One Nation Under Dog

For those that know me, you know that I am a huge dog person. I don't have kids, at least not human ones, but I do have a dog and a cat, and they are like my children. Like mothers of human children, I can talk about my dog endlessly. I spoil her, feel guilty when I have to leave her, and spend whatever it takes to make sure she is happy and healthy. No, I am not nuts. And I am not alone. The pet industry is a $43 billion a year industry. Michael Schafffer takes a look at this phenomenon in his book One Nation Under Dog: Adventures in the New World of Prozac-Popping Puppies, Dog-Park Politics, and Organic Pet Foods.

Pet ownership is way up, as is spending on those pets. One theory is that our social networks are more fragmented than they used to be-more single, divorced, and childless people, fewer people live close to their families, and there is less community involvement. People are using pets to fill those gaps in their lives. Couple this with an increase in people's discretionary income and we have a lot of people who are willing to spend top dollar on their furry family members. Schaffer examines all aspects of the pet industry, from the toys, to the dog spas, hotels, walkers and chauffeurs, to the improvements in pet care and foods. It's a very interesting book that examines how the changes in our lifestyles have elevated the lifestyles of our dogs. And it provides proof that there are people who are crazier than me when it comes to their dogs. (See Chapter 2 about the doggie showers and Christmas parties.)

Cat lovers, do not despair. Tomorrow we have painted cats!

All the latest...

The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance recently announced the SIBA Awards. Ron Rash won the fiction award for his novel Serena. Rick Bragg won the nonfiction award for The Prince of Frogtown. Martha Hall Foose won for best cookbook with Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales From a Southern Cook.

I am disappointed to report that the publication of Julie Powell's new book Cleaving, which was supposed to be released in August along with the movie Julie and Julia, has been pushed back to December.

James Patterson achieves new levels of selling out with his latest novel Swimsuit. The model on the cover is shown wearing a Perry Ellis swimsuit from this summer's collection. So Patterson and Macy's teamed up for an event in which Patterson signed copies of the novel for the first 300 people who bought $100 worth of Perry Ellis swimwear.

In books to movie news....Renee Zellweger has signed on to do a third Bridget Jones movie! Yay! The movie will be based on weekly columns Fielding wrote in 2005 for the Independent in which Bridget is in her 40s and trying to have a baby. All I want to know is whether Colin Firth will be reprising his role as Mark Darcy. John Krasinski (aka "Jim" from The Office) is directing his first movie, an adaptation of David Foster Wallace's Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, which will be released in September. HBO is adapting Jeffrey Eugenides' novel Middlesex for a series.

Frank McCourt

I cannot begin to tell you how sad I was to hear that Frank McCourt died yesterday, July 19th at the age of 78 from metastatic melanoma. Check out the article at the NY Times. McCourt was one of my favorite memoirists. I absolutely loved his stories of his childhood in Ireland, coming to America and then teaching in the New York schools. The audiobook versions are among my all time favorite audiobooks because McCourt narrated them himself. I met Frank McCourt at a book signing at the end of 2007. He was very entertaining and humorous. He said at the time that he was working on a novel, having tired of writing about himself. I have not heard whether he finished the work, but I hope so.

Goodbye Brothers Karamazov, I will not miss you.

One of my reading resolutions this year was to read more classic works of fiction. One of my co-workers suggested tackling it together, so a small group of staff members at my library decided to give it a try. Our first book was The Brothers Karamazov. We read the book in parts, meeting monthly over a period of four months to discuss. Today was our final meeting for the Brothers. I don't think I've ever been so thrilled to be finished with a book. This was such a struggle to get through. At its core, the novel raises some interesting issues, but the story gets bogged down with all this other stuff. And all the overly dramatic suffering: the crying, the weeping, the wailing, the moaning, the groaning, the pining, the hair-pulling, the teeth-gnashing, the fainting. Ugh. Enough already! Snap out of it! I just could not take any more of these absurd characters. But what I really wanted to get from this book was an understanding of what makes this book a "classic." Why is it one of those must-read-before-you-die novels? I still don't think I have the answer to that question. Nonetheless, I have read it and now I will place it on my bookshelf so I can smugly inform guests that yes, I have read The Brothers Karamazov.

