You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

There is no scoring for this month's challenge. But there are some minor requirements in order to receive a badge.

1. Link to the book you read.
2. Briefly tell us what you thought of the book. Don't just say that you liked it, or hated it. Give us a few sentences about why you did, or didn't. Did it have an impact on you.

I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time for this challenge and rated it with 4 stars. It was also a buddy read and we are still discussing it in the thread. I enjoyed the book, even there were some characters that I didn't like and actually upset me, but the author did a great job entering the mind of a 15 year old autistic boy. The story is entertaining enough, but this insight into Christopher's thoughts was for me the win with this book. It is evidently very well researched.

Sounds interesting, Sandra. I've added it to my wishlist.

Janice wrote: "Sounds interesting, Sandra. I've added it to my wishlist."

Oh, I was surprised that you had not read it.

Sandra wrote: "I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time for this challenge and rated it with 4 stars. It was also a buddy read and we are still discussing it in the thread. I enjoyed t..."

Mark wrote a follow up story to this book. It is called A Spot of Bother. I've owned it for a couple of years, but never had a chance to read it. I had it in my Geo Challenge for Austria because the cover has a cake on it, but I read another book..

Cherie wrote: "Janice wrote: "Sounds interesting, Sandra. I've added it to my wishlist."

Oh, I was surprised that you had not read it."

I've seen the title which is quite intriguing, but nothing spurred me to read it until now. I have a new friend whose 15 year old son is autistic. They live in another town, and it wasn't until recently that I met him. I was showing his mom a quilt top I had made and he was quite enthralled with it, so I've decided to give it to him. I just have to sew the binding on.

That is nice, Janice.

Cherie, I didn't know about the sequel. I will take a look. Thanks for pointing it out.

Is it a follow up? I read both but don't remember they were related. I really enjoyed the curious incident, but rated the other one only 2 stars. I don't remember anything of it though, even the blurb doesn't ring a bell.

The book blurb says it is a follow-up to the first book, that is all I know. Possibly because it is about other family members, but I don't know.
It might just become another just because book next year. I seem to be getting a list together.

I read Susan Wilson's book One Good Dog. I really wasn't sure what to expect from the dog's POV, but I really purchased the book to read about the man in the story. The story summary basically said that Adam March was a driven, high powered corporate executive and on the morning of his biggest deal that would ensure him the coveted step up to CEO, he had one moment of insanity and lost everything. Show me a cover of a guy sitting on a bench next to a dog and offer all this to me for a mere $0.99, and I have no will power to say "NO". Many similar sales later and I had plenty of reading material for the price of one, new released book.

Yes, I liked it. It was a gratifying story, both about the man and the dog. It was easy to read and the characters were well developed and believable, I thought. The dog part of it was even believable. Ok, maybe plausible is a better word. He was funny at times and his dialogue fit his personality. He was a pit bull. I can't tell more or it will give parts of the story away. He reminded me of the dog in Timbuktu.
The plot was very straightforward and flipped chapters between the man's story and the dog's side of things. There are some very sweet moments but I cried too. That is all I can say. I think Two Good Dogs, by the same author, will be in my reading future.
edited 12/11 clr

Two markings of a good book - it makes you cry, or it makes you laugh. I'm glad you enjoyed it Cherie.

I read Coal Black Horse for this challenge. The novel had a peculiar premise: a mother has a premonition that her husband is going to be killed during the American civil war, so she sends her 14-year-old son to the battlefield at Gettysburg to find him and bring him home. The novel tells the story of the son’s travels across country. (view spoiler)[ He is an unworldly farm boy when he sets out. Early in his travels, he borrows from his neighbour a coal black horse, itself a significant character in the story. The horse has incredible endurance, and seems to have a sixth sense re when the boy is in danger. The boy quickly loses his innocence as he deals with obstacles and encounters people both good and evil. After finding his mortally wounded father, the situation he has to deal with is heartbreaking. (hide spoiler)]

The writing is simple and at times lyrical, though descriptions of the battlefield are explicit and extremely violent. The writer regularly used a rather awkward sentence structure, which I quite liked once I was used to it.

