Tuesday Teaser: "The Bond"-"Bottom of the 33rd"-"Crossing Lines"

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.   

Gerard's:
A mother gorilla, Binti Jua, with a baby on her back, was the first to reach the boy.  She seemed to have a purpose in mind.

From page 56 of The Bond--our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them by Wayne Pacelle

"Give Howie a call down there and we'll count you when you call in.  See how many people we have still with us on this Easter Sunday morning, listening to Rochester Red Wing baseball here on XPXN."

In other words:  Is anyone out there?

From page 154 of  The Bottom of the 33rd:  Hope, Redemption, and Baseball's Longest Game by Dan Barry


Karen's:

"It's just a personal decision. Accept it and move on." All I could think in my head was, Leave it to a hippie with a ponytail to stick up for a homo wearing lipstick.

From pg. 103 of Crossing Lines by Paul Volponi

Our reviews of these will be posted starting tomorrow. Have you read any of these? What did you think of it?

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Aww Mondays

Just thinking about reading all these books tires me out!

Gerard has a lot of books on order at the library, and it always seems that a ton comes in all at once.  This group some he didn't finish yet that he got before plus a new slew of 14 that filled a whole library shelf just for his!  

Do you order books from your library too?

Unfortunately, we just won't be able to read all these in three weeks and they are not renewable because others are waiting.  We went through them and decided to forego reading these at this time:  

The Speaker For The Dead by James Dashner is the sequel to Ender's Game which we both loved; however, I read a little of the introduction and it said that it was really written to stand alone and wasn't necessary to read the first book to enjoy which led me to believe that it really doesn't have that much to do with the first book.  Furthermore, there are a lot of unusual names in it which is a distraction to me so we decided not to read this one after all. 

Karen read the first 50 pages of Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman and just couldn't get interested in it.  We aren't listing it as a "dud" because it's not terrible.  It's about two different families and the wedding of their children. 

The Summer of the Bear by Bella Pollen
The Man In The Rockefeller Suit--The astonishing rise and spectacular fall of a serial imposter by Mark Seal
Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan
The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson
Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen
Disturbance by Jan Rorke
From This Moment by Shania Twain

If you read and think we would like any of these on this list, please let us know in a comment and maybe we will reconsider. If you have a cute picture that makes you say "Aww," or to find more "Aww" pictures, check out the "Aww Mondays" linkup over at Comedy Plus.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Lost In Shangri-La" by Mitchell Zuckoff is an Amazing Adventure!

Here are my five reasons why I loved Lost In Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff: (1) It's a true story; (2) I was not up to speed on this at all so it was very interesting to me; (3) superb writing; (4) great story; and (5) has a double “WOW” factor!

This book tells the story about 24 servicemen during World War II who on a Sunday afternoon flew to a remote island in New Guinea. The plane crashed, killing 21 out of 24 people. Only two men and one woman survived. They were on a remote island filled with native tribesmen without any provisions at all and little hope of a rescue mission anytime soon. This is an incredible story that is told very well. I loved it! I highly recommend it if you like novels about real events and adventure.

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

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin

I received The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin from Ann at Up North in a book giveaway and have enjoyed reading it. Basically, Gretchen decided to make an effort at becoming a happier person and focus on that mission for a year. She set some goals each month that she felt would increase her level of happiness if she met them and wrote a book about her project as well as starting a blog about it (www.happiness-project.com). She makes the point over and over that anyone could do their own happiness project and it would be unique to them.


I really found some of her research about happiness very interesting and she gives a lot of good suggestions. On the other hand, there was a good chunk of the book that really didn't interest me because some of her goals just didn't appeal to me. Those parts I just skimmed. Overall though, I think the basic concept is intriguing and found myself marking quite a few things in it that interested me. I loved how she lists her goals each month at the beginning of the chapters and in the back has summary pages of tips for attaining certain common goals such as "Tips to stick to a regular schedule of exercise," "Tips on getting your sweetheart to do chores without nagging," "Tips for coping with the fact that you don't remember a person's name," "Tips for getting an energy boost in the next ten minutes," to name a few.

