The Sea Runners

by Ivan Doig

An adventure story set in a place my heart is tied to: the Pacific Northwest. Set during the 1800's, it tells of a daring escape attempt by four men working in a fish packing house in Alaska, as indentured servants to the Russians. They flee in the dark of night and make their way south to Oregon, paddling a dugout canoe almost the entire way. They have to endure harsh weather, cold seas, hostile native tribes. They have to find food and navigate the rocky shores. Most of all it is a tale of endurance filled with vivid descriptions of the beautiful, wild scenery. Supposedly it's based on a true account. But for some reason I didn't fall in love with this story. The writing style takes some getting used to and I felt like I never really got to know any of the characters as individuals. I feel a bit ashamed to admit that I didn't really love it, as Doig is one my mother's favorite authors (I think I might have even borrowed this book from her). I've discovered that Ivan Doig has written many books about different places in the Pacific Northwest so I'm determined to give a few more a try. Any recommendations?

Rating: 3/5 ........ 288 pages, 1982

more opinions:
The Literary Tally
Andrew's Dedicated Blog

BIG and Little

by Samantha Berger

This simple little book compares sizes. It shows photographs of large and small animals (great dane next to a chihuahua, mother elephant with a small baby, etc) little kids next to older kids, a huge elaborate sand castle next to a small molded one, a grown-up's hand holding a child's, etc. My toddler likes the page with the hands, she always puts her hand on the small one and announces: "my hand!" and points to the other: "mommy hand!" As a little variation, the last page shows a pair of twins, which are the same size. This book is read often at my house. Liked so much that when I moved and realized I'd left it behind, I bought a new copy for my daughter.

Rating: 4/5 ........ 14 pages, 1999

Behind the Bathtub

by Colette Audrey

** if you care to know, there are SPOILERS in this post **

The story of a dog living in a French apartment. You might think this is one of those fairly common books all about the author's dog and what it meant to the family and its endearing or destructive habits, but instead it's a bit more untidy. Or at least, had a different angle than I expected. Because the author seems rather focused on her dog's sexual behavior, and its death (the dog crawled into a small space in the bathroom to die, thus the title).  I don't really understand why the owner didn't have her dog spayed, but I think I recall that she wanted puppies. Or to just see the dog have puppies. Or to give her dog the joy of motherhood, something like that. But there are far too many details about trying to find a suitable mate for her dog, and how the activities surrounding that went (unsuccessful) and how messy and inconvenient it was when the dog was in heat. Plus some almost-funny but mostly just awkward scenes where she took her dog out in public and it persistently made advances on men in the restaurant, who had no idea what the dog was actually doing. Mostly I felt sorry for the uncomfortable situations and wondered why this lady didn't just get her dog fixed already. Although looking at when it was published (the sixties) perhaps it wasn't so common for most people to get their pets neutered and spayed?

So it was an okay book, certainly different in terms of dog stories but not very memorable. And take all this with salt; there was probably much more normal stuff about the dog in there that I just don't remember, it didn't stand out.

This was a book I picked up at a used sale once on a whim, but it isn't in my collection anymore.

Rating: 2/5 ........ 307 pages, 1963

threat averted (I hope)

I recently spent half a morning involved in a serious cleaning operation and inspecting the bookshelves thoroughly, taking out each volume to fan its pages and dusting around, atop and behind all the books.

Because I found this nasty little critter:

photo credit: Pjbryant

Three of them, actually. Scurrying up the wall. Silverfish. They EAT BOOKS. Also cotton, starch, flour, etc. Multiply like crazy. Hard to get rid of once you have a serious infestation.

It's in my small office room that I've seen them. My office doesn't house a lot of books; there's just a handful of reference books in there but also all my sketchbooks, which I hold dear. And I don't want my documents getting destroyed either. The strange thing is that I've seen the silverfish near the file cabinet, but carefully went through all the drawers and see no damage to any paper. Nor is there any dampness there, which also attracts the pests. (I have been very careful to keep my books away from dampness, as I have a horror of mold). I am hoping they are just scouting from an adjacent apartment, and haven't actually set up house in my walls or corners, yet.

I've called the management to send in pest control, before this gets out of hand. I was horrified when I first saw an insect run up the wall; I thought it was a roach and I detest those things. I was perhaps even more horrified when I realized it was a silverfish and could easily destroy my entire library. My boyfriend joked about it, saying "they like to eat books? Well, they've come to the right place!" but I didn't think that was funny at all. Especially concerning as I have plenty of older books acquired from used shops, with yellowed, weary pages (tempting to pests). It did spur me on to dust everything very thoroughly.  So I went through all the bookcases in the other room methodically (do you know how tiring it is to move 897 books? -current count- even if just lifting a few at a time off the shelves and then putting them back?) The good thing is that I found no signs of damage there (thank god).

Strangely it was nice to go through all the books, even for such an alarming reason. I paused over many, turning a few pages, remember why I enjoyed them so, wonder when I'll get to visit them personally again. I keep thinking it would be nice to only reread my favorites off my own shelves, for a whole year. I wonder how many I would get through... If anything it was even more pleasant to look through all the TBR shelves, suddenly struck again by my interest in all these books and hoping to get to them sooner now, rather than later.

I did a bit of shuffling too, moving a few to another shelf and removing two volumes altogether, which made enough space to properly shelve upright the handful that had been sitting horizontally across the tops of other books. I've heard that it isn't good to cram your books in tightly wedged together, they need room to breathe a little bit. But I'm guilty of crowding them in, and actually wedge them close on the bottom shelves on purpose to deter my toddler from pulling them off the shelves!

I gave my older daughter a complete set of the Chronicles of Narnia. It has all seven books bound together in one fat volume. With the original illustrations by Pauline Baynes. I happen to have all seven books individual as well, ones that I sought out at used sales as a kid until I had collected them all. Don't really need the redundancy and my daughter was thrilled to have it for her own!

What about you? Do you squeeze your books in as tight as they can go? Have you ever come across critters that threaten your library? I seriously hope this is the last I see of them!

more books

for the TBR! you guys all read such interesting-looking stuff, I can't resist...

