What are you reading Mondays is hosted by J. Kaye’s Book Blog

I’ve just finished a memoir won from the publisher, one reader recommendation, a young adult novel, a book club buy, a lovely story set in Kenya, a short WAHM guide, and the first in a great new detective/dog series (it works!): On The Line, Some Tame Gazelle, Breakfast at Sadie’s, Cormac, A Guide to the Birds of East Africa, License to Play, and Dog On It.

Over the past two weeks I finished reading :

1. Some Tame Gazelle
by Barbara Pym

This was recommended by a reader after I reviewed Miss Read’s charming journals of English country life in the 1950s.

Also set in an English country village and in the same time period, the style is more reminiscent of Jane Austen than Miss Read.

Barbara Pym is a master at capturing the subtle mayhem that takes place in the apparent quiet of the English countryside. Fifty-something sisters Harriet and Belinda Bede live a comfortable, settled existence. Belinda, the quieter of the pair, has for years been secretly in love with the town’s pompous (and married) archdeacon, whose odd sermons leave members of his flock in muddled confusion. Harriet, meanwhile, a bubbly extrovert, fends off proposal after proposal of marriage. The arrival of Mr. Mold and Bishop Grote disturb the peace of the village and leave the sisters wondering if they’ll ever return to the order of their daily routines. Some Tame Gazelle, first published in Britain nearly 50 years ago, was the first of Pym’s nine novels.

Nearly every sentence is a sly poke at upper middle class sensibilities in rural English villages. I very much enjoyed this! Four stars for its wry humour.

2. A Guide to the Birds of East Africa
by Nicholas Grayson

From Publishers Weekly
A charming love triangle in Nairobi, Kenya, forms the center of a novel that manages to be both sweet and gripping. Mr. Malik, a quiet widower guided by a naive crush, spends his Tuesdays on bird walks led by Rose Mbikwa, the Scottish widow of a Kenyan politician, whom he secretly wishes to escort to the Nairobi Hunt Club Ball. Enter Harry Khan, Mr. Malik’s playboy nemesis, who also takes a liking to Rose. Mr. Malik’s social club organizes a bet—whoever can spot the most bird species in one week earns the right to ask Rose to the ball. While Harry heads off on expensive safaris, Mr. Malik is beset by a plague of problems, including the theft of his car and bird-watching notebook, and an ambush by renegade Somalis.

Inevitably, comparisons have been, and will be, made to Alexander McCall Smith’s Ladies Detective series. I thought that Birdsmight be a weak imitation, but I was mistaken. It is every bit as well-written and entertaining as Smith’s tales of Precious Ramotswe –perhaps even better.

The gentle pacing and gentle manners of traditional African society that make Smith’s stories so pleasant are wonderfully reflected in Grayson’s Mr. Malik and in his club friends.

What a lovely little story! But fair warning: there are a lot of details about the plumed inhabitants of Kenya’s beaches, forests, marshes and mountains–perhaps too many for the non-bird-watcher. My advice: if the birds bore you, skim the detailed descriptions but read the story. Really – it’s lovely.

(Library book, returned on time.)

3. Dog on It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery
by Spencer Quinn

From Jessica Moyer at Booklist
An exciting new mystery series debuts with this first Chet and Bernie novel. Chet the Jet is a dog …(and) a dedicated PI (who) works with Bernie, owner of the Little Detective Agency. The story is told entirely from Chet’s point of view, which will delight dog-loving mystery readers, but the book is also an excellent PI tale, dogs aside, as Chet and Bernie investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl whose developer dad may be up to no good. Chet may not understand things like maps (he doesn’t need them, as he can sniff his way home), but he is a great sleuth who finds the girl and solves the case. The always upbeat Chet may well be one of the most appealing new detectives on the block, but conscientious, kind, and environmentally aware Bernie is a close runner-up. Excellent and fully fleshed primary and secondary characters, a consistently doggy view of the world, and a sprightly pace make this a not-to-be-missed debut. Essential for all mystery collections and for dog lovers everywhere.

I confess that I’m a dog owner and a dog lover. I have even had a dog (a much loved and much mourned yellow Labrador Retriever) named Chet.

So I was not at all surprised to find myself laughing out loud at this Chet’s antics.
“An ant, one of those juicy black ones, appeared from under the stove and tried to run right by me. What was he thinking?…Bernie always stressed the importance of protein in the diet.”
“‘Chet! What the h…? Get off the bed.’ I was on the bed? …Oops.”
“‘Seemed kosher to me,’ Rick said. Kosher: I knew that word; it had something to do with chicken, specifically the best chicken I’ve ever tasted…I waited to hear how chickens were coming into (this) case.”

