Letters and Journal Entries

Discuss the April Book of the Month Shot Down by Steve Snyder.
User avatar
Heidi M Simone
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 7054
Joined: 17 Jul 2015, 20:19
Favorite Book: Harry Potter
Currently Reading: Beyond the Wand
Bookshelf Size: 556
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-heidi-m-simone.html
Latest Review: The Movie Chair by Shari Borkin
Publishing Contest Votes: 27
fav_author_id: 0

Letters and Journal Entries

Post by Heidi M Simone »

Throughout Synder's book, he includes letters and journal entries to help him develop his book.

How do you feel about the letters/journal entries being included? Do you feel the letters and journal entries added to his book? Would you rather him tell the story in another fashion? Did he include too many letters and journal entries or would you rather have more?
Heidi
Official Reviewer Representative

"There is nothing as powerful as a mother’s love, and nothing as healing as a child’s soul." – Unknown
Lulubelle
Posts: 17
Joined: 12 Mar 2016, 13:34
Currently Reading: The Moth Diaries
Bookshelf Size: 7

Post by Lulubelle »

I enjoyed the letters and journal entries overall, but I found some of the ones written to his wife alluding to their sex life too private to be included.
User avatar
Heidi M Simone
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 7054
Joined: 17 Jul 2015, 20:19
Favorite Book: Harry Potter
Currently Reading: Beyond the Wand
Bookshelf Size: 556
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-heidi-m-simone.html
Latest Review: The Movie Chair by Shari Borkin
Publishing Contest Votes: 27
fav_author_id: 0

Post by Heidi M Simone »

Reading the letters and the journal entries were my favorite parts to read. I liked how it adds a personal touch to the book. I read this a little while back, and I don't actually remember the ones to his wife alluding to their sex life. It is a bit private, but it's good to know that the husbands and wives try to keep up the romance up while being separated.
Heidi
Official Reviewer Representative

"There is nothing as powerful as a mother’s love, and nothing as healing as a child’s soul." – Unknown
User avatar
Scott
Site Admin
Posts: 4065
Joined: 31 Jul 2006, 23:00
Favorite Author: Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
Currently Reading: The Unbound Soul
Bookshelf Size: 340
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-scott.html
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Publishing Contest Votes: 960
fav_author_id: 248825

Post by Scott »

I like it. I think it made the book different.

This book read often like a historical fiction book in that it was dramatic and enjoyable, but the inclusion the actual documents helps ensure it is indeed a true story.
"That virtue we appreciate is as much ours as another's. We see so much only as we possess." - Henry David Thoreau

"Non ignara mali miseris succurrere disco." Virgil, The Aeneid
User avatar
gali
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 53652
Joined: 22 Oct 2013, 07:12
Favorite Author: Agatha Christie
Currently Reading: The Suite Life
Bookshelf Size: 2287
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-gali.html
Reading Device: B00I15SB16
Publishing Contest Votes: 0
fav_author_id: 2484

Post by gali »

They were my favorite parts as well, and they added some spice to the account.

There was one letter alluding to their sex life, but I wasn't bothered by it.
A retired Admin/Mod

Pronouns: She/Her

"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." (Mortimer J. Adler)
User avatar
Kia
Posts: 351
Joined: 19 Feb 2016, 17:40
Currently Reading: Damaged Goods
Bookshelf Size: 46
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kia.html
Latest Review: Wheel of Katarnum by James Calliotte
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU

Post by Kia »

I think the way this book was written was absolutely genius. I love historical fiction, but I don't like how in most novels it isn't necessarily clear which parts are historically accurate and which parts are fiction. I also enjoy reading non fiction history, but that does tend to get dull after a while. This was the perfect combination of the two: exciting all the way through, but 100% historically accurate. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The letters made the whole thing seem so much more real to me. Like, history to me has always just been a story. While I know that it actually happened, I have a hard time computing that. The letters and first hand accounts really sunk it in for me.
"Yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it you can either run from it, or learn from it."- Rafiki
User avatar
Shelle
Posts: 306
Joined: 26 Jan 2016, 14:52
Currently Reading: For the Love
Bookshelf Size: 57
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-shelle.html
Latest Review: A Positive Thought a Day Keeps the Negative Away by Dr. Curtis E. Smith
Reading Device: B00I15SB16

Post by Shelle »

I think it was a great way to advance the story and let us peek into some of the more private and personal aspects of their lives. I'm really glad they were included and think they make the story even more real.
A book is a gift you can open again and again.
-Garrison Keillor
User avatar
MatthewAlexander
Posts: 234
Joined: 23 Apr 2014, 15:59
Currently Reading: It's Kind of a Funny Story
Bookshelf Size: 21
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-matthewalexander.html
Latest Review: "Jump" by Michel Sauret

Post by MatthewAlexander »

I think the letters and journal entries added something personal that would've been missing otherwise, and I think without them the book may have gotten a bit dull. I don't think there were too many of them; I think they kept the story going instead of it getting bogged down in just the history of it all. They were my favorite part of this book.
Latest Review: "Jump" by Michel Sauret
User avatar
kio
Posts: 778
Joined: 17 Apr 2014, 21:52
Favorite Author: Janet Evanovich
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... vermore</a>
Bookshelf Size: 532
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kio.html
Latest Review: "A Twist of Fate" by Mark W. Johnson
Reading Device: 1400697484
fav_author_id: 2658

Post by kio »

hsimone wrote:Throughout Synder's book, he includes letters and journal entries to help him develop his book.

