"The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt is a story about a young boy who tragically loses his mom at a young age.  To remember her, he takes a picture from an art museum.  This book mostly centers on the boy growing up and his placing with his foster families and then his dad who ran off and came back.  The boy also becomes involved in the criminal world.  Does anyone miss the painting he stole?  

Although this book is long, don't let that deter you.  It is well worth the time.  I enjoyed it. 
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)
 
Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Words From a Fearless Heart--A collection of wit, wisdom and whimsy" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

After being married 16 years, I decided to start reading some of my husband’s books that are in our bookcases and this is one of them.  Words From a Fearless Heart—A collection of wit, wisdom, and whimsy by Laura Ingalls Wilder is a delightful read, especially since I always enjoyed watching “Little House on the Prairie.”  This goes very quickly and is as the title suggests, collection of short bits of wisdom, wit and whimsy.  It’s a great little book to read when you just have a few minutes.  I especially enjoyed the musing on pioneer eating that showed the huge contrast between then and our healthy focus on eating today.  Back then, not only did they eat lots of meat, but it was heavily salted!  Lard was used when cooking or baking and fried potatoes were a staple, cooked in lard.  Butter and sugar was considered good for you!   In fact, sugar was considered “essential to growing child’s health—a nutritious food.”   I recommend this quick inspirational read to anyone, but especially to fans of Little House on the Prairie and Laura Ingalls.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Touchdown Tony Crown and the Mystery of the Missing Cheerleader" by Peter Guy George

Touchdown Tony Crowne and the Mystery of the Missing Cheerleader by Peter Guy George is a fun read about three elementary school kids, Tony, Judd and Ash and Tony’s 80 lb. dog, Curly. 

This book had several angels to it:  football, a bit of mystery, and the chasing down of the criminal.  It is a book of Tony saving the damsel in distress, the missing cheerleader, with the help of a real detective, a friend and his dog.  It is geared to kids, but I enjoyed it—especially the football game part and the dog.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

4 Teasers with Book Giveaway

Gerard's:

With both hands, he shoved me so hard I staggered and nearly fell.  "GET BACK FROM THE BUILDING!" he screamed, throwing up his arms with a flap of his rain slicker.  "NOW!"  He wasn't even looking at me; his small, bearish eyes were riveted on something going on over my head, up the street, and the expression on his face terrified me.

From page 49 of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.

Shy tightens his grip.  Grits his teeth and tries pulling the man up.  But it's impossible.  He's not strong enough.  Their positioning is too awkward.

From page 6 of The Living by Matt De La Pena.  My review went up yesterday.

Karen's:

Tony ran to his spot next to the Lion's sideline still thinking about Ash's disappearance.  His mind was churning through all the possible reasons for Ash not coming to the game and how Felicity could be involved, when he realized the "THUD" he heard was Tim Crossman's opening kickoff.

From 37%, Location 900 on Kindle of Touchdown Tony Crowne and the Mystery of the Missing Cheerleader by Peter Guy George. (My review will be up tomorrow.)

Paul's secret of contentment emerges from a universal principle of human nature.  It is to trust God regardless of the circumstances and not to expect too much perfection in this life.

Giveaway Book--leave comment if you would like this with an email to contact you for address.

From page 177 of Holding on to your faith even . . . WHEN GOD DOESN'T MAKE SENSE by Dr. James Dobson.

There are a few highlighted passages in this book so I cannot list it on Paperback Swap but thought I would offer to our blog readers first before releasing it into the wild.  If you would like to have this book, please let us know in a comment.  We will keep it available until the end of this week.  If more than one person is interested, we will randomly choose a winner on Saturday, 1/11/14.  If no one expresses an interest by then, I will release it into the wild.

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 (well, we cheat and choose specific ones)
• 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.   

 Happy Reading!

"The Living" by Matt De La Pena

This Living by Matt De La Pena is about a young man named Shy who works on a luxury cruise liner.  One day a man decides to jump off the ship and shy tries to save him but can't.  Who was that man and in the brief time they spent together, what did he tell Shy?  A huge storm comes and Shy finds himself in a lifeboat with the last person he wants to be with.

This book starts out slow but stick with it because there is action and plenty of it.  It is a quick read, finished it in two days.  A second book will be out later this year that I look forward to reading as well!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!