You Had Me At Woof

Author: Julie Klam
Published: 2010, Riverhead
228 pages

Written by an active member of Northeast Boston Terrier Rescue, Inc., this is a compilation of Julie Klam's Boston Terrier rescue stories.  The subtitle is "How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness," and the chapters are divided into "Lessons" the author learned with the help of the various homeless dogs she encountered as a dog rescuer.  Some example chapters: "Lesson Six: How to Fall In Love... Again," "Lesson Seven: How to Mourn the Loss of a Friend."

I didn't love this book, mainly because I didn't think that her anecdotes connected very well to the chapter titles.  At times I couldn't even figure out what the chapter titles even meant, let alone how they connected to the text that followed.  A prime example of this is "Lesson Two: How to Find the Parachute Color That's Most Flattering to You," a chapter about the author's experience trying to become an animal medium so she can talk to her dog.  The ridiculousness of the story aside, I am utterly confused as to what the "Lesson" is and how it connects to the story itself.

Despite this problem (which I think could have been corrected by a keener editing eye), the stories are really funny, heartwarming, and her writing style is engaging and subtly hilarious.  Any dog lover will relate to the housebreaking horror stories as well as the sweet tales of the dog-human bond.  Her rescues were a great source of joy, but also of stress and heartbreak, and her stories do a good job of relating her (and her family's) conflicting emotions regarding every dog she took in.

Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge advocate of dog rescue (as opposed to buying a dog from a pet store), but I had no idea how complicated the rescue process can actually be.  What surprised me most about these stories was how many people can be involved in every rescue, and how much time, effort, and expenses these average people actually contribute just to save a dog's life.  I found Klam's honest depiction of the rescue process and the inner workings of the rescue group truly eye-opening and moving.

I know what you're thinking... Another dog book.  But I can't be fully blamed for this one because my Mom gave it to me for Christmas, along with training sessions for her very sweet but sometimes-rude granddog Cooper.  Thanks, Mom, he needs it!

Cooper, cutest dog in the world, engaging in a behavior that will soon be corrected by Grandma's gift of training

And after we're done with forming Cooper into a model citizen, I think I'll follow in Julie Klam's footsteps and start taking in some fosters to further complicate my life!

The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins
Published: 2008, Scholastic
374 pages

I realized that my last three posts have been about books that I absolutely hated, so I've decided to treat you all to a post about a book I would actually recommend.  That book is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  I heard great things about this book months ago, but it was another one of those really fun things that had to wait "until grad school is over" because it's part of a trilogy and I knew I would want to read all three in a row.  As it happened, grad school isn't technically "over" yet, but I read it anyway.  Story of my life.  During my undergrad, I read the entire Twilight series during the last couple weeks of the semester (yes, including finals week).  But enough about me.....

This book takes place in a place called Panem, a dystopia formerly known as North America.  Panem was once made up of 13 districts, but the 13th district revolted and was obliterated by the Capitol.  As punishment for the revolt, the remaining 12 districts are required to send one boy and one girl to participate in a gladiator-like battle to the death called The Hunger Games every year.  The last kid standing is the winner, and the rest are... dead.

When Katniss's little sister Prim is randomly selected to be District 12's contribution to the Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place.  Katniss is a hunter, good with a bow and arrow, but is still the underdog when she gets into the arena and is faced with kids who have been training their whole lives for the Games.  While the kids die one by one inside the arena, the public outside watches the Games unfold on TV.  The public's enthusiasm for the Games, complete with betting and sponsoring, is absolutely revolting, and Collins has done such a good job making it realistic that I found myself cringing the whole time I was reading.

I'm not giving away anything else about the book because I highly highly recommend going out and reading it yourself.  I know I am going to pick up my copies of the next two books (Catching Fire and Mockingjay) today!  Just as soon as I finish these last two grad school assignments.....

Armageddon Summer

Authors: Jane Yolen and Bruce Coville
Published: 1999, Graphia
272 pages

Told from the alternating points of view of two teenage narrators, Marina and Jed, this book is an account of a couple of weeks they spend camping on a mountain with a Christian religious group ("the Believers") who believes the world is going to end on July 27.  Both Marina and Jed are dragged up the mountain by their Believer parents, and while Jed is skeptical from the start, it isn't until Marina gets there that she begins to see what is going on around her and questioning her faith.  That's when things really start to get interesting... NOT!

For me, you can't really go wrong when you put religion, cult psychology, and the apocalypse into one story together, but this book somehow ended up being one big miss.  The narrators are far too mature to be even remotely believable, and the rest of the characters are just annoying.  The most likable character is actually the one who is supposed to be the most crazy, the leader of the pack Reverend Beelson.  I was expecting the narrative to be more about cult dynamics or psychology, but Yolen and Coville don't ever go there.  Instead, we just follow these unrealistic characters around as they internally debate their faith, experience a two-week-long camping trip, and a brief and completely unrealistic teenage romance.

I kept reading only because I thought the world was going to end eventually.  Honestly, that is the only way this book could have redeemed itself.  Instead, nothing ever happens except a bunch of people break into the camp and another bunch of people die in the ensuing riot.  Then everybody else just packs up camp and goes home.  Thrilling!  I wouldn't normally completely give away an ending, but I am advising you to never read the book yourself, so I don't think it matters much.

If you're interested in cults or cult psychology, I recommend watching the National Geographic special "Inside a Cult."  If not, then there are plenty of other things you can do that would be infinitely more entertaining and worthwhile than reading this book.

Under the Dome

Author: Stephen King
Published: 2010, Pocket (Reprint edition)
1088 pages

Don't waste your time.