There are actually Happiness Project Groups started across the country that you can join or you can get a kit and start one of your own. I found this out when I went on the Facebook page. The Happiness Project is a thought provoking book that is worth keeping.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Turn Of Mind" by Alice LaPlante

Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante is told by Dr. Jennifer White, who has Dementia, where it is hard to remember and recognize people.  Unfortunately, in reality a lot of people suffer from this. 

In Turn of Mind, Jennifer may or may not have killed her long-time friend and neighbor.  She also has to deal with her two grown children who have their own agenda, plus a caregiver who is anything but.  I enjoyed reading this right from the start and the incredible ending made this a "two WOW" book for me! 

If you are looking for a beach read or light reading, this is not it.  However, if you are looking for a page turner and something you will remember, you just found it! 
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Tuesday Teaser: "Turn of Mind" and "Red Hook Road"

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. 

Gerard's:

Killed? Amanda? I asked. But it was true. Somehow I knew that.

From p. 42 of Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante

Karen's:

A few hours that would be misery to get through, with or without Iris and the rest of the Copaken family. And after it was over she would have nothing more to do with them.

From p. 138 of Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"This Life Is In Your Hands" by Melissa Coleman

This Life Is In Your Hands--A Dream, Sixty Acres and A Family Undone by Melissa Coleman is about how her family lived by the land with no electric devices nor a bathroom. I enjoyed the story of how they built their house and had their garden for food. What they thought would be paradise turned out to be anything but. I liked how Melissa told the story.
(Gerard's Review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Long Drive Home" by Will Allison

WOW! Long Drive Home by Will Allison is good! A man has to deal with road rage three times on the way home with his first grade daughter. When the same driver who was the cause of the third one is at it again, he decides to teach him a lesson. It turns into a fatal accident with the only witness being his daughter. He is not all that forth coming to the cop and when his wife finds out, this book goes into super drive. I really enjoyed it a lot. It will keep you turning pages, trust me. With it only 182 pages, it is worth your while to read it.
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Faith" by Jennifer Haigh is a Must Read!

WOW! Double Wow!  Faith by Jennifer Haigh is good!  It is told by a sister who has two brothers.  One brother is a priest, accused of molesting a child.  I loved this book, especially enjoyed the family.  A loving family, this is not.  Brother vs. brother, sister vs. brother, husband vs. wife made for great reading.  The last 75 pages are some of the best pages you will read all year!  It was impossible to put down!  The ending is a shocker!  I highly recommend you put this on your TBR list--it's SO GOOD!
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Tuesday Teaser: "Save Me" -"The Happiness Project" - "Faith"

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. 

Karen's: 

She hit the ground running and charged to the walkway, her blond hair flying and her features so contorted with rage that it took a moment for Rose to recognize her. It was Amanda’s mother, Eileen Gigot.

From page 58 from Save Me by Lisa Scottoline (Large Print edition)

All these thoughts flooded through my mind, and as I sat on that crowded bus, I grasped two things: I wasn’t as happy as I could be, and my life wasn’t going to change unless I made it change. In that single moment, with that realization, I decided to dedicate a year to trying to be happier.

From page 3 from The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

 

Gerard's:  

"It's an uncomfortable situation. His own brother. He doesn't like to talk about it."

From page 114 of Faith by Jennifer Haigh (My review will be up tomorrow of this one--must read if you like family drama!)


Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Fallen" by Karin Slaughter

Fallen by Karin Slaughter had me asking lots of questions. Faith's mom is taken by what, why and what are they after? What secret does Faith's mom have hidden that she does not want to come out? This is a page turner with a twist I did not see coming. not a "wow" book, but well worth your time to read. I liked Broken by Karin Slaughter better. Here's my teaser:

Like most women, it was rape that had always terrified her, but she knew now that there were far worse dangers. here was at least an animalistic logic to the crime of rape.

