Alison Krauss/ video with our Emily Trask and a bunny - "End of a Summer Storm" from Sandra Boynton's "Frog Trou...

GB and the Buddha

Today is National Puppy Day, and can you believe it - You-Know-Who didn't want me near the computer.  I had to pull out my best trick - ignoring her.  I just turned my back, refused to respond when she called me, didn't chase after my stuffed Lamb Chop which is just like the one Sharie Lewis had only smaller; I turned my nose up at multiple treats.  Finally she gave in, and here I am, clicking keys on National Puppy Day.  I know I'm not a puppy any longer, but my heart is still young, and the years have taught me a thing or two.  I observe.  I take it all in and on Sunday I was very interested in what YKW was reading since it involved me.

YKW was reading a book called Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.  It is something about the Gautama Buddha.  Now, I'm  an admirable, disciplined animal.  I keep to a schedule and every night before the big hand gets to eight, I like getting a long, vigorous scratch.  She picks me up and every night says "Time to rub the Buddha belly."   My vet says I am "well insulated."  This book is obviously about me and I paged through it when she put it down.  

This story takes place in Nepal.  My peeps come from Tibet so there's another connection.  A young boy named Sid (Siddhartha takes too long to type with my short fingers) leaves home and goes on a spiritual journey.  I take those once in a while.  When spring arrives, I like to march around our house every morning to smell what's new.  Sid does a couple things different from me, however.  He fasts - something that seems just plain silly - he meditates (not sure what that is but it might have something to do with watching birds) and he gives away all his stuff.  Me, give me a couple good bowls for food and water, a bed in the living room, a pillow by the deck door, a blanket next to the couch, a front door with a window for watching air and stuff, plenty of fuzzy stuffed things and I'm good to go.  

Sid meets and has a few chats with this Buddha guy but doesn't like everything he has to say so he decides to go about his journey alone to find out what is important in his personal world.  Sid has lots of adventures and some misadventures; he becomes rich.  Near the end of his life, he figures out that those things have not fulfilled him.  I guess  that  Buddha fellow was right after all.

Siddhartha is all well and good, I suppose as far as minor philosophies go.  But if you want some solid, practical life lessons, look no further than this little gem.  No author listed.  Perhaps the writer is just too modest.  Perhaps the writer wants readers to believe that these wisdoms come from the heart of an Everydog sort - like me.   (Paws can't get the computer to stop centering.  GRRR.).

You'll find lots of dogie thoughts here, things that can be used today, tomorrow and well into next week.  Each page has a picture of one of my peeps; and even better, each page is a postcard.  You can take it out and mail it to one of your human friends who might need a little help getting his or her tail wag on.

So, that's it for this edition of The Dog Blog.  Remember, today is National Puppy Day.  Write your congressman today so we can make this a year long holiday.  Puppies of the world UNITE.

My New Character Crush

Lucky for us everyone in our group is sensible, polite, and best of all, brave.  Our discussion of The Life List required all three characteristics.   We were evenly divided - love/hate - no in-between on this one.  You already know where I stand, so I won't go into that again.  The best part of this night was that those who loved the book stood their ground.  Us haters hated vigorously, but when we wrapped things up and moved on to our Academy Awards night fashion commentary, all was forgotten.  Our next selection is a collection of short stories called Vampires in the Lemon Grove.  I prefer short stories to most other type of reading, and look forward to this oddly named book.  Hopefully the discussion will be as jolly as last week's.

One of my frequent drop-in-for-a-random-book-discussion customers has been raving about Clive Cussler for years and this weekend, I gave him a try.  Somehow, I got it into my thick head that all Cussler's books take place on submarines during WWII which is not to my liking.  But I do like books set in Africa so I grabbed a copy of Sahara.  Good choice.

My new book crush, Dirk Pitt, is scrounging around in the Nile hoping to find the remains of a funeral barge.  While in Africa, he runs into Dr. Roja who is trying to discover the source of a plague that is threatening to knock out entire villages.  She is also in danger of being murdered by a group of extremists from Alexandria.  It's all too exciting - filled with death, madness, cannibalism, chase scenes, and yes, romance.  All very Indiana Jones-ish.

