a big little life by Dean Koontz

Subtitle: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog -- What a wonderful memoir. I have listened to a couple of Koontz's books and enjoyed them, so I thought this might be a good read. I tells of how he and his wife decided to get a dog, Trixie, and how much it changed their lives. One of the things for him was how his writing changed and he was willing to venture into stories he feels he never could have written before Trixie. It talks of her fun antics and how she was great for everyone. I laughed and cried. It made me want to go out and get a dog. I won't, but someday.

The Fairy Chronicles by J. H. Sweet

Subtitle: Marigold and the Feather of Hope, the Journey Begins -- What a cute book!! I like to read these before I pass them onto my grand-daughter, just to make sure they are good. This is a little story about a nine year old who finds out that she is a fairy. She meets many others and gets to go on an adventure involving the Feather of Hope. It is short and sweet and there are three more books in the series. So, if you have a little girl who likes fairies, I recommend this. I could not help but smile and giggle as I read this.

Elder Rage -or- Take My Father...Please! by Jacqueline Marcell

Subtitle: How To Survive Caring For Aging Parents -- Once I was able to get past all of the movie and TV references it was a very informative book. She went home because her mom needed to go into the hospital and thought she was going to die. When she got to the house she realized how bad things were and knew something needed to be done. Her father would go into terrible rages threatening her and others and getting physical. This book is about her journey in learning how to deal with her father, dealing with the medical professionals (and I use that term loosely), going through many in home caregivers and in the end learning that it is the disease and not really the person that is being the way they are. My grandmother has Alzheimer's and treats many people very kindly and then gets to my dad and it is a different story. She is not violent, but can be very verbal. My dad has made progress over the years dealing with her. I hope that it does not come to this for me, but if it does I hope I can remember this book and how my dad has dealt with the situation and remember that it is the disease and the person doing the crazy and hurtful acts does really love me. -- At the end of this book are several sections on dealing with these situations and organizations that you can contact for help.

a quarter after tuesday by Jo Kadlecek

I am not one that usually reads religious fiction and did not know that this was what the book was based on. It was not over powering and I did not feel like religion was being beaten into me. The feeling was more along the lines of doing onto others as you would yourself. This was an easy book to read and I really liked the main character, Jonna Lightfoot. It takes place in New Orleans and she is the religion reporter for the local paper. She runs into some interesting characters and we are learning about the city as much as she since she had recently moved there. I have not been able to figure out how the book ties in with the title and when I finished the book and I kind of wondered what the point was. I don't feel I wasted time reading it, but I was left scratching my head. I also found out that this was part of a series, this was book two of three. I would be interested to see how the others go.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson and the Olympians:Book One -- This was a great little book. I had seen it in book stores but never gave it much thought. Then I was catching up on a blog I follow - Three@Sea - and their daughter, Ayla, raved about it. She wanted to finish it before the movies came out. Needless to say, now I was curious. It is about a boy, Percy Jackson, who is always having troubles in school. He ends up at this summer camp and finds out he is a son of a god, but does not know which one. He gets sent on this quest with a couple other kids and this book follows the adventure. It covers all your emotions and makes you want to keep reading more. This was the first book, now I can't wait to read on and find out what other things can happen to this kid.

Sailing the Dream by John F. McGrady

Talk about taking you somewhere! This couple took a vacation to Bora Bora and then decided they wanted to sail there, and they did. It took some doing, but reading about their adventure was so pleasurable. They started up in Washington and made their way down the west coast before they headed west across the ocean. The downsizing they did and the learning curve was immense and they had a great time. Their son ended up going with them and they all learned so much about each other and the world all I could do was smile. This in no means makes me want to sail across the ocean, but to be the armchair traveler was a great invitation into this part of their lives. It was a book that left me feeling like I knew them and could spend time with them. Just a wonderful book.

Flower Children by Maxine Swann

All I can say it that this was a very strange book. I believe in stretching my wings and trying different books, but this was a bit much. It is a novel about a hippie family and the things that they experience, from the kids point of view. The writing was very flowing and it was easy to read. There were some amusing adventures, but it was all pretty off the wall. I am sure that some hippie families may have been like this, although this seemed a little extreme.

Wildlife Wars by Terry Grosz

Subtitle: The Life and Times of a Fish and Game Warden -- Great stories. This was really a bunch of essays put together that followed the early part of Grosz's career. It was easy to read and his descriptions really pulled you into the story and you could see what was going on. It does amaze me how so many people abuse the law and how they try to talk their way out of it, when the evidence is laying right there in front of them! Being a Fish and Game warden is no easy task and I really take my hat off to those who choose this profession.