Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Jud's Journey by Fay Waldemar McCracken


"Jud's Journey" by Fay Waldemar McCracken -

I don't normally have time to read since my wife spends 12+ hours per day and has books coming in the house faster than she can read them, so every thing else is left to me. (It is a good thing I'm on disability and can stay home most of the time.) A few times each year, I decide to take some time for me to relax with a good book.

"Jud's Journey" was a good read, picked up the pace quickly, yet maintained a pace that seemed plausible, not too fast nor too slow. I was able to relate with all the charactors, at least to understand them. At times I found myself recalculating Jud's age as the book progressed to see if I felt a person that age could do what he was doing. I think Fay presented a logically capable, person of that age and era, with realistic challenges.

Just as I felt the book was winding down to a close, another chapter opened a whole set of new challenges that wrapped up all the charactors well and left me with a very good feeling about the book, and the time I spent reading it. I started one afternoon and read over a fourth of it, then didn't get back to it for a few days. (Usually kills my desire to finish a book) My wife had already announced I was reading it, so I went back and picked it up again. Before I knew it, it was after 1:00 AM and my self imposed bedtime is 10:00 PM. I still had only abour 40 pages to read and nearly stayed up, but picked it up agian first thing in the morning to read what I thought was the winding down, only to be pulled into yet another challenge.

Jud wasn't a perfect son, but I would have been very proud to have him as mine. By the way, I'm a 64 year old male with 3 grown, no, ADULT children. This book is not just for teens, boys or girls, but for anyone above the age of 8, whether male or female. Those under that age will just have to get their parents or older siblings to read it to them. Everyone will love it.

Forever Friends Rating 4 Stars by Bob
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook

Jud's Journey by Fay McCracken
Publisher: American Book Publishing Group
Pub. Date: June 2004
ISBN-13: 9781589821446
212pp

Upon The Mountains by Gale Sears


Upon The Mountains by Gale Sears

In this very stirring and magnificent climax to this vast series, I can confidently say this novel richly deserved its being a final in two categories in the first ever LDS Whitney Awards this year. From Beacon Street in San Francisco, where Ina Bell, Kerri McKee, Bid Randall, Elizabeth and Kathryn Lund live, to Sutter Creek, Ca, where The Robinson's, Daniel, The Rosamund's and Philomene Johnson all live, to Salt Lake City, where Alaina, Eleanor, Grandpa Erickson, Mother Erickson live. Eleanor takes on the life of a Med student, doing research on the 1918-19 Influenza Pandemic, where it comes a little too close to home. Across the ocean in Belguim and France, we learn of all the atrocities of The Great War through the eyes of Nephi, Daniel and James, who witness the horrors of war. What is so horrifying is that with both military and civilians, there was an estimate of 13 million casalties!!!! There were over 500,000 horses and mules lost during The Great War and the estimated deaths attributed world wide to the Influenza Pandemic were 26 million!!!! I put this book as one of my all-time favorites and highly recommend this book to everyone.

Forever Friends Rating 5 Stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook


Upon The Mountains by Gale Sears
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Incorporated
Pub. Date: August 2007
ISBN-13: 9781598114430
285pp

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Until The Dawn by Gale Sears


Until The Dawn by Gale Sears

This second in this series is more vast in scope than Gale's first vol, as it brings in some issues from the turn of the century. Alaina and Nephi move from the Sierras of California to the bustling noise of automobiles of Salt Lake City in 1914. After a marriage of convenience, Alaina finds she has actually fallen in love with Nephi. They move in with Nephi's mother Patience and Alaina finds solace with Nephi's paternal grandather and is able to find some peace in caring for his orchards. Eleanor, Alaina's younger sister, moves in with her mother and younger sister in their aunt's house on Beacon Street in San Francisco. Eleanor becomes friends with the servants and finds peace in helping young Chinese girls from being abused and finds she wants to be a nurse. James stays in Sutters Creek to work with horses on a ranch and keep an eye on the old family farm that has fallen in disrepair. Philomene, the schoolteacher in Sutters Creek, travels to Brussels, Belguim, to visit her Aunt Hannah and gets embroiled in the start of World War I. This is such a rich saga of the turning of the century, where things are more simple. I highly recommend this wonderful novel to everyone who wants to learn more about a bygone era.

