The Oregon Book Report - Book News from Oregon

Favorite Book Winner — History Category

Heidi Cox, Beaverton Oregon
Author of Just Moms: Conveying justice in an unjust world

“Favorite Book” Writing Contest Winner. $50.00 History/Biography Category Prize.
- Check in every Tuesday & Thursday for the next winners!

Bonhoeffer:  Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
By Eric Metaxes

Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived each day of his short life with indefatigable passion and purpose. Living before and during the years of World War II in Germany, he was one of the lone prophetic voices warning the German Church of the perils that lay ahead. Few listened. Even fewer believed.

With those who stood with him, Bonhoeffer formed a coalition of like-minded Christians, re-naming them The Confessing Church.  Through one of the darkest times in history, Dietrich was dedicated to preserving the church, and living out his faith, as Christ had mandated it. Yet out of this purpose emerged an equally important goal: Working with a small web of brave men and women who sacrificed everything to bring an end to Adolf Hitler.

Metaxes brilliantly melds these dual-tracts of Bonhoeffer’s pursuits in a riveting account of Bonhoeffer the pastor, and Bonhoeffer the spy. Knowing that he also becomes a martyr tinges each page with a melancholy reality that this young hero only reached age 38. 

Favorite Book Contest Winner (Wild Card Category)

Book reviewed by Lynn Leissler
Eagle Point

“Favorite Book” Writing Contest Winner. $50.00 Wild Card Category Prize.
- Check in every Tuesday & Thursday for the next winners!

Book Reviewed: The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman

No matter how just a war may be, its ramifications send ever-widening ripples through people, situations and time. In M. L. Stedman’s debut novel, The Light Between Oceans, Australian Tom Sherbourne carries scars from having done things in war he wants to forget, but cannot. The demons rise to haunt his dreams and taint his daylight musings. When World War I ends, he seeks distance from the battlefields, ready for time to do its healing work. Keeping a lighthouse seems a good plan.

The Janus Lighthouse, which sits at the crossroads of the Indian and the Southern Oceans, derives its name from the two-faced Roman god whose one face looked at what was, while the other peered into what-will-be. The symbolism plays throughout the book. Tom flees a hard childhood and horrific war memories for a bright future with Isabelle, his new wife. Isabelle, barely out of her teens, leaves behind life on the mainland for a happy-ever-after existence with this man she loves deeply and the children they will have. But as crashing waves erode the rocky shore, so two miscarriages and one stillbirth eat at Isabelle’s heart and hope.

Women’s Report is now Oregon Book Report

Women’s Report is now Book Report!

When we started Women’s Report five years ago we had no idea that our biggest fans would be writers & booklovers. We also did not know that these Oregon writers shared a giant common problem. Publishers told them that their books would go nowhere unless they had a way to promote them online.

Women’s Report saw this as an once-in-a-lifetime chance to help Oregon women make their dreams come true.

So we’re refocusing our efforts on a book review site where we mix timely national book reviews with local books reviews to boost local authors.

We kick-off Tuesday Dec 3rd with the first of our six book review prize winners. We have invested $300 into local women writers for this contest (making us one of the largest writing contest prize awarders in the NW).

Unbroken: Best book of 2012

By Rebekah Schneiter,
Out Numbered Blog

Unbroken, is by far the best book I’ve read all year, if not in the last few years. I want to see this title at the top of the New York Times Best Seller List as a way that we as a country and people extend our thanks to those men who were POW’s in the Pacific during WWII. It is also a way for us to show our gratitude to an author for making sure this story of dignity, survival, and forgiveness was not lost in the passing of time.

The story is centered around Olympic runner Louis Zamperini whose plane went down in the Pacific during WWII. He and his companion Phillip survive a record 46 days in the ocean only to be captured by the Japanese and tortured for YEARS, until the end of the war. The details are horrific, amazing, gripping, and astounding. But it was the themes and the life lessons that we all can learn from this story that made this book worth passing on and buying for others.

Scary books for elementary kids

Ms. Nancy’s Library Blog

Boooooooooy howdy, do I wish the Goosebumps series had never been created. In my first library (at a school with students grades 6-12), I had a few Goosebumps books, and a number of Goosebumps videotapes. What? Moving along to library #2 (K-8th grade students). The students fought over the Goosebumps books and things turned a little horror show-ish. (“Mine!” “No, mine!” riiiiip went the pages.) It was sort of a Goosebumps story come to life.

How to pick the perfect book

by Erika Weisensee
Book Lover

Take it from an avid reader and member of two book clubs, there are a lot of great books out there. When I turn the last page and read the last words of a really good book, I am always sad that the experience is over. On the flip side, it is really disappointing to commit your time to a book that drones on—a book that by page 50 makes you wonder, “Why am I reading this? Will it get any better?”

So how do you choose a great book? Well, it’s easier than you think, but don’t just rely on best sellers lists and book reviews. Here are some ideas for finding literary magic:

5 truly hideous Thanksgiving desserts

Winter design for looks, warmth

by Julie Nolta
Julie Nolta Design

COZY UP TO WINTER

The cold and rainy season is upon us again, and we find ourselves spending much more time indoors. At the end of a long day, we want to come home to a warm and safe haven from the bluster outside. If your place doesn’t feel as snug and welcoming as you’d like, here are a few things to try this fall and winter:

Throw on a sweater: Add a soft throw and pillows with fuzzy, sweater-like textures to your bed or sofa for a spot of color and some instant coziness. Replace your cotton sheets with flannel or jersey knit bedding. Keep your toes off the cold floor with an area rug. Whether or not you have carpet, a rug can add texture and visual warmth to the room. Pick one in deep, rich colors to help banish the “drabs” of winter.

Turn on the light: Bring in decorative candles in your favorite scent and an extra lamp or two to lighten up the room and enhance your mood.

Choosing online shopping over Black Friday

by Shannon Ables
Portland writer
The Simply Luxurious Life

The big shopping weekend of the year is nearly upon us, and with more than 140 million shoppers expected to shop online for Black Friday through Cyber Monday deals, I wanted to share a few tips for taking advantage of the benefits of online shopping whether it’s during the holidays or throughout the year.

Personally, as someone who lives in rural Oregon, online shopping is a life-saver. While I would prefer to shop in person for many items from clothing to decor, when this option isn’t available, shopping online can work just as easily, and often better. Let me explain:

Benefits of Shopping Online:

1. Endless Options – often online shops have more selection than what is found in stores which enables you to get exactly what you want in the proper size, color or style that you desire.

2. Buyers’ Market – with the endless options, you can compare prices and make sure you are getting the best deal on the precise item you want.