The Duck Commander Family: How Faith, Family, and Ducks Built a Dynasty

Dates Read: September 2013
After reading Sicology and Happy, Happy, Happy, I finished out the month by reading Willie Robertson's book. This book was a little different from the previous two as it told more about the history of the company and the history of Willie and his wife. Again, some of the stories overlapped with the stories told in the other two books, but I still thought it was a great read and I enjoyed the additional perspective on the stories. As with the other two books, if you enjoy the show, you'll enjoy reading the history and learning more about this great family.
 
Summary: (from amazon.com)
Faith. Family. Ducks—in that order.

This book gives readers an up-close and personal, behind-the-scenes look at the family in the exploding A&E® show— Duck Dynasty®. This Louisiana bayou family operates Duck Commander, a booming family business that has made them millions. You’ll hear all about the Robertson clan from Willie and what it was like growing up in the Robertson household. You’ll sample some of Willie’s favorite family recipes from Phil, Kay, and even some of his own concoctions; and you’ll get to know the beautiful Robertson women. You’ll hear from Korie about the joys and hardships of raising a family, running a business, and wrangling the Robertson men while staying fashionable and beautiful inside and out. Discover more about the family dynamics between brothers Willie, Jase, Jep, and parents Phil and Kay. You’ll even meet a fourth brother who isn’t in the show.

Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander

Dates Read: September 2013

After reading Sicology, I decided to keep with the Duck Commander theme and read the book by Phil Robertson. It was great to read this book after Sicology because the stories overlapped slightly but were told from a different perspective so that was fun to read. As with Sicology, I highly recommend this book if you enjoy the series - it's a great, low key and fun read!
 
Summary: (from amazon.com)
Duck calls—though the source of his livelihood—are not what makes Phil Robertson the man he is today. When asked what matters in his life, he’s quick to say, “Faith, family, ducks—in that order.”

It isn’t often that a person can live a dream, but Phil Robertson, aka The Duck Commander, has proven that it is possible with vision, hard work, helping hands, and an unshakable faith in the Almighty. Phil’s is the remarkable story of one man who followed the call he received from God and soon after invented a duck call that would begin an incredible journey to the life he had always dreamed of for himself and his family. In the love of his country, his family, and his maker, Phil has finally found the ingredients to the “good life” he always wanted.

If you ever wind up sitting face-to-face with Phil, you’ll see that his enthusiasm and passion for duck hunting and the Lord is no act—it is truly who he is.

If you’ve watched the exceedingly popular A&E® program Duck Dynasty®, you already know the famed Phil Robertson. As patriarch of the Robertson clan and creator of Duck Commander duck calls, he fearlessly leads his family in a responsible work ethic and an active faith.

But what you don’t know is his life before the show. In the pages of this book, you’ll learn of Phil’s colorful past and his wild road to the “happy, happy, happy” life he leads today. Before the “happy,” Phil’s passion for the outdoors and wild living led him down some shady paths. As a young husband and father, he became the proprietor of a rough bar and lived a life, as he says, of “romping, stomping, and ripping” for a number of years. He even left his wife and young boys for a short period of time.

Through it all, Phil Robertson has lived his life as a “called” man. Called to live off the land, called to leave a starring role in Louisiana Tech football (playing ahead of Terry Bradshaw) for duck hunting, called to wild living, called to create a new kind of duck call—and finally, called to follow God and lead a life of faith.

In this eye-opening and rousing book, you’ll find stories that will shock you, as well as those that will inspire you. You’ll get to know the man behind the legend, and you’ll come away better for it.

Sicology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty's Favorite Uncle

Dates Read: September 2013

The other day, Bobby and I wandered around Barnes & Noble. We happened to see this book by Uncle Si and we couldn't resist, so we bought it and then I went home and started reading it and loved it! It's not the world's best writing, but it is full of great, funny, family-friendly, motivating, and wonderful stories. It's stories from his childhood, from adulthood, and from recent years. I highly recommend this book if you want a good, clean, relaxing, fun read. 
 
Summary: (from amazon.com)
As you read this book, there are a few things you have to understand: 95 percent of my stories are truthful. Every member of the Robertson family has the God- given gift of storytelling. Hey, when you’ve sat in a duck blind for more than half of your life, you have to figure out some way to pass the time! It’s better than looking at Willie and Jase for six hours! Many of the stories I like to tell happened when I was a young boy or when I was in Vietnam. At my age, a few of the details are cloudy, but I’ll recollect the coming stories as best I can. Hey, just remember it isn’t a lie if you think it’s true! It’s up to you, the reader, to figure out what’s truth and what’s fiction. Best of luck with that, Jack! May the force be with you.

Hey, another thing you have to know: my stories are kind of like my vocabulary. You might have noticed I like to say “hey” quite a bit. “Hey” can mean anything. It can mean “yes,” it can mean “maybe,” and it can mean “no.” Hey, it could mean “next week.” The bottom line is, you have to understand “hey” to understand me.

