Mar 13, 2016

Sunday Salon: War Movie and War Novels

Welcome to the Sunday Salon where bloggers share their reading each week. Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer.
Also visit Mailbox Monday, and It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Book Date. 


We saw the Tina Fey movie, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, last night, about an American journalist who signs up to become a photo journalist in Afghanistan. The Urban Dictionary says Whiskey Tango Foxtrot stands for WTF in military language!
The movie gave me a good look at some of the risks, temptations, rivalries, and on-the-edge lives war journalists face on site. It's also a comedy so the facts came with some laughs. The original title of the book by Kim Barker was The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan. 

The movie also gave me some visual prep to tackle Cambodia Noir head on, a thriller about a photographer who has seen action during the war in Cambodia and who lives on in the war-shattered country trying to score new news on the political or social scene.


 I finished yesterday a library book that I read after recommendations by several bloggers: The Light Between Oceanspublished 2013 by Scribner. It 's about a lighthouse couple in Australia who find a baby girl ship wrecked or boat wrecked on their beach and who decide to keep her as their own. I will post a brief review next week.

Two new books came in last week for review/feature, thanks to Harper Collins:




It has been a while since I've read a biography, so this galley came as a pleasant surprise. The Last Goodnight: a World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure & Betrayal by Howard Blum, described as "biography of Betty Pack, the dazzling American debutante who became an Allied spy during WWII and was hailed by OSS chief General “Wild Bill" Donovan as “the greatest unsung heroine of the war.” 



A romantic comedy, advance readers edition,  also arrived for lighter reading:


The Decent Proposal by Kemper Donovan is described as a "debut romantic comedy, drama, and mystery rolled into one, about two very different strangers whose lives become intertwined when they receive an unusual proposition." 

The proposition is: meet for at least two hours every week for an entire year and then share a million dollars reward from an anonymous benefactor. I am thinking the ending is probably predictable, but the journey might be fun to read about.

Books in my Library Bag include:
The Strangler Vine by M. J. Carter, an historical thriller set in India
Thin Air by Ann Cleeves, a police procedural set in the Shetland islands.

What goodies do you have on the book shelves this week? 

14 comments:

  1. The Last Goodnight sounds like a book I'd really like. I love that part of Julia Child's biographies although the details are often tantalizingly few.

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  2. Loved The Light Between Oceans -- and I just heard it's being made into a movie. The Last Goodnight sounds great. I've read and enjoyed other books by Howard Blum.

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  3. I had no idea that Whiskey Tango Foxtrot was code... thanks for doing the research!

    I've had The Light Between Oceans on my TBR since it was first released. I hope to read it soon. I look forward to reading your review.

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  4. I think I might enjoy Whiskey Tango Foxtrot the movie and the book. I just saw the book with the new cover in B & N this week when I was there and having Tina Fey on the cover caught my eye, of course, but being a true story pulled me in. Thanks!

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  5. I've been meaning to read The Light Between Oceans, but I keep getting the title mixed up with others, like The Ocean at the End of the Lane...which I tried to read, and didn't like.

    So...writing the title down for my confused mind...LOL.

    I've been pondering the Tina Fey movie...I usually hesitate, because sometimes her movies are silly...but then I enjoy them once I'm into them.

    Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES


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  6. WTF seems like a great movie. I'm not really a war movie kind of girl, but it looks like Tina Fey makes it worth seeing. I guess the book has light moments in it too. I'd be curious how people enjoyed the book.

    Our reading group read The Light Between Oceans and everyone enjoyed it. Made for a good discussion too!

    Have a great week!

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  7. My wife read and really liked The Light Between Oceans. I am looking forward to your commentary on it.

    The Last Goodnight looks really good. I would like to read it.

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  8. I love a good biography so The Last Goodnight looks good to me. I hope you love it.

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  9. The Last Goodnight looks good...all of your books look good.

    ENJOY this new reading week.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Mailbox Monday

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  10. The Light Between Oceans intrigues me the most of these. I hope you enjoy your books!


    My It's Monday! What Are You Reading? post.

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  11. I've been seeing Whiskey Tango Foxtrot around and it confuses me every time b/c there was a debut novel w/ the same title out a few years ago! By David Shafer.

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    Replies
    1. Sarah, the original title of the book was The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan, published in 2011 by Kim Barker. They changed the name for the movie.

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  12. The Decent Proposal sounds intriguing. Yeah, the ending might be predictable, but sometimes the rest of the book makes up for it.

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  13. Last Goodnight sounds great! Happy reading

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