The Lemon Orchard by Luanne Rice- Bermudaonion's Weblog
Big Brother by Lionel Shriver- You've GOTTA Read This!
The Curiosity by Stephen Kiernan- Bookfoolery
The Silver Star by Jeanette Walls- Bermudaonion's Weblog

Turtle Diary by Russell Hoban- A Work in Progress
Instruction Manual for Swallowing by Adam Marek- Opinions of a Wolf
A User's Guide to Neglectful Parenting by Guy Delisle- Captive Reader

The Mud Fairy

by Amy Young

My youngest child is starting to get out of board books and into regular picture books, but I have to choose them carefully because those with too much text are still beyond her attention span. So I've started browsing the picture-book shelves at the public library again, which is delightful. Writing these short reviews about children's books is a nice relief from the lengthy stuff that is Game of Thrones (yes, still slowly working my way through that!) as well. This book caught my eye and I actually brought it home to share with my eight-year-old, who asserts she is no longer interested in picture books but will read it if I pretend not to notice.

The Mud Fairy is a cute story about a little fairy named Emmalina who is a bit of a tomboy; she likes to play in the mud with frogs, not sit at dainty tea parties (well, it's not tea but dew drops- you get the idea). Emmalina really wants to "earn her wings" by doing something special. She sees what other fairies do and tries to copy them: opening a flower, delicately adding dewdrops to a spiderweb, creating a rainbow. But things always go wrong for her. The Fairy Queen gently suggests that she just needs time, and the fairy glumly goes back to visit her frog friends in the swap. Emmalina finds them in trouble and helps out; then to her surprise gets rewarded for her efforts by being proclaimed the Protector of Frogs and earning her wings for accomplishing something no other fairy could have done. It's a lovely little tale of being true to yourself. And the illustrations are just darling, I really like how the characters are drawn.

Rating: 4/5 ........ 32 pages, 2010

more opinions:
The Book Whisperer
Manga Maniac Cafe: Picture Book Roundup

bookmarks giveaway!

Win this free pair of bookmarks! Featuring a beautiful spotted wildcat, the Ocelot. Giveaway runs until tuesday, Sept 10th. Simply leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered to win. A name will be drawn using random.org. Open to anyone with a postal address in the US or Canada.

The Adventures of Sammy Jay

by Thornton W. Burgess

I thought for sure when I picked up this Bedtime Storybook that it was the one I recall my father introducing me to long ago. I have a distinct memory of a large book (borrowed from the library, I think) that had a collection of stories about forest animals, with lovely illustrations. And I do remember something about a squirrel and a corn-crib, but I thought the squirrel was stuck or trapped inside the corn-crib. The story turned out to be a little different from my memory.

It's a little tale of greed and blackmail, and survival for the animals of course. The gist of it is that Chatterer the squirrel is trying to store up food for winter, but has been displaced from his home in fear of a weasel, his mortal enemy. Sammy Jay, always looking for trouble, tells Chatterer where he can get all the corn he wants- from the farmer's supply stored in his corn-crib. The squirrel finds the corn and starts stocking up for winter but then plays a trick on Sammy to scare the jaybird away, wanting all the corn for himself. Neither is really entitled to the corn, they're both stealing from the farmer. But they squabble over it regardless, and the jay forces the squirrel to do what he wants by threatening to tell the weasel where he lives, unless Chatterer fetches corn for him whenever he wants it. So it ends with both animals trying to "get even" and each thinking of ways to outwit the other. Reddy the fox gets involved as well, and I met a new character I hadn't seen in previous books, the black farm cat. It is pointed out that the cat hunts for sport, not because she needs food, and so all the smaller animals hate her whereas they fear the fox and other forest predators but not in the same manner.

All in all there were some interesting little dynamics in the story, and by the end of it a few animals had learned their lessons. But I am sure they will get up to further mischief in tales to come! I enjoyed this just as much as all the other Burgess books. Still looking for more to add to my collection!

Rating: 3/5 ........ 119 pages, 1964

Fish Eyes

A Book You Can Count On 
by Lois Ehlert 

This is a fun counting book. It's full of fish with all kinds of different shapes, patterns and vivid colors on a dark blue background, which really makes them pop. They're drawn with basic shapes and bold markings, but I recognize a lot of the species. The eyes are cut-out holes which always intrigues my toddler, she likes to poke her finger into the holes. She's even starting to count along with me on the pages. The first few pages have rhyming text leading a child along on an imaginary swim through the ocean: If I could put on a suit of scales / add some fins and one of these tails / I'd close my eyes and then I'd wish / that I'd turn into a beautiful fish... then counts one through ten all the fish you encounter. The very last page is even bolder, with fish eyes glowing off the dark page, bodies as obscured silhouettes. My kid really likes it.

 Rating: 4/5 ........ 32 pages, 1990

another belated

Dogear Diary is now six years old!
Once again, I missed my blogiversary. It was august 19th.

So what's the status of this blog? Well, I'm still here even though I'm preoccupied nowadays. I don't read as much as I used to, nor participate with all the social media stuff, but I think you've all recognized that by now.

I don't think this blog will ever die, as long as I'm still reading (and that's a lifelong passion!) If anything, it will quietly go back to what it was in the first place: simply a location to note down my thoughts on books, and keep track of what I've read. At some point that author/title index is going to get unwieldy; I've been thinking of how to make that function better- perhaps a separate page for each letter? or an anchor link at the head of the index page... ?

But I digress. I'm sorry for the silence from my little corner of the blogging world. It's easy to get burned out at six years, especially when the rest of your life gets busier. I might slow down, but I'm not close to quitting yet!

Roller Coaster

Curious George
adapted by Monica Perez

This is one of those newer Curious George books not written by the original author, but based on the current tv series. As ever, it's a cute story about a little monkey (or ape, see my first Curious George review) who gets into mischief. I have a problem with this one, though.

Curious George is excited to go to an amusement park with his friends. He wants to ride the roller coaster but is too short. An employee shows George how many candy sticks tall he'd have to be to ride. George tries to think of things to do that will make him grow tall faster, and after he does each activity he holds up the candy sticks again. It appears that he is indeed growing, but George finds out later that instead, the candy sticks were getting shorter (because he kept eating them). It's an interesting concept to present to a kid, and I liked that part of the book.

