The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

Probably the best book I've read since Cell by Stephen King.  Stephen also liked The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle  by the way.  I had to look like three times to get Mr Wroblewski's name right so we will call him Mr. W from now on.

I think the best testament to a book is how much you remember and how it affects your life.  I remember bits and pieces of this book constantly.  I don't want to give anything away but when Edgar goes on his great adventure I found the book especially memorable (I felt like I was actually Edgar, a young boy with my dogs and not a grandma of young boys).  Actually it's been almost a year since I've read this book and I brought it with me in the truck to reread.  I could see some parts of the plot coming from miles away such as the sinister character but others were a complete surprise which is also a testament to a great book.  If you love dogs as I do and appreciate a mystery or thriller this is a book for you or if you like Oprah's Book Club books. It is the 2008 selection of Oprah's Book Club.  Although it's about a boy and dogs readers of Chick Lit or even love stories will like The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle.

Mr. W says that we write the books that we would like to read.  He goes on to say:

I wished I could read a novel about a boy and his dog, one that integrated our contemporary knowledge of canine behavior, cognition, and origins with my experience of living with dogs; if possible, something flavored with the uncynical Midwestern sense of heart and purpose so familiar from my childhood.

Mr. W also says that this is a story of a boy and his dog and ethics and character which pretty well sums the whole thing up.  The review also said this is a modern day Hamlet which could be true.  It's a beautiful beautiful book written so you are in the world which Edgar inhabits and no other.

Stephen King said when he got close to the end he kept finding excuses to put the book down, not because he didn't like it but because he did and wanted to prolong the experience.  I know that it's the book I chose to reread although it's only been a year since my first reading.  It's a book that will transport you away from the mundane, Mr. W is a superb writer and to think this is his first novel is astounding.

Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

I loved it, it's been a month or so since I read it, I'm honest don't put on, but it's a great little read. Like most reviewers I say it's main drawback is it's too short. If you find the holidays somewhat ludicrous anyway this is the book for you. From Mr. Sedaris's stint as an Elf @ Macy's to the story entitled Six To Eight Black Men, this holiday satire is sure to entertain and amuse and that's what we ask of a book isn't it?
176 pages of pure fun, Holidays on Ice is available @ Amazon.com, clicky clicky, ok I need sleep, it's my Friday. I got my copy from my local library which is a great place, despite us having like a very small county population, remember support your local library AND your local bookstore!
BTW I haven't quit reading, just started working more hours, so am reading less and what's more have MUCH less time to write. I'll try to be a little more faithful, you haven't gotten even part of my puny unmeaningful thoughts on books I am simply panting to share with you.
OK, I'll go sleep.

Gimme a break, you can't afford a BOOK for Christmas?

This article says book sales are going the way of car sales. Huffington Post Article

Maybe I'm just looking for an excuse not to vacuum or dust since I've been blogging and linking and creating and inserting html all day but this struck me as strange. I'll cut down on whether I buy the $2 tv dinner or the $1.50 can of soup for my lunch, I'll not make any trips to town that aren't absolutely necessary but I have to buy a book once in awhile if it's just a used book. Even with library privledges that just doesn't cut it sometimes. You see I read a book, my husband takes it in the truck and reads it, one of my daughters reads it, my other daughter reads it, sometimes it goes to my step-son or step-daughter, maybe a friend gets it, maybe I consider it to precious and it stops @ me and my husband but my books get READ and I don't think we are a weird family or have that much more time than most. All the kids work full time, I work part time, my husband has a more than full time truck and we find time to read. I don't own anything extravagant other than my purse and my car and the car was a "present" from my husband (a present with payments) The last new furniture I purchased was 11 years ago and it still looks new because no one is allowed to sit on it but that is all beside the point. My mother was an English teacher and you would think that's where I got my love of reading but she never encouraged it, she actually discouraged it but that's another story, she had Portnoys Complaint and that was enough for me even though she thought I couldn't reach that shelf.
I know books as presents are looked down upon by children and kindle has brought a whole new world to books but geeze, it's still a book!! Books provide insight and thoughts that the boob tube just can't give you and as much as I love computers and the internet it's hard to beat a good read for mind stretching. I admit I just skimmed the article but it says Barnes and Nobles stores are almost empty??
It seems the larger publishers have kept to the old and the tried and true which isn't working but it seems to me people think a book is an extravagance? We've purchased SUV's that were too high and gas guzzlers, bought Mc Mansions, $100 jeans are sometimes the norm and we can't afford a book?
I'm better off than I was 9 or 10 months ago by far and @ that time I cut out book buying entirely for almost a year previously but books are just as much a cornerstone of our economy as the automakers are. Maybe they don't employ as many but the intellectual cost of publishers going out of business will be huge. Our entire thought process as a nation could be changed. So if you haven't gotten all your Christmas gifts or need something to keep yourself occupied go to your local book store. For $20 or $30 you can pick up hours and hours of entertainment and share it with others, and if it's good enough you can have the same enjoyment from it when you reread it!!

