"Alex And Me" by Irene Pepperberg

"Alex And me" by Irene Pepperberg is an amazing story about Alex, a gray parrot, and the woman who worked with him, Irene Pepperberg. As you read the story you forget that this is a parrot. He is not supposed to be learning and doing what he is doing. Also, the friendship between Alex and Irene is very touching. If you're looking for a nice short book to read, choose this one! A Remarkable Story (8 stars)

(Gerard's review 2/25/09)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

Teaser Tuesday: "Fragile" & "The Pelican Brief"

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought I would play for fun! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser. 

Gerard's:

Even when he hated his father--and sometimes he really, really did--there was still a part of him that waited like a puppy for a bone.  Anything--a smile, a pat on the shoulder.  Anything.

From p. 57 of Fragile by Lisa Unger.

Karen's:

In two hundred and twenty years, we've assassinated four Presidents, two or three candidates, a handful of civil rights leaders, couple of governors, but never a Supreme Court Justice.  And now, in one night, within two hours, two are assassinated.

From p. 39 of The Pelican Brief by John Grisham.

"Room" by Emma Donoghue--A Must Read For Moms

Imagine being five years old and knowing only one room your whole life with just your mom, a TV and books.  That’s the situation Jack is in in Room by Emma Donoghue.  I loved Jack!  This book is very interesting and very funny too.  Ma is really good also, but Jack steals the show.  I liked the ending too!  Enjoy!.
(Gerard's review)

Room by Emma Donoghue is an unusual story about the love between a mother and child. It is told Jack when he is five. His mother was abducted at 19 and has been kept locked up in a one-room shed for seven years. She was raped by her kidnapper, Old Nick, and had Jack. The only world Jack knew was the one room for the first five years of his life until one day, Ma felt he was old enough to help them escape. The mother's main focus was to keep Jack safe from Old Nick.

I enjoyed all the things the mother did with Jack every day. They had a TV and a few books for entertainment. They never got outside until they tricked Old Nick. Jack was a hero and the rest of the book was about Jack learning about real life outside of the room and his mother readjusting to living again. I think the mother did an amazing job with Jack under the circumstances. I liked that it has a happy ending and think any mother would enjoy this book.
(Karen's Review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

Related Posts:  Life With Books reviewed ROOM too and thought it was great.
For a different view, see Parchment Girl's review--she did not like Ma or Jack!

We're It--Been Tagged by Coffee N Crackers

This is a fun simple tag meme and since we were tagged by one of our regular commenters, CJ'Alhafiz at Coffee N Crackers, we decided to participate and go head and answer these questions.  We're even going to follow the rules this time and tag four others!

The Rules

1) Accept the tag and link to the tagger at the beginning of your post.
2) Answer the questions honestly in your post by listing four things.
3) Pass on the love by picking four other people to tag and listing them at the bottom of your post. Notify them that you tagged them.

4 things that are in my handbag or backpack or briefcase

Karen Says:

1--Checkbook.

2--Change Purse with my bus tickets and some change.

3--New Testament.

4--Cough drops in case someone starts coughing on the bus.

 Related post:  "Look What's In My Purse"

Gerard Says:

1--Book currently reading.

2--Sandwich.

3--Cookies.

4--Fruit.

4 favorite things in my bedroom

Karen & Gerard say:

1--Abby, our dog (she sleeps in there every night with us)

2--Bed

3--Poster of Gerard and Abby

4--Poster of Gerard and Moe (our first cat)

4 Things on My Desk

Gerard says:

1--Book rack that Karen's dad made to sit on a desk or table.

2--Husky dog pen/pencil holder with pens.

3--Phone.

4--Framed picture of us with Abby wearing her graduation cap when completing intermediate dog training at PetSmart.

Karen says:  Which one?  I have 3 desks--two at home and one at work.

Guess I'll do my computer desk at home where I blog:

1--Giraffe noteholder.

2--Golf bag pen/pencil holder.

3--Notebook for jotting down things blogging related.

4--Clock and timer (I know that is two things, but they are both to keep me aware of the time and remind me to get off the computer!)

4 Things I've Always Wanted To Do (but haven't yet)

Karen says:  

1--Try to hit a baseball thrown by a major league pitcher. (Yes, this is Karen.)

2--Volunteer at an animal shelter.

3--Bowl a 300 game.  The closest I ever came to it was 234. 

4--Retire!


Gerard says:
1--Go to a Ohio State football game.
2--Go to Fenway Park to see a Red Sox game.
3--Go see the New England Patriots play.
4--Retire!

4 Things I Enjoy Very Much At The Moment
Karen says:
1--Relaxing at home petting my cats and dog.
2--Blogging.
3--Watching football with Gerard.
4--Reading.

Gerard says:
1--Planting our new mum plant.
2--Watching football.
3--Walking Abby.
4--Petting Abby.

4 Songs I Can't Get Out Of My Head
Karen says:
1--"When We All Get To Heaven"
2--"It's Such A Pretty World"
3--"How Majestic Is Your Name"
4--That's really all I have.

Gerard Says:
Don't have any.

4 Things You Don't Know About Me
Karen says:
1--I had my first gray hair when I was in first grade.
2--I hate politics because it's so frustrating not knowing who to vote for.  Especially this coming election, it seems all the candidates to is criticize their opponents.
3--I am a morning person, always up by 5 a.m., even on the weekends.
4--I didn't like school very much.

Gerard Says:
1--I like to wear footies to bed on cold nights.
2--I like listening to sports talk on the radio.
3--I never went to college but still like to watch college basketball and football.
4--My favorite sport is hockey.

4 Bloggers I am Tagging
1--Kate at The Parchment Girl
2--Bloggin' 'bout Books
3--4 The Love Of books
4--Just One More Paragraph

        

"Armed With God's Power--Changing Brokeness To Victory Through God's Love" by Nora White

Armed With God's Power--Changing Brokenness to Victory Through God's Love by Nora White is about how God helped Nora through very difficult situations in her life including, depression, divorce, domestic violence, and losing a husband to cancer. She tells an amazing story of how God spoke to her and brought her through some terrible times.

I couldn't put this one down because I was anxious to see what happened next.  It certainly gives hope to anyone in similar situations. She is an example of a woman with great faith. I would recommend this book to any woman.


Nora White attends our church and is actively involved in leading women's Bible studies, does counseling and is founder of Healing Hearts Ministries.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?