I did really well this month since quite a few of the books I read were 400 - 500 pages each. I am right on schedule to complete my challenge of 200 books this year.
AUGUST
TOTAL READ: 17
138 A Mermaid's Kiss by Joey Hill 3
139 Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell 4
140 Beverly Hills Adjacent by Steinhauer Hendra 3
141 City of Glass by Cassandra Clare 4
142 Losing Mum & Pup by Christopher Buckley 4
143 Dead is a State of Mind by Marlene Perez 4
144 LA Candy by Lauren Conrad 3.5
145 The Best of Times by Penny Vincenzi 5
146 The Pretend Wife by Bridget Asher 4
147 Dead is so Last Year by Marlene Perez 4
148 My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent 5
149 Prospect Park West by Amy Sohn 5
150 The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan 4
151 Graceling by Kristin Cashore 3.5
152 Fire by Kristin Cashore 4
153 Hell Week by Rosemary Clement-Moore 4
154 Unexpected Development by Marlene Perez 4
8/31/09
August Recap
Literary Locals August, 20009
Tif over at Tif Talks Books posted her Literary Local this morning. She is highlighting Moose, Bear and Hummingbird by Susan Tone, Gabriel D'Luzansky and Mary Delaney. Go check out her beautiful pictures of Montana as well. Click on the Literary Locals to see Tif's post.
8/30/09
Book #154 Unexpected Development by Marlene Perez
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (September 16, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1596430060
ISBN-13: 978-1596430068
8/29/09
Book #153 Fire by Kristin Cashore
It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. In King City, the young King Nash is clinging to the throne, while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. War is coming. And the mountains and forest are filled with spies and thieves. This is where Fire lives, a girl whose beauty is impossibly irresistible and who can control the minds of everyone around her.
Exquisitely romantic, this companion to the highly praised Graceling has an entirely new cast of characters, save for one person who plays a pivotal role in both books. You don't need to have read Graceling to love Fire. But if you haven't, you'll be dying to read it next.
MARLENE PEREZ mini INTERVIEW!
1. Your website biography mentions an elderly Chihuahua. Does your puppy participate in your writing in any way?
2. Your characters in the Dead series are all name after flowers (Daisy, Rose, Poppy). How did you name them?
Mass Market Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Point (August 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545088070
ISBN-13: 978-0545088077
I grew up in Story City, Iowa, which I think has to mean something. I am the youngest of twelve children, which means that I’m very familiar with the survival-of-the-fittest theory.
I now live in Southern California with my family, a psychotic cat, an elderly Chihuahua, and an albino corn snake. The corn snake and I have agreed to keep our distance.
Favorites
My favorite song in the entire world is either “We Close Our Eyes” by Oingo Boingo or “At Last” by Etta James, depending on what day of the week it is. I also like blues, anything from the ’80s, punk, emo, and cheesy ’70s disco.
I watch (too much) t.v. My favorites include Heroes, Dexter, Californication, Gossip Girls, Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy, Men in Trees, Moonlight, Friday Night Lights, Reaper, Pushing Daisies...well, you get the idea. Thank goodness for dvrs. Old favorites include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, My So-Called Life, Freaks and Geeks, Roswell, and Veronica Mars.
My favorite movies include Grease, Sixteen Candles, The Princess Bride, Galaxy Quest, Raising Arizona, The Opposite of Sex, and Brick.
My favorite books (this could take all day!) include fairy tales, Anne of Green Gables, The Little Princess, Pride and Prejudice, I Capture the Castle, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Forever, and Down a Dark Hall.
8/28/09
MARLENE PEREZ GIVEWAY!
To enter, please leave a comment here with a way to contact you!
This contest ends on September 1, 2009 at noon (Pacific time).
Additional Entries:
Sign up to follow me as a Blogger Follower. Click here if you are not sure what this is. This is worth 2 entries, please note it in the comments section in this post.
Post a note on your blog with a link back to this giveway...another entry!
Since I am paying for the shipping, I can only sent this in the USA...
Also, the winner will be picked at random.