Chet uses his superior hearing & sense of smell to aid (and to save) Bernie. (“Bernie and me – we’re a team.”) And he recognizes his own smell, of course: “a mix of old leather, salt and pepper, mink coats–I know about mink coats on account of Bernie had one, his grandma’s, that he gave to Leda–and a soupcon–a favorite word of Bernie’s, meaning, I think, a tiny drop of soup: in my case, cream of tomato.”
You’ll come to think that’s the loveliest combo in the world.

I loved this book! Five out of five stars. (Borrowed from the library and renewed so that my husband can read it.)

If you like dogs at all, and enjoy mysteries, put this book on your wish list.

4. Cormac
The Tale of a Dog Gone Missing by Sonny Brewer

From the dust jacket:

Cormac–a dark-red Golden Retriever who has always been afraid of thunderstorms and lightning flashes–runs away one stormy night while his master is away.
So begins a strange adventure that lands Cormac in the back of a red pickup truck driven by a mysterious woman, takes him to a series of dog pounds and rescue shelters, and ultimately brings him to the suburbs of Connecticut. Meanwhile, his owner, devastated and trying to juggle his family and his new novel, becomes determined to solve the “dog-napping” case, watching his small-town community come together in search of his lost companion.

Another confession: I have also owned a Golden Retriever (named Django) – a beautiful boy whom I would have been devastated to have had missing for even one day. So reading a true story about an owner who lost his Golden for close to a month should have moved me to tears.

But, um, this book wasn’t much about the dog. The first half or so dealt with the author, Sonny Brewer, and his acquisition of a publication contract that allows him to farm out his used book store and devote himself full-time to writing his first book. Wow – what a great risk Brewer was! Oh my – look at him “balance” his family and his book-writing and then book-tour.

Cormac (named after an ancient Irish king, we are told several times, seemingly to impress upon us what an intellectual Brewer is) goes missing in North Carolina while Brewer is on his book tour in Seattle. Dog owners can imagine the feeling of helplessness an owner would have. But that didn’t excuse Brewer for blaming his friend who was “supposed to have been dog-sitting, not house-sitting”, the implication being that he shouldn’t have taken a job call (during the day BTW, despite what the dust jacket says) and left Cormac in his yard with the electric fence. Although Brewer later apologized to his friend, that was only the beginning of his rudeness.

When Brewer returned from his trip, he canvassed his neighborhood door-to-door and found a lead to a dog pound, which he immediately followed up by phone. Unfortunately, the pound’s policy is not to give out information over the phone. Brewer reacts to this with profanity and threats of legal action. The manager of the pound stands her ground. Note: I would have too in her position. Sure, every rule is made to be broken and the manager may have had the authority to bypass this particular edict. But shouting and profanity was not the way to convince her to do so.

Rebuffed over the telephone, Brewer actually drives 45 minutes to his lawyer’s office, where his lawyer calls the pound on his behalf. The answer is the same. When a well-connected-to-the-press friend of Brewer’s threatens the facility with bad press within 24 hours, the information was finally handed over.

But, did it never occur to Brewer to drive to the pound instead of to his lawyer’s office? To use manners? To keep a civil tongue in his head? Sure, he was upset by the loss of his dog and by what he saw as bureaucratic stonewalling, but that is no excuse.

Once Brewer has the lead, he follows up in the same manner, again (oh, surprise!) finding people unwilling to co-operate fully with him. Did no one ever tell him that one catches more flies with honey? Or that good-intentioned people who volunteer to perform various functions in dog rescue groups don’t deserve profanity?

The information from the pound leads Brewer through a fairly straight-forward “rescue” operation. From what I’ve read here, it’s my opinion that the difficulty in retrieving (ooooh – bad, I know) Cormac lies not in the trail but in Brewer’s people skills. And he blithely writes about it, making the pound manager & other personnel in the chain out as the villains of the piece. Brewer comes across as a self-righteous, pompous, rude, and overbearing _____ – you fill in the blank. And his story’s really not that interesting.

I bought this book a year or so ago to fulfill a book-club obligation. At the time, I thought it might be similar to Marley & Me. I’m sorry I spent the money on it or, for that matter, the time reading it.

5. On the Line
by Serena Williams with Daniel Paisner

From the dust cover:

Serena William is one of the most decorated players in the history of women’s tennis–and the top-earning female athlete of all time. Her 2009 Australian Open title marked her tenth career Grand Slam championship, and returned her to the world’s number one ranking for the third time in her storied career. She has also won two Olympic gold medals and was named the WTA Tour Player of the Year for 2008.

This book follows Serena’s career from her poor childhood in Compton Court, California where her parents drilled Serena and her sisters in tennis everyday, to her 2009 status as Australian Open winner.

In between, there’s a lot of practice, a lot of hating to lose (to the point of very poor sportsmanship), a lot of winning, a lot of practice, a lot of hating to lose, and a lot of practice. There’s not a lot of introspection here.