From page 163 of Fallen by Karin Slaughter.
(Gerard's Review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary" by Andrew Westoll is Fantastic

WOW and Double Wow! The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary by Andrew Westoll is a fantastic book! Gloria Grow runs a sanctuary for chimps. The author goes there to observe and work too. I loved this book because the chimps are so fascinating! You will never feel the same way about them after you read this! It is a book filled with emotion. I highly recommend it. Read and enjoy.
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"The Murderer's Daughters" by Randy Susan Meyers

The Murderer’s Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers is an interesting read about how a father ruined his daughters’ lives when he killed their mother. This story is about Merry and Lulu who were left without parents. Lulu felt responsible for her mother’s death and so always felt as though she had to take care of her younger sister. LuLu became a doctor and Merry became a probation officer. This book has some interesting family dynamics and deals with issues of grief, guilt, foster care and relationships.

I liked this book and found it interesting how both sisters reacted to their father when he was in prison. It was sad how their mother’s murder overtook their life for so long. I liked this book because it seemed realistic and had a pretty happy ending. I recommend it to anyone who likes books about families and interpersonal relationships. The author worked ten years with men who destroyed their families like the father did in this book.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"The Penguin Who Knew Too Much" by Donna Andrews

The best thing about The Penguin Who Knew Too Much by Donna Andrews is the title and the cover. This is a cozy murder mystery that is somewhat humorous and very chaotic. Meg's father finds a dead body buried in the basement of his daughter's (Meg) house that she recently purchased. Her family comes over to help her move in, the zoo animals are dropped off there because the bank was foreclosing on the zoo. It is just a crazy story that I thought I would enjoy because I like animals and mysteries. This was just so unbelievable that there really was no suspense in it. Maybe it was meant to be a spoof on mysteries, but I was not captivated by this book at all. In fact, halfway through it, I switched to Divergent which was really good! Perhaps "cozy mysteries" just aren't my thing, but I did not like this one very much.
(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Until Tuesday" by Capt. Luis Carlos Montalvan

Until Tuesday tells the true story of Captain Luis, a highly decorated Captain who suffers from PTSD and whose life is a mess until one day he meets Tuesday, a service dog. It is a remarkable tale how a man and a dog bonded and helped each other overcome their fears. Thanks, Captain Luis, and give Tuesday a pet for me!

This book mentions the Wounded Warrior Project.  Maybe you would like to check it out.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Divergent" by Veronica Roth is Fantastic! (UPDATED)

We both read this one! I loved Divergent by Veronica Roth because it is thought provoking. I kept thinking, “What would I do if in Beatrice’s position?” and it was fun to try guessing the background of different characters. It is a futuristic science fiction novel about value, ethics, choices, friendship and community. Although Beatrice was born into the selfless faction, she didn’t feel that she was selfless enough to stay and at 16 left her family to choose to join the dauntless. Her brother chose education and the other two choices were honest and peaceful.

Divergent is about control and manipulation, friendship, love, character and survival. When Beatrice was tested, she discovered she had a secret she had to keep to stay alive—she was divergent!

This book drew me in very quickly and I even quit reading another book to read this one sooner. Once I started this, it was difficult to put it down because it has lots of action, interesting characters, romance and some mystery with twists and surprises along the way that make it both a fun and interesting read. I can definitely recommend this one!
(Karen's review)

Gerard's Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth is about a 16-yr.-old girl who must choose a faction to live in when she is in her 16th year. Her brother and her pick a faction, difficult ones, that their parents do not live in. The story is mostly about the girl, Beatrice, who you will love. I enjoyed this book for the following reasons:

1. It has a big "WOW" factor!

2. If you loved the Hunger Games, you will love this book too!

3. Lead character is awesome.

4. The story is good!

5. I really got into all the characters.

6. The ending is very, very good!

7. This left me wanting to read book two.

This is my favorite read for June and I read a lot of good books this month. This is a "must read." I highly recommend it!
(Gerard's Review)

Just for Fun:  If you are on Shelfari, there is a fun group for "Divergent."  There is also a page on Facebook for Divergent where you can take a faction aptitude test!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Tuesday Teaser: "Until Tuesday," "Fallen" and "The Penguin Who Knew Too Much"

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. 