8/27/09
Book #152 Hell Week (Maggie Quinn: Girl vs Evil) by Rosemary Clement-Moore
LOVED IT
Product Description
MAGGIE QUINN IS determined to make her mark as a journalist. The only problem? The Ranger Report does not take freshmen on staff.Rules are rules. But when has that ever stopped Maggie?After facing hellfire, infiltrating sorority rush should be easy. It’s no Woodward and Bernstein, but going undercover as the Phantom Pledge will allow her to write her exposé. Then she can make a stealth exit before initiation. But when she finds a group of girls who are after way more than “sisterhood,” all her instincts say there’s something rotten on Greek Row. And when Hell Week rolls around, there may be no turning back.If there is such a thing as a sorority from hell, you can bet that Maggie Quinn will be the one to stumble into it.
About the Author
Rosemary Clement-Moore lives in Texas with her husband and too many pets. Hell Week is her second book for young readers. You can visit her online at http://www.readrosemary.com/.
Product Details
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (September 8, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385734158
ISBN-13: 978-0385734158
I think the second book in the Maggie Quinn series is better than the first. I love Maggie's snarky humor and quick comebacks. The one liners are things you want to remember to try yourself sometimes. I think this read is geared towards older teens as there are sexual situations and some alcohol references, but nothing serious. I think the cover perfectly pictures Maggie. I can't wait for the next one in this series. Watching Maggie grow is wonderful!
8/26/09
Book #151 Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.
When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.
About the Author
KRISTIN CASHORE is a freelance educational writer who writes content for textbooks and teacher editions, as well as book reviews for The Horn Book Guide and other publications. Kristin received her master's degree in children's literature in 2003 from Simmons College, where she worked with Liza Ketchum and was named a Virginia Haviland Scholar. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida. Visit her blog at http://kristincashore.blogspot.com/
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 480 pages
Publisher: Graphia (September 7, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0547258305
ISBN-13: 978-0547258300
I hope the Poodles didn't mind...
For another 11 poodles that have been remade to look like everything from a pirate (Jack Sparrow) to a buffalo, click here.
8/25/09
Book #150 The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
REALLY LIKED IT
Danger draws even closer when a brother and sister come to the Ryves family for help. The boy wears a demon's mark, a sign of death that almost nothing can erase...and when Alan also gets marked by a demon, Nick is des-perate to save him. The only way to do that is to kill one of the magicians they have been hiding from for so long.
Ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse, Nick starts to suspect that his brother is telling him lie after lie about their past. As the magicians' Circle closes in on their family, Nick uncovers the secret that could destroy them all.
This is the Demon's Lexicon. Turn the page.
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry; 1 edition (June 2, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416963790
ISBN-13: 978-1416963790
8/24/09
Happy Tails Books
Pre-Order Offer #1: Donate DOUBLE to Dachshund rescue from each book I buy.
Pre-Order Offer #2: Give me $2.00 off the cover price for each book I buy.
Price: $12.95 ea
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Happy Tails Books, LLC
Language: English
ISBN-13:978-0-9824895-1-2
Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.5 x 0.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
8/22/09
GUEST BLOGGER TODAY! Happy Tails Books
She has several books about dogs and of course one about dachshunds that is to be released soon. Check out her site and see if your favorite breed is there!
I will have another post about her books periodically....
Wilbur’s Jell-O® Distribution Service
All the dogs in our house know Tuesday is the night we clean out the fridge in preparation for garbage day. As soon as the trash can appears and I block the fridge door open, they are all on scene, working the area for anything that might hit the floor by accident. They patiently wait for the tidbits of dried vegetables, old lettuce, and cherry tomatoes that miss the trash can as they fly through the air.
No dogs were small enough to actually climb in and clean off the shelves until Mr. Wilbur came along. He’s a sneaky little Double Dapple who is very inquisitive and doesn't miss anything that relates to food.
I decided to go for the gold this week and wash all the fridge walls down, too, so I took out all the top shelves thinking I had removed all the food. Just as I was about to begin, I heard the washer out of balance in the basement, so figuring it was safe to leave the door open, I sprinted down the stairs to rebalance the load.
Job completed and new load in the machine, I went back to the kitchen to finish the fridge. As I reentered the kitchen, I saw everyone huddled around Wilbur, staring adoringly at him. It turns out he noticed a six-pack of Jell-O in the back of the fridge, climbed in, and pulled out the treasure.
