Koontz on Sharing One's Life With Dogs

Dogs' lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know the pain is coming, you're going to lose a dog, and there's going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with her, never fail to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can't support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion. There's such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware it comes with an unbearable price. Maybe loving dogs is a way we do penance for all the other illusions we allow ourselves and for the mistakes we make because of those illusions.

-Dean Koontz
The Darkest Evening of the Year

So true, so true.

Follett's Marvelous Medieval Sagas

One evening while accompanying Victor on a run to Costco to pick up dog food I wandered, as I usually do, over towards their book area. My eyes caught sight of a lovely book cover - I tend to be attracted to the illuminated style, and the cover completely drew me in. I read the book's description and was completely hooked on the idea that I must take it home and crack the cover immediately. This heavy tome was actually the second of the series, I was later to learn, but no matter - it had me in its grasp. The book in question was Ken Follett's World Without End. I was mildly familiar with the name, having worked in bookstores at various periods of my life, and associated it with espionage and not period fiction.

The interwoven stories of the citizens of Kingsbridge, from childhood on, pull the reader in and makes them interested in the fates of the characters, and one can become emotionally attached to perceived injustices or those instances of good fortune. I absolutely could not put the book down and was thankful for the carpooling Victor and I have been doing as it allowed me to get valuable reading time in during the tedious work commute (an otherwise miserable experience in the overcrowded, dismal concrete jungle that is the Dallas metroplex).

Once I finished World I was on the hunt for its predecessor, Pillars of the Earth, hoping to find it on Costco's book tables as well and getting a good deal. But that was not to be, and needing a "fix," I ordered it through Amazon. I was NOT disappointed! Once again I became mesmerized by the intertwined stories revolving around the building of a new cathedral in the town of Kingsbridge. Heartbreaking and uplifting and at times maddening, once again the reader becomes involved with the well-fleshed-out characters. Both books also brought new insights into how things worked during those times - politics, self interest and promotion, injustices wrought by the wealthy (nothing new there!) and the reality of daily life amidst the differing classes and the clergy.

I was excited to learn that Pillars is currently in production for a miniseries (oh how I would rather a big screen affair - but this will do). More information on the film may be found here. For more on Ken Follett and his work, visit this site.

Book Nook - The Innocent Man / Sharp Objects / Blood Memory

Sharing some more books that I enjoyed recently...

I've found one really nice side effect from carpooling these days - I can read!! Lately there just hasn't been enough time to enjoy books, so my payoff for having to stay anywhere from 30-60 minutes later than my schedule (now that "summer hours" are over) while waiting for Victor, is that I can read in the car (once I get past my chauffeur's "gun it-then-brake" method of [rush hour] driving which can give me killer carsickness). I also tend to work on various contract projects while at the office that extra bit.

I zipped through this one, beginning during my shift as a mid-track foul judge at GIT's race meet (to pass the time between races). Mesmerizing, and also a bit frightening, when considering the outright deviousness of law enforcement (both police and lawyers) and the ultimate injustices perpetrated upon a once-hailed school athlete and a passing friend of his. The escalating inhumane treatment of an obviously mentally ill man further adds to the sadistic behavior of not only the prison guards, but all the way up to those litigating the case against their chosen suspect.

I snagged this book thanks to a Barnes and Noble gift card and a sale they were having on trade paperbacks (of which the Grisham novel above was also from). Chosen because it involved a damaged main character (a newshound who was a cutter) thrown into the midst of smalltown murders. This was another book that I was able to breeze through fairly quickly, keeping me interested enough to stay up a bit later than the norm. This was a debut novel and I look forward to more from this author (Gillian Flynn).

Oh my - this was a VERY rewarding impulse buy from our trip to Costco to pick up a big load of dog kibble. I always find it super-hard to get by their book tables, and this one caught my eye. It's a thick sucker too - 800 pages - but still a fast read. Like "Sharp Objects" this is another dysfunctional family, another damaged protagonist, another small town, and more gruesome murders to solve, although the main character in this one is an alcoholic with impulse control "issues" and is involved in forensics (and not a reporter). There's some interesting plot twists and the ideas on repressed memory were interesting. I think I am going to have to pick up Iles' first novel featuring Cat Ferry!

