"Beyond the High Blue Air" by Lu Spnney (Heartbreaking)

In Beyond the High Blue Air by Lu Spnney, Miles is a young man with a bright future ahead of him.  His snowboarding accident changes all that and now his future is bleak to say the least.  This book is written by his mother who details what she and her family went through to see that Miles got the best care he could.

What a gut-wrenching story this is!  I give so much credit to Lu for writing this to share her nightmare with others.
(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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Three Weeks with My Brother" by Nicholas and Micah Sparks

Three Weeks With My Brother by Nicholas and Micah Sparks is one of the best memoirs I have read. It has humor, interesting adventures and touching moments. I loved how these guys gave us a look at their family dynamics from childhood. I think they did a fantastic job of weaving their memories into their time together as they traveled around the world in three weeks. It is a story of persevering through tragedy and life’s bumps. Throughout the book, they kept repeating the mother’s standard sayings: It’s your life. No one ever promised that life would be fair. What you want and what you get are usually two entirely different things. 

I enjoyed reading this more than I expected and found the inspiration for Nicholas Sparks' books very interesting. I think anyone who enjoys Nicholas Sparks' books would enjoy this as well even though it is non-fiction. It even includes discussion questions in the back for book clubs!
(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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Her" by Christa Parravani

Gerard liked it; I didn't. 

Gerard's review of 3/30/13
Her by Christa Parravani is about her and her twin, Cara.  When Cara passes away, Christa finds herself at a loss and pretty soon starts to follow the same path that did Cara in!  Which path is that and what does Christa do to get back straight?  You will have to read to find out.


I enjoyed this book.  The parts of the book I liked best was the interaction between the two sisters.  I was going to give this book 4 stars, but the ending was SO good, it pushed it up to 5 stars.  Not a "must read" but it is good.  Give it a shot, you will be glad you did!


Karen's review posted 3/4/13:
Her by Christa Parravani is a dark memoir.  When Christa's identical twin died, Christa sort of changed into her.  In this book, Christa shares about their bond, her guilt, and her struggle with handling her sister's death.

This book was very sad and depressing to me.  It is hard for me to imagine people actually living their lives like this, on drugs, infidelity, abuse, in and out of mental hospitals, and seeking advice from psychics.  It also jumped around a lot which made it hard to follow.

This book did not appeal to me but I can understand that it was helpful for her to write about her sister and her struggle. The only reason I kept reading was because I was hoping for a happy ending.  I won't tell you how it ends because I do not want to spoil it for you. 


We received an advanced reading copy of this book which goes on sale March 2013.  This did not affect our review.

Happy Reading!  (I'm releasing this one "into the wild" through bookcrossing.com in August, 2013.  If you join, please use my screen name as your referral:  BookDumper.

"Banished--Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church"

Banished--Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church by Lauren Drain with Lisa Pulitzer tells the true story of Lauren Drain, who was banished from her church by her own family! Why? You will have to read the book to find out! What Lauren did and lived like when she was a member of WBC is unbelievable. This is an unforgettable memoir with plenty of "wow" factors! Happy Easter, Lauren, and God bless! (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!

"Teaching In The Terrordome" by Heather Kirn Lanie (UPDATED)

Teaching In The Terrordome--Two Years in West Baltimore With Teach For America by Heather Kirn Lanier is the true story of a young teacher's first time teaching in an inner city school in Baltimore called "The Terrordome." As I read this book, I quickly learned why! I enjoyed this book very much because Heather told it as it was and pulled no punches. It is funny, sad, eye opening and real. I think the best pat is the epilogue when she tells you there is no magic wand that can fix the problem, but to her credit, she still wants to try. If you liked this kind of book about real teaching experiences, you will enjoy this one!
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Teaching in the Terrordome by Heather Kirn Lanier tells about her two-year experience of teaching 9th grade English for Teach For America in a Baltimore inner-city school at risk of being taken over by the state. She shares about the 6-week training she received to prepare her to teach and her feelings and thoughts about the inequality of education between the middle class and lower income kids. It had my interest at the beginning but by the second year, it dragged along for me. This is a realistic account of how the norm of teaching in an inner city school for Teach For America is. She felt like a failure because the majority of her students were still barely passing and nothing much changed from when she started except for being made aware of how bad off some schools really are.
I liked other ones much better. Guess I just like happier endings and more inspirational ones like I'd Like To Apologize To Every Teacher I Ever Had by Tony Danza, and Nobody Don't Love Nobody by Stacey Bess.
(Karen's review, 2 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!

"The Vow" by Kim & Krickitt Carpenter (UPDATED)

The Vow by Kim & Krickitt Carpenter is an amazing story--WOW! The true story of this couple is really good. From their meeting through their courtship is something. After a horrible accident that through the grace of God they survived, they have to start all over again discovering who they are. Here's a teaser from the book for you from page 88:

The most agonizing question of all was: Would one of those things be me? I quickly put that thought from my mind. I couldn't bear to contemplate the fact that my wife might never remember me.

