The Book of Fate

The Book of Fate by Brand Meltzer is a bit out of my normal range of reading--but what a fantastic read! The beginning almost lost me, so hang in there. A few chapters in and the suspense is pulling you, the characters sound like people you might know (even if you don't work for The President), and the writing disappears. I mean that as a compliment. To me, when a book works I'm not really aware of reading it. The writing can disappear because the images are in my head and I'm not aware of reading as I turn the pages. In fact, later, I may not remember whether I read this book or watched the movie. And a movie I suspect it will be one day soon, if the ink's not already dry on the deal.

The storyline has all the markings of popular movies of the day: U.S. history, the Masonic guild (is that the proper term?), terrorism, and the Oval Office.

The only thing I found disconcerting was the shift between the first-person scarred Presidential assistant, wounded by a ricochet at a supposed attempted presidential assassination and the third person chapters that filled in detail. It's a weak cheat to me. The book would have been stronger without it. Yet, it's still a riveting thriller.

Wes Holloway is a cocky young Presidential assistant who, to make up for an earlier scheduling blunder, offers a ride in the Presidential car to a top advisor. When that same man is shot and apparently killed while stepping out of the President's car, Wes himself is severely wounded by a ricochet bullet, one that takes away both his physical means of expressing emotion (due to a partially paralyzed face) and the emotional ability to feel much. When that same man suddenly appears, alive, Wes is left trying to figure out who knows what, who he can trust, and why the man was shot. If the top three government agencies aren't to be trusted, where do you turn? To your friends, of course. But in the political world, who are your friends?

Really, a fun fun read. The book makes me want to explore this genre a bit more...or at least go back and read some of Meltzer's earlier books.

Hannah's Gift: Lessons from a Life Fully Lived

My neighbor loaned me this book, saying she and her teenage daughter had cried while reading it. I didn't cry. I liked parts of it. And I found myself annoyed by other parts.

So... My disclaimer: I've not been through anything similar to the death of a child. I've not even been through the death of a parent or sibling. Grandparents, in their 90's, is as close to death as I've gotten. I have no doubt I'm colored by that (lack of) experience. I'm reminded a bit of when I complain about advertisements I see and don't understand and a friend says "If you don't understand the ad, it wasn't aimed at you." This book wasn't aimed at me.

I liked the general story. I was annoyed by the continued Christian outlook and "God's will" statements. Perhaps, though, that brings peace to those whom the book is written for. I liked the general message, at least the message I took from it, to enjoy the day, live in the moment, accept what is and deal with it as best you can with the information you have on hand. Don't second guess your decisions later. You do what you can do with the information you have.

Hannah dies from cancer. The book covers her mother's story from diagnosis at age 3 through the treatment to the knowledge of impending death soon thereafter through the death, other children, and divorce. In the beginning the vignettes were a bit preachy for me and I almost set the book aside. But as the story went on, the writing grew in strength. If you're Christian, I think you might enjoy this more than I did. If you've been through something similar, perhaps you would as well. For me, I'm glad I read it, although I found the proselytizing tiresome. Maybe it's my Californian perspective but by "exploring other thoughts" I expected a bit more than reading about reincarnation, keeping dream journals, and burning incense.

So I'm documenting having read this because I'm trying to keep track of what I've read. I'm not sure I'd recommend it but I haven't been in the position that would make this comforting and perhaps those who have been through the death of a loved one at an unexpected/unusual time would... I'm sure it helped the author to have written it, and that I totally understand.

Cesar's Way by Cesar Millan

Evidently I'm the only one I know who has not watched this show! I have a Queensland Heeler who is a wonderful dog, but a bit nervous about a few things including car rides and running water (aka baths). When I mentioned this to the ladies at the kennel the last time I dropped Molly off, they said I had to get this book: Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems. So I did.

He has some fascinating stories about "problem" dogs (usually caused by problem owners, of course) and makes some interesting parallels between permissive parenting and spoiling dog owners who give their dogs nothing but affection, rather than the exercise and discipline they need.

The most interesting point he makes is about homeless people and their dogs. I work with a local veterans' shelter, although I don't think they allow dogs to come in to the shelters. Millan's basic point is that homeless people rarely have leashes yet their dogs are well-behaved, enjoying walking endless miles with their homeless owners, sharing food, etc. It's a more "natural" life for the dogs than being cooped up in a suburban yard with no exercise and no work to do.

While reading, I was reminded of when I was getting into horseback riding as a young adult. It struck me at some point that the horse was behaving because I expected it to behave. I behaved differently with the confidence that I earned while learning to ride. And once I had the expectation that the horse would do what I wanted, they usually did. It's an attitude that cannot be faked however.

I haven't tried bathing my dog yet but I have noticed some differences in her behavior since I read the book and just started doing a few of the minor things. First, I don't let her go out the door in front of me when it's walk time. And I wait until she's calmed down after I put the leash on before we try to go out the door, which usually means I put the leash and she jumps around wildly, then she sits. She tries to go out the door first, but I'm not letting her. She's seems to be catching onto this before she figures out the "don't jump after the leash is on." On the walk, I'm keeping a shorter leash and not letting her walk in front of me. She's never been a strong "puller" but she likes to walk in front and I'm not letting her anymore.

The other thing is that at the end of our walk I usually let her off the leash. In the past she's run home in front of me, which I was fine with since I'd let her off leash. But now she drops back behind me and just trots there. The other day she either didn't see the cat she would normally chase or ignored it. I'm not sure which. But either way, the trotting behind me is a nice thing with no leash.