There Wilbur stood, in the middle of the kitchen, removing the foil tops from each container and then passing them out like an ice cream truck driver passes out ice cream. Delilah and Bully were already enjoying their treats while my other two Doxies waited patiently in line. For a second I thought that Wilbur was going to turn around and ask them for twenty-five cents!
I must admit, I was fascinated. For a second I just stood and watched my little Wilbur serve his customers. Sadly for the last two dogs, I intervened, and Wilbur’s illegal “Jello® Distribution Service” was busted, and they went without.
Moral of the story: Never underestimate a Dachshund’s determination when it comes to Jell-O!!
Helen LaBuda
Book #149 Prospect Park West: A Novel by Amy Sohn
In the park, at the coffee shops, and on the playgrounds of the neighborhood, four women's lives come together during one long, hot Brooklyn summer. Melora Leigh, a two-time Oscar-winning actress, frustrated with her career and the pressures of raising her adopted toddler, feels the seductive pull of kleptomania; Rebecca Rose, missing the robust sex life of her pre-motherhood days, begins a dangerous flirtation with a handsome neighborhood celebrity; Lizzie O'Donnell, a former lesbian (or "hasbian"), wonders why she is still drawn to women in spite of her sexy husband and adorable baby; and Karen Bryan Shapiro finds herself consumed by two powerful obsessions: her four-year-old son's well-being and snagging the ultimate three-bedroom apartment in a wellmaintained, P.S. 321-zoned co-op building. As the women's paths intertwine (and sometimes collide), each must struggle to keep her man, her sanity...and her playdates.
From the perennially hot author and columnist Amy Sohn comes a smart, sexy, satirical peek into the bedrooms and hearts of Prospect Park West.
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416577637
ISBN-13: 978-1416577638
8/19/09
Book #148 My Soul to Take (Harlequin Teen) by Rachel Vincent
5 out of 5
Product Description
She doesn't see dead people, but…
She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.
Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next…
About The Autho
Rachel Vincent is the author of the Shifters series, about a werecat named Faythe Sanders, who is learning to define her own role in her family and fighting to claim a place in her Pride.
Rachel’s young adult debut, My Soul to Take, will hit the shelves on August 1, 2009. My Soul to Take is the first in the Soul Screamers series, about a teenage bean sidhe (banshee) trying to balance a normal high school experience with the terrifying, hidden world she’s just discovered.
A recent transplant into the deep south, Rachel Vincent has a BA in English and an overactive imagination, and consistently finds the latter to be more practical. She shares her workspace with two black cats (Kaci and Nyx) and her # 1 fan. Rachel is older than she looks-seriously-and younger than she feels, but remains convinced that for every day she spends writing, one more day will be added to her lifespan. http://rachelvincent.com/
Product Details
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Harlequin (August 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0373210035
ISBN-13: 978-0373210039
I have to say this is a good solid debut of a new series. I was immediately taken with how believable the situation of the teenagers (Kaylee and Nash) and their world is described. I seriously could not put this book down once I started it. This book is definitely for older teenagers over 14 as there are sexual situations and drug/alcohol references. Adults who enjoy paranormal romance should pick this up as well.
I wish I had more time to go into detail about how much I liked this one, but I will leave it at that. I loved it.
8/18/09
My Soul To Lose by Rachel Vincent-- Free Download!
Kaylee Cavanaugh's trip to the mall ends with a brutal panic attack and a brainscrambling shriek she can't stop. Her secret fear is exposed. It's the worst day of her life.
Until she wakes up in the psychiatric unit.
But the hospital isn't a safe place for Kaylee, and getting out won't be easy because everyone thinks she's crazy. Everyone except Lydia, who has a secret of her own...
I just started My Soul To Take since everyone has been raving about this book....
Dogs Are Smart! Part II
Study: Dogs can dig through human deception
By Dan Vergano, USA TODAY
Man's best friend or food-grubbing flatterer? Dogs are no dummies either way, suggests a study showing how canines respond to deception.
Fido always seems to know which hand hides the treat, even without sniffing, and researchers and pet owners alike have long wondered whether pooches imagine what we are thinking or whether they simply read body language.
"Dogs evolved with humans, and a number of studies have suggested they are particularly sensitive to human cues," says psychologist William Roberts of Canada's Dalhousie University. Sentimental pet owners might even say their dogs know what they are thinking.