This is not a light read, but is very absorbing. I would have liked a bit of context re why the mother thought it was okay to sacrifice her son for her husband. I would also have liked to know how the protagonist dealt with this realization, but I suppose neither were crucial to this story. Four stars for me.

I read two books that qualify and were inspired by this month's challenge.

One was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. The second was The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment. I enjoyed both very much.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was an unexpected great find. I knew nothing much about it going in. Except I'd thought enough of it to add it to my TBR (To Be Read) list. So it was written, quite believably, from the perspective of an autistic young person. I could relate to much of the story myself. Am I autistic? Not sure, at least some. But you don't have to be autistic to relate to this story.

Haven't yet quite finished the second book, but will before end of the month. Any way, The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment is overall very interesting and entertaining. I'm listening to it rather than reading it per se.

I read The Dragon Who Loved Me. It was a re-read for me and I think I enjoyed it more the second time around (despite the bland audiobook narrator). I really like the author's snarky supernatural characters. The heroine of the first book in the series is a supporting character in this one. She's crazy, but also crazy smart. It was fun to have that perspective. The main story fits within a larger story line that partially wraps up in this book.

I read Take the Monkey and Run 17 Dec and gave it 3 stars.

I read it out of order in the series. Probably would have enjoyed it more if I had had the earlier books as a background.

I like the concept of being an "animal whisperer", and thought I could relate best with the connection with dogs and cats. Not so much with the monkey...but then again I don't really observe monkey behavior!

The devious plot seemed a little far fetched. Never-the-less, I am going to go back to the beginning of the series and give it another chance.

I read The Tiger and the Wolf for this challenge, and so begins another series.

This is a fantasy world which is similar to our world set in an "iron age" time. The Crown of the World, is very similar to Russia and is the home to Wolf, Tiger, and Bear. The Plains is home to Horse and Eyrie (crow, eagle, and other carrion birds). The River Lands is reminiscent of Africa with Hyena and Crocodile.

The people of the world are shape shifters. They are born with the soul of an animal and "step" quickly and easily between forms.

I really enjoyed this story and followed Maniye Many Track's journey with growing interest. Would she who was born of Tiger and Wolf find her way in this harsh world? I thought the world building was exemplary and unique. The characters were well developed and I found myself attached to several of them, and hated a few others.

I finished reading Three Men in a Boat,to say nothing of the Dog.
I enjoyed reading this book slowly and liked J's (narrators) voice... his observations ,the anecdotes ,the frequent dreaming of historical events,and the present journey ,all told in a humorous way..some of the imagery are kinda slapstick "..like one person getting tangled in the rope in between towing and then when the second friend goes to help him he to gets pulled in ,they roll around trying to rescue themselves and trying to get J's attention but he is lost in his world ,only noticing after some time..."
All these flow well into each other..a 4-4.5 star read for me.

Next ,I need to read the sequel,Three Men on the Bummel, which is part of my book and also To Say Nothing of the Dog after reading The Moonstone.
Yay for next year....

I read The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook. It was much more technical than I expected, but still fascinating. The author, Bruce D. Perry, is a psychiatrist who works with children that have experienced trauma. The book was basically several case studies from clients he's worked with. Dr. Perry explains the way the trauma effects the brain and brain development throughout the book and makes comparisons between client's experiences and behaviors. It was really interesting to me, I'm sure somewhat more so do to my having worked with children that have had some similar experiences.

I'm a bit fascinated by the author. I looked him up and this is what it said on Wikipedia:

"Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D. is an American psychiatrist, currently the Senior Fellow of the ChildTrauma Academy in Houston, Texas and an Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. A clinician and researcher in children's mental health and the neurosciences, from 1993-2001 he was the Thomas S. Trammell Research Professor of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine and Chief of Psychiatry at Texas Children's Hospital. He also serves as Senior Consultant to the Alberta Minister of Children and Youth Services in Alberta, Canada. Dr, Perry is also a Senior Fellow at the Berry Street Childhood Institute in Melbourne, Australia."

