What We're Reading: Cathy

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Edie's favorite book as a child was "The True History of the Mud Man." It was written by Raymond Blythe who lived in Milderhurst Castle. His 3 elderly and reclusive daughters still live there. Then, by chance, Edie finds out that her mother was evacuated to the castle during WWII. Her mother can even recite the poems that Blythe wrote ..."the ancient walls that sing the distant hours." The place draws her and she makes an impulsive visit to the castle. She meets the daughters: Persephony and Seraphina, who are twins, and Juniper, who has lost her mind. Edie searches for the inspiration behind the famous book and also the mysteries surrounding the sisters' lives. She also finds that her mother isn't really the sort of person she'd always thought. Disappearances, murder, madness, war, guilt, fires - all play their part in the family's history. Oh, and of course, there are ghosts.

What We're Reading: Abby

Unbroken: A World War II story of survival, resilience and redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.

This is the incredible, true story of my new hero, Louis Zamperini. Louie was a kid heading down the wrong path when his brother got him interested in running in high school. He was such a good runner that he qualififed for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It was not outside the realm of possibility that Louis might have broken the four minute mile had World War II not happened. But when the war started Louie joined the Army Air Corps and became a bombadier. After many successful missions Louie's plane was shot down somewhere over the Pacific in May 1943. Only Louie and two others survived. For the next 47 days these men battled starvation as well as the elements and very aggressive sharks, day after day, until they finally hit land. Thinking that their ordeal was over they soon discovered that their trials and challenges were only beginning. They were now in Japanese POW camps where they were relentlessly tortured and starved for more than two years. It is impossible to imagine how he could survive all of that but his story is quite a testament to his amazing resilience. There are many times when he comes close to breaking but he never does.