To test how well dogs have people figured out, Roberts and colleagues performed three experiments reported in the current Behaviour Process journal. The team recruiting pet owners and tested 16 dogs in a park near London, Ontario.
First, the researchers presented the dogs with two covered buckets, one empty, one loaded with treats. In some trials, the same tester would always signal to the dogs the empty bucket. In other trials, another tester would signal the full bucket.
The dogs started out running to the bucket indicated by testers in both trials, but within five attempts, the dogs figured out a little less than half the time to run to the bucket not indicated by the "deceptive" tester.
Similar tests were done decades ago in chimps, notes psychologist Clive Wynne of the University of Florida-Gainesville, editor of the journal. "One interesting thing is that the dogs are wiping the floor with the chimps in how often, statistically, they figure out the deception," he says.
To see whether the human testers mattered, the team replaced the testers with white or black boxes, placed behind buckets, one empty and one holding hot dog pieces. "It appears that dogs learned rather quickly to approach the (full) box and to avoid the (empty) box," the study says.
"They are just as good at it when no humans are involved," Wynne says. The study suggests, he adds, that "sometimes for your dog, you are just a stimulus machine that provides food" rather than a thinking creature whose intentions need to be read.
But Alexandra Horowitz of Columbia University says the experiments can't tell us too much. "In the deceiver case, they were torn — this person had deceived them, but on the other hand, it is still a person, and people often have information about where food or a toy is hidden."
Book #147 Dead Is So Last Year by Marlene Perez
Something very strange starts happening in Nightshade the summer that the eldest Giordano sister, Rose, gets a job working at Dr. Franken's research laboratory. People are starting to see double. Doppelgängers of Nightshade residents are popping up all over town. Daisy, Rose and Poppy think it's a coincidence, until the rumors start that their father, who disappeared several years ago, has been spotted in town. Meanwhile, Daisy's beau, Ryan is spending all of his time training for football, and like the other guys on the team, he's grown enormous almost overnight. Samantha Devereux's boyfriend's neck has doubled in size since school ended. Could the football players be resorting to extreme measures to win? Between summer jobs, sugar rushes, and beach parties, the Giordano girls get to the bottom of these mysteries and more.
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Graphia (May 4, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0152062165
ISBN-13: 978-0152062163
8/17/09
Book #146 The Pretend Wife by Bridget Asher
The Pretend Wife by Bridget Asher
4 out of 5
Product Description
What would life be like with the one who got away? From the author of My Husband’s Sweethearts—hailed as “a laugh-and-cry novel”* that’s “whip-smart, tender…an undiluted joy to read”**—comes this bighearted, funny, fiercely perceptive tale about a happily married woman and the little white lie that changed everything.… For Gwen Merchant, love has always been doled out in little packets—from her father, a marine biologist who buried himself in work after her mother’s death; and from her husband, Peter, who’s always been respectable and safe. But when an old college boyfriend, the irrepressible Elliot Hull, invites himself back into Gwen’s life, she starts to remember a time when love was an ocean. What does Elliot want? In fact, he has a rather surprising proposition: he wants Gwen to become his wife. His pretend wife. Just for a few days. To accompany him to his family’s lake house for the weekend so that he can fulfill his dying mother’s last wish. Reluctantly Gwen agrees to play along—with her husband Peter’s full support. It’s just one weekend—what harm could come of it?But as Gwen is drawn into Elliot’s quirky, wonderful family—his astonishingly wise and open mother, his warm and welcoming sister, and his adorable, precocious niece—she starts questioning everything she’s ever expected from love. And as she begins to uncover a few secrets about her own family, it suddenly looks like a pretend relationship just might turn out to be the most real thing she’s ever known.
About the Author
Bridget Asher is the author of My Husband’s Sweethearts. She lives on the Florida panhandle with her husband, who is lovable, sweet, and true of heart—and has given her no reason to inquire about his former sweethearts.
Product Details
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Bantam (June 9, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385341911
ISBN-13: 978-0385341912
I was all set to give this book three out of five and then the plot changed and the author took something mundane and made it unique. It could have really turned out to be a typical romance novel and I really enjoyed this quick read. This is a perfect book when you are looking for something not too challenging for the summer months.
