So at first, reading Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown for the BlogHer Book Club was like pulling out my own hair. The book was super slow to get started, and hard to understand. With them talking in like an odd 3rd person tone and with Shakespearean quotes coming from every angle, I felt like it might be one of those I had to struggle to pick up.

However, a few chapters in I began to read with interest. Three sisters – late twenties to early thirties – all end up living with their parents again under the pretense of helping them out while their mother undergoes cancer treatment. However, it’s not that simple. Or altruistic. [Read more...]

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I like butter. And milk. And whole milk yogurt (yeah, that one and me are like besties). And fried chicken. And pie crusts made with lard. But often I feel guilty when I eat any of this; so much fat and it’s like I can just feel my thighs screaming, “Oh please, noooo….”

Then I read the book “Why Women Need Fat” from Dr’s William Lassek and Steve Gaulin, I was pleased to see they took a whole food approach. They recommend that women eat fat – and not the kinds we think of. Not vegetable oil. Not margarine. And not tiny little bits of bacon sprinkled on a large salad free of dressing. [Read more...]

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I feel awful, awful, awful when I have to give a bad review. I really do. Especially of a book I know someone poured their heart and soul into writing, that became a part of them.

But Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards is one that was so hard to read I simply can’t gloss over it. [Read more...]

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In Sea Change by Jeremy Page, the BlogHer Book Club read about life after loss – not one but two. After losing his daughter and ending his marriage during what was supposed to be a perfect day, Guy slides into two different lives. One on a barge, drifting here and there while coping with his grief, and another in the pages he writes; his daughter still alive and his marriage continuing.

His life consists of simply existing; alive really only while he is writing and a part of the pages that hold his past and pretend future.  [Read more...]

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I read Love at First Bark by Julie Klam for the BlogHer Book Club and found it to be a quick, easy read about how a dog can change your life and lives around you.

Julie opens with finding an abandoned pit bull outside, and spends an afternoon searching for a home for him with her husband. They reconnect with each other while searching for a solution to the lovable animal being left tied to a pole. She brings to light some marriage issues that everyone married for a longer time has, and how working together with him pulls them closer.

The second part of the book focuses on a Boston terrier who has some severe medical problems. Julie decides to foster her – and to make the transition easier, sends her current dogs for a few weeks at a much needed doggie boot camp. Over that time, the dog finds a nurturing home and Julie gains back two very well behaved dogs.

The third part made me angry at the meanness of people. On a trip to New Orleans, Julie joins a group trying to rescue a feral puppy that has a jar stuck on its head. A jar that some children put there for fun. Which is awful. Julie is determined to find the puppy before she leaves to go home. She describes her adventure chasing after the dog with others as they try to help him.

While this book isn’t a classic, it is a light read that any one who loves dogs will enjoy and relate to. You can certainly sense that Julie has a real passion for helping animals.

This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

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