book review

  • Book Review The Insomniacs

    Thanks to a long-ago subscription to an online group for professional, indie writers I amassed quite a few connections, including some incredibly successful people. That’s how I kind of *know Allison Winn and get the chance to follow along with her new ventures — including her prior novels with movie and series rights bought by big-name Hollywood folks. Her latest novel, The Insomniacs, is a murder mystery that Parade magazine’s reviewer thinks should be the next season of Only Murders in the Building and should have a sequel pronto. Not that she needs my help to promote her newest novel, but I think you will enjoy it too. I highly recommend you read The Insomniacs and all of her other books, especially if you need a boost of spirit. And, yes, she’s a lover of dogs, especially rescued labs and lab mixes.

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    Book Review Away to Me

    While getting through 4 straight days without electricity, internet, cell phone service, and running water due to a massive wind storm, I felt thankful that I’d already bought and downloaded Patricia McConnell’s first-ever murder mystery novel — Away to Me — for my Kindle. Grateful too that my Kindle was 90% charged when the power went out last Thursday. You probably know McConnell from her longtime work as an animal behaviorist and author of many nonfiction books.

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    WinterTide Book Review

    Winter finally started at Chez Me this week. So, maybe it’s a good time to talk about my pal Brette Sember’s new book called WinterTide: Survive and Thrive in the Year’s Coldest, Darkest Season. Brette grew up near Buffalo, New York, so she knows winter. A bunch of the book’s recommendations also come from her trip to Iceland. So fun. Learned a lot!

    Our first real snow finally fell a couple days ago, which is really late for us. Really late. So, to be honest, between the snow, cold, and wind + feeling trapped inside by lack of shoveling, I’m feeling a little stabby about winter already. That can’t be good.

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    Book Review 100 Dogs and Counting

    100 Dogs and Counting is the latest book by Cara Sue Achterberg about her adventures fostering dogs and about the efforts of so many to save more dogs from places where they face little hope of being adopted. If you’re looking for something new to read as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on and you feel strong enough to learn some tough things about the reality of animal sheltering and rescues, I recommend reading this book — with a few caveats (at the bottom of the page).

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    Please Support One of My Favorite Independent Authors

    Over the holiday break, we received the devastating news that our amazing border collie friend Angelo earned his wings on an ordinary night in his sleep. If you don’t already know Angelo’s story and other tales and images from his epic love story with Leland Dirks — Angelo’s human companion, our friend and one of my favorite independent authors — now is the perfect time to show some support by buying and reading one (or all) of his books.

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    Book Review Animal Lover’s Guide to Changing the World

    My book review process typically starts with finally being offered a book of interest. I agree to write and post a review. Then, I promptly freak-out about finding the time to read the book. Weather, in turns out, did me a favor. Thursday, May 3, 2018, we got a ton of heavy, wet snow. So much that I didn’t go to agility class. So much that we lost power (and phone service) for about 12 hours. I did as much writing work as possible on my laptop and through sparing use of our battery back-up system to access wifi a few times to check email, but there was only so much I could do. So, I read Stephanie Feldstein’s book all in one sitting. Here is my book review Animal Lover’s Guide to Changing the World – Practical Advice and Everyday Actions for a More Sustainable, Humane, and Compassionate Planet. Details on the book giveaway at the end. Scroll down.