Book Reviews

Lately, I've been reading so many blogs that would be considered "book blogs". These bloggers post book reviews based on many different challenges. Some of them read a book a week and post the review. Some of them decide, at the beginning of the year, to read books by authors from other countries. Some of them read books by authors whose names end in the letter "A". There's so many different challenges that these bloggers undertake.

While I'm not participating in any specific "book" challenges, I do read books and I do review the books I read. I thought it might be a good idea to post my reviews right here on my own blog for my readers' enjoyment. Everyone is always asking me for some great book recommendations and this way you'll be able to read the review as soon as I finish the book. For those of you who would like to look at all of my past reviews, simply click on the link in the right hand column of my blog and it will take you to Amazon where you can view them.

Here is the review of the book I dubbed "My Top Pick of 2008." The book's title is The Art of Racing in the Rain and the author is Garth Stein. To set this up, it's a book that's narrated by a dog who is living with a man who very much enjoys car racing. It's not quite in my usual book review format but it's a review I enjoyed writing because it became so funny.

The Art of Reading A Book You'll Love

This is one of the first times I can remember writing a book review within minutes of finishing the book. I feel the need to do this because I fear if I wait until tomorrow, I won't be able to express to you just how wonderful this book truly is. With tears streaming down my face, I'm urging you to read it.....something I've never done before.

You don't have to be a dog lover.....you don't have to be a race car lover. All you have to be is a reader looking for something worthwhile to read; something you'll never forget; something you will be missing out on if you don't take the opportunity to do something for yourself and begin a journey with a dog and a man.....a journey you won't soon forget. One warning though....do not read the end right before you're ready to go to sleep because sleep will not come. You will be too full of your thoughts and your feelings and a sadness overshadowed by happiness.

As soon as I finished the book, I instant messaged a reading friend of mine to encourage her to read the book right away. This discourse was so funny that I feel the need to post it right here, within my review, since perhaps some of you might feel the same way she did.

Myself: OMG..I just this minute finished The Art of Racing In the Rain and I can't stop crying
Friend: oh no
Myself: I was going to beg you to read it but I feel now I must order you to do so
Friend: it's a dog book, right?
Myself: It is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read
Myself: Yes, it's narrated by a dog but it's so much more
Friend: hmmm
Myself: I just wrote the first two paragraphs of my review if that will get you to read it
Friend: okay okay
Myself: Promise me you'll read it and get Laura to do so as well
Friend: I hate car racing...despise it!
Myself: That is so insignificant
Friend: that turned me off more than the dog narrator
Myself: It's not the racing because there's hardly any of that in it
Myself: It's what makes someone a winner and not a loser
Myself: And they use the car racing as the backdrop for that
Friend: are there more than two paragraphs about car racing?
Myself: I swear to God.....do not ask me one more question about car racing.....Get the darn book because I'm asking you to. lol
Myself: You want great reading experiences.....this is one of them
Friend: the only thing worse would be if it was about car racing in INDIA!
Myself: lol
Friend: ok. so I just read the first 5 pages at Amazon and it has some promise
Myself: thank you
Myself: okay enough already......just read the book and let me know the minute you finish it when you're crying your eyes out and writing about it for that stupid Sunday Salon of yours lol

I posted this chat within my review so you can see just what I have to go through simply to get a friend to read a book I like. Obviously I get no respect in this regard.

Well the bottom line is that she read it and now I see her recommending it to everyone she knows. Needless to say, I'm not going to tell you anything else about the premise or about a dog named Enzo and a man named Denny who has a wife named Eve and a little girl named Zoe. That's all you need to know.

You will laugh and you will cry but, in the end, you will feel fulfilled with a promise of hope....a promise as seen through the eyes of a dog. It doesn't get much better than that.