It was the ending that bugged me. George is understandably very disappointed that he is still too short to ride, but instead of having to wait like all kids would, or having some other solution presented (like padding to make him tall enough in the seat?) the park owner says there's a special sign to measure monkeys and lets him ride anyways. I didn't like that excuse. The reason for height requirements is for safety on the ride; technically speaking George would still be too short to fit properly in the harness or whatever. So he gets to bypass the safety rule just because he's a monkey and not a kid? It bothers me what message this might give to kids.

Rating: 2/5 ........ 22 pages, 2007

A Field Guide to Ticks

by Susan Carol Hauser

Purely informational, this one. My sister bought the little guidebook when we went camping in a nearby national park, last month. I'm particularly wary of ticks since the county I live in has one of the highest incidents of lyme disease in the nation, I personally know two people who have contracted the disease, and my kids have gotten ticks on them four times since we moved here. The cat occasionally comes home with a tick on him, as well. This little book is dense with information, written in a clear format. I learned about the life cycle of ticks and when they are likely to carry the disease and transmit it to humans. I learned more about their behavior- particularly that they don't drop from trees but climb up stems of grass or brush and then grab onto you as you walk past. They will climb up your body, which is why you find them on your head. I learned more about how to prevent tick bites, how to treat them, and when to worry about the disease (not quite as much of a risk as I had feared). The book also has information on a myriad of other diseases ticks can harbor, and other small critters that can give dangerous bits or stings such as scorpions, black widow spiders and chiggers. I have certainly been educated.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 108 pages, 2008

Junie B. Jones Loves Handsome Warren

by Barbara Park

For a light read between the massive tomes that are Game of Thrones, I picked up a Junie B. Jones book my daughter brought home from the library. This one is about Junie B. and her friends squabbling over the attentions of a new boy at school. They each want him to be their "boyfriend" and to love them. Junie tries her hardest to get Warren's attention but he just thinks she's weird. So she tries to act more normal, but that doesn't work either. Finally her mother tells her that to make new friends she has to be herself, and to show she cares about other people's feelings. In the end, Junie shines all on her own. I did like that.

I also liked some parts of the story that showed Junie in a very realistic light, demanding that her parents take her shopping immediately to get something she wants, assuming that certain possessions and appearances will gain her popularity, and I really liked how she discovered she could find things around her house to dress up in, when her mother wouldn't buy her a princess dress (the results were hilarious, of course). Junie's frequent grammatical errors and use of phrases that seem beyond her years didn't bother me; kids are like that. But it wasn't as amusing as some of the other Junie books I've read. And I did find the entire premise of kindergarten girls fighting over the attentions of a boy rather annoying. My daughter is going into second grade and is just now showing the kind of innocent interest in boys that Junie displays here. Back in kindergarten that was not the case. So it felt a little out of place to me. Might have been more appropriate as part of the "Junie B. Jones: First Grader" series, and even then I might question it.

Rating: 2/5 ........ 80 pages, 1996

more opinions:
Shine Up Your Library Card
Kelly's Journal
Banned Books

A Storm of Swords

by George R.R. Martin

I realize that I never gave a good description of the structure of this series. It's large, sprawling, detailed, well-populated (lengthy character lists in the back, which I actually referred to a few times during this read!) and fascinatingly intricate. I do the best I can here, but it's mostly my impressions and many of the other reviews you can find will give you a fuller synopsis (see a few links below).

Well, here goes. The land is still divided. Several kings each claim their own portion in the south lands, Winterfell has been burned, Joffrey the sadistic puppet boy-king still holds the central seat although plenty of vying factions try to control what happens there regardless of who's supposed to be ruling. Denarys is travelling overland from across the sea through her own maze of war and betrayals to try and reclaim her birthright. In the far north, the real threat looms- hordes of barbarians are attacking the Wall that defends the lower kingdoms, and the diminshed numbers of the Night's Watch are hard-pressed to turn them back. But the Wildlings themselves are fleeing an even greater evil that might overrun all, a doom of which the southern squabbling kings are woefully ignorant (they've been warned, but scoff at the very idea). I keep thinking that the dragons have returned just in time, because what else better to fight frozen demons than creatures breathing fire? I'll just have to wait and see, though, but I suspect that's where this is all going...

And why is there not more about the dragons? they and the direwolves are very interesting to me, but they always take a back seat to what the humans in these books are doing.

I continued to amuse myself by comparing the book to the tv series, although here that will end, as the final fifty pages or so of this book moved beyond the last episode of the third season. There were several major changes, like who Robb's bride was and where she went with him, but not any great shift in plot or character. I still felt for most of the same characters, becoming even more interested in the fates of Tyrion and Sansa, particularly. I was shocked at a few revelations; one of my favorite characters turned out to be a planted informer, betraying the very person he swore to protect- I actually jumped in my seat and shouted aloud at the book when I read that! And the author certainly has no qualms about killing off major characters, let's just say that without further spoilers. Some of those took me by surprise, too. I though I might be weary of this series by the end of this book; it's been slow reading. But the way characters speak to each other explains a great deal of the history of this invented world to me, so that certain things begin to make more sense, certain characters become even more sympathetic, motives are revealed, cause-and-effect more intricately linked, and I am even more invested. Well done.

(These books would certainly get rated one notch higher by me except that I'm not completely enthralled by them. It's a darn good read, and I'm interested in many of the characters, but it splits a bit too much between the eight or nine or ten -never really counted- points of view the chapters alternate around. So I haven't quite fallen in love with it yet, and not sure if I'll ever read the books again after this. I won't really know that until I've completed the entire series, I think. But a three is a good rating, from me! A very solid recommendation).

Rating: 3/5 ....... 1,173 pages, 2000

more opinions:
Passport Books
Books Without Any Pictures
cuddlebuggery book blog
Ludwig's Library

more for the list

Just a few titles this week. The first two are available at my library, the last two aren't. Like to note that for future searches...

Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff- You've GOTTA Read This!
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell- Shelf Love

Heidegger's Glasses by Thaisa Frank - Indextrious Reader
Turning Pages by Tristi Pinkston- It's All About Books

Colors for Zena

by Monica Wellington

Zena is a little girl who loves colors. She wakes one day into a gray, black-and-white room and runs off with her puppy to find where the colors have gone. Each subsequent page features a prominant color- red fire truck and flowers, yellow bus and store fronts, blue sky and birds and so on. Zena wants more colors, so the primaries are introduced again and then mixed together to create pages of orange, green and purple. Along the way Zena collects new friends as well, who follow her on her discovery- an orange lion, a green frog, a purple dragon. At the end she mixes colors herself and paints a lively picture with a rainbow. It's a delightful little story introducing small children to the color wheel. My toddler was enchanted with the bright illustrations and cute characters.

Disclosure note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Rating: 4/5 ........ 32 pages, 2013

The Beginning Place

by Ursula K. LeGuin

This is a book I wish I remembered better and feel I really ought to read again someday. It's a fantasy that begins in the real world, with two young people each from troubled families. The girl, Irene, has been visiting a hidden, alternate world where it is always twilight for many years. When the boy, Hugh, discovers it for the first time (he's twenty-one) she sees him as an intruder and outsider. The town of locals in the magic world are experiencing trouble; something is blocking roads and passages and in fact Irene and Hugh have different problems traveling to and from the magic place and their own mundane world. The townsfolk welcome Hugh as a hero when he arrives which angers Irene; but then she finds they must work together to save their secret world from the evil that threatens it. Of course they eventually become friends and perhaps something more...

Wow, does this modern cover sure look different! I found it while googling further information on the book. The older jacket illustration gave me a sense of an idyllic place when I read the story; the new one imbues it more with a sense of adventure. I wonder if I had first read the novel under the more exciting cover, would it have influenced my interpretation of the story? Have you ever felt like the cover of a book significantly affected how you imagined the story, beyond just what the characters look like?

Rating: 3/5 ........ 240 pages, 1980

Potty Time

by Anne Civardi

This picture book about a two-year-old learning to use the potty is going through its second round in my house. I read it a lot when my first daughter was young, and am reading it to my second child now. It has bright, simple pictures that show the little girl Millie at home with her family (big sister, younger brother) and how she learns to potty. She sees her big sister's example in the bathroom, and then her mom gives her a potty of her own. Her friend tells her what it's for, Mom helps her sit on it (even though nothing happens at first) and she gets out of diapers into "big girl pants" (which I read as "special panties" because that's what I call them with my daughter). Millie has several accidents but is always gently reminded to use the potty instead. She finds that it's okay to potty in different places- taking it along in the car, using it right before bedtime, even occasionally going in the bushes with help from dad when at a picnic. By the end of the book she's using the toilet with some help, and learns to wash her hands afterwards. Then she gets to be the example and tries to sit her baby brother on the potty!

I think it's cute, as well as being a good sample for a child of different activities and experiences that surround toilet training. I also like the home atmosphere in the books; the floors are strewn with toys (just like my house looks most days), the mom always looks gentle and helpful, the family is shown doing things together like making cookies, playing outside with a hose in hot weather, going out on errands. My child is really fond of this book, and was even before we started helping her use the potty in earnest.

When I read it aloud, I do change the euphanisms "Number One" and "Number Two" to the more straightforward "pee pee" and "poo" we use in our house. But the book itself makes that suggestion; there's a brief forward that reminds parents to use whatever terminology they already have in place with their own kids. I don't know why this book seems to have fallen out of favor; the amazon review is rather critical, and nobody else seems to have made notice of it. Maybe some dislike how the pictures show clearly activities surrounding toileting habits, while the text itself doesn't go into great detail. But I think that works just fine; kids don't always need a ton of detailed verbal explanations, whereas they can look at a picture and identify with it clearly. It works for us.

Rating: 4/5 ........ 24 pages, 1988

The Book on the Bookshelf

by Henry Petroski

A history of bookshelves, the physical design of books themselves, and to some extent the organizational systems for libraries. Might sound boring. But I think any book-lover, especially one interested in how things are organized, will find it engaging, as I did. Seeing books lined up vertically on shelves is so much the norm for us that it's hard to imagine finding books in other ways (although stacks on the floor are often a norm for me, too). Petroski looks in detail at all the ways throughout history that books have been kept safe, from the oldest scrolls stored in cubbyholes, to precious volumes safeguarded in locked chests, to various takes on shelving until arriving at the horizontal bookcases we are so familiar with today. He looks at library designs as well, and includes plenty of amusing anecdotes about book-lovers through the ages (I remember in particular Samuel Pepys, who was a book collector paramount to none; he had hundreds of books and apparently had to climb over the piles to reach his bed!) I found most intriguing the descriptions of heavy volumes so valuable (back when books were meticulously copied by hand and took scribes many years of their lives to create) they were actually chained to the shelves to thwart library visitors who might also be thieves. It led me to the title The Chained Library, a book that's been lingering on my TBR list forever now (mostly because my public library doesn't have a copy for me to read). As a little plus, the appendix has all sorts of suggestions on ways to organize your own library, from the usual subject or alphabetical arrangements to sorting by color and other whimsical methods. Overall intriguing and fun at times. The writing is pretty good, too. A lot of it is about engineering of shelving systems, but it's written in a friendly fashion that makes that easy to understand, open to the curious mind. Sure to interest any bibliophile who likes to mess with lists and shuffle their books every now and then (I rearrange my shelves every few years just for the fun of it).

Rating: 4/5 ........ 304 pages, 1999

The Loon

Voice of the Wilderness
by Joan Dunning

Beautiful book about a most interesting bird. I was introduced to Joan Dunning by coming across her book on bird nesting behavior while browsing library shelves; a search turned up this one as well. I clearly remember the calls of loons on a lake in Canada, where I went camping as a kid. It was nice to learn more about them. Dunning's book follows the birds through the four seasons, while describing their behavior and habits. It's a good combination of both scientific facts and lovely prose. The author's delightful black-and-white drawings and color paintings make it a book to treasure.

