meg reads and reads

Title: The Radium Girls Author: Kate Moore If you are looking to try reading more non-fiction, The Radium Girls by Kate Moore is a compelling choice. It is certainly not the most joyful subject, but it is an incredibly interesting and frequently enraging account of a dark chapter in American industrial history. Moore utilizes original interviews, diaries, letters, and court accounts to reconstruct the lives of working-class women hired to paint luminous watch dials for the military. These women were taught to use their lips to point their brushes, effectively swallowing radium with every stroke. Even those who didn't use the lip-pointing method were coated in radioactive dust that they inadvertently carried home to their families at the end of every day. The physical descriptions of the radiation poisoning are harrowing. The narrative tracks a progression of horror where a woman's jaw literally falling apart is only the beginning of the tragedy. The book details a litany of suf...

Title: Hidden Star Author: Nora Roberts This is the first book by Nora Roberts I have ever read. Before reading any of her books, I had lumped her into the "grocery store trash" genre. I am happy to report that I was completely correct in this assumption. This book is absolute garbage. The writing is lazy, and there is so much sleaze. Normally when you read trashy books, there is some humor to kind of keep you engaged, but not here. Nope. Nothing. In all fairness, the main plot is okay. But it takes you about 75% of the book to get there. If this hadn't been such a quick and easy read, there is no way I would have been able to make it that far into the book without anything actually happening. So...yeah. 2 out of 5 stars. ------------- READING PROGRESS: The Night Trade by Barry Eisler: 60% Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: 10% The Waste Lands by Stephen King: 51% Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon: 68% Drinking and Dating by Brandi Glanvil...

Title: The Ragged Edge of Night Author: Olivia Hawker This is the touching true story of Josef Anton Starzmann, and it was a great read. Growing up in America, when we learn about World War II, we basically hear that Germany was bad, and Hitler was charismatic enough to dupe his entire country into believing his vile propaganda. Well, this book shows that that was not necessarily the case. While it was true that Hitler had many supporters, there were several different forms of resistance going on among German citizens, even among the clergy. It's a fascinating perspective, and I'm really glad I read it. If you like history, this is definitely a great book to read. I give this one four out of five stars.