"The Things We Keep" by Sally Hepworth

The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth centers on three people.  Anna, age 35, and Luke, age 41, are in an assisted living facility because they both suffer from early onset Alzheimer's.  The third person is Eve who becomes a cook at the facility.  She soon finds out that she needs to do more than that.  This book is really good.  It has a good storyline and I cared about the characters.  Parts were very funny!  I love all the books I've read by Sally Hepworth so far.  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

  

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"Curve Ball--The Year I Lost My Grip" by Jordan Sonnenblick

A good read for guys!

Curve Ball--The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick centers on Peter, a young teen who is just entering High School and has to deal with the following:  (1) he blows out his pitching arm just before school starts; (2) has girl problems; (3) his best friend thinks he will play because Peter has not told him how bad his injury really is; (4) he pursues photography that his grandpa taught him, then his grandpa takes a turn for the worse.  Interested yet?

I enjoyed this book a lot!  Peter's friends are as interesting as he is, especially his "girlfriend" who I think steals the show from Peter.  It's a quick read with no bad language with a really good ending! 
(Gerard's review)

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!

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"Keep Your Brain Alive: 83 Neurobic Exercises" by Lawrence Katz

This is a quick-read but very interesting and practical. The gist of the book is to improve memory, you need to keep your brain active and use all of your senses. “Routines can be brain deadening.” Basically, learn to enjoy new experiences, change things around, interact with people and change up routines.

The most startling thing I learned from reading this book is: "Research has shown that watching television literally numbs the mind: The brain is less active during TV-viewing than during sleep!" (p. 117)

Gerard gave me this one for my birthday--thanks, honey!  You need to read it too!

(Karen's review--My rating: 5 of 5 stars)


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

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"The Girl Who Disappeared Twice" by Andrea Kane

The Girl Who Disappeared Twice by Andrea Kane is a mystery that I had trouble putting down.  It had my attention from the get-go and kept it all the way through the book!  Forensic Instincts is a private group known for their unconventional methods and high success rate that was hired to find a Judge’s missing little girl, Krissy, who was kidnapped.  This book kept me guessing even though I thought I knew who did it, I couldn’t get all the pieces to fit.  The characters are fun and interesting, including the bloodhound named “Hero.”

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

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"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.

"Still Alice" by Lisa Genova Gives Great Insight Into Alzheimer's

We both liked Still Alice!

Karen's review:

Ever know someone with Alzheimer’s and wonder what they are thinking?  Still Alice by Lisa Genova is a brilliant novel that shares what it is like to have Alzheimer’s from the point of view of one who actually has it!  Most stories about people with Alzheimer’s are told from the caretaker’s point of view.  Still Alice lets the reader inside the mind of the person afflicted with this degenerative disease which has no cure.  Alice is only 50 and already has some symptoms of Dementia.  She is a college professor at Harvard, the wife of a scientist and mother of three grown children.  This is a story about a family and how the mother with Alzheimer’s feels as she discovers she is losing her memory, becoming confused and is sometimes disoriented. 

Reading this is a great way to learn about Alzheimer’s and become aware of the symptoms.  It was a bit scary for me to read this and find that my “senior moments” of forgetting words and names happened to Alice who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at age 50!   The author actually interviewed people who had early onset of Alzheimer’s.  Questions for discussion are included in the back along with an interview by the author. 

This is a good read and did not drag at all.  Some parts were even humorous.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories about families, relationships or wants to know more about Alzheimer’s.  I think it would be a good book for a book club to discuss.

Another book Gerard and I highly recommend by Lisa Genova is Left Neglected.  To learn more about Still Alice or get in touch with Lisa Genova, visit www.StillAlice.com.  To learn more about Alzheimer’s or help those suffering from the disease, visit www.actionalz.org or www.alz.org.

Gerard's review 3/2/09:
Still Alice by Lisa Genova is a book I saw on Amazon and saw it got a good review so thought it would be worth reading. It sure is. This is just a fantastic book! It is a story about Alice Howland who gets early Alzheimer's disease. It's funny, sad, powerful and tells how she and her family handled having it. This, I think, is the definitive book on Alzheimer's. Hard to put down. I'm not surprised if people could read it in one sitting. It's that good. Do not miss reading this. It will stay with you for a long time!



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

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Making The Rounds With Oscar

A collection of Heartbreaking Stories:  Making Rounds With Oscar by David Dosa is not really about Oscar.  It is more about the patients Dr. Dosa attends to at a Hospice center.  The stories are mostly heartbreaking about loved ones trying to do the best they can for their loved one that is dying and Oscar is always with them at the end.  The part about Oscar is the best part of the book in my opinion.  I’ve now read back-to-back books about death and am ready to find a more cheery subject!

(Gerard's review 3/27/10)

Check out Sparkle, the Designer Cat's review of this book too!

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