Just After Sunset by Stephen King

The electricity went out here last night. I know I'm nuts but I finished a Stephen King book by kerosene lamp and candlelight with freezing rain falling. OK, I didn't finish it till they got the power on but I was questioning my sanity reading a Stephen King book in the semi darkness. (with the kittens trying to see if they could really see in the dark no less)
The stories in this book were typical Stephen King. Do I think he's improving with age, yes. BUT of course I am one who cries long and loud the man can WRITE, it doesn't have to be scary. I liked this book probably because I could finish with one story and put it down and then go on to the next. I didn't feel the need to finish it all @ once like I do with his novels. BTW there is a story about suicide and OCD in there that I found exceptionally interesting (GRIN). The last story is sticking in my mind. Literally, it was gross, Stephen said he managed to gross himself out and I was grossed out to the max. The New York Times At Special Bargain Rates is probably my favorite, The Cat From Hell is a classic. The Things They Left Behind is poignant to say the least.
Overall an engrossing good read. I bought the hardback as my Christmas present to myself, couldn't wait for the paperback.

The September Society by Charles Finch

Ok, I work @ Wally World. Long long story, not my ideal job but the first one that called for an interview and I hadn't worked in town in so long I wasn't sure how much I could do physically or mentally (especially after lyme disease). It's been a pain @ times but a blast, my kids want me to keep working because it keeps me busy (translation: mama is occupied with something other than ebay and painting) and husband likes the grocery money I bring in.
Why do I bring this up? Because I started The September Society at work on my breaks and lunch hours this week. I didn't get far (maybe because of all the talk in the breakroom) and wasn't really into it or impressed @ first but last night I started reading about 11 or so and finished it @ 2 am. Charles Finch is no Sir Arthur Conan Doyle but he's good. The comparison to Sherlock Holmes is inevitable as Lenox the dectective in The September Society is in London and doing his dectective work in the 1800s. Finch does manage to interject a little of the Jane Austen novel into his Holmes like work which makes it more enjoyable I think if not true to the detective genre. Boy I'm coming up with the big words aren't I? tee hee hee..... Seriously a good light read for a cold winters evening or two. The clues seem a little more far fetched than Holmes do but I read most of the Sherlock Holmes stories as a child so I may look on them with more nostalgia than anything I read now.
Here's a link to amazon where you can buy the book for one of those winter nights.

Wanna Beautiful Cocker Spaniel?

His name is Quigley. He is a gorgeous dog, looks like he was someones pet and they just couldn't take care of him.
Here's what else they have to say about Quigley:
Nov. 17, came home and Quigley had been dropped off in a pen. He seems to get along with all the rest of the cats and dogs here. Has been doing well with going out to potty. Works well on leash. Had lots of tangles and matts that had to be cut out. He is really a very gentle guy. Adoption fee is $75.00

You can find out more about the address, email etc. for more information about Quigley @Stover Animal Control which is located in Stover Missouri, north of the Lake of the Ozarks.