Forever Friends Rating 5 Stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook

Until The Dawn by Gale Sears
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Incorporated
Pub. Date: May 2006
ISBN-13: 9781598110746
311pp

Monday, October 20, 2008

Autumn Sky by Gale Sears


Autumn Sky by Gale Sears

Alaina Lund is a young eighteen year old woman helping her father work the orchards on their farm in the early Northern California days of 1913. Alaina has been her father's right hand in the orchards and loves it, then when he hires Nephi Erickson, a young man with a strange religion, she is angry. With her mother against Alaina doing a man's work, she begrudges having to learn the duties of the household. With her mother being raised in a home in San Francisco with servants, she expects Alaina and her younger siblings to do much of the work. Alaina and her siblings enjoy the comraderie of having fun, but Elizabeth doesn't approve. When a shoking accident occurs, everything is turned upside down for Alaina and her siblings. I highly recommend this first vol of a series.

Forever Friends Rating 4 Stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook


Autumn Sky by Gale Sears
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Incorporated
Pub. Date: August 2004
ISBN-13: 9781591565864
288pp

Friday, October 17, 2008

Sarah: How A Hockey Mom Turned The Political Establishment Upside Down by Kaylene Johnson


Sarah: How A Hockey Mom Turned The Political Establishment Upside Down by Kaylene Johnson

When we first heard about this book on our local news, that the little known publisher from out of Washington State, had run out the last 3000 copies, I knew I needed to have our Regional Library purchase this book. This book was rushed out in paperback last month just in time. This little book is a quick read, just a bit over 100 pages, but it has a lot to reveal about Sarah. Even though she's young, her politics are fresh, and she has come up through the grass roots to win the hearts of thousands in Alaska. She is full of tenacity, is honest to a fault, which is what we need to get this country back to where it was. She is for total reform, esp in ethics in government. This is a story of a down-to-earth woman with energy and idealism. If you want to know more about Governor Sarah Palin, read this little gem of a book. You'll be glad you did!!!!

Forever Friends Rating 4 Stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook



ISBN-13: 9781414330501
Pub. Date: September 2008

Thursday, October 16, 2008

In Joan's Defense: A 12 Judges Courtroom Drama by Ron Carter


In Joan's Defense: A 12 Judges Courtroom Drama by Ron Carter

In Ron Carter's stunning new 12 Judges Courtroom series, we see a murder from the start, the police investigation, evidence and trial like unto CSI, John Grisham and Law and Order. Joan and Les Carson have been married for 27 happily married years, when all of a sudden, Les starts getting irritable, forgetting things and people he knows, then gets violent with those closest to him, like Joan and his business partner. Joan winds up in her's and Les's best friend's law office, telling Ben she killed Les because of all the beatings she received from him. Ben takes on Joan's case, determined to hope for a hung jury. What insues makes for a stunning climax!!! If you love CSI, Law and Order and John
Grisham, you'll absolutely devour this novel!!!

The story of Joan Carson's murder trial is the first of the powerful new 12 Judges courtroom novels by Ron Carter. The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees that all accused of crimes have the right to a jury trial. Historical precedent, dating back to the judges of the 12 tribes of Israel as well as the 12 apostles, set the number of jurors at 12-the number most often used today. While the result is a man-made, less-than-perfect system, it's probably the best on earth. The 12 Judges novels draws on Ron Carter's study of the Constitution and his 30 years of legal experience to show real-life dramas played out in this heaven-inspired, but human system.

Forever Friends Rating 5 Stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook


In Joan's Defense
by Ron Carter
Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780975508046Pub. Date: 2005

Monday, October 13, 2008

The Lost Pet Chronicles: Adventures of A K-9 Cop Turned Pet Detective


The Lost Pet Chronicles: Adventures of A K-9 Cop Turned Pet Detective by Kat Albrecht

My Outreach Librarian picked this book for me to read and I'm SO glad she did. I learned a lot about dogs and cat behavior when they go missing. Kat Albrecht, an ex-police Dispatcher, trains her pet Weimaraner, Rachel and her two bloodhounds, A.J. and Chase, to find lost dogs and cats. When Kat and her dogs get called to find a lost boa constrictor from a California Zoo, it causes chaos. In this book, we learn how these rescue dogs find lost pets, with some ending out with happy endings and some not too happy. When Kat supposedly finds the man of her dreams, she finds they don't agree on the care of her pets. It was nice to hear about the different ways a lost pet can be found. What I found very interesting was when one of Kat's dogs was able to find a certain cat out of several cats in one household. I was able to learn from this is that all cats have their own distinctive scent. At the end of this remarkable book, Kat gives a lot of good pointers on what to do when we lose a pet. There are a lot of resources to choose from. I highly recommend this book for all animal lovers and keep some Kleenex handy.