How do you feel about the letters/journal entries being included? Do you feel the letters and journal entries added to his book? Would you rather him tell the story in another fashion? Did he include too many letters and journal entries or would you rather have more?
For me, the journal entries and letter made it feel more personal, more "hits home" type material. I would've liked a little more balance between the regular style writing and the letters, but I think this may have made it seem less brought to life. I think some articles would've been cool, but I'm not sure where they would've been added.
"Books are unique portable magic."-Stephen King
Latest Review: "A Twist of Fate" by Mark W. Johnson
User avatar
abithacker
Posts: 52
Joined: 05 Mar 2016, 12:47
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 38
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-abithacker.html
Latest Review: The McCoys Before The Feud by Thomas McCoy

Post by abithacker »

I liked the addition of Snyder's journals. Snyder was an excellent writer, and the inserts of the journals add a very real and personal touch to the story. The journals really moved the story and gave insight to what the soldiers were feeling as they experienced training and combat. I would have liked more journals in the book since they really gave a connection to Snyder and his crew.
"Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think" ~Albert Einstein
User avatar
stoppoppingtheP
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 902
Joined: 14 May 2014, 09:59
Favorite Author: Adriana Trigiani
Favorite Book: The Hand of Fatima
Currently Reading: High Low In-Between
Bookshelf Size: 162
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-stoppoppingthep.html
Latest Review: If I Only Knew by Kim Simmons
fav_author_id: 8071

Post by stoppoppingtheP »

Kia wrote:I think the way this book was written was absolutely genius. I love historical fiction, but I don't like how in most novels it isn't necessarily clear which parts are historically accurate and which parts are fiction. I also enjoy reading non fiction history, but that does tend to get dull after a while. This was the perfect combination of the two: exciting all the way through, but 100% historically accurate. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The letters made the whole thing seem so much more real to me. Like, history to me has always just been a story. While I know that it actually happened, I have a hard time computing that. The letters and first hand accounts really sunk it in for me.
This is a brilliant way to describe it. I also love historical fiction, yet I find many Non-fiction books quite boring to read. This was a brilliant marriage of the two genres. Interesting to read, yet true as well.

I also found the letters to be a great addition to the book, adding that authenticity and richness.

“there have been so many times
i have seen a man wanting to weep
but
instead
beat his heart until it was unconscious.

-masculine”


― Nayyirah Waheed
User avatar
bookowlie
Special Discussion Leader
Posts: 9071
Joined: 25 Oct 2014, 09:52
Favorite Book: The Lost Continent
Currently Reading: The Night She Went Missing
Bookshelf Size: 442
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-bookowlie.html
Latest Review: To Paint A Murder by E. J. Gandolfo

Post by bookowlie »

I have only read about 1/3 of the book so far, but I think the letters make the story more personalized. I agree with the others who said that the historical information would have otherwise been a little tedious to read as an entire book. The letters and journal entries made the history comes alive for me.
"The best way out is always through" - Robert Frost
User avatar
babika1962
Posts: 30
Joined: 03 Nov 2015, 08:24
Bookshelf Size: 14
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-babika1962.html
Latest Review: "Eros of the Senses" by Ada Ardor

Post by babika1962 »

It made the book not only different but also a little bit more intimate.
Latest Review: "Eros of the Senses" by Ada Ardor
User avatar
bookowlie
Special Discussion Leader
Posts: 9071
Joined: 25 Oct 2014, 09:52
Favorite Book: The Lost Continent
Currently Reading: The Night She Went Missing
Bookshelf Size: 442
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-bookowlie.html
Latest Review: To Paint A Murder by E. J. Gandolfo

Post by bookowlie »

MatthewAlexander wrote:I think the letters and journal entries added something personal that would've been missing otherwise, and I think without them the book may have gotten a bit dull. I don't think there were too many of them; I think they kept the story going instead of it getting bogged down in just the history of it all. They were my favorite part of this book.
I totally agree. I actually thought there should have been more letters and journal entries since some sections got a little draggy with too many historical details.
"The best way out is always through" - Robert Frost
User avatar
Veda
Posts: 21
Joined: 26 Apr 2016, 11:56
Bookshelf Size: 14
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-veda.html
Latest Review: "Antique Mirror" by D.F.Jones

Post by Veda »

babika1962 wrote:It made the book not only different but also a little bit more intimate.
I agree. Usually these types of books tend to be really dry and factual and the author manages to balance that with his exceptional writing style.
Latest Review: "Antique Mirror" by D.F.Jones
Post Reply

Return to “"Shot Down" by Steve Snyder”