Book Lovers Club
Comments
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Maybe I need to take my dog to Mexico. LOL
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Yep. Mexico it is if you want a balanced dog!
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ok- I have to ask....why? What is different in Mexico that the dogs have better behavior? Different culture and expectations or what?
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Laurie... The water?! The siestas?! Actually, according to The Dog Whisperer, it has nothing to do with Mexico. What it has to do with... Is YOUR behavior. He says that American people treat their dogs like humans. In Mexico, people treat their dogs like.... Dogs.
Perhaps you might like to read some of his books in addition to Malcolm Gladwell's story.0 -
Ha! Yes I read John Rocks Error and will read anything by Oliver Sacks
Former owner of 1/2 Great Dane/1/2 blue tick who was the WORST dog ever! That's him sleeping, for once on his bed in his sweater in my avatar. He slept under the covers with me until husband # 2 kicked him out, he weighed 80 pounds, he used his howl as a weapon and would paw what he wanted and howl until he got it, as in "open up that big white box, I what to see what's to eat today" I was asked not to bring him back to obedience school because he disrupted the class. But I loved him so.
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While we are on the subject, there is a terrific documentary about a Horse Whisperer. The movie is called "Buck." Buck and Cesar must have been separated at birth because they both arrive at the same philosophy... despite working with different types of animals.
I saw an article about Buck and he was questioned if he ever met the Dog Whisperer and he said, "No." But he went on to say that he had watched him on television and thought "what he was doing made sense." And, that he'd "probably like the guy if he met him."
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Voraciousreader I would love to see that documentary. I think we must be alike in one way, because I can spend the whole day reading if I'm in the mood. I can make my own visions, rather than watch the only one shown on TV!
Anything by David Sedaris I think is hysterical, like Me Talk Pretty One Day.
But he may be a bit racy for some of you.
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Off-topic, sorry! Not a dog person, but found the discussion about the different ways countries/cultures treat their pets interesting. We in UK/Britain are like the US - Anglo-Saxon roots (?)- in that we treat our pets like another member of the family, whereas in France they think we're really soft on our animals and, like Mexico, treat them as animals. Mind you, there is a bit of a trend here amongst some to dress up dogs and dye their hair/fur pink or purple in doggie salons - the latter, disturbing and cruel IMO. Thanks for the book ideas and debates,
Sarah x
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Haha Sarah,
You are funny. When I was in France and Belgium, I saw little bitty dogs in stores and restaraunts and they did seem well mannered. Mine would have howled then jumped on the table and eaten everything in sight. So UK is like us! That's very interesting as I always thought (or didn't think) of UK dogs as huge dogs working the pastures or pulling children in carts! Must have been childhood story memories.
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I totally agree with vr...it's the owners, NOT the dogs!! 0
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Okay...we DEFINITELY are WAY, WAY, WAY off topic...but we ARE reading.... soooo...
I mentioned, a few pages back about the film My Dog Tulip, based on a memoir of a devoted dog lover. Below is The New York Times film review. I got the DVD from my library and thoroughly enjoyed it! Before reading it, I want to also include the quote from the end of the film, which has resonated with me since watching the film and meeting Cesar Millan. There are so many magnificant quotes in the film worth repeating, but here's one to ponder:
"What strained and anxious lives dogs must lead, so emotionally involved in the
world of humans, whose affections they strive endlessly to secure, whose
authority they are expected unquestioningly to obey, and whose mind they can
never do more than imperfectly reach and comprehend. Stupidly loved, stupidly
hated, acquired without thought, reared and ruled without understanding, passed
on or put to sleep without care, did they, I wondered, these descendants of the
creatures who, thousands of years ago in the primeval forests, laid siege to the
heart of man, took him under their protection, tried to tame him, and failed -
did they suffer from headaches?"Movie Review | 'My Dog Tulip'
A Tender Love Story Between Man and Dog
Animated dog movie: Those three little words are enough to make many parents shudder in expectation of having to accompany their kindergarten-age children to a sentimental, anthropomorphic contrivance. Now read the following quotation from "My Dog Tulip," an animated dog movie like no other, and reconsider your qualms.
"She offered me what I had never found in my life with humans: constant, single-hearted, incorruptible, uncritical devotion, which it is in the nature of dogs to offer."
Those words, spoken in devotional tones by the film's British narrator, distill with an elegant succinctness the bond between human and pet when the human is a lonely gay man who has all but given up on finding the longtime companion that the narrator calls his "ideal friend."
