false 6 58 56 true 5980250 read 2 true 3839368 currently-reading 0 true 3839367 to-read <![CDATA[Justine added 'How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic Training Manual for Dog Owners']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70344300 to: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic Training Manual for Dog Owners (Revised & Updated Edition) by Monks of New Skete
I don't think ANY dog book is the end-all be-all, so no dog-training book would earn 5 stars from me. No doubt, the monks are not going to win over everyone with their methods. Positive reinforcement is the the in vogue way to train a dog right now, and they focus a lot on effective corrections. Prong collars and the shake down will probably make a lot of people weezy. Which is fine. Their methods aren't for everyone.

However, I think they have an amazing approach, which mimics my feelings on dog training to a T. While they cover the basics of teaching your dog obedience, the book is more about your day to day life with your dogs. I like how they want the dog with you and as part of your life, but without being mushy and spoiling them rotten. There are few people who can follow their daily regimen, but the idea behind it is wonderful. Too many people get their dogs, and either expect them to behave with virtually no exercise and little real human contact or do everything for their dogs and make them into spoiled rotten brats. I think the monks have a method similar to NILIF (nothing in life is free), and it creates a healthy balance between being a 24/7 mean alpha dog and being a pushover.

I did have to groan when I just saw the review that these guys are like Cesar! I like Cesar well enough, but come on! They've been breeding and training dogs probably before Cesar was born. ]]> <![CDATA[Justine added 'The Art of Racing in the Rain']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70339866 to: The Art of Racing in the Rain (Hardcover) by Garth Stein
OK, I guess this would really be more like a 4 1/2 star book if I was going to give half-stars. And I did debate with giving it something lower. In the end, I went with 5 stars. While the book has some deficiencies in being really good, solid literature...the bottom line is I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

I'm going to star off by saying that:

1. My husband is a born and raised European with a car obsession, so Formula One is THE weekend viewing staple in our home during racing season. Despite my distaste for most car racing, I've truly begun to feel that Formula One is different than all the rest. It's more than driving around in circles. I mean, come one! The Monaco race is through the city streets! It's awesome to watch. Because of this, I really felt a kinship with Denny and Enzo throughout the book. I know all the famous drivers and past drivers. So when Enzo laments about Shummacher being an amazing racer with a cold-hard attitude that made fans loathe him I was thinking "I KNOW!"

2. We have a complicated, soulful, loyal, and downright amazing German Shepherd. This dog is our go-everywhere companion, our therapist, our furbaby. So I had absolutely NO problem with this book being told from a dogs point of view, because quite frankly, we're one of "those" people who deep down think that our dog would be a talker if she had the right tongue.

So, if you hate car racing (or even cars in general, as one reviewer said) and aren't a true dog person I'm not sure how this book would be enjoyable. I can see why the people who gave it 1 or 2 stars and say how they think cars are horrid and dogs are annoying would find no pleasure in this book. Indeed, all there would be left is the mediocre literary skills of the writer.

A lot of the bad reviews have questioned why the dog was telling the story, while it made complete sense to me. The dog is the only one who could narrate and be exposed to all the characters' strengths and weaknesses. People said things to the dog and around the dog that they would never say to another person. They behaved in a way that they would never do in front of another person. He was the only "family member" who COULD narrate the story because the story revolved around hearing and observing the behaviors of all the characters. Enzo the dog was, in essence, the tie that bound the family.

The dog telling the story, however, also highlighted the books weaknesses. Many of the characters were poorly developed because the dog did interact with so many different people, I think the author was trying to cram too much into the book. Also, the plot was not the most developed I've ever read, and it read a bit like a Lifetime movie at times. It still is the best "story told by a dog" book that I have ever read.

Bottom line is that this book, despite the above points, was one of the most enjoyable reads I've had in a long time. It's not for someone who despises cars and would never own a lowly dog. You have to have an appreciation for the heart of the book to be able to ignore some of the weaknesses of the writing. If that applies to you, it is guaranteed to be a tearjerker starting with chapter 1 and you'll have a hard time putting it down. ]]> <![CDATA[Justine added 'When You Are Engulfed in Flames']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70321748 to: When You Are Engulfed in Flames (Hardcover) by David Sedaris
I actually enjoyed this book more than his others. Simply for the fact that the while the drug addictions and all-nighters are amusing reads, it is a lifestyle that easily lends itself to the type of self-loathing writing he does. Really, how hard is it to come up with wild tales when you're addicted to any kind of substance? Now that he's "clean" I actually think he's gotten a bit cleverer with his writing, and actually puts on paper stories that an average Joe (or Jane) can relate to. I enjoyed hearing his tales of rouge fellow plane passengers, escapades with spiders, and days of observing dead bodies being cut up.

Either way, every David Sedaris book is a fun and easy read. Don't expect amazing literature bound to be a classic. Take it for what it is, and pack to make the time go faster on a long flight. ]]> <![CDATA[Justine added 'The Last Parallel: A Marine's War Journal']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39635637 The Last Parallel: A Marine's War Journal (Paperback) by Martin Russ
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[Justine added 'Balkans, 1804-1999: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39635216 Balkans, 1804-1999: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers (Hardcover) by Misha Glenny
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[Justine is on page 43 of Balkans, 1804-1999:... ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39635216 Justine is on page 43 of 640 of Balkans, 1804-1999: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers ]]> <![CDATA[Justine added 'Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38937235 to: Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible (Hardcover) by Douglas Farah
I really rate this book more like a 2.5 stars. It is very factual--both on the black market trade as well as the politics of 20-21st century Africa. This makes it a bit dry at times, but that is what the book is supposed to be. Those that are looking for the action of the Nicholas Cage movie will be disappointed.

It wasn't horrible, but I felt it was very skewed. I would have enjoyed it more except for the glaring fact that the United States was getting the majority of the blame for what Victor Bout has become. No doubt the US did a LOT of stupid things--namely hiring the man due to typical government red tape. However, I HARDLY think the US is anywhere near as responsible for him as the majority of the Western European countries. The man almost solely operated out of Belgium and Bulgaria in Europe. And considering that a lot of these African countries buying from Bout were at one time controlled by Western European powers, I feel they should have stepped up to the plate long before he even came on the radar for the US. This is the typical damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario. People don't like when the US becomes involved. People don't like when the US doesn't become involved.

Another irritating factor is the now cliched "blame it on Bush" attitude. I don't like Bush. I think he is a god-awful President. But it seems like the fashionable thing to do with any political situation is to say that Bush is at fault. The bottom line is, Bout was in heavy rotation during the Clinton administration as well. No doubt, I think the blame lies equally between the two. NEITHER of them acted appropriately.

Read the book if you want a short overview of the gun-running trade or modern-day African history. But take the rest with a grain of salt. ]]> <![CDATA[Justine added 'Along Came a Spider']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38833865 to: Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross, Book 1) by James Patterson
What I call my "airplane read". Murder mysteries are my favorite for traveling, and this made the time fly. ]]> <![CDATA[Justine added 'Congo']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38833800 to: Congo (Mass Market Paperback) by Michael Crichton
]]> <![CDATA[Justine added 'The Queen of the Damned']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38833777 to: The Queen of the Damned (The Vampire Chronicles, #3) by Anne Rice
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