book review

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    Book Review You’re With Me

    A while back, Timothy McHenry asked me to review his latest novel called You’re With Me. It’s about a teenage girl, her life, and her dog. Amid (gestures wildly) all the things going on, it took me a while to finish the book. It’s hard to review You’re With Me without giving too much away. So to start, I will share that I texted a couple of my writer / author friends mid-book to say the foreshadowing indicates some Big Sad ahead. One of them replied something like, “As long as the dog doesn’t die!” We all laughed about that because … right?! I can indeed report. The dog does not die in this book.

  • For the Love of Dog Book Review

    If you’ve ever wondered how we ended up with the dogs we love at our sides, what we know about their unique abilities (thanks to science), and how they help us survive all the things, then I hope you enjoy this For the Love of Dog book review. The book is part memoir, part research paper, and part life stress and pet loss treatise. It’s written by Maggie Marton, who also authors “Oh My Dog!” She’s a pal and a colleague; a dog and kiddo mom extraordinaire; dog nerd and cancer survivor. She understands and reveals a lot in this book. It’s subtitle is How Dogs Think and the Unbreakable Bond That Connects Us. You will cry a little. I did. But, you will also laugh out loud and learn a lot.

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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.

  • Book Review of The Hill by Leif Lathrop

    Needed to do something different for about 1,000 reasons this week, so here’s an entirely off topic book review of The Hill by Leif Lathrop. It truly is an uplifting (and sometimes heart-pounding) story about the 6-man high school football team he coaches. It’s truly cinematic in scope and a fun read for anyone who already loves or wants to learn about life, community, and football in a small town. Lathrop is an accomplished artist (as seen recently on a 3-minute segment aired on CBS Evening News), fellow Colorado author, and a former semi-pro football coach. He also happens to be a high school classmate of mine and the leading man in another friend and classmate’s life.

  • Dog Book for Kids Review

    Don’t you love the idea of kids learning about dogs through reading? WT Kosmos asked me for a dog book for kids review for the first book in a planned series. It’s called Maya & Waggers – I have to scoop what? (ha ha) The truth is that I had a few issues with some things in the chapter book for kids ages 8 and up. Let’s clap for Kosmos who took my feedback and made revisions so that kids learn accurate (and safe) info about dogs and dog training, including how to teach sit and the dangers of dogs running loose. Yay! Let’s take a look at the book’s premise.

  • A Dog of Many Names Book Review

    This book review of A Dog of Many Names by Douglas Green is so long overdue it’s comical. The book’s publicist first contacted me a year ago. The review copy arrived in March 2021 in advance of a July release date, but I didn’t get around to reading the book until Clover had minor surgery in October 2021. I took a walk on a local trail in town and then sat next to a creek to read until I got word I could pick her up. I nearly stopped reading the book several times for several reasons, but I did finish it in a single day. I tried contacting the publicist again in October with some questions / concerns, but I never heard back. Still, I think it’s worth discussion, so let’s get to it.

  • Zen and the Art of Caring for Pets Book Review

    Donna Kelleher, DVM, is a holistic veterinarian who works in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Her most recent book Zen and the Art of Caring for Pets chronicles her career path and challenges with the demands of the veterinary profession itself and the pressures (and annoyances) caused by clients. Over the years, she worked in emergency / critical care and even for a veterinary practice purchased by a corporation. The book addresses the high rate of suicide among veterinarians (that I talked about recently in the post about how not to get fired as a veterinary client). Kelleher offers keen insights into how she practices veterinary medicine today — from cancer cases to chronic allergies and beyond. The 2 of us agree in many things. Some things in the book, though, I disagree with, doubt, and bring a heavy dose of skepticism too. She knows that based on our private conversations via email and encouraged me to write a book review anyway. So here you go.