Rating: 4/5 ........ 143 pages, 1985

Frank and the Tiger

by Dev Ross

This is an easy-reader book my toddler picked out at the library. It has a feature I haven't come across in picture books before; each spread has one side for the parent to read, and on the second page much simpler text for the child to read. My daughter isn't old enough to participate in this way, but I think it's a great idea to get kids involved. The book is about two little friends, a frog and a mouse, who hear a boy calling for his lost tiger. The frog wants to find the tiger and return it to the boy; the mouse is afraid to meet a tiger. It turns out the tiger is just a stuffed toy, but the mission of returning it isn't quite so easy. A dog snatches up the tiger and the pair of friends must try and get it back. When they finally return the toy to the boy, his reaction isn't quite what they expected!  I like the story, but the pictures leave a little something to be desired. The boy is drawn a bit awkwardly and the frog's face looks odd to me as well. But that's a small complaint. My toddler certainly likes this book well enough. It's one of the longest storylines she'll sit through yet.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 41 pages, 2012

A Dog's Life

by Peter Mayle

Humorous observations on the life of a suburban french dog. Well, he didn't start out as a suburban dog. He was abandoned by his first owner and lived some time as a stray, suffering kicks at worst, neglect at best. After fending for himself on the streets, he gets adopted by a writer and life is suddenly better, albeit confusing at first. The dog must learn to get along with his new human's many quirks, finding himself delighted (balls to chew on) puzzled (scoldings at rolling in smelly things) and appalled at turns (baths, particularly). He becomes adept at the art of appeasing angy or frustrated owners (whom he refers to as "The Management"), has constant run-ins with cats and handymen (or was it a plumber?) and repeatedly attempts to woo a female dog that lives next door. It's a funny little book stuffed with sarcastic humor and all sorts of witty little pokes at our own habits, as you would expect of a story told from the dog's viewpoint. I believe the author was portraying himself as the dog's owner. The scrawly illustrations add an extra bit of charm and amusement.

Rating: 3/5 ........ pages, 1995

more opinions:
prettymayleen
Reading Thots
finnfolk

The Scalpel and the Butterfly

by Deborah Rudacille

I go through periods of interest in certain non-fiction subjects, and then read all the books I can get my hands on around that- usually finding other titles of note in the resource lists and continuing on a spin until my interest flags, with more books noted than I originally started with! Over the past years, the subjects most often include field studies of wildlife behavior, but also things like ape language experiments, king arthur legends, the art of falconry, adventures in sailboats, the slow food movement, Charles Lindbergh (spurred by a school project) and animal-rights issues.

Of all the books I read on the animal-rights front, this one seemed the least biased, carefully stating facts from both sides. The author presents a 150-year history of the conflicts between scientists using animals in biomedical research, and the activists seeking to protect animal rights, concerned for their welfare. There are detailed chapters showing personal stories from both sides. On the one hand, it is pointed out that many advancements in medical science would not have been possible without research and testing using animals. On the other hand, the cruel practices and suffering of animals is exposed- not only from activists trying to shut down labs and threatening violence to specific scientists, but also more subtly, people working from within the system to try and improve things yet keep the labs functional.

I don't think reading this book changed my mind any, but it certainly taught me a lot. It's a pretty compelling read, even if it does stray from time to time into philosophical asides- which I mostly glossed over. In the end, it appears that the author's stance (even though she tries to be neutral you can feel which side she leans towards through the writing) is that research is a necessary evil- we would not be where we are today without it, but things can and must be greatly improved.

Rating: 4/5   .......  389 pages, 2000

books that caught my eye

The Eighty Dollar Champion by Elizabeth Letts- Across the Page
Tiger Lily by Jodi Ann Anderson- It's All About Books
Pandora's Lunchbox by Melanie Warner- It's All About Books

A Gift Upon the Shore by M.K. Wren- The Lost Entwife
The Breakaway by Michelle Davidson Argyle - It's All About Books
Openly Straight by Bill Kongigsburg- Stuff as Dreams are Made On
The Bohemian Love Diaries by Slash Coleman- Bookfoolery
Everybody Has Everything by Katrina Onstad- Bookfoolery

Star of the Sea

by Linda Haldeman

Linda Haldeman wrote one of my very favorite books, The Lastborn of Elvinwood (Which I will write about here someday, putting it off because what I really want to do is read it again!) Over the years I've looked hopefully for more of her books but discovered finally that she only wrote three.This is the last one I found and read. It's just as intriguing and original as her others, but did not quite captivate me like the other two. And it's been long enough that unfortunately I do not remember much about it, at this point. I do know it's about a girl in a religious school (Catholic?) and there is something about a statue of the Virgin Mary. I have a vague impression of an unhappy, lonely girl (perhaps picked on, or neglected?) who fixates on the statue as being able to solve her problems with a miracle, and in the end there was a scene on a cliff, and a fall from a great height... but it's really all a muddle. Have any of you read this little-known book? can you remind me more about it? I'm wondering if I should trouble to look for it again...

Rating: 3/5  ........  182 pages, 1978

When Dogs Run Wild

by Christine Gentry

This is one of those little-known books so specific in subject that I suspect it will only appeal to a limited audience. It's a report on a study done in the eighties on the behavior of stray dogs in a certain town. The author spent quite a lot of time following dogs around and observing exactly what they do when on their own. She noted which dogs were strictly strays- having no home to speak of- and which had homes but were often running loose. It seemed to be a common habit in her town that at night dogs were simply put outside and left to their own devices. If I remember correctly (it's been a few years since I read this one, and can't locate a copy to borrow for reminders) most of the book looked at the possibility of dogs spreading disease, how they interacted with each other (pack behavior), and specifically how they found food sources. The actual stray dogs varied between accepting handouts and scavenging food; the pet dogs let loose at night chased livestock for amusement and then went home to eat. One of the main aims of the study was to see how roaming dogs were affecting wildlife. The conclusion was not quite what I expected; contrary to popular belief, the author surmised that damage to livestock attributed to coyotes is more likely caused by the roaming pets, who of course aren't going to eat what they kill (or just injure the animals and don't follow through with a kill), since supper is provided at home. It was an interesting book. I wonder if any subsequent studies have been done along a similar vein...

