The Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth Stein - A Dog's Life

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In The Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth Stein tells the story of a dog through the dog's voice. Lots of people compare it to Marley & Me, except it is very different from that book. This is a book that will make even the hardened laugh and cry and experience every emotion known to man. This book is narrated by Enzo the dog and told with a touching sense of humanity that drags you right into the story. Every experience that Enzo brings to life makes you feel like you are part of the story and that Enzo is right in the room telling it to you.

In The Art of Racing in the Rain, the author weaves a fun filled tale full of funny and sad moments all at once. It is about life, it is about death, it is about pet lovers and people in general. It underscores how much we love our pets in the manner in which it is written. We come to believe that Enzo is really for real and actually a talking dog. It is so amazing how Garth pulls that off. It is a talent not a lot of writers possess.

In the pages of the book that comes to life, the writer shows us the foibles of life as a dog. The wants and needs and wishes. Enzo would like to be reincarnated as a human and see life through the eyes of a human. It is a fun and intriguing paradox told with what can only be described as sincerity and a true understanding of knowing what a dog might want. You get the feeling that Stein is truly a lover of dogs and has spent a lot of time getting to understand them and know them. He brings Enzo to life so perfectly.

With The Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth Stein has created a timeless piece that will thrill and enthrall generations for years to come. Whether you are a dog lover or not, you will be absolutely taken with this charming and heartwarming novel. It will bring you years of joy. It's a real page turner too so expect long reading sessions. You will not want to tear yourself away from this one. Everyone should have a copy of this book in their library or bookshelf and read it often for inspiration as well as entertainment value.

Sherry Harris the author of a wide range of dog topics including, but not limited to: dog training, dog grooming, pet travel, pet insurance, pet food, house training, dog breeds and dog supplies. For hundreds more free dog expert articles visit http://www.dogstylenetwork.com/. Hope you found the book review: The Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth Stein informative. To order this book, or to check out the bookstore visit us today!

Dorothy's Heroic Measures Make A Wonderful Story

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I loved this book the most. Jill Ciment tells the story of an elderly couple in New York City living in a 5th floor walk-up. Their cat, Dorothy, is a precious dachshund who they adore. She is about 14 years old and the night before they are having an open house to show their apartment so they can sell it, she becomes ill. Alex and Ruth want to move to a building with an elevator as their apartment is five floors of tough climbing, especially at their age!

Dorothy has evidently hurt her back and in the cold, New York weather, they place her on their cutting board and cover her to take her far away to the emergency animal hospital. Getting a taxi that will get them there quickly is difficult as a tanker truck has jack-knifed and turned over in the tunnel stopping all traffic in and out of Manhattan as the driver ran away and is suspected as a terrorist.

The story develops around that incident in that if people are scared, they are likely to offer less for the apartment and with the showing of the condo to some superbly described characters by Ciment, there is the phone calls back and forth with the hospital where Dorothy has to have a risky surgery to see if she will ever walk again. I loved when the chapters alternated from Dorothy's point of view to the narrator as Dorothy described what was happening from her dog's eye view.

How the story ends would be a spoiler so I will stop there....but does Dorothy survive the surgery? Do Alex and Ruth sell their apartment and get into a new elevator installed building? Does the terrorist really follow through on an attack? It is an easy read but sweet and enjoyable and very cleverly written. I would like to read more by Jill Ciment after reading this book.

Karen D. Haney, Author/Developer of BOOKIN' WITH BINGO (http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/), reviews books and interviews authors for her book blog. Reading and writing are her passion.

Lost Souls Found By Kyla Duffy And Lowrey Mumford

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In this book, you find over 30 short accounts of people who have a rescued Boston Terrier. Some stories are fun and some serious. Several stories relate the awful thing about "puppy mills" and what happens to dogs there where they are used to breed purebred dogs and then they either die, or are abandoned or worse, once they are no longer of any use to the people who run these awful places. Many of the stories are heartwarming and funny. All in all, the stories give people the idea of how wonderful these little dogs are and how important it is that everyone remembers that there are so many dogs that need to be rescued and adopted.

One of the stories, "Eyes Only For You", tells about how an owner connects with his rescue dog just from the friendly eyes he sees when he meets her. In a sad story with a happy ending "Foster Failure" tells of a dog that nobody wanted and was taken in at a foster puppy home only to find the foster parents fell in love with the dog and wound up adopting him. This family gave a home to the poor dog who had lived such an awful life in a puppy mill. A few pages such as "A Snort Break" give a few sentences telling happy tails or funny moments about different Terriers.

I believe that a book like this would open any one's eyes to the importance of choosing a rescue dog when the opportunity arises. As different books on different breeds are written and read, I imagine even more breeds of dogs will be better off and more dogs adopted. Perhaps you might have a rescue dog story of your own or may want to adopt a rescue dog after reading about these great animals and all they go through.

Karen D. Haney, Author/Developer of BOOKIN' WITH BINGO (http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/), reviews books and interviews authors for her book blog. Reading and writing are her passion.