Metropolitan’s Comments (group member since Aug 25, 2014)

Metropolitan’s comments from the Metro Library ReadUp group.

It's time for a new book! Here are your choices:

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekback: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Oh! You Pretty Things by Shanna Mahin: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Gosh, what a good book! Bittersweet and heartbreaking. I really do not understand the startling lack of empathy toward animals that so many people have, and why they think killing things is fun. Glad they put up the memorial and that his remains will be displayed in a place of honor.

Well, I don't know if I'm going to be able to finish the book--I just started chapter 13 "The Killers". I really don't like reading about animal cruelty and horrible sadistic behavior meant to inflict pain. I could say a lot of horrible rude things about those people, but this is a work related thing here so I won't.

Ok, the picture of Romeo and Jessie the dog at the beginning of Chapter 7 is so beautiful!

Oh, my heart sank when I read about Romeo snatching up that guy's puppy...but it turned out just fine!

Fredonna wrote: "About the tapeworms: I wondered if wolves could smell them?

It could also be an evolution thing. For example, could it be that the ancient wolves who ate tapeworm-infested portions of salmon were ..."

I was talking about that with my husband, and the evolution thing is the conclusion we came to as well. Pretty neat!

Fredonna wrote: "I just finished the first chapter (Wolf!) last night, and I'm enjoying the book so far. My favorite parts were his explanations about how helpful wolves are to their ecosystem and how unfairly they..."

on p 94 the author mentions Lewis and Clark's observations of the wolves hunting and how they called wolves "shepherds of the buffalo" that's a nice way to describe it, huh?

also interesting is on p 100, where it says that wolves only eat certain parts of salmon--the places that don't carry tapeworm. How do they know not to eat those parts? That's fascinating!

Some of this is rather hard to read--I just read about the wolf who got 3 of his feet caught in traps who was the reason they banned traps close to trails for fear dogs would also get caught in the traps. I cannot fathom that type of cruel practice.

Fredonna wrote: "Metropolitan wrote: "Refresh my memory, what's OR-7 again?"

OR-7 is a wolf Jans mentioned in the first chapter (Wolf!) when he was describing how far a disperser can roam. "As a recent lower-48 ex..."

Thanks for sharing those links--how cool! I guess I missed the reference to OR-7 when I read the first chapter.

I heard this on the radio today: http://snapjudgment.org/full-circle
The story about the wolves made me think of Romeo. There is so much we don't know about animals, and they are so fascinating!

Refresh my memory, what's OR-7 again?

I really like the author's writing style. Several of his descriptive passages are just beautiful! Like the one on pg9 where he talks about seeing Romeo playing with a woman's dog in a celebratory, beautiful way.

I also like the backstory of his former life as a hunter, and how it affects his thoughts about Romeo.

What do you guys think so far?

Just started it, and the prologue is excellent--really gets your attention! Also, I guess I didn't know how big wolves really are. The author estimated the wolf to be about 120lbs!

Another interesting fact, the author says black wolves like Romeo are likely a product of wolf/dog interbreeding. Didn't know that either!

So wolves have a really bad reputation, but they are so genetically close to dogs, which we love. Weird.
from p30: "And what are dogs but custom-tweaked, toned-down versions of wolves, shaped through generations of breeding to suit our varying whims? One recent study shows a scant .02% difference between the genetic packages of wolves and dogs."

I keep thinking about this today, since it's my beagle-lab mix, Jack's birthday. He isn't very wolf-like at all, but I know he sees my household as his pack. :)

From National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/20...
(has spoilers)

From the author's website: http://www.nickjans.com/#!more-info/cboe

Discuss it here!

Looks like the winner is A Wolf Called Romeo!

click on "Group Home" then its in the upper right hand corner of the page Under Metro Library Read Up. (I'm not sure how it displays on mobile devices, but that's how it is on a computer.)

Please vote in the poll, and choose what we'll read!

A Wolf Called Romeo by Nick Jans: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Year of No Sugar by Eve O. Schaub: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

It Was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Tracy wrote: "My favorites were The Five- Dollar Dress and The Picture of the Lonely Diner. Maybe a coincidence that those are two of my favorite authors? I also enjoyed Red-Headed Stepchild.
I thought the "con..."


Me too, it's a neat gimmick. I thought Red Headed Stepchild was pretty funny!

Glad you enjoyed it!