Gerard's:

He was intelligent. But he was also deep and emotional and hurting at the core.

From page 108 of Until Tuesday--A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him by by Fmr. Capt. Luis Carlos Montalvan

Like most women, it was rape that had always terrified her, but she knew now that there were far worse dangers. here was at least an animalistic logic to the crime of rape.

From page 163 of Fallen by Karin Slaughter.

Karen's:

"I'll go up to the house and check on the other animals," he said, pulling a small notebook out of his pocket and beginning to scribble in it. "You said penguins, hyenas, and what?"

From page 60 of The Penguin Who Knew Too Much by Donna Andrews.
You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Happy Fourth of July!

We took our dog, Abby, to watch the parade today.  She loved meeting lots of friendly people and other dogs.  

We got there about 40 minutes early. I'm glad I brought a book along, Divergent.

When the Parma Animal shelter float went by, the lady threw a big dog biscuit to Abby so of course that was her favorite float. Here is a picture of the most patriotic dog we saw.

Abby found a flag along the way that she wanted her picture taken by. We all hope you had a very fun Independence day and thank all our servicemen and women who fought for our freedom.  After the parade, Gerard went to the gym, I cut out stuff for VBS and read some more, Gerard watched some TV and we played tennis. 

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"The Central Park Five" by Srah Burns

Spunky Doodle Likes the tree on the cover!

The Central Park Five by Sarah Burns tells the true story of a woman brutally attacked while jogging in Central Park in New York and the five people accused of the crime. This is the type of book I love, one that brings me up to speed on a subject I heard about but don't know all the details. This book filled in the missing pieces for me. Great investigating reporting makes this a good book, a quick read with only 200 pages that kept my interest all the way.
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Nobody Don't Love Nobody" by Stacey Bess

I loved the movie "Beyond the Blackboard" which is based on Nobody Don't Love Nobody--Lessons on Love from the School With No Name by Stacey Bess, a teacher who taught homeless children at a family shelter, a school with no name. She shares about her experience and her love for the students.  Not only did she teach them, but they taught her as well about love and what it is like being homeless.  This book gives insight into the effects homelessness has on children and challenges the reader to get involved and take action to show love to others and make the world a better place.  Stacey Bess was put in a unique teaching situation and rose to the challenge.

Here is a quote that I think sums up her whole point of the book from page 96:

But we can't impose our own goals, wishes, or help on anyone. We can only teach, support, and love. We give them more opportunities, more choices. Then we love them regardless of the choices they make, hoping that they will learn to make better ones in the future.

I think any teacher would find this book inspiring and anyone who has compassion for the homeless would certainly find this interesting.  I liked the movie better though than the book, but the book is good too.  At the end of the book, she has an extensive list of different ideas on how people can get more involved by serving others. 
(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.

Help Heifer International By Commenting!

Last month we got 207 comments and donated $104 to Joni and Friends. We really appreciate all who commented. For July, we will donate 50 cents per comment to Heifer International, an organization I learned about through Ann Up North. What animal we can provide depends on the size of the donation. View this video to find out how this organization helps communities combat poverty.



$120 = pig or sheep or goat (we'll let our readers vote--just leave a comment)
$150 = llamba
$250 = water buffalo
$60 = rabbits
$20 = chicks or ducks

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. If you decide to donate per comment on your blog, please let us know and we'll include you in our special "comment for charity" blog roll.

"Home Again" by Kristin Hannah

Home Again by Kristin Hannah is about second chances. It's about Madeline, a single mom who is a cardiologist for her first love, Angel, who needs a heart transplant and how his brother the priest took care of Madeline and her daughter in his brother's absence. The daughter yearns to know her dad, the mother is afraid he will break her heart, the priest falls in love with Madeline but wants to do the right thing and Angel is a famous, rich actor living life in the fast lane until he has a third heart attack and winds up in the hospital back in his home town.

