Happy Memorial Day!

While I look forward to Memorial Day because it’s a weekend of friends and family as well as the kickoff of a weeklong vacation with my family, that in no way lessens the true meaning of the day for me. I have the honor of knowing many people who have served in various branches of the United States military, and while I have been fortunate enough to have never lost a loved one while they served, I know I cannot say the same for each of those same people that I know, and I cannot say the same for each person who may be reading this. Enough praise can never be given to those who risk their lives for the good of our country and our people, and not all of the words in the world could ever act as tribute to those who have lost their lives for us. I hope everyone takes time today to reflect. Never forget those who have sacrificed themselves for you, whether you knew them or not. Be thankful for all that has been done for you. Hug a solider or a veteran and tell them how awesome they are!

Now, to lighten things up a little bit…

History, war, and the military in general have always been fascinating to me. History classes were always my favorite classes, and when I was younger I wanted to join the ROTC, but my Mom cried when I told her, so I didn’t. Anyways, I love visiting historical sites when I travel, and I love reading about history and the military and war. So, below are two of my favorite books with a military theme (and these are drastically different from each other):

RITES OF PASSAGE by Joy N. Hensley – This book follows Sam, who grew up a military brat, as she becomes part of the first class of girls at the Denmark Military Academy. She’s expecting it to be hard work, but she isn’t expecting the hostility that she gets from some of the male soldiers who don’t think girls should have anything to do with their school. In addition to offering insight into the military academy experience (which I so desperately wanted for myself!), this book also offers tons of female solider badassness!
NO EASY DAY by Mark Owen and Kevin Maurer – Unless you somehow avoided all contact with the outside world for a while, then you know who Osama bin Laden is, and you know the general story of his eventual capture at the hands of U.S. soldiers. This book is an account from one of the Navy Seals who was part of the raid party that captured him, and offers details into everything that went into the capture. I love reading about real life military missions, and this one is totally addictive and impossible to put down!

Here are two books that also have a military theme that are on my TBR list, and I’m hoping to get to them soon (again, pretty different from each other):

FRONT LINES by Michael Grant – This is a young adult fiction that takes place during World War II. After a court decision to allow females to fight, this story follows three of those female soldiers as they fight against the Nazis. How awesome does that sound? Totally awesome to me! Again with the female solider badassness, and I’m really intrigued by this alternate WW2 universe that the author created. This is also a series, though not much information about the other book(s) in the series have been released.
I AM A SOLIDER, TOO by Rick Bragg – Okay, so I’ve seriously been slacking on reading this. It’s been published forever and has been on my TBR list for just as long, so I really need to get my crap together and get this read! Anyways… this book details the story of Jessica Lynch, who was captured during the Iraq war. The author worked with Lynch to get the true story in her words, and that what this book is, a true telling of Jessica’s life leading up to the military, her capture, and her rescue.

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