Wisdom from a Humble Jellyfish and Other Self-Care Rituals from Nature by Rani Shah

Oh my gosh porcupines!
The wombat. Yes
Elephants. Heart eyes.
....When the author is like "let's not get into the Greek and Latin roots of the word octopus to explain why the plural of octopus is octopuses" YES LET'S GET INTO THE ROOTS. PLEASE

144 Pages

Mossflower by Brian Jacques

I love the voice actor for Martin!
Babyyy hedgehogs
Martin..... He deserves the world. The cutie.
432 Pages

Redwall by Brian Jacques

I read part of this series when I was younger, so I'm excited to read the whole series. I love Brian Jacques' descriptions and his characterizations.
Silent Sam deserves the world and must be protected at all costs.
Cornflower. My ship.
I live for epilogues.
352 Pages

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

This book is just a feel-good collection of art and anecdotes. I enjoyed the messy ink drawings, as well as the artist working with accidents-one of the images includes his dog's paw prints from walking over it. The interactions between the boy and the animals reminded me a lot of Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

A sweet little book with life's wisdom.

128 pages

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Confession 1: I avoided this book for years, because everyone else convinced me it was going to be absolutely depressing.

Okay, so it's not an easy read. I get that, but I thought this was so beautiful. It plays with the idea people have that if they would just be brave enough to run away with the circus, then maybe their lives would be more exciting and colorful. This world is definitely more exciting and colorful, but that comes with a lot of hardship, ugliness, selfishness, and manipulation. We get to see those two play out against each other throughout the story, and I think that's why this story captivated me.

Confession 2: It wasn't at all what I expected.

This isn't a relaxing read, and so many things about it made me frustrated and angry. But it made me feel so many different emotions and imagine so many different ways of life. The characters drew me into their small worlds, and it often broke my heart the way so many of their lives were confined to the small boxes they had accepted for themselves, despite having "run away with the circus." I like the contrast of past and present, even when it depressed me.

Confession 3: I would never read this one again, but I'm glad that I took this strange journey.

Book 272 read in 2018

Pages: 335

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

Summary: "When Dr. Louis Creed takes a new job and moves his family to the idyllic and rural town of Ludlow, Maine, this new beginning seems too good to be true. Yet despite Ludlow’s tranquility, there’s an undercurrent of danger that exists here. Those trucks on the road outside the Creed’s beautiful old home travel by just a little too quickly, for one thing…as is evidenced by the makeshift pet cemetery out back in the nearby woods. Then there are the warnings to Louis both real and from the depths of his nightmares that he should not venture beyond the borders of this little graveyard. A blood-chilling truth is hidden there—one more terrifying than death itself, and hideously more powerful. An ominous fate befalls anyone who dares tamper with this forbidden place, as Louis is about to discover for himself…" - Amazon

I was looking for a scary book and this one was recommended by more than one person.  I thought I had read it in high school, but when I looked it up on Amazon, I realized I hadn't.  Not sure what I read back then with creepy animals in it....  Anyway, I went into this with (admittedly skeptical) high hopes.  I have never been a Stephen King fan (with the exception of Eyes of the Dragon), so I am always a little nervous to read another novel by him.  And sadly, I will continue to be so.

The story was good, but my main issue (as always) lies with the flatness of the characters.  I just don't find myself caring about them.  And when you don't care about the characters of a horror novel, all of the scary seems to dissipate.  There were moments of storytelling brilliance throughout this book, but overall, I felt very 'meh'.

3.5/5

560 pages

A Bloodhound To Die For by Virginia Lanier

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

JoBeth leaves her ex, Bubba.  JoBeth and her dogs hunt for a woman in the swamp.  JoBeth hunts for an escaped prisoner.  JoBeth hunts for one of her dogs.

"On Solid Ground" by Melissa Collins

A vet with PTSD and a tattoo artist with a drug addicted sister try to find love in California.

I really wanted to like this book.  It had many good reviews, but it just did not live up to my expectations for several reasons.  One of the main characters jumped to conclusions and became mad very easily; he acted quite immature and did not seem to have the capability for a healthy relationship.  The story was told in the present tense, which I always find a bit odd to read.  One character had been raped, but the story did not deal with any lingering effects of the trauma.  There were also a number of inconsistencies, so it could have used better editing.  However, there was a service dog, a cute kid, and an upbeat ending, so there were some positives.  328 pages (Kindle edition).