My favorite phrase in the book: Conversational Vampires
8/15/09
Book #145 The Best of Times: A Novel by Penny Vincenzi
In a matter of seconds, absolutely everything can change …In this masterfully crafted page-turner, peopled with intense characters and centered on one devastating moment that involves them all, plot-twist queen Penny Vincenzi vividly captures how the actions of one person can dramatically affect many in the blink of an eye.On an ordinary Friday afternoon, on a major motorway outside of London, a trailer truck suddenly and violently swerves across fives lanes of traffic—careening cars into one another like dominoes and leaving a trail of chaos and confusion. Within the space of a minute, an astounding miles-long pileup has amassed, and, as the survivors await help, their stories unfold.Vincenzi expertly maneuvers the plot between the panic-stricken husband trapped in his car with his young mistress, his adultery sure to be discovered; the bridegroom trying frantically to get to the church on time (he won’t); the widow on her way to reunite with the love of her life after sixty years, now forced to ponder whether she’ll ever see him again; the junior doctor waiting to receive the crash victims in the ER … And at the epicenter of this field of destruction lies the truck driver, suffering from memory loss, while the mysterious hitchhiker, the only person who knows what really happened, has fled the scene.Spellbound by these intimate and evocative tales, we watch as fate takes its powerful course and the far-reaching effects of the crash ripple through the lives of hundreds of people. Written with incredible verve, candor, and wit, Penny Vincenzi reveals human behavior in all its fascinating detail as she challenges her characters to face crisis boldly—and she surprises us with the results at every turn.
Penny Vincenzi is the author of several major bestsellers, including Sheer Abandon. Before becoming a novelist, she worked as a journalist for Vogue, Tattler, and Cosmopolitan. She lives in London.
Hardcover: 608 pages
Publisher: Doubleday (July 14, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385528248
ISBN-13: 978-0385528245
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
8/14/09
8/12/09
Book #144 L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad
L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad
3.5 out of 5
Product Description
Los Angeles is all about the sweet life: hot clubs, cute guys, designer . . . everything. Nineteen-year-old Jane Roberts can't wait to start living it up. She may be in L.A. for an internship, but Jane plans to play as hard as she works, and has enlisted her BFF Scarlett to join in the fun.
When Jane and Scarlett are approached by a producer who wants them to be on his new series, a "reality version of Sex and the City," they can hardly believe their luck. Their own show? Yes, please!
Soon Jane is TV's hottest star. Fame brings more than she ever imagined possible for a girl from Santa Barbara—free designer clothes, the choicest tables at the most exclusive clubs, invites to Hollywood premieres—and she's lapping up the VIP treatment with her eclectic entourage of new pals. But those same friends who are always up for a wild night are also out for a piece of Jane's spotlight.
In a city filled with people chasing after their dreams, it's not long before Jane wakes up to the reality that everyone wants something from her, and nothing is what it seems to be.
L.A. Candy is a deliciously entertaining novel about what it's like to come of age in Hollywood while starring in a reality TV show, written by a girl who has experienced it all firsthand: Lauren Conrad.
About the Author
Lauren Conrad is the star of MTV's number-one hit show, The Hills. She launched her career as a fashion designer in Spring 2008 with the debut of the Lauren Conrad Collection. Lauren has been featured on the covers of Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, Seventeen, and Entertainment Weekly, among others. She lives in Los Angeles. This is her first novel.
Product Details
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (June 16, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061767581
ISBN-13: 978-0061767586
I have to admit I actually enjoyed this book. It was a quick read that had all of the elements of good chick lit. There is shopping, boys and a career. This is really a book for older teens since there are scenes about alcohol (alot!) and sex. I would have to imagine that Jane is a composite of the girls on The Hills and Laguna Beach. She has enough detail to make her a sympathetic heroine and I would love to read more about Scarlett. Madison makes a great frenemy that you just love to hate.
I did think it was too cliched in parts, but that didn't reduce the enjoyment. This is a "write what you know" type of book for Lauren Conrad but I am eager to read the next installment in the series since this one did have a bit of a cliff hanger at the end.