BTW since this is Missouri Books I've been rereading my dog eared (pun intended) copy of How to Speak Dog by Stanley Coren. Excellent book and I usually get bored rereading books but there is just so much interesting information in it. Like dogs and cats don't get along sometimes because they don't understand each others body language. IE when a dog wags his tail it usually means he is happy or questioning. When a cat wags it's tail it means it's going to pounce. When a dog lays on it's back it means it is submissive and probably wants a chest rub. When a cat lays on it's back it sometimes means it's going to grab you with it's front feet and try to attack with it's back feet. Of course in my kittens it means they want to play which is play attacking but I can see how dogs and cats misinterpret each others signals.

All for today (I think?) Please check out the Stover Animal Control site or your local pet shelter on petfinder.

The Beginning

Hello, I've blogged before but am now REALLY going to do it. Check back for my favorite links and thoughts. Right now I have to get ready for Thanksgiving on my days off from work which I'm sure most of you can relate to. Presently I know 2 kids are coming and my nephew, don't think husband will be home because our little economic downturn hit a year before the main recession did and he has to work maybe. I know one of my step-kids aren't coming even if he is here due to the "other" relatives, but don't know about the rest. We have the model step family, I have no idea how it happened, we still have our spats and bad days but we have great large family gatherings and with 7 kids and various spouses and 11 grandkids it is a LARGE family gathering.
Since I don't have time to do much else I'll just stick a link in here to our new advertising website (our as in my cousin/best friend and I) moads4u. It has links to the website service in case anyone needs a GOOD decently priced website. I do part of the research and writing for the sites, just work otherwise part time, and.............well everyone knows how it is in these economic times.
It's cold here, must cover the air conditioners plus just generally clean house, I work @ Wal Mart and my housekeeping is basically what I HAVE to do, my daughter did offer to take a day off from her job of school nurse to help which I thought was really nice. She sent me an email this morning with several interesting thoughts in it, the first three are:

1. There are at least two people in this world
that you would die for.

2. At least 15 people in this world
love you in some way.

3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you
is because they want to be just like you.

Something to think about?

AND since the title of this is Missouri Books, I'm reading "No Country For Old Men" currently. It's different than the movie everyone says, I haven't seen the movie but the book is more of a mans book I think (which means I haven't stayed up way too late reading it when I should be sleeping)? The other one by Cormac Mc Carthey I read is "The Road" I guess it could be considered a mans book too but I REALLY liked it, reminded me of a short version of "The Stand" by Stephen King. I tend to get obsessed with Stephen Kings books though. "Duma Key" was my downfall last week. We'll talk about it more, I could really relate to it after living in Florida and on the coast for awhile and I'm an artist or used to be, like the main character turns out to be, I don't think that's giving too much away. "No Country For Old Men" jumps around with no preamble or history, I guess "The Road" does the same thing but you only have a few characters in it, in No Country it seems like there are more characters but as often happens I'm about half way through it and I'm really getting into the book. He's an excellent author though, book is worth the money and it's on the buy one get one 1/2 off @ Borders or @ least the one @ Independence Center Mall. A thought for the guy on your Chrismas list? And no they didn't pay me to say that.
Well my kittens are calling, I have to move the cat box, somehow we had no cats for years because the dogs wouldn't allow it, this summer and fall somehow I've raised 3 sets of orphan or semi orphan kittens? The one from the first set that is still alive is almost a cat now. Don't worry the dogs didn't get the other kittens, they SLEEP on the outside dog. The newest ones are @ the top. Devil, Paris and Crusoe. Devil is the black one obviously, Paris is the fluffy red one, and Crusoe is a survivor, he/she/it was almost dead when I found them one cold Sunday afternoon, had to force it's mouth open to put the kitten bottle in and wrapped it up in a towel in front of the heater and it survived!! Don't know what happened to mama, I'd saved them all once and brought them to our log cabin and then mama disappears!!! Could have been coyotes etc. Mama was officially a feral cat, these kittens have decided they like the tame warm life and canned cat food JUST fine after hissing @ me for the first 4 days in the house. Came home from work and found husband asleep with kittens sleeping ON him one night and 2 days before that we could barely touch them!! LOL