as well.
Lets’ see what happens on page 56:
“”Thanks, but don’t worry about me,” I told Coach Nicholson. “I can take care of myself.” Or at least act like I could.”
 
Last week I told you about this new feature that I also want to try. As you know, I did it without Mommy even knowing and it didn’t turn out too bad! This week Mommy is luckily at home and she can help me!
 
Friday Face-off is a weekly feature where we share different book covers of the same title. The beautiful Lynn over at Lynn’s Books is our lovely host and she will determine the themes for every week’s covers. You can choose your own book. Today’s theme is:
 
Holding an object
 
This was nice an easy! What better object to hold than a book. Not that it should be called an object. Treasure or precious belongings or valuable artifact is way more appropriate. I could think of only one book where the girl holds a book in every cover. 
 
 

 

 

All the covers feature Matilda illustrated by Quentin Blake. Except the Bulgarian one. I think that is my favorite one. I love Matilda’s expression on that cover. I do hope that I also appear absolutely thrilled when holding a book! 
 

 

 

What do you think? Which cover do you like most?
Let us know what you will be reading this weekend.  Have you read any of our picks?
Have a wonderful weekend!
Lots of love,
Elza 
Share the Meows
RSS
Follow by Email
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
Instagram

24 responses to “Weekend Book Friends #3

  1. That comfy chair on your favourite cover looks like the perfect place for reading. Im also very partial to the cover on the bottom left – although all these covers do seem to 'scream' Roald Dahl don't they?
    Lynn 😀

  2. Great post, Mareli:)). Sorry that it is cold – it's your winter, isn't it? A hot water bottle filled with water at blood heat and covered with a towel that she can snuffle against might help. As for the Matilda covers – great choice! We clearly both thought books were the obvious object to be held:)). My favourite is the top right cover – it is one of the default images, but I am a real fan of Quentin Blake's illustrations. Have a lovely weekend and thank you for swinging by!

    • Hi Sarah! It's winter with us yes, at least this week has been better.

      Thanks for introducing me to Friday Face-off! It really is fun!

      Hope your week is going well.

    • Hi there Gilion! It is a great read. Reads very easily for a memoir as well. I think I'll finish this one and then rather watch the movie for Unbroken.

      Hope you will have a good weekend!

  3. Devil at My Heels sounds good. I've had Unbroken on my TBR for ages but I'd like to read his actual memoir first. We are at the opposite weather here as it is boiling outside. Almost 100 degrees F (36C) and almost 100% humidity. It feels like you have to push through the air to walk. Love all the Matilda covers! One of my favorite MG books.

    • Hi Katherine! Same here with Unbroken/Devil at my heels. Both have been on my TBR list and seeing that I still needed a "Z" author for my reading challenge, I decided on Devil at my heels. Good choice!

      When I was still blogging on Mareli Thalk ink, we used to stay in a town that was very, very hot in summer and winter temps were also only in the low 20's. So 3 years later, living at the coast, I'm still adapting!

      And Elza is small and white, she does get cold very easily so she can do the complaining for both of us.

      Hope your boy is doing good and that you are okay. Have a lovely weekend!

    • Hi there AJ! Don't worry, when the seasons change, we melt as well. Actually, I lie. We live in a small coastal town and it is only about one or two days of melting. The rest are quite pleasant!

      I've read Matilda recently again and it is still one of the best children's books. I am enjoying Devil at my heels, even though I "know" what will happen.

      Hope you will have a great weekend surrounded by some awesome books!

  4. Hi Mareli and Elza,

    I do have quite eclectic reading tastes, however I don't particularly enjoy fantasy or science fiction and I don't read memoirs or biographies. That means this probably isn't a book for me, although I really liked the John McCain quote you featured, so thanks for sharing that.

    I already take part in quite a few regular memes, but I'm going to stop by Lynn's Books and take a look at 'Friday Face-Off'. Your book choice was really good, who would have thought there would be quite so many different covers for the same title! My favourite has to be the same one that you chose, as it is so original and different to the others!

    The UK weather is very pleasant this weekend, although there will still be people complaining that it isn't hot enough for summer. This suits me just fine 🙂

    Yvonne
    xx

    • Hi Yvonne! I don't actually like memoirs or biographies either. I've only read about a hand full. This is only my second week on Friday Face-off and I still need to get the hang of it, but it will be great to see you there as well!

      People always complain about the weather. It's our fist topic of conversation and our first topic to complain about. LOL!!

      Hope you will enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by!

    • Yes! It's the same story. Devil at my heels is his memoir and Unbroken is a novel on his life by Laura Hillenbrand.

      Thanks for stopping by, hope you will have a good weekend!