8/11/09
Book #143 Dead Is a State of Mind by Marlene Perez
4 out of 5
Product Description
A creepy, campy new mystery series
Welcome to Nightshade, California—a small town full of secrets. It’s home to the psychic Giordano sisters, who have a way of getting mixed up in mysteries. During their investigations, they run across everything from pom-pom- shaking vampires to shape-shifting boyfriends to a clue-spewing jukebox. With their psychic powers and some sisterly support, they can crack any case! There’s a gorgeous new guy at Nightshade High: Duke Sherrad, a fortune-teller claiming to have descended from Gypsies. Even though she’s psychic herself, Daisy is skeptical of Duke’s powers. But when a teacher who was the subject of one of his predictions ends up dead, she begins to wonder if Duke is the real deal after all.Maybe if Daisy can track down the teacher’s killer, she can find out the truth. The only trouble is, all signs point to the murderer being of the furry persuasion. Is Daisy any match for a werewolf? Maybe she is . . . in more ways than she bargained for!
About the Author
MARLENE PEREZ is the author of Unexpected Development, an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. She lives in Orange County, California.www.marleneperez.com
Product Details
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Graphia (January 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0152062106
ISBN-13: 978-0152062101
The second entry in the Dead is the... was just as good as the first, maybe a little bit better. I have recommended this to all my friends who have 11-12 year old daughters that aren't enjoying the Twilight series. This story about Daisy and her two sisters, Poppy and Rose solving a paranormal mystery should appeal to that age group. I love recommending books like this that have no drug or major sexual situations to younger readers.
The characters are quite believable even in the paranormal realm. They all retain the insecurity, flashes of independence and optimism found in girls this age. The author also doesn't use unnecessary words to get her point across which is a huge problem for some younger readers. There are also excellent teaching points about accepting people who are different and not judging someone until you have met them. Even adults should enjoy this tale which reads like a cozy and like all good reads has a beginning, middle and conclusion.
Bonus Point: The story mentions my alma mater, Cal State Fullerton. I never thought I would ever see that in a book.
Orange County woman performs mouth-to-snout resuscitation to save friend's Chihuahua
A woman attending a child's birthday party in Huntington Beach Sunday wound up saving a little dog's life by performing mouth-to-snout resuscitation on it when it accidentally hanged itself with its leash.
Maricruz Cisneros had tied her two dogs in a backyard treehouse and blocked the treehouse entrance with chairs in order to keep them from escaping during the party; a gate to the yard, which is normally kept closed, was open to allow guests to enter. But the entrance apparently wasn't blocked quite well enough, and one of the dogs, a Chihuahua, somehow fell from the treehouse while still attached to its leash. The leash acted as a noose, choking the dog.
Fortunately for the dog, one of the partygoers was Krisna Torres, who sprung into action when she saw what had happened. "Her eyes were blank, she wasn't breathing, nothing," Torres told the Orange County Register. "She wasn't responding."
Torres cleared the dog's airway and performed mouth-to-snout resuscitation. According to KTLA, the dog gasped and began breathing on its own after receiving about two minutes of rescue breathing from Torres. After all the excitement, the dog was taken to a veterinarian, checked out and allowed to return home.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals offers this advice for pet owners who find themselves in a similar situation:
CPR may be necessary if you remove the object your dog is choking on, but he is still unconscious. First check to see if he’s breathing. If not, place him on his side and perform artificial respiration by extending his head and neck, holding his jaws closed and blowing into his nostrils once every three seconds. (Ensure no air escapes between your mouth and the dog’s nose.) If you don’t feel a heartbeat, incorporate cardiac massage while administering artificial respiration — three quick, firm chest compressions for every respiration — until your dog resumes breathing on his own.
See the ASPCA's website for more information on emergency pet care. And, for the love of Pete, let's all vow to keep dogs out of treehouses!
-- Lindsay Barnett
8/10/09
Wandering Dog told to GO HOME!
Here is the story:
Idaho vandals paint message on furry coat of unleashed pooch:
MAY 3--Police are seeking the vandals who spray-painted the words "Go Home" on a Samoan Shepherd who enjoys wandering, unleashed, though its Idaho neighborhood. As seen in the below evidence photos, the dog, named Wiley, had one word painted on each side of his body. According to a Bannock County Sheriff's Department report, Wiley's owner called cops late last month after discovering her dog "had been spray painted with gang graffiti." Actually, it appears that the ambulating animal wasn't tagged by an Idaho Blood or Crip, but rather by some annoyed neighbor or juvenile delinquent. A sheriff's deputy advised Wiley's owner, Marilyn Hardenbrook, to keep the dog in her own yard (and under her control while the pooch was "out and about").