The man gets around!

He certainly does get around! The book sounds interesting.

I read In the Shade of the Monkey Puzzle Tree and rated it 3 stars.

I bought this 3.5 years ago, back when I just discovered daily deal emails and snatched up everything free that looked remotely interesting. But it wasn't as bad as expected. It's one of those books that are okay to read, but that won't make a lasting impression or remain in your thoughts for long. One thing that bugged me though was the very obvious 'village good city bad' distinction. Everything in the village was described as beautiful and positive, everything in the city as grey and concrete and negative. All the people in the village, or people in Athens who grew up in a village, were kind, friendly, honest and helpful. All true Athenians were liars, thieves, unfriendly, unhelpful. Even the MC (view spoiler)[ turned from a decent man into a depressed, thieving drunk within a few days of leaving the village. (hide spoiler)] Hm, maybe I should deduct half a star for that.

I am going to admit that I've bitten off more than I can chew with this one. I plan to start Oathbringer tomorrow so time has run out for me :(

Looking forward to hear what you think of it Margo! I'm going to start January 1.

I read The Mystery of the Fire Dragon for this challenge. It's a Nancy Drew mystery and was a perfect fit for this challenge. Nancy and friends are asked to help find the missing neighbor girl of Nancy's aunt and end up in all kinds of danger as they work to solve the mystery. The symbol of the dragon plays a prominent roll throughout the story as its a clue to the mystery.

I enjoyed the story, as I have other Nancy Drew mysteries, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed them more as a child. I try to keep that in mind as I read because its sometimes hard to sustain my disbelief in some of the actions of the characters, such as some of the adults actually encouraging her to put herself in danger by going after dangerous criminals. I was surprised by the dangerous situations the group gets into, like kidnapping and assault.
With that said, as long as I keep in mind the age group that these books are written for and the time period they were written in I can continue to enjoy them. Plus its amazing how many of them fit challenges and they're quick reads.

I just finished The Eyes of the Dragon and I can tell you that it just wasn’t my cup of tea. It seemed like the story dragged on and was repeated a few times. I was not happy with a lot of the characters and found the storyline hard to swallow.

Lori Z wrote: "I read The Mystery of the Fire Dragon for this challenge. It's a Nancy Drew mystery and was a perfect fit for this challenge. Nancy and friends are asked to help find the missing neig..."

I loved Nancy Drew as a child. I remember going to the library and borrowing the books. Just for fits and giggles, I should read one.

I'm sorry you didn't like your book, Jannene.

I don't know why I never read them as a kid. I guess I was more into the little house books and horse stories at the time.

I've read The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son

This whole book I've read with mixed feelings and still I don't know what to think about it. I'm not sure if I ever will.
The main feeling I had, is that the author was all the time feeling sorry for himself, because he has a child with autism and on the other side I've found that he was really full of himself too. Sometimes it felt like he didn't want his child at all. At the beginning of the book, I had the idea that he wanted to cure his son from autism, but there is no cure. At the end I had the feeling that he accepted the autism too.
It was very interesting to read about the travel to Mongolia and Siberia, to read about the people and the traditions. I admire his parents for looking at alternatives and for some reason that we don't know, the shamanism has worked or worked for a part.
I thought that the story would talk more about the relation of horses with people with autism, but that I've missed in this book. I, myself as a horse owner, believe that horses have a 6th sense.
Also I was expecting to hear more the side of his wife talking about Rowan and a life with autism, but I missed that too in the book.
I think he was mostly trying to help himself accepting that his son has autism, instead of healing his son. This journey seems to be more about him, than about Rowan.
I believe that the shamans and the horses had their part in healing Rowan, but the big role was also having one on one time with their child, having a minimum of overstimulation during their trip. I think Rowan is realy intelligent, but he has his fears and sensory issues that were holding him back.

Conclusion: the writing wasn't that good and being interested in shamanism, it was interesting to read about the rituals, but I missed more information about relations with horses and persons with autism in the book. Also the self complaning of Rupert was sometimes annoying, but I can understand his frustration about having a child with autism.

