Today's post is all about reading

Book I plan to read next

Out of the Shoebox ~ by Yaron Reshef, 2014, memoir (Ukraine), 266 pages

Out of the Shoebox is a fascinating journal that reads like a detective story, comes across as an imaginative quest into the past, yet is the true personal story of the writer, Yaron Reshef.  An unexpected phone call hurls Reshef into an intensive two-year journey, during which he has to solve a mystery that took shape in the 1930s and gradually unfolded in the present.  A mysterious lot, a forgotten bank account, a people long gone (along with their memory) – obliterated during the Holocaust.  All of these rise to the surface, bearing with them memories and emotions previously hidden away in the shoebox.

The author says, "I had no intention of writing a book.  I had no need to write a story in general, nor a story about my family and the Holocaust in particular.  But life being what it is, sometimes things happen in mysterious, even surprising ways.  Stuff that used to take center stage moves to the background, and background stuff moves downstage and center.  That’s what happened in my case."

From an Amazon comment:  "Just one top tip for readers, whilst reading on kindle, there is a family friends list at the back of this book that helps you keep track and cross reference the family tree.  This is a great addition to the book where lots of characters are involved."

Book I'm reading now for the Big Book Summer Challenge

Last Train to Istanbul ~ by Ayse Kulin, 2002, historical fiction (France and Turkey), 417 pages

Turkish diplomats hatch a plan to spirit the Alfandaris and hundreds of innocents, many of whom are Jewish, to safety from the Nazis.

Quote:  "It was inevitable that Fazil Reşat Paşa would hear about it [hear about his daughter's love for a Jewish man], and when he did, he was furious.  The paşa confronted his daughter" (page 43).

I looked up "paşa" (which is Turkish for "pasha") and found that it's the title of a man of high rank or office in the Ottoman Empire and North Africa.  It was the highest official title of honor in the Ottoman Empire and was always used with a proper name, which it followed.

UPDATE:  Yay!!!  I finished all 417 pages on the last day of August 2022, so I feel great about my reading (even though I rated the book only 4 of 10, which I define as "Struggled to finish, but not worth it").  Too bad, since it had such great potential.  I was an editor of two in-house publications once upon a time, and I could see how it could have been tightened up and made to feel less plodding ... through day by day ... and hour by hour ... and thought by thought.  But I did accomplish my goal.  So hurray for me!!!

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.