Now I am well into yet another book - will post about it upon its finish. It's not even a bloody crime book either . I think dog lovers will want to check it out!

New Series Discovery

New to me at least...I've been out of the loop a bit when it comes to various book releases considering I used to work at a bookstore (ages ago). While shopping at Costco picking up a heavy load of kibble for the crew, I made the mistake of wandering by the books area. This does not a "quick errand" make! I am a horribly addicted bibliophile, and with 2 piles of books at least 2 feet high on my nightstand, I should really plow through those before snagging new material...but who has the time?! Having ADD does NOT help in this regard either - as I usually have 3-5 pieces of reading I try to get through - but every once in a while, I have one that takes precedence above all other reading choices...and New Moon was one of those! I couldn't dream of picking up anything else until I finished it! It's a "creature feature" - vampires and werewolves walk among the relatively "normal" people. It's classified as a "young adult" fiction choice - but it's not written in a "see Dick run" style at all. It was an enjoyable read for sure!

Of course...the bad news for me? This was Book 2 in a series - the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. So now I've got to get the first book, as well as books 3 and 4.

Need to get the first book, Twilight , fast. It is coming soon to the theaters! The young actor who played Cedric in the Harry Potter films is cast as the lead.

Forever Borzoi

I got word yesterday that my story submitted for inclusion in the Forever Borzoi book has made the cut! I wrote about what a huge turn (for the better) my life took when I brought Nikki into my home and heart. I had two stories included in the Being Borzoi publication - that publication won an award too! It's a great collection of stories about living with and sharing one's life with Borzoi from various individuals. My stories were about Miss T's adventure when she got loose in the "wilds" of Lancaster, TX and our searching for her with a Bloodhound, and her recovery; and a story about Burni's interesting ex-pen habit we discovered at a show. I had also submitted several photographs so I will be interested to see how the publication turns out!

In the meantime, check out their web site, and consider purchasing one of the books! They donate a portion to NBRF or the CHF Donor Advised Fund (depending on which book you purchase).

Potter Time

This weekend we got to be quaint and act like "normal" folks since we had no doggie events to attend (having missed entering the Longview shows before the limit was reached). Since the numbers are historically small we figured it was no great loss anyway.

Saturday I spent the day off. REALLY off. I had my nose in the most recent Harry Potter saga and am currently halfway through the tome. Even though I've already taken in the summary posted at Wikipedia - I just couldn't wait since Amazon fell down on the job getting the book to me close to its release date.

On Sunday, we opted to take in a movie for once! We were certainly overdue for one - and our natural choice was moviedom's latest Harry Potter saga. We even went overboard by heading to the Studio Movie Grill so that we could eat way too much food and take in some cocktails as well - it you can call a 20 oz. mixer titled "Miami Viced Tea" as well as a huge goblet containing a frozen Mudslide "cocktails". And they don't skimp on the liquor either! The movie was MARVELOUS although a bit too condensed - they really could have added another hour to it without it becoming excruciating - there's a lot to tell in this installment. I guess I can understand why many Potter-people are disappointed with this one - the story gets darker as it moves along in each book - so surely they would realize the movies will too! I think some people are expecting the shiny, happy wonderment of the first book/movie to continue throughout the entire series. I also think they just can't believe that the young stars of this story are growing up...especially the lead, Daniel Radcliffe who has branched out into more serious projects during his breaks from Potter-work.

Amidst all this, we did manage to get some updated pictures of some of the crew here, which I hope to post soon on the site. New pix include Fawn (formerly known as Pockets) spent several days with us while her 'mom' Susan travelled - so we got some nice shots of her; Zander, who will be heading to BC, Canada soon, and is now in the midst of a coat change and has oodles more black tipping; and Peepers, who is quite the elegant little black whirlwind, who still does not appreciate the ability to stand still and stacked! Much too serious work for her!