I loved this book and think it is a must read for all married couples. Thanks for sharing, Carpenters, and God bless your family!
(Gerard's review)

Karen's review:
The Vow by Kim and Krickitt Carpenter is a true love story. They share how the Lord helped them keep their commitment to each other through a tragic accident that resulted in memory loss and months of rehab. It is an inspirational true story to encourage all married couples to value their marriage, keep their marriage vows and look to God for help through the hard times. This is a quick read that drew me in right away. I could sympathize with both Kim and Krickett who were both seriously injured. Although much of the book is sad, I knew it had a happy ending so kept reading and am glad I did!

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!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during April to Paralyzed Veterans of America.

"Fairy Tale Interrupted" by Rosemarie Terenzio

Fairy Tale Interrupted--A Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss by Rosemarie Terenzio is the story of the author, who was JFK Jr.'s executive assistant while he was trying to get his magazine, "George," up and going.  I enjoyed it because I was able to see what JFK, Jr. really was like.  I'm not too surprised that I found I liked him a lot!  Rosemarie holds nothing back.  Of course, it was sad about his and his wife's early death.  A very good read, indeed!
(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!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during March to the American Cancer Society.

"Through My Eyes" by Tim Tebow with Nathan Whitaker

A book for Football Lovers

I enjoyed the first half of Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow about his background. I learned that he was homeschooled and didn't know that homeschoolers could still play on school teams, but he did. I liked reading about his training and his work ethic. He has two older brothers and lived on a farm. About halfway through the book though, he goes into specific games and gives a play-by-play narrative which I found boring after awhile and quit reading it to move to something more interesting. I suppose if you are really into the nuts and bolts of football, you would enjoy it. I expected to read more about his off the field experiences, but there was only a little about that.
(Karen's review 2/8/12)

I knew about Tim Tebow, the football player. Now after reading Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow, I feel I know about the person. I enjoyed this book some; really liked the parts when he told about growing up and sharing his faith in God, which he is very strong about doing. I enjoyed his family stories and his thoughts on football and game situations. The only drawback was the game-to-game stuff in his college career was kind of boring, but overall, a pretty good read.
(Gerard's review 7/10/11)

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!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue to help homeless cats this month.

"An Invisible Thread" by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski

An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski is the true story of Laura, a white sales executive, befriending a black 11-yr-old panhandler, Maurice. This is a great book about friendship. Maurice is very likable and Laura tells the story very well. It is a feel-good story with a happy ending. I liked it a whole lot!
(Gerard's review:  My rating: 4 of 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!

We are donating 50 cents to KIVA this month to help the poor change their lives for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs.

"A Stolen Life" by Jaycee Dugard

Thanks to the Best of 2011 Blog Hop over at "A Pause on the Path," I discovered that this is our most viewed post of 2011 with 106.

As I read A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard I had to keep reminding myself that this was not a novel but it actually happened. It's a remarkable story of how Jaycee was kidnapped and lived in a backyard shack for 18 years. It will have you turning pages quickly because it is riveting. Thanks for telling your story so well, Jaycee! Hope your daughters and you can enjoy a normal life. I'm glad you finally have a dog too!
(Gerard's review)

After seeing the news story about Jaycee Dugard being kidnapped at age 11 and held captive for 18 years, I wasn't sure I wanted to read her book, A Stolen Life, because the abductor was such a slimeball but I am glad I did.  This is a fascinating book. I was pleasantly surprised that although she did not have freedom, she was not tortured too much. She cooperated so he would not get mad and so she could survive. It did surprise me though that she didn’t even think about ways to escape. I was so happy that she had kittens and a bird to keep her company. Phillip raped her and she became a 14-yr.-old mother of a healthy baby girl and had another later too. These girls brightened her life. This is a heartbreaking story while she was in captivity, but fortunately it has a happy ending.
(Karen's Review)

Here is a video that summarizes what she went through.  After we saw the show, we wanted to read her 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.

"What I Learned When I Almost Died" by Chris Licht

This is the true account of Chris Licht’s experience of having a brain hemorrhage. He wrote What I Learned When I Almost Died to give others the benefit of the life lessons he learned from having a near-death experience. Basically, he learned his family and friends were more important than his job. I think most people already know this, but he was a TV producer who feared losing his job--a TV producer.

By reading this book, I did learn that if I ever get a really unusual pain in my head, I need to go right to a hospital emergency room and say “I do not get headaches and this is the worst headache of my life.”

“. . . which is an informal code within the medical profession. Any decent ER would interpret the phrases to mean I was not a habitual complainer, I was in the midst of something rare, pay attention, give me a CAT scan.” P.7-8

I could have skipped this book and not missed much.

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.

"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.

"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.

"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.

"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.

