"Family Ties" by Danielle Steel

Family Ties by Danielle Steel is about growing up, learning from mistakes and moving forward.  The story follows the lives of 26-yr-old Annie, a single architect who finds herself the guardian of her sister’s three kids:  Liz, Ted and Kate.  It doesn’t really spend any time on the kids when they were children, it’s more about how Annie has to learn to let go and be supportive of them as young adults making poor decisions.  Eventually she finds romance for herself which was the highlight of the book for me. 

This is not a book I enjoyed.  I really didn’t care about any of the characters other than Annie.  I just couldn’t relate to any of the kids and did not like the sex passages involving Ted and his nutty professor, Patty.  I almost stopped reading it because of that, but continued to plow through it. 

I haven’t read too many Danielle Steel’s books, but did liked The Gift, Leap of Faith and The Klone and I better than this one. 

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

"Saving Gracie" by Carol Bradley about Puppy Mills

Saving Gracie by Carol Bradley contains two stories.  The first is about the raid on a puppy mill.  I can not imagine the horror of those places for the dogs.  The second story is about a woman who gave a forever home to one of those puppy mill dogs.  It was heartwarming.  I liked the second story much better than the first; however, the puppy mill story needed to be told too.

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

"Shirley, Goodness And Mercy" by Debbie Macomber

I enjoyed reading Shirley, Goodness and Mercy by Debbie Macomber.  It is a cute Christmas miracle story about a lonely 60-yr.-old man who felt he had wasted his life with major screw ups along the way.  Christmas time annoys him and he feels like he's hit bottom, but happens to go inside a church and his "prayer" reaches heaven.  Three angels are assigned his case and with their help, he turns his life around and people he's hurt greatly in the past forgive him.  If you like happy endings and a light fun read, this is a book for you.  If you liked the TV show, "Touched By An Angel" you'll love this book! 

(Karen's review 12/23/09)

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?

Happy Jogging on Blog Jog Day!

UPDATED 11/26/10 AT 4:20 P.M.:

Congratulations to Judy, Hayley, Stephanie and Sharon, our winners of You Already Know How To Be Great and Jennifer, the winner of the set of The Planet Of The Dogs children's books.

Here is a list of the books we will give away:  (1) a non-fiction practical "how-to" book and (2) a series of children's fiction books about dogs. Click on the titles to read our reviews and learn more about these books.  Just tell us which book(s) you would like and leave us your email in the comments so we can contact you if you are a winner of the giveaway.  For an additional two entries, add this blog to your blogroll and let us know you did in your comment.

You Already Know How To Be Great by Alan Fine

We are able to offer FIVE autographed copies that will be sent from the author.  You Already Know How To Be Great by Alan Fine is a very practical book with models for bringing out your best performance and helping others do the same.  Any leader could gain helpful insight from this book.  The principles of reducing interference to increase performance, using G.R.O.W. to make quicker decisions, and increasing your faith, fire and focus can be applied to business, sports, parenting and coaching.





 

Planet of the Dog Series  by Robert McCarty

including all three of these children's books:  

 Planet Of The Dogs, Castle In The Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes--A Christmas Tale

Thank you for stopping by my Blog! Please explore all this Blog has to offer, then jog on over to Alsea Pacific Beach House” http://www.alseapacificbeachhouse.com . If you would like to visit a different Blog in the jog, go to http://blogjogday.blogspot.com.”

"DogTown" by Stefan Bechtel

DogTown is my kind of town!  DogTown by Stefan Bechtel is just a wonderful book!  It's about Dog Town--a no-kill sancturary for dogs in Utah.  All the stories in DogTown are excellent!  I had a hard time deciding which was more amazing, the people or the dogs!  You will smile, laugh and cry as you read these stories.  They touched my heart and will probably touch yours too.  It also includes tips on how to handle dogs.  I hated to see this book end.  I really, really enjoyed DogTown a lot--it made me want to got there!  I did visit online at http://www.bestfriends.org/ and sponsored Cabby.  I highly recommend DogTown to anyone who likes dogs.

(Gerard's review)

DogTown is a very good book about dogs and I am glad there is such a nice place for homeless dogs waiting.  Woof!  Woof!  I am proud of Gerard for sponsoring Cabby.

(our dog, Abby's review)

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