Let's Catch Up: Books

 

Sigh, vacation is over and it's time to return to our normally scheduled blog content.  Let's ease our way in with a cheesecake-ish pic of Doggo and talk about books!  Soooooo many books.

I listened to two more audio books on my trip.  I layered things so that I had the pattern of light book - heavier book - light book - heavier book.  The first light/heavier combo was Living With a Seal and Growing Up Amish (recapped here).

The next book was something that people have been telling me to read forever and I finally picked up.  We're Going to Need More Wine: Stories that are Funny, Complicated, and True by Gabrielle Union.

Good things to say: the title delivered.  There were a lot of funny, complicated, and true stories.  It feels wrong to say this, but the "best" as in most powerful part of the book was her rape story.  It was some seriously powerful writing on an important topic, and for that alone I would recommend dropping everything and picking up the book if you haven't already.

Bad things to say: some of her stories went far past the point where I could suspend disbelief.  Look, I understand that if you're at the level where you're a celebrity but don't have a personal assistant at your beck and call and it's the pre-Amazon Prime era that if you walk into a drug store and everyone stops to chat because they recognize you that yes you might shy away from buying the Monistat that you came there for.  But when the story goes from there to vanilla Dannon yogurt as a home remedy???  The other thing is that at times I felt like she was shying away from being herself in favor of presenting her image. The further that I get from the book the more I find I'm annoyed by that feeling, especially given the writing power and raw honestly of the next book that I read.

The next book is the current "It" book of the The Sarah's Bookshelves Podcast, which is The Wives: A Memoir by Simone Gorrindo.  The author is a military spouse, and relocated to a military base soon after her marriage.  This is a book about military marriage, and marriage in general.  The cherry on top is that Gorrindo is a professional writer, and her craft shines.  She is one of those writers that could publish her grocery list and it would be fascinating.  This is her first book and I hope that it is the first of many.

Now it's time to talk about the  😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻 book.  I ended up not starting it until I got back from my trip, and I found myself coming up with extra projects to do around the house so that I could spend more time listening.

I mentioned that when I was in Spring Green I went to a bookstore and a book leapt off the shelves and said "take me home".  The book was The Year of the Puppy: How Dogs Become Themselves by Alexandra Horowitz.

Like I said, I was wandering around Arcadia Books minding my own business when I saw this book.  I said to myself "huh, that sounds interesting and I'm probably gonna need another audio book to finish out the trip" so I pulled out my phone then and there and got myself the audio book on Libby. 

As I drove away from the store, the thought dawned in my head that if I was interested in reading a book about a puppy that my partner in Puppy Parenthood would also be interested in reading a book about a puppy.  And that it was almost Father's Day. 

The next day I returned to Spring Green with Anne and Engie, and right after lunch I marched right back into Arcadia books and snapped up a physical copy of the book.  Hubs is currently off the grid on the annual Boy Scout trip, but he started reading it on the plane and we'll catch up on it when he gets back.  Hubs and I aren't big gift givers, and we have permission to skip gifts for each other unless we find a winner, so right off that bat I had extra love for this book because it fit the bill for a Father's Day present.

The best way to tell you how I feel about this book is that I feel seen.  I've been on the journey of all first time puppy parents, where you kind of know going in that you'll have a few sleepless nights but that there also seems to be something more to it that no one is telling you.  Having a puppy is the most wonderful, horrible thing, and yes I'll write more about this some day when we're further along in the puppy journey.  For now I'll just say that dogs are complicated and dammit they have every right to be since they're so awesome.  They start as cute little fur balls, and then they become teenagers...for a very long time and every dog is different on when the teenage era ends and adulthood begins.   Hubs and I know that we're new at the puppy game and that we've had to learn everything right along with Doggo.  So when Horowitz, who is dog researcher who knows everything about dogs, gets a puppy and then gets caught off guard by how hard it is to have a puppy...I just want to reach through the book and give her a hug and say "THANK YOU!!!!"

I was chatting with a friend about the book, and she asked me if it was a "how to" guide.  It is not and that's another reason why this book is so wonderful.  There is no shortage of dog training advice out there and most of it is, to put it kindly, not helpful.  Horowitz sticks to "I write about dogs for a living, here's what I know about dogs, and here's what it was like when I got a puppy".  She touches again and again on the sad and sobering statistic that most dogs who are surrendered to shelters are given up during their teenage phase.

Anyways, this is a must read for my fellow Puppy Parents, and a recommended read for anyone who likes dogs.  Or good writing.

Last but not least, my current read is the latest Ann Napolitano.  Within Arm's Reach is a big 'ol family saga.  I'm still piecing together all of the different characters and what's happening, but so far I can tell you that I like it.  TBD if it makes me bring out the kleenex like Hello Beautiful did.

That's a wrap on books lately.  Whatcha reading?