Tuesday Teaser: "The Power Of Half" and "Half A Life"

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 and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser. 

We have two non-fiction teasers for you today:
Karen's:

She started talking slowly, thinking as she went.  "Dad," she began, "if that man"--she pointed to the Mercedes--"had a less nice car, that man there"--she pointed to the homeless man--"could have a meal."

Taken from p. 24 of One Family's Decision To Stop Taking And Start Giving Back--the Power of Half by Kevin Salwen and Hannah Salwen

Gerard's:

What I want to write is that I lay there until morning, with tear-stained eyes, a tear-stained pillow, a tear-stained life.  What can one do with levels of gloom and guilt, fear and disbelief, of bewilderment above one's capacity to register?  I slept soundly.

Taken from p. 30 of Half A Life by Darin Strauss (My review of this will be posted tomorrow.)

Meet Us On Monday

Here's the questions from last week's meme hosted by Never Growing Old to help our readers get to know us better so sometimes we'll post it on this blog, and sometimes on our Right Where We Belong personal blog.

Questions:

1.  Do you like your ice cream in a dish, waffle cone, pretzel cone, sugar cone or cake cone?

Gerard likes his in a bowl. Karen likes it all those ways! My favorite flavor is Turkey Hill's chocolate marshmallow. Related posts: Grab A Spoon And Meet Me For Ice Cream and I Made Ice Cream Cake, Cereal On Ice Cream

2.  Do you read the newspaper daily?

Moe, our first cat reading paper with Gerard

Gerard does but Karen usually reads it every day except Sunday. Related posts: "How Do You Read The Newspaper?",
Poop Bags,
Interview Your Pet

3.  Marinara or meat sauce? We both like Marinara better.


4.  Last time you cried?

A Very Sad Day when 3 cats had to be put down

Gerard doesn't remember when he last cried but Karen cried Jan. 1 of this year when I read on Mountain Woman's blog that she had to have her beloved dog, Faeden put down over the holidays. Having our first cat die on New Year's Eve of 2007 and having to have three of my dad's cats put down, I empathize with anyone experiencing this. I know Mountain Woman had a very special long-lasting bond with Faegen. He had bone cancer and was in great pain. Related post: Sylvester Went Out A Champ

5.  What word/phrase do you find really annoying?
Gerard's is "It is what it is." Karen's is: "At the end of the day."

"On Tall Pine Lake" by Dorothy Garlock

On Tall Pine Lake by Dorothy Garlock is quite an action-packed adventure for Nona Conrad and her sister, Maggie, and good friend Mabel that takes place at a fishing campgrounds in Arkansas.  This is a fast-paced novel involving criminal activity that the reader is let in on as well as some the reader is left to figure out.  There is suspense, some mystery and some romance in the novel.  It is a quick read because it keeps your interest with all the action in it that makes you eager to see what will happen next.  As Nona had a hard time deciding who she should trust, so does the reader.  The theme is basically that some people will do just about anything for money.

(Karen's 3/25/09)


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

"The Four Stages Of Cruelty" by Keith Holliman

The Four Stages Of Cruelty by Keith Holliman gives a realistic view of a prison through the eyes of a female prison guard.  She was my favorite character.  This is a good story with a surprising twist at the end.   (5 stars)

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

"Zoo Story: Life In the Garden Of Captives" by Thomas French

Zoo Story by Thomas French is a documentary about Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo.  It gives the reader a behind-the-scenes look at the struggles of zoo directors, zookeepers, and the animals in captivity have.  By reading Zoo Story, I learned some interesting facts about elephants, chimpanzees, seahorses, frogs, monkeys, and tigers.  Zoo Story shares both funny and sad stories about the zoo, including how dangerous it can be to be a zookeeper.  Zookeepers put in long hours for little pay, but the benefit is that they become attached to the animals in their care and develop relationships with them.  My favorite part was the story of Herman, the chimpanzee, and getting a peek at what it’s really like being a zookeeper. 

 

Here is a quote that stood out to me:

 

Against all this logic, some staff members still wished sometimes there was some way they could let the animals go.

 

“Any good keeper absolutely feels a guilty conscience,” a veteran on the staff confided one evening after Lowry Park was closed.   “‘There are definitely days when you walk in and you look at the animals, and you say, “I wish they didn’t have to be here.’”  p. 59

 

Although not a “page-turner,” Zoo Story is a worthwhile read if you like animals and enjoy visiting zoos like us.  I just skipped over the boring parts about PETA and some of the other political details.  It seems as though certain groups are completely against zoos in general and just look for things to pick at.  Overall, I enjoyed Zoo Story and have a better understanding about conservation.  

(Karen's review)

What a wonderful book!  Zoo Story by Thomas French is the story of Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo.  You will just love the stories Thomas French tells about the animals and the humans in charge of taking care of them.  I loved this book!  If you are an animal lover and like going to the zoo, this is the book for you!  Great read!

Karen and I are both members of the Cleveland Zoo and go often.  My favorite animal is the tiger and Karen's is the red panda and the monkeys.  This book gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the zoo.  There is so much to zoos that we don't see.  I learned a lot more about animals and also about zookeepers when I read Zoo Story.

(Gerard's review July 2009)

What is your favorite zoo animal?   

Here are some posts we did about our Cleveland zoo you may enjoy:

Welcome To The Cleveland Zoo 2008

Things We Learned At The Cleveland Zoo Saturday

A Visit To The Cleveland Zoo In Winter

Creature Comfort Day At The Cleveland Zoo 2008

Harry and Brookside Park, Now The Cleveland Zoo