Certainly, Serena’s worked hard all her life to get where she is, but she comes across as a spoiled “baby of the family” who throws tantrums when she loses and who was not above lying and cheating as a child to win. Maybe Serena just needs to grow up and tell her story from another perspective.

A pre-teen or teenage tennis fan (or Serena fan) would likely enjoy this book. As for me – it was just tedious.

(A win from the publisher.)

6. Breakfast at Sadie’s
by Lee Weatherly

From School Library Journal:

review by Janet Hilbun, Texas Womans University, Denton
Sadie, 13, has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Bad grades and her friends accusations of cheating aren’t enough; now her mother, who has Guillain-Barre Syndrome, is really ill and is leaving Sadie’s aunt in charge of their bed-and-breakfast.

Then her aunt runs off, and the teen is left completely in charge. Now she must run the inn and go to school without letting her mother or the school authorities in on the secret. With the help of a younger home-schooled neighbor who has decided to study management of B and Bs, she keeps the family business running and even makes a profit, but the secrecy exacts an emotional toll.

Still, in a rather predictable ending, Sadie survives it all. Despite the seriousness of her situation, the book is a fast, light read. While the British vocabulary might deter some readers, it is not a major obstacle.
Sadie is an endearing character who learns how strong she really is and how to stand up for herself.

I picked this up from a pile of paperbacks in the kids section of a second-hand store. It’s recommended for grades 6 to 9, and the review above pretty much says it better than I can. I enjoyed reading it.

7. License to Play – You Can Be the Mom of Your Dreams
by Karen Palmer, MA

This is a little book from Our Little Books (“Dedicated to publishing educational, inspirational and fun little books for pocket or purse”) and available through Send Out Cards and through the author’s website.

Palmer outlines a number of ways that women can be financially contributing and yet have more time with their children – perhaps even staying at home full-time. She expands on the field of multi-level marketing companies, explaining how these work and how a stay-at-home mom can be successful in one.

A quick, easy little read with some great tips and inspiration.

I’m currently reading:

1. Supreme Courtship
by Christopher Buckley

Amazon.com review

In bestselling author Christopher Buckley’s hilarious novel, the President of the United States, ticked off at the Senate for rejecting his nominees, decides to get even by nominating America’s most popular TV judge to the Supreme Court.

President Donald Vanderdamp is having a (terrible) time getting his nominees onto the Supreme Court. After one nominee is rejected for insufficiently appreciating To Kill a Mockingbird, the president chooses someone so beloved by voters that the Senate won’t have the nerve to reject her–Judge Pepper Cartwright, star of the nation’s most popular reality show. Will Pepper, a vivacious Texan, survive a Senate confirmation battle? Will becoming one of the most powerful women in the world ruin her love life? Soon, Pepper finds herself in the middle of a constitutional crisis, a presidential reelection campaign that the president is determined to lose, and oral arguments of a romantic nature.

Supreme Courtship is another classic Christopher Buckley comedy about the Washington institutions most deserving of ridicule.

This was a win from the publisher (thanks, Hachette Group)

Although the style of writing seems familiar, I don’t think I’ve ever read any of Christopher Buckley’s other books. What a shame.

I’ve just started but it reads quickly & easily so I won’t be long finishing it. Looking forward to it.

2. All You Have To Do Is Be

A very special gift from my sister because Tom Caldwell was our father’s brother.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a quote that said something to the effect of: “If you were put on trial for being kind, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

I see dozens of quotes in any given week, but that stuck with me since I would like to be remembered as being kind, if nothing else. So I was particularly interested in the chapter on Kindness which opens with the question “Why are people often so skin-flinty with kindness?” The author points out that Jesus did not deal with people by them cutting them off in exasperation, cutting them up with sarcasm, or cutting them down with criticism.

I also read chapters titled: Leaning, Melodious (a surprise choice for the “M” word), and Natural.

3. Passionate Vegetarian

Picked up at 50% off at the closing-out sale of the local bookstore.

This week, my mouth watered over recipes for savory deep-dish foods, I delighted in the story of “Occhi di Lupo (stuffed rigatoni) and Miss Kay”, and I chuckled wryly at Crescent’s remark that “there is a lasagna-making amnesia akin to the one mothers have about labor”.

Loving reading this and can hardly wait to get it to the kitchen!

P.S. If you click through the affiliate links in the book titles, you may notice a different cover. I like to see the cover that’s on the copy I read – and it’s usually different than Amazon.com because they display the American release, and I read the Canadian.
P.P.S. Canadian readers interested in any of these titles can click through at the bottom of this post. Or, even better, buy from an independent book seller.

And, yes, they are all affiliate links which means that I earn a small amount if you purchase after you’ve clicked through from this post.)

Links for Canadian readers
Passionate Vegetarian
A Guide To The Birds Of East Africa
Dog On It
Cormac
On The Line
Breakfast At Sadie’s
Supreme Courtship

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