Rating: 3/5 ........ 195 pages, 1983

winner!

Random.org has chosen Jenny as the winner of my kitty paws-and-noses bookmark giveaway. Have fun reading with a kitty companion, Jenny!
~
In other news, I can't believe an entire week has gone by without me writing anything about books here. I've been preoccupied with a good thing- I have a new little nephew! and this week have been busy making baby gifts. It's a good reason to be distracted from reading time! And he's really cute!)

bookmarks giveaway!

Time for a giveaway. Who would like a pair of kitty paws and noses to grace their pages? Just leave a comment here and you'll be entered for this free bookmark set!

Giveaway ends a week from now, Mon Aug 5. Open to anyone with a mailing address in the US or Canada. Happy reading!

Curious George

by Margaret and H.A. Rey

I've missed reviewing children's books lately, and so am trying to get back into that. Especially as my youngest is starting to move beyond the board books and into regular picture books, which are a bit more interesting to write about. She's really into Curious George lately, and this is the one where it all started (we have five Curious George books on our shelf at home, and keep finding others to borrow from the library).

The basic storyline here is that a man who seems to always dress in yellow with a wide-brimmed hat captures a young monkey from the jungle, takes him home to put in the zoo but ends up rather adopting George (in a subsequent book) to live in his house. George causes all kinds of mischief but it always turns out alright in the end.

All the stories about George follow a similar pattern, although I find the originals more endearing; the later books that have been written by a different author are a bit too formulaic for me. But the originals have a few issues of their own. One is that they definitely show evidence of being written in a different era. There seems to be no problem with the idea that a man on vacation (or whatever he was doing there- exploring? collecting more likely) can just bring a wild animal home with him. I find the method of capture charming, as it reflects the insatiable curiosity of the little monkey- the man simply puts his hat on the ground, George approaches and tries to put it on himself, hides his own eyes, and is caught.  On the way home via ship George falls overboard and is rescued; once back in America he spends the night at the man's house and eats dinner at the table, then smokes a pipe (hello- what?!) before going to bed. The next day the monkey is left alone for a while and plays with the telephone (a very archaic-looking instrument to my kids!) which gets him in trouble with the fire department and thrown in jail. He escapes, walks across telephone wires, flies away with a bunch of balloons and eventually is found by the iconic man-with-the-yellow-hat (this fellow never has a real name) who takes him to the zoo where he appears happy despite the austere environment- a bare cage with just a swing.

I'm guessing most of the issues here won't bother kids at all. The one that actually bugs me most is that George is consistently called a monkey when he looks like a chimpanzee- although his fur is reddish brown, not black.

It's funny though; even though when I think closely about it I find some things odd or inappropriate about the original stories, I still like them better than the newer books. (There are two sets of these, which we've found at the library. One which mimicks the original style closely, the others seem to be based on a tv series and has a smooth, animated look, not hand-illustrated. I have another set of minor issues with these, which will come up later if I continue to write about them). The originals just have more charm, and of course are loaded with nostalgia for me. My mom read them to me over and over, when I was a kid.

Rating: 4/5 ......... 64 pages, 1941

Tales of Wonder

by Jane Yolen

Jane Yolen's collection of short stories draws on traditional folk tales, legends, myths and fairy tales to make something new. The stories all feel familiar, but with different characters, unexpected turns and fabulously original interpretations. If I remember rightly, they're not really kid's stories but have dark undertones and are probably more geared towards adult readers. Once again, this is a book I'm making a note of mostly to remind myself that I'd like to read it again someday if I can ever find it. I believe the book is out of print. Have any of you read it?

Rating: 3/5 ........ 275 pages, 1983

My Animal Kingdom, One by One

by David Taylor

This is the first book I read by David Taylor, and it got me hooked on the author. He's a wildlife veterinarian, who worked mostly for zoos and owners of private animal collections, during the late 1950's through the sixties. I remember thinking when I first started reading Taylor, finally an author who lives up to the comparison to James Herriot. So many books about animals (vets in particular) claim to be as good as Herriot, and none every quite matched up until now. Taylor's books are engaging, humorous, and include all kinds of interesting facts about wild animals and their medical treatment, seamlessly woven into the story. I enjoy them a lot.

Unfortunately, this is one volume I haven't been able to get my hands on again (I intend to have all his books in my personal library, some day) so I can't relate any individual stories of the animals, because I no longer remember them clearly. I will be eager to read it again someday. Have any of you read his books?

Rating: 3/5......... 196 pages, 1984

A Clash of Kings

by George R.R. Martin

The strife goes on. Warring factions take sides, shift and betray and battle it out. Everyone wants their own outcome, hardly anyone gets it. The weight of choices. Four different men have proclaimed themselves king over part of the land (or all of it) so everything is turmoil. I admit I had a bit of difficulty keeping track of what was happening when it came to the tangle of warfare, especially the chapter that comprised a battle at sea, that was just a blur to me. But the viewpoints of individual characters and how larger events affected them kept me grounded. To my surprise I found myself more invested in Sansa's plight than the other characters. I still admire her fierce sister Arya, the young noblewoman wandering the realm in the guise of a lowborn boy, at first just trying to survive but now finding ways to take vengeance on those who have killed her family members. But Sansa's difficulties lie in keeping her head while held in the castle of her enemies and betrothed to a cruel boy-king who turns out to be a vicious sadist- I really felt for her. Also I'm more admiring of Tyrion the dwarf, his ways of holding good his word and standing up for others even whilst going after his own interests and view of justice within his role as Hand of the King. And even though I don't like him, the parts about Theon Greyjoy were interesting. The guy was raised as ward in someone else's household; to all appearances treated well, but felt himself held captive and came back to overthrow Winterfell and claim it for his own when the place was not well-manned. His success and rule was bitter and short-lived; everyone seems to hate the miserable fellow. Seems to just be desperate for some recognition and power of his own.