The Cat Who Dropped A Bombshell by Lilian Jackson Braun

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Jim helps the planning of the town of Pickax celebration with the help of Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum.

Audio:  4 hrs. 31 min.
Print:  288 pages

"Shotgun" by Marie Sexton

This is book #7 in the Coda Series, and I really liked it for several reasons.  The story itself is an unrequited love story between two men who first meet when they are seventeen and are only together for a few hours.  Fifteen years later, they meet again in the same town, Coda, CO, where Dominic Jacobsen has lived his whole life, and where Lamar Franklin has just moved.  When Lamar's car is vandalized, the garage that Dominic's family owns ends up fixing it.  Lamar is out, and he's just moved to Coda to take a teaching job and to get away from the married man with whom he was having an affair.  He's also depressed.  Dominic lives with his 13-year-old daughter, Naomi, and is still in the closet.  He believes that having a gay father will hurt Naomi, so he sacrifices is love life to protect her.  It has worked fine until he sees Lamar again, and all of the emotions he's kept hidden for 15 years come flooding back.

There was a lot of angst and drama in this story.  Lamar is being stalked by someone who vandalizes his car numerous times and breaks into his house.  Dominic has a big family, some of whom are homophobic, especially his father.  Staying in the closet hasn't been a problem until Lamar arrives, and Dom goes back and forth with coming out, which hurts Lamar.  However, it was worth the read to catch up with the couples from previous books in the series.  Matt and Jared as well as Angelo and Zach all play important roles in helping Lamar and Dominic, especially Matt since he is the police officer working on Lamar's stalking case.  And there was a cute kitty with the silly name of Missy Prissy Pom-Pom Paw!  Another great story from Marie Sexton.  260 pages (Kindle edition).

Thereby Hangs a Tail: A Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

This book is about Chet, a private detective dog, involved with a case of a dog kidnapping, a murder, a bad policeman, and a dog show with a blue ribbon winner.

Audio:  7 hours, 45 minutes

Print:  336 pages

"Part & Parcel" by Abigail Roux

This latest installment in the "Cut & Run" universe finds Marine Force Recon team Sidewinder reunited again, this time on a quest left by their fallen comrade Elias Sanchez.  Nick O'Flaherty is recovering from injuries sustained in the book "Crash & Burn" with boyfriend Kelly Abbott trying his best to help.  With lots of down time, Nick decides to go through storage boxes and discovers letters from Sanchez addressed to the Sidewinder team, so he gets the guys together for a cross-country adventure that turns out to be more emotional than any of them had anticipated.

I was so glad to see Ty Grady and Zane Garrett again; they are the heart of the "Cut & Run" universe since the actual "C&R" series was about them.  This book focuses on Nick and Kelly's relationship but also gives us more insight to the other two Sidewinder members, Digger and Owen Johns.  Another plus - Ty brings along his two new kittens (which really wasn't plausible but still fun to picture).  This story is another winner for Roux.  Hooray for team Sidewinder!  270 pages (Kindle edition).

"Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation and GPS Technology" by Caroline Paul, illustrated by Wendy MacNaughton

This very cute true story covers the adventures of Tibby, a cat who wonders off for five weeks, worrying her human, Caroline Paul, who is recovering from injuries sustained in a plane crash.  She and her girlfriend, illustrator MacNaughton, post fliers and comb the neighborhood but cannot locate him.  However, he wanders back home one day fatter and sleeker than when he left.  He also won't eat his usual food, so Paul knows he was being fed somewhere.  She tries two tech devices to track his gallivanting when he leaves again:  a tiny camera attached to his collar and then a GPS device.  Will one of them give her a clue about where he goes and who feeds him?

I really liked this book for several reasons:  amusing writing, wonderful watercolors of the cats (Tibby has a twin sister, Fibby), and an entertaining adventure.  Read more about Tibby and his adventures here.  Highly recommended for cat lovers!  176 pages.

Paw and Order by Spencer Quinn

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

PI Bernie Little and his partner and dog, Chet, solve another mystery in Washington, D.C., helping his girlfriend. Bernie is not nearly as funny as Chet.

Audio:  9 hrs. 30 min.

Print:  306 pages

The Great Circus Train Wreck of 1918 by Richard Lytle

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Many train lines were using the hub in this area.  A sleeping engineer crashes into a traveling circus train.

Audio:  3 hrs. 6 min.

Print: 109 pages