I decided to re-read a book from one of my favorite authors, Anne McCaffrey. I read The White Dragon.

This is one of my favorites in the Pern series. I enjoy watching how Jaxom learns, grows and develops into a fine young man. His dragon is certainly a wonderful companion for him.

After I finished reading, I went to my library and put a hold on The Dolphins of Pern.

Finished The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947. Glad I finally got to read it - history of Tibet, that was interesting but the book didn't hold my attention and it was a bit of a slog. It's written like a history book - dry and factual. And I couldn't keep up with all the names and events. I would have given it 2 stars but I haven't come across a lot of books about Tibet's history so was generous and finally gave it 2.5 rounded up to 3.

Cherie wrote: "I read Susan Wilson's book One Good Dog. I really wasn't sure what to expect from the dog's POV, but I really purchased the book to read about the man in the story. The story summary..."

I've read almost everything by Wilson and have enjoyed them all. I didn't notice it at the time (not sure right now how far apart I read them) but you're right, Chance and Timbuktu do remind me of each other.

Woohoo, I read a book that fit the theme!

I read How to Raise an Honest Rabbit, a sweet mm romance, and gave it four stars. Jeremy was raised by a con man and is now trying to be an honest citizen. He ends up on an alpaca farm where they make yarn (there's some really interesting info on the yarn processing). There are also some fancy rabbits, but the title comes from the behavior of rabbits when they are scared. And Jeremy usually rabbits at any sign of trouble. This is the story of Jeremy learning to be the man he wants to be.

This is part of a series and I love all of the characters. Jeremy is so sweet and hesitant, and I enjoyed his progress in changing his life.

Saar & Lilisa, I'm sorry your book sdidn't meet your expectations.

Lanelle, I keep meaning to read that series. One of these days, I hope to get to it.

J'mom, love the title!!

Janice wrote: "Lori Z wrote: "I read The Mystery of the Fire Dragon for this challenge. It's a Nancy Drew mystery and was a perfect fit for this challenge. Nancy and friends are asked to help find t..."

Me, too. Loved Nancy Drew in 3rd and 4th grades, age 9-11. Been a very long time since I've revisited this series.

I read White Horse.

Disappointed. And I haven't reported on it, as I haven't gotten my head around my feelings enough to review it. Post-apocalyptic story, which flicks between the before and the after events. The before story was the stronger story, and I enjoyed that (although some plot lines were a bit trite). Really interesting ideas on the way that society could collapse, some I hadn't thought of before and made complete sense once I read them, like "Oh.. yeah...". The after felt like it was trying to shock you each time. It was gratuitous, and just became a bad teen slasher flick at times.

Not high on my recommended list, but I am glad I finally read it as I have had it for ages. Thanks Janice.

It sounds interesting, Rusalka. Too bad you were disappointed in it. At least it's toppled off your tbr now.

I read it in 2013 and have no idea what it was about any more and even the summary brings up no clue. I must have liked it, I gave it 5 stars, I think.

I got my book from the link Janice provided. It's Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog; using "dog" from the Chinese zodiac.

Here's my review:

"I don't believe I've ever laughed out loud (guffawed) so much while reading a book. I just couldn't help myself! The dog was hilarious, the three men a hoot; especially the narrator. For a book published so long ago, readers will find a lot in common with the story of these amateur travelers on the Thames. I loved this book so much, I bought my own illustrated copy and the audio book. This is a book I will reread parts of when I need a good laugh!"

I read The Dragon and the George

And I really liked it. It is a fun read about a University Graduate, Jim Eckert who embarks on a quest in a magical medieval world to save his girlfriend Angie who has been also transported to that world and been kidnapped by an evil dragon. The problem is however that Jim is not a human anymore but has the body of a dragon.