That narrator, voiced by Christopher Plummer, is J. R. Ackerley (1896-1967), the British man of letters whose 1956 memoir, "My Dog Tulip," chronicles his 15-year-relationship with Queenie, a German shepherd renamed Tulip for the book.
When Ackerley was "quite over 50," and Tulip was 18 months old, he acquired her from a family that had kept her imprisoned indoors. The slender volume is a classic of animal literature for the refinement of its prose, its dry wit, and its close, unblinking attention to the subtleties of human-animal interaction.
Consider this observation, by the discreetly misanthropic Ackerley as he marvels at his new pet's exuberance: "It seemed to me both touching and strange that she should find the world so wonderful."
The film's hand-drawn animation by the directors Paul and Sandra Fierlinger (they are married) and Mr. Plummer's understated conversational voice combine to make "My Dog Tulip," which opens on Wednesday at Film Forum in the South Village, one of the most sophisticated dog movies ever created.
The animation, consisting of 58,320 drawings, involves four graphic concepts: finished-looking color drawings that portray Mr. Ackerley's day-to-day life; simpler drawings in the elongated style of a New Yorker cartoon that evoke Mr. Ackerley's fantasies; black-and-white line illustrations of his distant memories; and fanciful yellow-pad scribblings.
The movie only fleetingly succumbs to anthropomorphism in line drawings that show a half-human Tulip in a dress, holding court. John Avarese's agreeable light-jazz score, which occasionally dips into a classical mode, lends the film a jaunty buoyancy.
Besides Ackerley, "My Dog Tulip" (whose title character is mercifully never given a human voice) is peopled with eccentrics, each given an astutely chosen actor and a sharply drawn personality by the animators. Lynn Redgrave, who died in May and to whom the movie is dedicated, plays Ackerley's sister Nancy, who moves in to be Tulip's daytime caretaker while Ackerley is working and competes with her brother for Tulip's affection.
A veterinarian of astonishing empathy with animals is voiced by Isabella Rossellini. Examining Tulip for worms, she gently explains to Ackerley: "Tulip is a good girl. You are the trouble. She is in love with you."
Brian Murray plays the dual roles of Ackerley's indolent World War I army buddy, Captain Pugh, whom he visits at his country farm with an unruly Tulip in hand, and Mr. Blandish, a dog owner whose proud German shepherd, Max, is rebuffed by Tulip.
With its meticulously detailed observations of Tulip's excretory rituals and anatomical changes when in heat, "My Dog Tulip" might almost be called a dirty movie. It unblinkingly observes the messes Tulip makes and shows her being mounted while in heat.
One of the most embarrassing messes takes place in front of the store of a green grocer whose wife (Redgrave) is so irate that she refuses to thank Ackerley even after he cleans it up. Another is made in an off-limits area of Ackerley's home after Tulip finally produces a litter and senses that Ackerley intends to kill the pups. Their father ends up not being a male with a pedigree but Dusty, the "disreputable dirty ragamuffin" from next door.
In a final printed statement scrolled across the screen, Ackerley contemplates a dog's frustration at trying to understand the human mind. As his imagination soars, he wonders if thousands of years ago, humans came under the protection of dogs, which tried to tame them and failed.
MY DOG TULIP
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vr Thanks for the post, and yes, I know I was getting off topic, but couldn't resist!!0
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Laurie08 - I finished The Night Strangers last week. It was pretty creepy but I have mixed feelings about the ending. I sure like how Chris B writes. There are a few of his older books that I still want to read.
VR - Thanks for the info on My Dog Tulip. I will certainly check my library for the book and DVD. Also, I'm reading non-fiction right now. The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that saved America. It's not my normal type but it is well written and I'm learning about the formation of the US Forest Service.
Thanks for the off topic dog discussion. I have a 2.5 year old, 100 lb Alaskan Malamute who runs the house. He was a 6 mo old puppy when I was diagnosed and he was a big part of my therapy and recovery.
I also read Mudbound and enjoyed it. It is certainly worth the .99 price.
Happy Holidays to everyone! Gina
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With all of these dog lovers...I think it's time to start an Animal Lovers thread!
Blessed and happy holiday to all the sisters...and may we all share a happy new year with few surprises...and if there are any...let them all be good ones!
Elizabeth RIP, sister! As long as there will be books to read and discuss...we will remember you!
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voracious- well put, you are missed Elizabeth.
ginadmc- I agree about the ending. Not like him and didn't care for it, creepy. But, a page turner none the less
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Elizabeth, we miss you!
May the only suprises we encounter this year be the suprise endings in good books!