Click on the link in the title for the full report.
We have a similiar problem in our neighborhood with unleashed dogs. If you have smaller breed, you know what a problem this can be for your pup. I constantly have to pick up Schatze to keep her from being jumped on and hurt by the large dogs roaming around here while we are walking. This is to say nothing of the mess these unsupervised dogs leave behind and the danger created for drivers in this neighborhood when there is a dog dashing across the street with no warning.
Book #142 Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir by Christopher Buckley
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Twelve (May 6, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446540943
ISBN-13: 978-0446540940
8/9/09
Dogs are smart!
Dogs are smarter than toddlers, IQ tests show
By Jeanna Bryner
The canine IQ test results are in: Even the average dog has the mental abilities of a 2-year-old child.
Click on the title above for the complete article....
8/8/09
Being Human on BBCA
George's Story
Mitchell's Story
Annie's Story
8/7/09
Book #141 City of Glass (Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare
As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadow-hunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City -- whatever the cost?
Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the final installment of the New York Times bestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 560 pages
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (March 24, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416914307
ISBN-13: 978-1416914303
8/6/09
Book #140 Beverly Hills Adjacent by Jennifer Steinhauer and Jessica Hendra
During pilot season, June Dietz’s husband Mitch Gold becomes another man—a man who doesn’t notice her delicious Farmers Market homemade dinners, who mumbles responses around the tooth-whitening trays in his mouth, who is consumed with envy for his fellow television actors, who pants for a return phone call from his agent. And who wants to be married to an abject, paranoid, oblivious mess? Possibly not June, whose job as a poetry professor at UCLA makes her in but not of Los Angeles, with its illogical pecking order and relentless tribal customs. Even their daughter Nora’s allegedly innocent world isn’t immune from one upsmanship: while Mitch is bested for acting jobs by the casually confident (and so very L.A.) Willie Dermot, June is tormented by Willie’s insufferably uptight wife Larissa and the other stay-at-home exercisers in the preschool.
Could Rich Friend be the answer? Smart, age-appropriate, bookish—and a wildly successful television producer—Rich focuses on June the way nobody has since she moved to Los Angeles, and there’s nothing for June to do but wallow in what she’s been missing. But what’s the next step? How does a regular person decide between husband and lover, family and fantasy?
Set in a Los Angeles you haven’t read about before, Beverly Hills Adjacent is that rare thing: a laugh-out-loud novel with heart.
About the Author
JENNIFER STEINHAUER is the Los Angeles bureau chief of The New York Times, where she began working as a copygirl in college. Her reporting on Hurricane Katrina won the Newswoman’s Club of New York Front Page Deadline Reporting Award in 2006. JESSICA HENDRA is the author of How to Cook Your Daughter: A Memoir. She is married to a working television actor. Beverly Hills Adjacent is the first fiction for each. They live in the real west L.A., in Rancho Park.
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (May 12, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312551827
ISBN-13: 978-0312551827
8/5/09
Book #139 Secondhand Spirits: A Witchcraft Mystery by Juliet Blackwell
4 out of 5
Product Description
Love the vintage— not the ghosts Lily Ivory feels that she can finally fit in somewhere and conceal her “witchiness” in San Francisco. It’s there that she opens her vintage clothing shop, outfitting customers both spiritually and stylistically.Just when things seem normal, a client is murdered and children start disappearing from the Bay Area. Lily has a good idea that some bad phantoms are behind it. Can she keep her identity secret, or will her witchy ways be forced out of the closet as she attempts to stop the phantom?
Product Details
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Signet (July 7, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 045122745X
ISBN-13: 978-0451227454
This is an excellent start to a new cozy series with a paranormal setting. Lily Ivory can sense ghosts and other spirits and uses this to her advantage to unravel a mystery surrounding her in her new life in San Francisco. I really enjoyed this book and espcially the character of Oscar--a gargoyle(?) who can morph into a pot bellie pig. I can't wait for the next one.
8/3/09
Book #138 A Mermaid's Kiss by Joey W. Hill
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade (November 4, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425223809
ISBN-13: 978-0425223802