The story is light and funny, even hilarious st times.
We have the dragon who is fierce and big as a house but will jump up on a tree to avoid fighting with a knight in shining armor. (I kid you not - he really jumps and stays perched up on a tree!!!)
We have a huge and fearsome English wolf who will purr like a kitten when a beautiful maiden scratches him between his ears.
And we have a powerful wizard with a bad case of stomach ulcer, mere dragons and outlaws and not one but two ladies in bad need of rescue.
Extra came a few harpies and other evil creatures as well as a fight to right the cosmic balance and there you go: The perfect recipe for a funny light read to help you wind down at the end of a long day.

Janice wrote: "Saar & Lilisa, I'm sorry your book sdidn't meet your expectations.

No worries Janice - it was a great challenge and I was able to get a book off my TBR list. But of course I've added a few - I was curious so I went back and counted - 20 to be exact in the month of December, aargh! :-)

Debra & Laura, I'm glad you enjoyed your books and finished off the year with a humorous read. The image of a dragon perched in a tree does sound funny.

Lilisa, I was going over the new releases for January 2018 and have added a bunch more.

Janice wrote: "It sounds interesting, Rusalka. Too bad you were disappointed in it. At least it's toppled off your tbr now."

One less book on the TBR is always a win :D

I finished Started Early, Took My Dog. Will report later... The bells, the bells!

@Janice: no worries, the book was on my TBR - list for very long. Maybe if I re - read it or read the 2nd book, I'll be less annoyed with the writer.

@Janice - it was a real nice book to read during the hollidays and a wonderful challenge. Thank you for coming up with it. :)
This group really has great and unique challenges. I'm happy I found it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Started Early, Took My Dog

I've owned this book for quite a while - a free gift on world book day - but, despite enjoying the first book in the series, I never felt like reading it. Thanks to this challenge, I finally did!

The book starts with a traditional rhyme: For want of a nail the shoe was lost; this sentiment is echoed throughout the book. Small omissions, decisions, co-incincidences have ripple effects that ultimitely shape the course of events.

Private detective Jackson is trying to trace the birth family of a child who was adopted shortly before emigrating from England to New Zealand in 1975. Flashbacks take us to mid-70s Yorkshire (England) at the start of the Yorkshire Ripper 'era', where we're introduced to a group of police colleagues with the stereotypical attitudes and bias of the time. The story plays out against a background of dysfunctional families, prostitution and child neglect in both the 70s and the modern era.

The narrative is poignant without becoming too graphic, dowdy or grey.

Of course, there's a mystery to solve, people with hidden agendas, thugs and an adoreable little dog too - and Jackson's own life story continues throughout. This book works on so many levels.

It's a book to relax into. You'll enjoy it if you like well formed characters, atmosphere, a good mystery, action and a flawed but likeable main character.

I like the way the author describes a crowd of seemingly anonymous people then slowly shifts focus to introduce an individual as their own character. As the book progresses we realise how interconnected these 'unrelated' individuals actually are and how the actions and preconceptions of those around them influence their lives (see aforementioned ditty). The characters are ordinary people, but with their own depth, history and hopes and dreams (that often have or haven't come to fruition because of the actions of others).

The book is named after the Emily Dickinson poem of the same name (which I didn't realise until I'd finished), she's quoted a few times throughout the book and there's another Emily Dickinson poem quoted at the end: 'Hope is a thing with feathers'. Perhaps to counteract any feelings of negativity / angst / impotence at being at the whim of fate? Not strictly necessary IMHO but a nice touch all the same ; )

I really enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars. I've also created a 'read again' category to add it to. A highlight and fitting finish for 2017.

Thanks for the challenge Janice : D

Have you read the other books in the series, Annerlee? Do you need to read them all in order to read this one?

I read the first one, so I knew a bit about Jackson's background already (that's the MC detective). It would probably have been better to read all 3 previous books (there were probably things I didn't fully understand in terms of Jackson's development in this one) but there were so many other threads, that I don't think it really mattered. All other themes (mystery, thriller elements etc) didn't need any prior knowledge. And the dog was a new character so fully introduced ; )

I do want to go back and read the others now though...

I see that I put the first book of the series onto my wishlist in 2012! LOL!