Perhaps because the book gives far more details, I got better at understanding the motives behind different characters' actions. Even the plotting and war strategies started to make sense to me. It was intriguing to see the differences made when the tv series was created- I noticed quite a few shifts in plot, mostly regarding when various characters were introduced. Also in what happened during some of the battles, although the outcome was always the same. I continue to carry in my head the faces the film introduced me to, when reading the pages.

I wasn't quite sure if I was going to actually make it all the way through this book (any volume that requires an extensive appendix to keep track of characters makes me weary- too much work to remember them all!) but I found myself getting more and more interested the further I read. Definitely continuing onward.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 1009 pages, 1999

More opinions:
Blood Rose Books
The Fake Steph
The Mad Reviewer
Tongue Sophistries
Ivan's Brain

more new-to-me titles

found via the fellow bloggers listed below

Primates by Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks- Things Mean a Lot
The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout- Shelf Love
Confessions of a Sociopath by ME Thomas- Estella's Revenge
Paleofantasy by Marlene Zuk- Things Mean a Lot
Mortality by Christopher Hitchens- Farm Lane Books Blog
Bird by Rita Murphy- Stuff as Dreams are Made On
The Blueberry Years by Jim Minick- Sophisticated Dorkiness
My Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding- Read Warbler
A Place Called Wiregrass by Michael Morris- You've Gotta Read This!
Slammerkin by Emma Donohue- Reading the End
The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr- It's All About Books and Reading the End
Buddy by Brian McGrory from Maggie Reads
The Journal of Best Practices by David Finch- Caroline Bookbinder
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks- Farm Lane Books Blog
The War at Ellsmere by Erin Faith Hicks- You've Gotta Read This!
Dandelion Hunter by Rebecca Lerner- Bookwyrme's Lair
In Great Waters by Kit Whitfield- Reading the End
Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger- Stuff as Dreams are Made On
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton Disclafani
Soonchild by Russell Hoban- Things Mean a Lot
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker- Indextrious Reader
A Zeal of Zebras by Whoop Studios- Carol's Notebook
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco- Bookpuddle
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate- Kyusi Reader

books not available in my library system:
The Pill by Bernard Asbell- Reading the End
Unmastered by Katherine Angel- Things Mean a Lot
The Summer Girls by Mary Alice Monroe- Bermudaonion's Weblog
Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon- Farm Lane Books Blog
In the Garden of Stone by Susan Tekulve
The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker- Iris on Books
Saved by Ben Hewitt- Cold Antler Farm
Jewleweed by David Rhodes- The Lost Entwife
Mark of the Grizzly by Scott McMillion- Ardent Reader

these found while browsing said library system:
The Lucky Ones by Jenny Brown
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

Dove

by Robin Lee Graham

Fine adventure story from the sixties about a young man who determined to circumnavigate the world in his 24-foot sailboat. He was only sixteen when he set out on his solo journey. Well, not exactly solo. He had the company of a variety of ship's cats throughout the trip, met and fell in love with a girl, later married her and she accompanied him on the sailboat for different legs of the journey. She also spent a lot of time jumping from place to place around the world to meet him at different ports. In fact, a large part of the book is their love story. There are lots of mishaps, storms, explorations in foreign places and other adventures. And loneliness. He talks a lot about feeling alone on the high seas in that boat with perhaps just a cat or two for company. The journey ended up taking Robin five years, and he didn't exactly make it all the way- if I remember correctly, he set out from Hawaii and finished up in California... But still it's an incredible (true) story one that I enjoyed much. Especially the survivalist bits and about how he did things "the hard way" because there was no other way back then! He didn't have GPS or even a two-way radio but navigated using the stars and various time-honored instruments. It's a book I'd like to revisit someday and I'm rather surprised my library system doesn't have a single copy!

The book came out after the National Geographic serialized his adventures. I'd like to see those articles, I can't recall now if I've read them or not (my parents had a large collection of National Geographics I used to go through as a kid... but more looking for pictures of animals than reading stuff!) Robin's story has also been made into a film- has anyone seen that? what did you think?

Rating: 3/5 ........ 199 pages, 1972

a few more opinions:
Musings
Craftsman Character
Hans is Great

The Wolf Hybrid

by Dorothy Prendergast


Although quite short, this book has a lot of practical information on acquiring, caring for and raising wolf-dog hybrids. The book describes how difficult it can be to handle for these animals, which have a lot of wolf traits (of course) and different behavior patterns from domestic dogs. This can be a plus or a terribly negative impact depending on what sort of wolfish companion you want, how able you are to care for it, meet its unique needs and keep it from being too destructive (high energy and intelligence attribute to that mostly, I gather). Curiously, if I remember rightly, the book points out that some hybrids seem to inherit the desirable personality traits of the wolf- sociability, high intelligence, intensity etc while others seem to have more of the undesirable aggressiveness, desire for dominance, general wildness. You might never know what you're getting into.... For me who read the book as a mere curiosity, it was a great caution about these animals. They must be properly trained and conditioned to living alongside humans or can be very dangerous, as the large numbers of rescued hybrids attest to- having been abandoned or got rid of when their behavior becomes a problem. 

To make it brief- the book was interesting and I learned quite a bit about wolf-dog hybrids, especially how much the author cautions against owning one unless you know how to treat the animal and handle its behavior.

Rating: 3/5 ......... 151 pages, 1989

The River

by Gary Paulsen

A book I really liked as a kid was The Hatchet (I think I still have a copy). I noticed Paulsen had written a few companion volumes to the book, so gave them a try also (several years ago). In The River, our protagonist Brian -a teenager- is now famous for how he survived solo in the wilderness and has been hired by government men to re-enact his escapade in the woods so they can learn his techniques. Brian gets dropped off once again into the northern wilderness, but this time with a back-up team and some supplies. He convinces his adult companion to ditch the supplies, on the grounds that they won't be forced to really survive on what they can find in the woods if easier goods are within reach. But then disaster strikes, Brian finds himself nearly alone again (the other guy incapacitated) and in a moment of desperation builds a raft to try and move downriver to reach help.