The heart transplant angle was very interesting in this book and it was fun seeing how the characters grew. I recommend this to those who like fairy tale romances or stories about single moms.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Could You Please Do Us A Favor:   Canine Lifeline, the dog rescue that saved our Abby, is in the running for $1,000 donation from Pedigree. Please go vote for Canine Lifeline over at dogtipper.com. Today is the last day for voting! They are currently leading, but it's very close!

Tuesday Teaser: "Divergent" and "Home Again"

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. 

Gerard's:

"I don't mean you shouldn't share them now; I mean you should never share them with anyone, ever, no matter what happens.  Divergence is extremely dangerous.  You understand?"

from page 22 of Divergent by Veronica Roth (My review will be posted tomorrow.)

Karen's:

"You're home, Angel.  Maybe if you look around, you'll find a reason to live."

from page 155 of Home Again by Kristin Hannah

Could You Please Do Us A Favor:   Canine Lifeline, the dog rescue that saved our Abby, is in the running for $1,000 donation from Pedigree. Please go vote for Canine Lifeline over at dogtipper.com every day through June 30. They are currently leading, but it's very close!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"The Snowman" by Jo Nesbo

Women are missing in Oslo.  Police investigator, Harry Hole, is on his toughest case yet.  The suspect is the Snowman.  The Snowman by Jo Nesbo is a thriller!  Just try to guess who the killer is if you can.  I couldn't, it kept me guessing.
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Still Missing" by Chevy Stevens--UPDATED

UPDATED 6/24/11:
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens is a far out story about a lady realtor named Annie who was abducted and kept locked in a cabin for a year! I didn't much care for Annie because of how she treated people and her frequent swearing but liked her relationship with her dog! This book did bring out some strong emotions in me: I felt sorry for her, anger against her abductor and disappointment in Annie.

The novel is told in the first person by Annie as she reveals what happened to her through her sessions with a psychiatrist. The things she went through with “The Freak” who abducted her were just sickening. I must say that I found this to be a very disturbing read rather than an enjoyable one. Even though she did finally escape, she never got back to her old self because her experiences had such a long-lasting effect on her. This book is a bit of a mystery and deals with issues of friendship, betrayal, motherhood and creepiness.
(Karen's review)

Wow, Oh Wow!  Page turner, riveting, compelling--all these words apply to Still Missing by Chevy Stevens.  What an awesome read!!  For sure this is the book of the month for June for me and very high in my top books of the year.

Still Missing is about Annie, a realtor who is abducted for a year by a man she calls "The Freak."  It is told by her as she goes to a psychiatrist.  She talks about her relationship and what he made her do and her family in detail.  Even when she is free, is she really?  The ending of this book is probably the best part--you will not believe it!

If you do not read this book, you are missing out big time!
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Growing Pains" by Dwayne S. Joseph

Growing Pains by Dwayne S. Joseph is a good YA novel about a teenage boy named Brian. His teacher knows that he is a good student and tries to help Brian. Brian makes some bad choices and has to deal with the problems they bring. It goes fast and you really get to care about the people in the book. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Here's my teaser from it.
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Tuesday Teaser: "Growing Pains" & "Nobody Loves Nobody"

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. 

Gerard's:

But she could only be on him so much, and because she spent the majority of her days going between two jobs, she wasn't able to police his extracurricular activities. She had no clue about the li'l somethin's he got into, or the crimes he committed with Tyrel and Will, and if she were to find out, Brian knew that she'd, first, be devastated, and then, second, flip out and go ballistic.

From page 25 of Growing Pains by Dwayne S. Joseph

Karen's:

You'll be teaching kindergarten through sixth grade at the shelter school," the personnel director said matter-of-factly. "Report to the metal shed at the compound under the Sixth South viaduct the day after Christmas vacation."

From page 4 of Nobody Don't Love Nobody by Stacey Bess.  Movie "Beyond The Chalkboard" is based on this book and was very good so that is why I wanted to read the book.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

BONUS: Read about a $100 Giveaway by the Ad Master at our other blog, "Right Where We Belong."

