"Thunder Dog" by Michael Hingson and Susy Flory (Updated)

Thunder Dog by Michael Hingson and Susy Flory is a must read!  It is a true story about Michael and his guide dog, Roselle.  It tells how they managed to escape the morning the towers fell and also his life story of being blind.  You get two stories in one book--both remarkable to say the least.  I enjoyed it very much!
(Gerard's review)

Karen's review:

I was surprised when I read Thunder dog by Michael Hingson because most of the book is not about his escape from the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 which is what I expected.  Instead, the book focuses on the author’s life showing how he didn’t let his blindness hold him back.  He is an ordinary person who happens to be blind.  He was blind from birth but still rode a bike, drove a car, flew a plane, graduated with a Master’s degree in physics (with honors), held several high pressure jobs!  Yes, he and Roselle, his guide dog, were among many people who walked down 1,463 stairs to get out safely when the plane flew into the building, but the book explains more about the special relationship between guide dogs and their owners.  I learned a lot about what it’s like to be blind—it was fascinating to me how he could “hear” inanimate objects in front of him kind of like bats do based on the echo of sound waves. 

Thunder dog is inspirational, enlightening and educational—a good read!  Michael set up a foundation in memory of his beloved guide dog, Roselle which provides technology to blind children and adults to assist them in living normal lives.  Check it out at www.rosellefoundation.org. 

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

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Tuesday Teasers: "Thunder Dog," "Art of Fielding" and "Sarah's Daughter"

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:

. . . "Get out of here!  It's coming down!"  The South Tower emits a deep rumble that becomes a deafening roar. I hear glass breaking and metal tearing, accompanied by a chorus of shrill and terrified screams.

From page. 108 of Thunder Dog by Michael Hingson with Susy Flory (Review will be up tomorrow)

     And then all Affenlight saw were faces, Mike Schwartz's big and nearby and twisted in a suffering grimace, Henry's beyond it round and distant and blank, revealing nothing, as there came, from that corner of the dugout, a muffled but nonetheless sickening crunch, followed by a thud.

     Owen.

From page 101 of The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.

Karen's:

The date was on the back.  October 27, 1871, ten years after the Civil War began.  She didn't want to look like that.  She didn't want to be her mother.

Taken from page 6 of Sarah's Daughter by Ruth Bass.

 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 Library Test

Gerard is a Strong Thinker

Gerard with our dog, Abby You tend to have an opinion on everything. You are the opposite of wishy-washy. You like to consider yourself informed, and you're more than happy to read up on anything you don't know about. You've got an intensity that draws people to you. You provoke strong emotional reactions. There isn't a lot of middle ground or gray area with you. You rarely feel conflicted about anything.

This is true for my hubby, Gerard, all the way through.  I like that he is a strong thinker and well informed.  People do like him but sometimes he does feel conflicted when two of his sports team play at the same time, he struggles with which one to watch. 

Karen is a Concrete Thinker

See the cats? When it comes down to it, you're a practical person. You're only concerned with what works in life. You like to build your skills and knowledge about the world. You like to know lots of things. You are career-focused. You get a lot of satisfaction from working hard. You are always looking for ways to improve yourself and strengthen your ambition in life. You study a lot.

I agree I am very practical and do have a desire for knowledge, although not necessarily current events.  Being career-focused is a joke.  I really can't say I am although I do get lots of satisfaction from working hard.  At this time, my most satisfaction comes through blogging.  I do enjoy my Bible studies and seek to improve at becoming more like Jesus.

Take The Library Test

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate $1.00 per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is famine relief through Samaritan's Purse.

"Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love" by Larry Levin

Oogy by Larry Levin is a story of a family who adopted a very gentle but beat up dog that had been used as bait for dog fights because he wouldn't fight.  He lost one ear, the left side of his face, and a broken jaw but the police found the pup and took it to a veterinarian who cared enough to go above and beyond to save it's life because of its sweet disposition.  This book is about the dog everyone thought was a pit bull that was actually a Dogo--a breed I never heard of before.  I felt sorry for the poor dog because of all the pain it suffered, but happy that he found such a loving family that gave him a good life! It was an enjoyable read.
(Karen's review 9-30-11)

Oogy is the true story of Larry Levin who rescues a "Bait Dog."  You will have to read the book to find out the meaning of that term.  He comes out with the name "Oogy."  The book details how he and his family incorporated Oogy in their lives.  This book is okay, a nice story.  I don't think it's anything special.  I've read better dog books for sure.
(Gerard's review 11/6/10)


Have you read this one? What did you think of it?  What dog book would you recommend?

This is the last day to comment on our blogs for our 50 cent donation per comment for Best Friends--a great animal rescue organization.

"Susannah’s Garden" by Debbie Macomber

Sorry, cats weren't cooperating to model for me today.

Susannah's Garden by Debbie Macomber is a romance novel that covers young love, missed love, love in marriage and love after death.  Susannah is bored with her life, which although is good, isn’t really happy.  Susannah struggles with her college age daughter, her mother, her anger towards her dead father and her sense of missing something in her marriage.  Susannah wonders if she married the wrong man and seeks to find her first love in her hometown while getting her mother moved into an assisted living facility with the “help” of her daughter.  As Susannah hunts down her first love, hangs out with her best friend from high school, and packs up her parents things, she makes some enlightening discoveries which made the ending very interesting.

I loved the cover and liked some of Debbie Macomber’s other books so chose to read Susannah’s Garden.  I think the title and cover of this book are misleading.  For example, the cat belongs to a neighbor and is mentioned only once.  “Susannah’s garden” was mentioned twice and not until the last third of the book.  I would have chosen “Stupid Susannah,” “Judge Dad” or “Peace with the Past” instead.  I kept thinking Susannah was stupid through most of the book.  I liked this book okay, but it is all about relationships and the most action was when Susannah’s mother moved into the assisted living facility so it’s not a page turner.  My favorite character was Vivian, Susannah’s mother.  I felt sad for her having to leave her home just because she got lost one day and claimed to see her dead husband.   

If you want a good book about a garden, I recommend either The Midwife’s Confession by Diane Chamberlain or Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah.

 
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.