Next up: East of Eden. Steinbeck should prove much more accessible than Dostoyevsky.

84, Charing Cross Road

Not long ago Citizen Reader blogged about her joy of finding 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff and instructed her readers to "GO READ THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY." Ok, so I didn't read it immediately, but this book has been on my list for a while, and since CR spoke so highly of it (and I usually agree with her picks), I decided to move it up on the priority list. And once again, she's right. What a lovely way to spend a morning. The book is a compilation of letters passed between Helene Hanff in New York City and a used bookstore in London over the course of twenty years. Helene is quite a character, and the relationship between her and the employees of this bookstore (one in particular) is quite humorous and even touching. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is definitely reminiscent of 84, Charing Cross Road, so if you enjoyed Guernsey, you should not overlook this one. I also see there is a movie version, starring Anne Bancroft, Anthony Hopkins and Judi Dench, so you know what I'll be doing this weekend.

Covers can be deceiving

Sometimes I judge a book by its cover. When I pick up a book with a cover that has shoes, clothes, diamonds, or "girly" colors, I'm expecting chick lit. To me, chick lit is a light-hearted, rom-com that may have a bit of conflict, but everything turns out all right in the end. The characters tend to be in their 20s and single, but there are beginning to be more featuring married women in their 30s. A few months ago I blogged about Candace Bushnell's latest novel One Fifth Avenue. From the cover, it looked to be chick lit, but it certainly wasn't. The same thing happened to me recently when I picked up Hedge Fund Wives by Tatiana Boncompagni. The cover shows a diamond in a Tiffany box (diamonds + pastel colors = chick lit). So, I figured fun chick lit with wealthy young married women. There was nothing fun about this book. The characters all seemed miserable, and just like with Bushnell's book, I have a hard time empathising with millionaires. Or in this case, billionaires. But at least I might find out what a hedge fund is, right? Alas, no. The author spent way too much time trying to explain hedge funds and hedge fund managers, and I still don't get it. The difference between this non-chick lit book and Candace Bushnell's non-chick lit book, is that I had no problem putting this book down.

What are you really reading?

If you come over to my house, you will see on my coffee table The Brothers Karamazov, East of Eden, and several issues of National Geographic and Smithsonian. What you won't see are Hedge Fund Wives, Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs, Pretty in Plaid, and numerous issues of Health and Real Simple magazines, which are hidden under the coffee table. These are the books and magazines that I'm actually reading, but what I put on the coffee table is what I want you to think I'm reading. Now, I am reading (slowly but surely) the things on the top of my coffee table, but certainly not with the voracity with which I read the others. Do you do this?

PK in the Terrarium recently blogged about what he tells people he is reading versus what he is actually reading. Check it out. It's pretty funny. I love that he includes Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I'm working on that one too. It's not an easy one, but I like telling people I'm reading it. It makes me feel smart. I'm intrigued by Grow Your Own Pharmacy by Linda Gray, which makes his "what I'm actually reading" list. I'll have to check this one out. Here's my list....

What I tell people I'm reading...
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
Kitchen Literacy:How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes From and Why We Need to Get It Back by Ann Vileisis
National Geographic and Smithsonian magazines

What I'm actually reading...
Health, Body & Soul, and Real Simple magazines
Harry Potter
Pretty in Plaid: a Life, a Witch, and a Wardrobe, or, the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Ego-maniacal, Self-Centered, Smart-Ass Phase by Jen Lancaster
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman
the JC Penny fall catalog (hey, it came in the mail and I'm easily taken in by shiny pictures)

What are on your lists?