Tuesday Teasers: Four Today

Karen's:

"Melody, if you can't decide what to leave here, I'll decide for you," she said and reached down to pluck the stuffed cat out of the suitcase.
"No!," I cried.  "That was the last thing Daddy gave me!"

From page 48 of Melody by V. C. Andrews.  (Melody is 15)

And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.  And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

From I John 3:22-23 of the Holy Bible (KJV).

Gerard's:

"Then speak of this to no one," Papa said.  "Not even to Alexander."

From page 7 of Lara's Gift by Annemarie O'Brien.  (My review will be up tomorrow)

Keeping his gaze straight ahead, watching the forest, he whispered, "That's the last time.  Don't do something stupid like that again."

From page 87 of Variant by Robison Wells.



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 (well, we cheat and choose specific ones)
• 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.   

Happy Reading!

Monday Mischief: Out Takes--Who Says Modeling Is Easy?

Thought you might enjoy so comical header outtakes:

Wait Manny!  Don't go yet!

Why do we always have to be in the background, mom?

Spunky Doodle, look at the books!

Joining in with the Monday Mischief and Cats on Tuesday blog hops.

We Both Liked "The Clock of LIfe" by Nancy Klann-Moren (Giveaway)

 The Clock of Life by Nancy Klann-Moren is about Jason Lee desiring to be as brave as his dad and do the right thing no matter what.  It shows the effects of the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement on Jason Lee’s family.  Jason Lee is a southern white boy who befriends Samson Jackson, a black boy in spite of what others think.  Jason Lee’s father was actively involved in the civil rights movement and endured ridicule for joining with the blacks in the march with Martin Luther King before Jason Lee was born but died in the Vietnam war before Jason Lee was born.

Jason Lee’s coming of age story is both interesting and sad.  My favorite part was when Jason Lee and Wally went to visit Jason Lee's mom at the hospital and helped her escape!  It’s an entertaining historical fiction read that emphasizes blacks and whites are alike and should have the same rights.
(Karen's review posted 8/22/13, 4 stars)

The Clock of life by Nancy Klann-Moren is a real good coming of age story about a young white boy who befriends a young black boy in the south. This book had my attention all the way! I really enjoyed the main character and the story line was well told. Great writing that I think both young teens and older people would enjoy.
(Gerard's review posted 7/15/13, 5 stars)

August 28 will be the 50th anniversary of the 1963 civil rights March with Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.  This book would be a good one to read this week! 
Here's a teaser from the book:

     "It's a tough thing to do in these parts, but you be friends with anyone you want, Jason Lee.  Don't let nobody tell you different, you hear?"  Her tone sounded like a scolding. 
     "I won't."
     "Your daddy got himself forty-seven stitches across the back of his shoulder.  And they threw him in jail to boot, just so you and boys like Samson could be friends."

From page 8 of The Clock of Life by Nancy Klann-Moren.

We are offering this first to my friends and blogging buddies (that's you!) before releasing this book "into the wild."  Just let me know if you would like to have it.  It's too good to just sit in our bookcase--it needs to be read!

(We received a free copy of this book to review and received no compensation and did not affect our reviews.)

Visit the Author's Website here.

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!

Glad I'm Done With Ezekiel!

I just finished reading the Old Testament book of Ezekiel and feel a sense of relief.  It has some interesting things but lots of symbolism and prophecy of destruction--kind of depressing.  I liked reading about the visions God showed to Ezekiel because they were pretty wild.  The last few chapters were encouraging about how God would bring his chosen people back and be with them.  The references to Gog and Magog and the city, the river and the temple all reminded me of things in the book of Revelation.  The main theme of Ezekiel is "Then they will know that I am the Lord God."  This phrase and slight variations of it are repeated throughout the book.

I am reading through the Bible for the second time and have only a few books left to go:  Philemon (1 chapter), I, II, III John and Revelation. 

Below are links to the posts I did sharing some highlights from Ezekiel on our other blog, Right Where We Belong:

God of Details
Dry Bones Come To Life
God is Loyal to Jerusalem
God is Fair
Would God's Message For the U.S. Be The Same?
The Lord Punishes But Warns First

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!

"Quiet--The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking" by Susan Cain

Review first published Jan. 7, 2013

Today I am doing one of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompts:  Open your picture folders, close your eyes and pick a random photo to share and write about.  This is the picture I got from my "Favorite Reads 2013" folder so I am just re-posting this book review with the picture.

There was a lot of hype about Quiet--The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain and it won awards in 2012. Now having read it, I can tell you the hype was spot on! What a wonderful book!! I thought it was going to be a text book but it's not. The great thing about this book is that I enjoyed it and learned too. It's hard to beat that combination. The examples Susan Cain gives of people are very interesting. That is why I'm giving it 5++ stars. Well done, Ms. Cain! I LOVED it!
(Gerard's review, rating 5++ stars)

I started reading this book and found it to be quite boring. I even decided I'd skim it instead but couldn't even make myself finish it then. I was surprised to see that "brainstorming" sessions do not produce great results. A better way would be to let each person brainstorm their ideas by themselves, then review them together and possibly add to them as a group then. I just didn't want to keep plowing my way through. I read the first 100 pages or so.
(Karen'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!