Buy some ‘War Bonds’ tonight in Coeur d’Alene

Above: Readers crowded into Auntie's Bookstore on Feb. 22 to hear Cindy Hval read from her nonfiction book "War Bonds: Love Stories From the Greatest Generation."

When she gave her first reading at Auntie's Bookstore on Feb. 22, author Cindy Hval entertained a standing-room only crowd. That's what the local reaction has been to Hval's nonfiction book "War Bonds: Love Stories From the Greatest Generation."

So, if you're planning on attending Hval's reading tonight, to be held at 7 at the Coeur d'Alene Library, you might want to get there a bit early. Seating could be a little tight.

What's been the reaction to the book outside the author's personal appearances? Well, the book website Goodreads gives "War Bonds" a 4.7 rating (out of 5). "I'm a sucker for a good love story," a reader named Terry wrote.

Another reader, Beth Bollinger, echoed those sentiments: "I spent the majority of the time with tears in my eyes, imagining this or that. It takes a true storyteller to create that kind of connection. Cindy Hval is that kind of storyteller."

All of which reinforces this comment from a critic writing in Publisher's Weekly: "Hval's journalistic style restrains the potential sentimentality, which won't prevent these glimpses of love in the face of war from winning over romantics everywhere."

Anyway, plan on attending the reading. Buy the book yourself. And as I always preach, read it and make up your own mind. It'd probably be a good idea, though, to keep some hankies handy.