And if you know anything about Silas Merritt Robertson, you know I’m a hard rascal to figure out.

—From the Prologue

Calico Joe

 Dates Read: July 2013
As with Where we Belong, I picked up Calico Joe at the airport, but didn't start reading it until I was home and needed some nighttime reading material. This book was very short and sweet. I wish I knew more about baseball, just to even better understand the story, but my lack of baseball knowledge did not hurt my reading or understanding the book. I loved it! A great story set with a baseball scene.

Summary: (from amazon.com)

Whatever happened to Calico Joe?

     It began quietly enough with a pulled hamstring. The first baseman for the Cubs AAA affiliate in Wichita went down as he rounded third and headed for home. The next day, Jim Hickman, the first baseman for the Cubs, injured his back. The team suddenly needed someone to play first, so they reached down to their AA club in Midland, Texas, and called up a twenty-one-year-old named Joe Castle. He was the hottest player in AA and creating a buzz.

In the summer of 1973 Joe Castle was the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone had ever seen.  The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas dazzled Cub fans as he hit home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shattered all rookie records.

Calico Joe quickly became the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faced Calico Joe, Paul was in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his Dad. Then Warren threw a fastball that would change their lives forever…

In John Grisham’s new novel the baseball is thrilling, but it’s what happens off the field that makes CALICO JOE a classic.

Where We Belong

Dates Read: July 2013
On the way home from my business trip, I was not in the mood to do technical reading, but I wanted something to read to kill time at the airport and on the plane so I picked up Where We Belong (and Calico Joe). I ended up talking to coworkers while killing time at the airport, so instead this was a great night time reading book. And it was great - except that I stayed up waaaay too late for a few nights because I couldn't stop reading. 

The story alternates between two perspectives and I found myself constantly reading one perspective and then wanting to read the next chapter to get the other perspective. Definitely a fun, girly read!

Summary: (from amazon.com)

Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six-year-old television producer living her dream in New York City. With a fulfilling career and picture-perfect relationship, she has convinced everyone, including herself, that her life is just as she wants it to be. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door . . . only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had locked away forever.

From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s meticulously constructed world will be shaken to its core, resurrecting memories of a passionate young love affair that threaten everything that has come to define her. For the precocious and headstrong Kirby, the encounter will spur a process of discovery that ushers her across the threshold of adulthood, forcing her to reevaluate her family and future in a wise and bittersweet light.

As Marian and Kirby embark on a quest to find the one thing missing in their lives, each will come to recognize that where we belong is often where we least expect to find ourselves. A place that we may have willed ourselves to forget, but that the heart remembers forever.

Quintana of Charyn

The three books in the Lumatere Chronicles.

Dates Read: June 2013
This weekend I read the third and final book in the Lumatere Chronicles, "Quintana of Charyn". First, let me say that I read the first two books a few months ago, so I didn't remember all the details. With that said, this book was still wonderful and outside of a few, minor, insignificant points that I probably didn't connect because I didn't remember what happened in the earlier books, I had no trouble finishing this book and understanding how the story concludes. I'm not sure this book would be good for middle school students (due to some of the sexual references and scenes) but I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend this series to someone who wants a toned down version of a book that's along the lines of Lord of the Rings or something along those lines - with multiple lands, territories within the land, battles, friendships, a kingdom struggling to rebuild, etc. 

Summary: (from amazon.com)

Separated from the girl he loves and has sworn to protect, Froi and his companions travel through Charyn searching for Quintana and building an army that will secure her unborn child’s right to rule. While in the valley between two kingdoms, Quintana of Charyn and Isaboe of Lumatere come face-to-face in a showdown that will result in heartbreak for one and power for the other. The complex tangle of bloodlines, politics, and love introduced in Finnikin of the Rock and Froi of the Exiles coalesce into an engrossing climax in this final volume.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volume I

Dates Read: March to May 2013
Bobby and I have been gotten hooked on BBC's "Sherlock" series and CBS's "Elementary" series so I decided to stick with the Sherlock Holmes theme and read the stories. I finished Volume I (of II) this month. It was absolutely wonderful! The short stories are the perfect length and are absolute page turners. The longer stories are also page turners and the chapters are the perfect length, too. Even after reading 700 pages about Sherlock and Watson, I find that I still want to read more (yay for Volume II) and am not at all sick of reading about their adventures.

Summary: (from barnesandnoble.com)

The Complete Sherlock Holmes comprises four novels and fifty-six short stories revolving around the world’s most popular and influential fictional detective—the eccentric, arrogant, and ingenious Sherlock Holmes. He and his trusted friend, Dr. Watson, step from Holmes’s comfortable quarters at 221b Baker Street into the swirling fog of Victorian London to exercise that unique combination of detailed observation, vast knowledge, and brilliant deduction. Inevitably, Holmes rescues the innocent, confounds the guilty, and solves the most perplexing puzzles known to literature.