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Does anyone else get Bookmarks magazine - "for everyone who hasn't read everything". My Jan/Feb issue came yesterday and as usual I devoured it immediately & marked a bunch of books I want to read. Interestingly Arguably by Christopher Hitchens is reviewed this month. My SIL gave me my first subscription some years ago. They review fiction, non fiction, science fiction, history, young adult, biography, etc... and always have a couple of long articles about authors or groups or periods of lit. And they print the reviews from 5 or 6 other sources & do a Critical Summary. If you're looking for a treat for yourself, here it is. And no, I have no ties other than as a dedicated reader.
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I'm on it! Thanks for the tip!
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Just ordered it for my sister for Christmas. She'll love it! Thanks
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Happy Hanukkah & Merry Christmas to all of you. My tradition is to open one present on Christmas Eve and the rest has to wait for morning. My choice was a book from my son. It was Tina Fey's Bossypants. Should be fun. Bought myself a carrier bag with a slogan on the side: "She is too fond of books and it has addled her brain" - Louisa May Alcottt. That's me. Thanks for your recommendations, advice and friendship. I look forward to many more books. Hope 2012 will be a banner year for everyone. Jan0
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Just finished reading, Pat Nixon: Embattled First Lady. It was a short, quick read. I hadn't realized that aside from her daughter's biography of her, there was little scholarly investigation of her life. Joan Allen's performance of her in the film, "Nixon" always left me wanting to learn more about her. I wouldn't say the book is "deep." However, I did learn more about this very complex and MISUNDERSTOOD woman. With all of the scandalous politicians, nowadays, and the term, "The Good Wife" part of our contemporary lexicon, it's interesting to look back at Pat Nixon and wonder if she wrote the modern playbook on how to "stand by your man."
Next up... FICTION ALERT!!!!!
Choosing between, The Year We Left Home. Rules of Civility. And, the Booker Prize Winner, The Sense of an Ending. Has anyone read any of them?
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Pat Nixon: Caught Between the Housewives and the Feminists
Mary C. Brennan
Mary C. Brennan is professor of history at Texas State University%mdash;San Marcos. She is the author of Pat Nixon: Embattled First Lady (Kansas, 2011).
As the feminist movement grew radicalized in the climate of the late 1960s, many women became increasingly critical of their peers who maintained traditional roles as supportive wives, and the tensions over women's roles in society became increasingly polarized and debated. As if Pat Nixon did not have enough strikes against her as First Lady, she also had to deal with the changes women faced as a result of this growing feminism. Her years as Richard Nixon's wife earned her the nickname "Plastic Pat," a spineless automaton who smiled on cue with never a hair out of place. Moreover, she followed First Ladies who had established distinctive reputations: Jacqueline Kennedy epitomized elegance and style and worked to restore the White House and Lady Bird Johnson was actively engaged in the beautification of America's highways. Pat seemed unable to live up to her predecessor's standards or to bridge the gap between the new feminism and the wives of her generation.
Pat, no stranger to difficult challenges, navigated the situation the best way she knew how-by working hard and living up to her own beliefs. Pat's early life was hard. She grew up on a hard scrabble farm. Her mother and father both died before she was out of her teens. For all of the tragedy, she also found joy in friendships, in school activities, and in her family.
Although the Republican party, and her husband, created the image of Pat as the perfect housewife and mother, the reality of her life had never quite matched that reputation. She was an excellent seamstress and decorator who put her personal touch on all of her homes. She was only a fair cook, but she could be a maniac about cleaning. She was also a doting mother who participated actively in her daughters' educations and lives, volunteering at school, overseeing homework, and closely monitoring the girls' activities. She could relate to the millions of women whose lives revolved around home and family.
On the other hand, in spite of her public image, like many women of her generation, Pat had worked her entire life. She lived in New York City for a few years, working at a hospital to support herself. When she returned to California, she held down several jobs to put herself through college. After graduation, she took a job as a teacher. After marriage, she continued working while Dick was away during World War II. When he returned from overseas and ran for Congress, she jumped on the band wagon. She was office manager, secretary, and jack-of-all-trades for his campaign despite being pregnant. Just hours after the birth of her daughter she was sitting up in bed typing press releases and doing research. She left her newborn with her mother-in-law so that she could continue to work. This campaign was more than just something she did for her husband, this was her new career, even if not the one she would have chosen.
Pat continued this pattern throughout the ups and downs of her husband's career. While he was vice president, she frequently traveled with him. Although Pat regretted leaving her daughters, she believed she and Dick were doing important work. She did not have to do this. Other political wives cut back their travel when they had small children. Pat was proud of being a mother and wife, but she was also proud of being part of a political team.