"Please Take Me For A Walk" by Susan Gal (Updated with video)

Please Take me For A Walk by Susan Gal is a cute, charming little book for children about a dog wanting to go for a walk with full-page illustrations portraying the reasons why the dog likes to go for walks.  It's a lovely book that was entertaining and amusing to me.  It only takes about three minutes to read.
(Karen's review 6/4/10)


Gerard's Review 6/4/10:  Loved It!  Woof!  Woof!
This book tells the story of a puppy who wants to go for a walk.  The words and pictures are very cute.  If you have a dog or love dogs, you will love it too.  It is especially for children, but are not we all kids at heart?

Our Dog, Abby's Review:
It is very inspiring!  It made me want to go for a walk.  I loved all the pictures of things I enjoy when walking.  Every dog would identify with this puppy!  Woof!  Woof!

Updated 7/19/11:
Abby was jealous when she found out I read to the cats so wanted me to read this book to her. This video shows me reading the book to Abby:



Happy Father's Day everyone!

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Crazy For The Storm: A Memoir Of Survival" by Norman Ollestad

A Remarkable Tale (20 stars):

Crazy For The Storm is the true story of Norman Ollestad who had a great relationship with his dad.  His dad pushed him to do things he did not think he could do.  Also gave him a desire to be the best.  Then one terrible day, the son was involved in a plane crash where he was the only survivor and had to put what his dad instilled in him to use.  I really marveled at what this young boy did!

(Gerard 6/17/09)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Minding Frankie" by Maeve Binchy

“Minding Frankie” by Maeve Binchy

I was very disappointed in “Minding Frankie” by Maeve Binchy. First off, I expected Frankie to be a boy and instead it was a baby girl. I was happy when I finally finished this book. It just dragged along for me. It is about a community in Ireland. The main story line is how a bunch of people help Noel, a single alcoholic dad take care of his baby girl that came as a surprise to him. The whole novel only covers the first year of Frankie’s life.

This book is like a soap opera in that there were so many different story lines, none of which I was really interested in. Other characters are Emily, the do-gooder cousin from America, Moira the social worker, Lisa who moves in with Noel because her life is a mess, Charles and Josie who are Noel’s parents that seek to build a statute to a dead saint. There are lots more characters too, all with their own story lines as well. I’d say this book is generally about how people live and how they need one another. It does show how a baby can change everything.

I found this book very boring for the most part. The only excitement was when Frankie was missing for a bit. The ending was good but it took forever to get there.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Finding Chandra" by Scott Highman and Sari Horwitz

Finding Chandra--A True Washington Murder Mystery by Scott Highman and Sari Horwitz is interesting. When this story broke it was major news. Then 9/11 happened and it was sort of forgotten. This reads like a novel but it is a true story. As always, I enjoyed learning more about this than I knew before which is the major reason I liked this book. I wouldn't call it compelling reading, but if you want to know the whole story about the missing girl, this book gives it to you.
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Tuesday Teaser: "Finding Chandra" & "Where She Went" & "Minding Frankie"

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. 

Gerard's:

She saw the blade of a knife. He grabbed her around the throat and they crashed to the ground.

From page 180 of Finding Chandra--A True Washington Murder Mystery by Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz

That I was angry. That I was angry the accident happened. That I was angry I was the only survivor. That I was angry at you.

From page 206 of Where She Went by Gayle Forman (the sequel to If I Stay) You can read my reviews on both of these by clicking the links.

Karen's:

He left the delivery ward of St. Brigid's and headed for oncology. He knew what time Stella was going down for surgery and he wanted to be there as moral support.

From page 97 of Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Where She Went" by Gayle Foreman

Where She Went by Gayle Foreman is the sequel to If I Stay, which I Loved!  Where She Went tells the story from Adam's view.  It seems Mia dumped him and he does not know why.  This book picks up when Adam and Mia meet up in New York City.  I can't say I liked it as much as the first one, but it is not bad either.  I think it would make a good movie and liked the ending.  I'd like to see another book about these two--it's possible.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.