"Two Kisses For Maddy" by Matthew Logelin

WOW! What an awesome book Two Kisses For Maddy by Matthew Logelin is! Matt never intended to write a book, but when his wife, Liz, died the day after giving birth to their daughter, Maddy, he did. This book pulls no punches. Matt describes his feelings so well! He takes the reader through the birth of their daughter, his wife's death, funeral and how he has to raise a daughter on his own. All this from a guy who says he has trouble hanging a picture on a wall! I enjoyed the book very much. I just wish like he does, he did not have to write it. I encourage you to read this book—it's very good! Visit his website at http://www.mattlogelin.com/

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.

Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter (UPDATED 6-1-11)

Wow and wow! I didn't think I would like Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter this much, but I did! Always a good thing when I am pleasantly surprised. Three Little Words is the true story of Ashley and her brother who were put into foster care because their mom was unfit to raise them. It reads like a novel but the sad part is that it is true. It was an eye opener for me that this kind of stuff goes on. I enjoyed it right from the start. It has a super ending! I highly recommend you put this on your TBR list!
(Gerard's review)

Here's our teaser for this. Karen plans on reading this one too.

UPDATED 6-1-11 (Karen's review):
Books like this make me so proud and grateful for parents who were foster parents to two sisters and a brother so they wouldn't have to be split up. The boy was the youngest, age 4, when they moved in and it was the only foster home they ever had. The girls were 5 and 6. Although my parents never adopted them, we were definitely a family!

Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter is both heart-breaking and inspirational. When reading this, I was outraged at some of the foster homes this girl lived in and some of the social workers. Fortunately, it is not all bad and shows there were some very special people who came into her life that really helped her find good parents. Ashley and her brother were together in some homes but then were separated. I felt bad that her adoptive parents wouldn't take the boy too.

I really related to her feelings about visiting her mom and looking forward to the day when they would be reunited. The kids we took in always had this same hope that never materialized until after the girls graduated. Then they moved in with their biological dad nearby for a short time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about kids. Maybe it will even prod you to open your home to a child who needs a family!
Sorry for my personal experience tossed into this review, but it really hit a nerve with me.    Thanks, Mrs. 4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time for recommending this book to us!

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.

"A Rope And A Prayer" by David Rohde and Kristen Mulvihill

A Rope And A Prayer by David Rohde and Kristen Mulvihill is the true story about a husband being abducted and what both he and his wife faced. This non-fiction book is my pick for my March book of the month and here are the reasons why:

(1) It is the true story of David being kidnapped and held for over six months!

(2) It’s the story as told by Kristen, newly married, sharing her feelings as her husband was being held.

(3) It gives really wonderful insight into the Taliban and what they think and believe.

(4) The writing is so very good that I got the sense of what David and Kristen went through.

(5) Has a great ending too!

I highly recommend this book!
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help Canine Lifeline (a dog rescue organization that saved our dog, Abby) by leaving a comment on any of our blogs in March. We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.

"Crystal Clear Triumph" by Eric LeMarque

Crystal Clear Triumph by Eric LeMarque is the true story of Eric who dreamed to become a hockey player.  He was also hooked on Meth.  When his dream to be a hockey player died, he turned to snowboarding.  He got stuck on a mountain for six days!  How he survived is an extraordinary tale.  He lost both of his feet.  What he did with the rest of his life is the story of this book.  I won't give it all away, but it is inspirational!  A good quick read.
(Gerard 5/26/09)

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

"The Power Of Half" by Kevin and Hannah Salwen

This video was made by the brother in the book explaining about their family project which the book is all about.

The Power of Half by Kevin and Hannah Salwen is an inspirational true story about how their family lived with less to make a sizable contribution to really make a difference for a lot of people.  Hannah the teen daughter, co-author of this book, had a deep desire to help people less fortunate than her and was instrumental in getting her family to take a trip to Africa to actually see the people they were going to help with their donation to The Hunger Project.  The parents wanted to get their children to be more involved in their charitable decision making so agreed to go along with Hannah’s suggestion to down-size, sell their $1.95 million home and give half to charity. 

This book was written to encourage families to be more involved in helping others and share their story on how they did it.  It in no way recommends that everyone sell their home and move into a smaller one like they did.  Kevin, the father, summarizes the benefits their family experienced by going through the process of deciding how much to give, what charity to give it to and down-sizing by getting rid of a lot of things they didn’t need.  Through this process his family drew closer, communicated on a deeper level, enjoyed having a common goal to work towards, and an increased respect for each other.  His teens became more self-confident and developed leadership skills. 

One of the key points in the process that really gave the teens ownership of the project was to give every family member an equal vote in the decision making.  It was interesting to see the inner workings of this family and how they worked together.  I thought they should have actually sold their house first and then decided what to do with the money instead of promising the money to a charity before the house even sold.  You can visit their website at www.thepowerofhalf.com.  Some other suggested websites mentioned in the book are:  www.rebuiildingtogether.org, www.sharesavespend.com, www.handsonnetwork.org.

I liked Hannah’s heart but found myself plowing through the book to finish it.  I recommend it to parents who are looking for a way to unite their family and draw them closer or to anyone looking for help on how to get their children to be less selfish. 

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