So it did end up being a similar type of survival story, with river rapids and an injured companion to haul around thrown in. But the story didn't speak to me nearly as well. I still recall vividly many parts of The Hatchet, especially the psychological stress the kid went through, the encounters with wild animals and unflinching weather. In this later book, things weren't quite so raw. It didn't feel as real, either. Too pat. Plus I never bought into the idea that government would need a teenager to teach them survival skills....

Rating: 2/5 ........ 144 pages, 1991

cleaning house

I have felt the need to clean out my reader recently. I simply don't have as much time as I used to and it would be nice to focus on the blogs that I actually interact with, or find interesting books on, rather than have a bunch of posts to go through that I just end up skipping. I tried to be very systematic about this. In case anyone's curious, these are the criteria I used to decide which blogs to keep in my reader, or let go:

How much I look forward to reading a blog
If I distinctly recall visiting a blog recently, or noticed that the blogger visited me
If we have conversations via comments or email
If I added a book to my TBR within the past two years, from reading their blog

Blogs that I haven't felt compelled to read frequently or gotten book recommendations from, for the most part got moved off my reader. Not to mention blogs that haven't posted anything new in the past six months or more, going defunct themselves (it happens).

I was rather surprised to find that 25 of the blogs I've followed for a long time and am quite familiar with, haven't actually interacted with me in months, or mentioned any books I'd like to read. I had not really noticed that our reading interests no longer converge...

These changes will be reflected in the list of book blog links posted on my sidebar. Please, if you feel you've been unjustly shuffled off my list, do let me know!

I did realize that I'm discovering new blogs in a different way now. I used to go through other bloggers' link lists, but it's been a long time now since I've done that. What I have been doing lately, is searching for other reviews of books I've read to link to when I make my posts. Often I find new blogs that way, with more similar reading tastes.

The Ape In Our House

by Cathy Hayes

I read this book back in 2003, when going through a spate of reads about ape language experiments- efforts made by the scientific community to teach gorillas and chimpanzees sign language or vocal speech (mostly a failure, but quite interesting nonetheless!) This particular book was written well before most of those experiments, but is along a very similar vein. The author was curious about how intelligent chimpanzees actually are, and if one could learn to speak if it were raised like a human child. So assayed to raise a chimp within her family, named Viki. The Hayes soon discovered that although the chimp was quite intelligent, Viki could also be very stubborn and willful, so it was not always easy to discern whether she understood a request or was just refusing to follow it. Viki proved incapable of learning to speak, although with some physical manipulation ("speech therapy") she was able, with a lot of coaxing, to pronounce four simple words. Not always able to use them in proper context, though. She also learned quite a few routines and human behaviors, although again, not consistently, and was never learned to use the toilet, despite all efforts to train her. I am sure there were a lot of anecdotes from Viki's story that intrigued me when I first read this book, but cannot quite recall them now. If I come across it again will certainly make an effort to read it one more time.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 247 pages, 1951

Longing For Darkness

Kamante's Tales from Out of Africa
compiled by Peter Beard and Isak Dinesen

This is one of those books I read once long ago and dearly wish I could get my hands on again someday. I don't even recall now how or where I found it, must of been in a library or I think I would still have a copy. One of my very favorite books is Out of Africa, Isak Dinesen's tale of its lands and people during a bygone era. The richness of that text comes alive in a new way in Longing For Darkness, where we experience a different view of it all. Kamante was Dinesen's major-domo, a native African who helped run her household and mainly worked as her cook. He had his own collection of stories; many of them are included in this volume, in his own words. Some are familiar Dinesen tales told in a new voice, others are Kamante's own animal fables, and a few tales from his family history. There are also photographs and many delightful drawings and watercolors by Kamante himself. It's a book to treasure and one I will certainly snatch up if I ever spot it on a shelf again.

Rating: 4/5 ....... 264 pages, 1991

A Game of Thrones

by George R.R. Martin

Last year I watched the tv series that was based on this fantasy epic. I didn't realize they were books first until my sister gave me her paperback copies to read. It's one of those detailed fantasy tales full of multifaceted characters. It's a world full of strife, different factions battling for power, who will sit on the Iron Throne. Not easy to describe, but as when watching the films, I was drawn in by the characters. My favorites are Jon Snow- illegitimate son of a lord, sent to the outskirts of the world to stand guard against dire things that roam in the frozen forest "beyond the Wall". His young half-sister Arya, a fierce little girl who would rather learn to use a sword than do stitchery and ladylike things. The dwarf Tyrion has grown on me. I didn't care for his bawdy preoccupations at first, but his jokes cut to the quick of things and he has a way of stating the obvious that others would rather avoid. He looks out for himself but in his own way has more integrity than a lot of the other people crawling around on those pages. My other favorite character is Daenerys, an exiled princess making her way back a homeland she can't even remember. Early on in the book she was sold by her brother to be the wife of the lord of a band of barbaric nomads. Through the course of the story she had to learn their customs and came to hold her own, win their respect and wield her own power. If you're looking for strong female protagonists, Daenerys is your woman.

There are plenty more characters I like and tend to follow their threads of the storyline when all the intrigue, politicking and battles get tedious (although the recommendation I read on another blog about Martin writing battles well was accurate. I don't get too bored!) Truthfully, this is one case where I liked the film version better than the novel. If I'd read this book first, I don't know if I would have made it through. It's a bit light on description, which fails to draw me in and make me turn the pages eagerly as I'd like. Having seen the film, my mind fills in the visuals and instead I enjoy seeing where the story has been changed. Not much; so far the tv series has been very faithful to the book.

I like the grim realism of it all. There's mysterious doings and religious fanatics, scheming courtiers and common people simply trying to live their lives who get caught up in things. I thought at first it was going to just be a story about kings and knights and ladies and warfare, but there are hints of darker stuff going on, and there's magic although realistically the people doubt it themselves. There are things that make the dead walk, seers who can enter dreams and the vision of animals, and dragons. Those appeared only at the very end of the story, so I am full of anticipation for the next installment.

Rating: 3/5 ....... 835 pages, 1996

more opinions:
Book Geeks
Ardent Reader