52 Books in 52 Weeks

 The last book of the year. Wow. I set a goal to read 30 books this year and I exceeded that goal by 3! The last book for 2013 was a last minute choice spurred on by the release of the movie The Book Thief. The Book Thief takes place during WWII in  Nazi Germany and is narrated by the character "Death". I wasn't sure at first if I was too keen on the idea of reading something narrated by "Death" but it was not creepy at all, in fact, I quickly forgot that was the narrators character and given the books theme it was very appropriate. The book centers on the life of a young German girl, Liesel, who is brought to the home of Hans and Rosa Huberman in the small town of Molching, after her mother becomes sick. On the way there, her brother dies on the train and is buried in a town along the way. That is where Liesel steals her first book, even though she cannot read. She is taught to read by her foster father and the book describes the events of the small town and how a young Jewish man comes to be hidden in the Huberman's home. The Huberman's obviously do not hold the same view as Nazi party and only time will tell if they will pay for their unpopular beliefs. There are parts of the book that are very touching, as we see the relationships form between neighbors during the time of war but there are also parts of the book that describe events not suitable for young impressionable youth. Overall, I did enjoy the book. It was written from an interesting perspective and brought out the point that, at first, Hitler didn't start his campaign to conquer the world with the force of weapons but through the use of words in a book. The power of the written word, a very interesting thought to ponder.