"The Art of Fielding" by Chad Harbach

WOW!! This book is good, really really good! It's about a college baseball team, the president of the college, and his daughter. The good news is that you do not really have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this book. There is plenty of action off the field, trust me. Did I tell you that the ending is fantastic? It is! Read and enjoy. They hype about this book is true!

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

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"Sarah's Daughter" by Ruth Bass

I enjoyed Sarah’s Daughter by Ruth Bass more than I thought I would.  It’s about a grieving family in the 1880’s and how the husband and his three children cope with the death of Sarah, the wife and mother.  Rose, the oldest daughter, is 14 and becomes overwhelmed with taking on all that the mother did while still going to school.  The father turns to alcohol to drown his troubles.

Here is a quote I thought was very good:

Sarah always said when the problem was very big, you just started at the very beginning and went along a bit at a time, the way you read a new book.

"Read only the first line," she'd say, "and understand that.  Don't go skimming through or try to see the end before you have absorbed all the lines between.  Problems are like books.  You work your way through them, and sometimes the ending is quite a surprise."

I liked the humor in this book and found the historical look at daily living in the 1800s very interesting.  The main character is likeable and well developed.  The author told most of the story from Rose’s point of view, even sharing her funny thoughts with the reader.  It is very well written and character driven.  This novel is about friendship, dysfunctional families, grief, suicide, dreams and some romance.  I recommend it to anyone who likes books teens or historical fiction.

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.

"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?

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 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.