Of course, the bigger than life characters need a bigger than life conflict, and Cussler provided that alright.  Unless the source of the contamination is found and stopped, the entire world is in the path of this environmental  terrorism.

This is good stuff.  The fast paced action scenes kept me reading at lightening speed, and I always  knew that Pitt would be able to take on whatever confronted him - no matter how many swords, knives, or machine guns he had to battle single handedly all at the same time.  Escape reading at its best.    What a guy.  Yup, I have converted and am on my way to the presidnecy of the Clive Cussler fan club.  Wanna join?

What am I reading now?  This morning NPR had a discussion on fairy tales, so that's where I'm headed next - or at least within the next couple weeks.  Then it's back to Hemingway.

Thanks for stopping by.

Two Books and a Boy

My little friend Joey stopped by on Saturday.  He had a great time trying out all the kid-size chairs, spinning anything that would spin, rearranging the rubber ducks, and, most importantly, getting acquainted with books. Joey's mom, Em, sent this picture shortly after they got home.

Because you're a reader, you already know the many benefits of being swept away by that special book.  Here's a bit of an article from Salon.com.  

A study recently published in the journal Research in Social Stratification and Mobility found that just having books around the house (the more, the better) is correlated with how many years of schooling a child will complete. The study (authored by M.D.R. Evans, Jonathan Kelley, Joanna Sikorac and Donald J. Treimand) looked at samples from 27 nations, and according to its abstract, found that growing up in a household with 500 or more books is “as great an advantage as having university-educated rather than unschooled parents, and twice the advantage of having a professional rather than an unskilled father.” Children with as few as 25 books in the family household completed on average two more years of schooling than children raised in homes without any books.

 Not every book suits every reader, and this book discussion selection did not suit me at all.  While I know that others in our group liked it, I found  it lacking substance, repetitive, predictable and unrefined.  That's all

Today I started The People of the Book, a novel a customer has been challenging me to read for at least two years.  I regret having waited so long.  It reminds me a little of Susan Vreeland's The Girl in Hyacinth Blue, the story of a painting's history.  In this novel, Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks follows the life of a mysterious illuminated Hebrew manuscript that was rescued during the shelling of Sarajevo's library.  A rare book expert is hired to gently bring the volume back to life, and in doing so she discovers the journey the book has taken from 15th century Spain to the present.  Packed with history, ritual, museum techniques, and politics.  Now that's substance.

Odds and ends...Bits and Pieces...Nice and Nasty

There wasn't much time for reading this week, what with Heart-A-Rama rehearsals starting. I did manage to finish Ripper, Isabel Allende's first mystery novel.  Not her best work, but still gripping.  All the facts in this serial killer drama led logically to the resolution.  I liked that.  No new character introduced at the 11th hour.  No supernatural element entered the picture.  She didn't even employ that standard trick where the third person questioned is the perpetrator.  No matter how many pages come between the questioning and the revelation of motive, means and opportunity - it is the third person.  And no, there is not a butler in this novel.  All in all, a pretty fresh book.

So as not to be a total slacker, I read this delightful St. Pat's day book.  For years, the townspeople of Tralee and Tralah have been competing in a decorating contest.  Every year Tralah wins. However, this year little Fiona Riley has an idea that will help Tralee win the contest for sure.  But, into the mix wanders a stranger - a funny little man with pointed ears and boots trimmed with bells.  And...his intentions are not all good - or are they?  His appearance turns the towns' rivalry upside down.  The story is nicely sprinkled with traditional Iris lore and symbols.

Now on to the Snark Report

My book group is reading The Life List and that is the real reason why I have not read anything of substance this week.  Reading this book is painful.  Turning each page is an effort knowing that I will be confronted with more drivel.  I have never been good at keeping two books going at the same time so I have to finish this one before I can move on.  Really, I may have enjoyed this book when I was 15, but it offers little except words in print that will eventually lead to the back cover.  The plot?  Some woman (I don't even care enough to know her name) will not be given her inheritance from her wealthy mother until a life list written when she was 14 is completed.   For example - she has to get a dog.  I can't go on.

Thanks for stopping by.