Books That Caught Our Eye

Here at Mailbox Monday, we want to encourage participants to not only share the books they received, but to check out the books others have received.

Every Wednesday Leslie, Serena and I will each share 2 books that caught our eye from that week’s Mailbox Monday.

We encourage you to share the books that caught your eye in the comments.

 

This week I’m filling in for Serena as she attends her grandmothers funeral. Please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

 

Leslie
 An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes by Randy Ribay at The Reading Date.
As their senior year approaches, four diverse friends joined by their weekly Dungeons & Dragons game struggle to figure out real life. Archie’s trying to cope with the lingering effects of his parents’ divorce, Mari’s considering an opportunity to contact her biological mother, Dante’s working up the courage to come out to his friends, and Sam’s clinging to a failing relationship. The four eventually embark on a cross-country road trip in an attempt to solve–or to avoid–their problems.

Geeky escapist fiction for me.

 

 

 

 Two Dogs and a Parrot: What Our Animal Friends Can Teach Us About Life by Joan Chittister at BookNAround.
Joan Chittister, one of our leading inspirational writers, invites us to embrace and celebrate the deep bond between humans and animals. ‘Two Dogs and a Parrot’ offers both heart-warming stories and thought-provoking reflections about sharing life with an animal companion. The relationships we form with animals—with dogs, cats, horses, birds, rabbits, and other pets—are full of joys and rewards. Our companion animals draw us out of ourselves and show us what it truly means to be alive. They teach us to accept life’s struggles and to cherish its pleasures and the importance of being able to accept ourselves and respect others. They help us to find purpose and meaning in what we do, and to overcome challenges and setbacks. In our treasured animals we observe varying degrees of excitement and play, of love and fear. And we realize their beautiful uniqueness, their sensitivities and strong sense of purpose.

Whether we have an animal companion, long to have a pet or love someone who does, or cherish animals and nature, ‘Two Dogs and a Parrot’ will speak to us all. It illuminates the significance of sharing our lives with a pet and celebrates the great gift of animals in our world.

My parrots chose this book for me! As always, I enjoy reading about animals and nature.

 

Vicki

 The Company You Keep by Neil Gordon @ Rainy Days And Mondays
Now a major motion picture directed by Robert Redford and starring Shia LaBeouf, Susan Sarandon, Julie Christie, Terence Howard, Anna Kendrick, Nick Nolte, and Stanley Tucci

It is 2006. Seventeen-year-old Isabel Montgomery starts to receive emails from her father, a man who had abandoned her in a hotel room ten years ago when his past finally caught up with him. Why has he contacted her now? Because he needs her help and is finally ready to reveal the truth. Over the course of the next month, further emails arrive telling her more about her family’s past. Isabel discovers that her father adopted a false identity in the hope of avoiding murder charges for a robbery gone wrong in 1974. By 1996, with a marriage falling apart around him, he is one last Vietnam-era fugitives still wanted by the law. When he is finally tracked down by a young newspaper reporter in search of a story he must abandon years of safe underground life in an attempt to exonerate himself. Set against the rise and fall of the radical anti-war group the Weather Underground, The Company You Keep is a sweeping American saga about sacrifice, the righteousness of youth, and the tension between political ideals and family loyalties.

What initially caught my attention was that blond, blue eyed purdy man on the cover. I’ve been a fan of his since the first time I saw him many many years ago. But when I read the blurb, it sounded really good. You know how I like family drama in books. Funny, since I don’t like it at all in real life.

 

 Julia’s Daughters by Colleen Faulkner @ A Nurse And A Book
Julia Maxton can’t imagine anything worse than losing one of her three daughters—until the day seventeen-year-old Haley runs a stop sign, killing her younger sister Caitlin. Six weeks after the crash, the family is falling apart. Julia struggles not to show hostility toward Haley, but her deep-rooted anger won’t go away. Her husband, Ben, has drifted away emotionally. Their youngest daughter, Izzy, is lost in the shuffle. And despite Haley’s insistence that she’s fine, her actions scream otherwise.

Fearing that she’s about to lose a second child, Julia decides to take Haley on a cross-country drive. Maybe somewhere between Nevada and Maine they can bridge the gulf between them. But first there will be painful questions to face—is Julia a good mother? Did she secretly love responsible, respectful Caitlin more than defiant Haley? Can Haley ever find peace with her mother—and herself—again?

Can you even imagine what it must be like to go through something like that with your children? Ineed to know how the story ends. Yes I know it’s fictional, but still…