Forever Friends Rating 5 Stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook


The Lost Pet Chronicles : Adventures of A K-9 Cop Turned Pet Detective
by Kat Albrecht, Jana Murphy (With)
Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781582345550 Pub. Date: March 2005

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Promise Of Zion by Anita Stansfield


Promise Of Zion by Anita Stansfield

This final vol in the Barrington Family Saga is a very rich and powerful love story between Casey Harrison and Iris Barrington. Casey comes to the Barrington Homestead looking for work to get supplies for heading west with the Saints, as he's just had his life changed by the Book of Mormon. James Barrington feels strongly about Casey, but Iris feels differently. James has been told by Brigham Young to stay in Iowa City for another year to assist the Saints moving west, as Iowa City is the place for the Saints to get supplies. James and Eleanore have always left it to Heavenly Father as to when the time would be right to go to Salt Lake. Casey and Iris have problems with trust, esp with Iris not trusting men. They both have to come to terms with some deep buried anger in order to feel at peace. It takes two important life-changing moments while on the trail to bring both Casey and Iris to fully understand that it takes faith, obedience and forgiveness to find peace and happiness. I highly recommend this 4 volume series to everyone.

Forever Friends Rating 5 Stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around the Book Nook!!!


Volume 4 : Promise of Zion
by Anita Stansfield
Paperback
SBN-13: 978159811516 Pub. Date: January 2008

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

At Heaven's Door by Anita Stansfield


At Heaven's Door by Anita Stansfield

In this third volume of the Barrington Family Saga, we find Eleanore and James increasing thir household with more children. They have more trials and hardships and they send more friends on their way to Salt Lake to join the main body of Saints. With even their earnest prayers, they come to realize the time to depart for Salt Lake is not at hand. When James and Frederick feel the need to travel to Winter Quarters to bring needed supplies to the Saints and their friends is when James learns a difficult, but needed lesson. Bringing a stranger into their home is a blessing. It seems like James and Eleanore are in Iowa City to bring people the Gospel and one evening, while overhearing a conversation, James does something that could hinder his eternal progression. When two strangers from Salt Lake appear at their door, James finally comes to understand why The Lord wanted them to stay in their Iowa City home for a longer time. This is such a rich saga, one I would recommend highly.

Forever Friends Rating 5 Stars by Teri
Until Later, Happy Reading!!!!

Barrington Family Saga, Volume 3 : At Heaven's Door
by Anita Stansfield
Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781598114683 Pub. Date: November 2007

Monday, October 6, 2008

Freefall by Traci Hunter Abramson


Freefall by Traci Hunter Abramson

Brent Miller and his four Navy Seal Teammates work together to rescue 7 hostages in the Middle East, then by an accident, he and Amy Whitworth, a senator's daughter, are left behind, so they need to find their own way out by depending on each other for survival. They use every means of survival. After being rescued, and then being protected by the Secret Service, as there've been biological weapons being planted in cities around the world, the Team, with Amy's assistance, tries to thwart the terrorists. When there's a leak close to the senator, Brent and his team snuff out the culprit. Learning about the ways of a Navy Seal makes for interesting reading. If you like twists and turns with some humor tucked in, you'll want to run to your nearest LDS bookstore to buy this page-turner.

Forever Friends Rating 5 Stars
Until Next Time, Happy Reading!!!!

ISBN-13: 9781598115109 Pub. Date: February 2008

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Chaos by Jeff Downs


Chaos by Jeff Downs

When I read the review on this suspense thriller last year, I knew I had to read it. When Jason Harrington received a cryptic greeting card in his mail slot at the junior high he teaches at, he tosses it in the garbage, but when he finds his apartment broken into and totally ransacked and an ominous phone call, he runs, attempting to stay one step ahead of this assassin. Along with his ex-girlfriend Kelly, they search the internet for clues, even so much as hiring a private investigator to find out who is after Jason. They can't go to the police, as they suspect him of being a cop killer. When they find out the assassin is involved with the Red Mafia, they fear for their life. They need to find the person who can help get him out of this mess before it's too late. I highly recommend this page-turner, as the excitement never stops until the last page.

Forever Friends Rating 4 Stars by Teri
Until next time, Happy Reading!!!

Paperback Publisher: Covenant Communications (2007) ASIN: B000WZUKMG