When her husband lost his presidential bid in 1960, things changed. Even as Dick worked on rebuilding his career, she struggled to figure out what to do with herself. With her daughters growing up, she had lost both her careers as mother and as part of a political team.
She found her new job as First Lady. Although it took her a while to adjust to her new role, eventually she saw the potential in her new office. She used her position to open the White House to the traditionally excluded: the blind, the deaf, the working class. Her "project" was grassroots volunteerism and she traveled the country celebrating unsung heroes.
Even as Pat explored her role as First Lady, a revived feminist movement gained prominence and strength. Professional women from the National Organization for Women joined with women of color and younger white women who had worked in the civil rights, student, and anti-war movements to push for the Equal Rights Amendment and abortion rights. In addition, they encouraged women to see the discrimination that existed in their own lives. Some of the new feminists mocked marriage and motherhood as traps that stifled women. They focused on the importance of paid labor.
For many women of Pat's generation, feminism seemed confusing, threatening and insulting. Many had worked their whole lives, not just as wives and mothers, but outside the home. They had not seen themselves as oppressed. They were proud of their accomplishments as wives and mothers. These women related to Pat's loyalty to her husband and daughters, and her appreciation of their unpaid labor for good causes.
Pat was not unsympathetic to the feminist camp, however. She lobbied her husband to appoint a woman Supreme Court justice and gave him the silent treatment when he failed to listen to her advice. She quietly voiced her support for the ERA. Pat pushed even the limits of fashion: she was the first First Lady to appear in public in pants. Importantly, her career as her husband's representative to foreign countries such as Venezuela and Ghana established a precedent for future First Ladies.
Pat's low-key actions were not enough to please the feminists, who characterized her as the epitome of the suppressed wife who did her husband's bidding. What they overlooked was her choice to adopt the job of political wife and her efforts to expand that position. Housewives around the country who supported her and feminists who disparaged her efforts did not realize the part she was playing in transforming women's place in American political life.
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an opportunity to check out Mary Anna Evans (a friend of mine) for free on kindle
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I don't have a kindle, but it looks like an interesting read, Apple. I guess I'll have to wait for the paper copy.
Currently reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. I think someone recommended it a long time ago on this thread and I'm just now getting to it. I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I love the pictures he creates with his writing.
Mary
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Mary - I, too, have had Cutting for Stone in my TBR pile for quite some time and just started it over the weekend. I've been looking forward to reading it.
I recently finished The Twentieth Wife. It was about Mehrunissa, an empress in the Mughal Court in 17th century India. The author is a good storyteller and it was a fascinating time in Indian history. It ends as she is assuming the the empress position. I will be reading the sequel.
Gina
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YramAL: Cutting For Stone seems to be a love it or hate it book. Glad that you are enjoying it.
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I think someone here recommended Alice Hoffmans The Dove Keepers? I saw the cover at the library today and it rang a bell....picked it up.0
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Checking in with another really good history: Destiny of the Republic~ A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
It is about the assassination of President Garfield in 1880...but interweaves the murder, politics, medical practices (which is what actually killed him) of the time. It really brings the whole era to life. I know some of you like Erik Larson, and one reviewer compared it to his The Devil in the White City (which I have sitting on my table but won't get to until I'm my Book Club novel).
Anyway, it was a 'can't put in down' read.
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Thanks Ruth! I will say that I tried to read the Devil in the White City and could not get through it. It came highly recommended to me though, so maybe it was just me.
I just finished The Wife by Meg Wolitzer. It took me forever to read it because of the holidays, I was always busy doing something else. I liked it though, the plot kept surprising me, I loved the things that the character Joan thought, the way they were expressed. A good read.
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3 great reads in a row:
Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman - this is about a guy, mid thirties, whose dad is a famous writier, who himself has been secretly writing a novel and who can't get an erection. He hates his job and makes fun of all the office stuff, his philandering dad comes to visit, everything goes wacky. Very well-drawn characters, very funny yet alot of truths about modern life, love and families.
Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis - Must mention together although I just finished All Clear after having read Blackout several months ago. Time Travel from 2060 by Oxford historians who want to study different aspects of the London Blitz and who get caught in London for the duration of the war. Connie Willis is a great scifi writer.
Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy - a whole neighborhood pitches in to help a single dad (recovering alcoholic) care for a new baby. If you have read any of her books, many of the characters will be familiar. Alot of atmospheric Dublin - a fast good read.
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