Category Archives: Books

October 29, 2013 · 1:05 am

Tuesday Teasers 10/29/13

Tuesday Teasers!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.” page 19.

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott.
Think you’ve got a book inside of you? Anne Lamott isn’t afraid to help you let it out. She’ll help you find your passion and your voice, beginning from the first really crummy draft to the peculiar letdown of publication. Readers will be reminded of the energizing books of writer Natalie Goldberg and will be seduced by Lamott’s witty take on the reality of a writer’s life, which has little to do with literary parties and a lot to do with jealousy, writer’s block and going for broke with each paragraph. Marvelously wise and best of all, great reading.

I love this book. If you are a writer or want to be a writer, this is helpful.
The book is also inspirational.

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Filed under Books, Non Fiction, Recommended, Teaser Tuesday

October 26, 2013 · 5:02 am

Coming Soon Available Week of 10/28/13

Pre Order upcoming books available the week of October 28, 2013.
Lets start with something fun!

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh. Available 10/29/13. Judging by the cover and synopsis this is fun and sounds like something I would write.

This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative— like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it—but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly.

So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:

Pictures
Words
Stories about things that happened to me
Stories about things that happened to other people because of me
Eight billion dollars*
Stories about dogs
The secret to eternal happiness**These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!

Dark Witch: Book One of The Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy by Nora Roberts. Available October 29, 2013. Yes another book release by Ms. Roberts.

With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.

Ireland. County Mayo, to be exact. Where her ancestors’ blood and magic have flowed through generations—and where her destiny awaits.

Iona arrives in Ireland with nothing but her Nan’s directions, an unfailingly optimistic attitude, and an innate talent with horses. Not far from the luxurious castle where she is spending a week, she finds her cousins, Branna and Connor O’Dwyer. And since family is family, they invite her into their home and their lives.

When Iona lands a job at the local stables, she meets the owner, Boyle McGrath. Cowboy, pirate, wild tribal horsemen, he’s three of her biggest fantasy weaknesses all in one big, bold package.

Iona realizes that here she can make a home for herself—and live her life as she wants, even if that means falling head over heels for Boyle. But nothing is as it seems. An ancient evil has wound its way around Iona’s family tree and must be defeated. Family and friends will fight with each other and for each other to keep the promise of hope—and love—alive…

In families there are no crimes beyond forgiveness.

The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son by Pat Conroy. Available October 23, 2013.

In this powerful and intimate memoir, the beloved bestselling author of The Prince of Tides and his father, the inspiration for The Great Santini, find some common ground at long last.

Pat Conroy’s father, Donald Patrick Conroy, was a towering figure in his son’s life. The Marine Corps fighter pilot was often brutal, cruel, and violent; as Pat says, “I hated my father long before I knew there was an English word for ‘hate.’” As the oldest of seven children who were dragged from military base to military base across the South, Pat bore witness to the toll his father’s behavior took on his siblings, and especially on his mother, Peg. She was Pat’s lifeline to a better world—that of books and culture.

But eventually, despite repeated confrontations with his father, Pat managed to claw his way toward a life he could have only imagined as a child.

Pat’s great success as a writer has always been intimately linked with the exploration of his family history. While the publication of The Great Santini brought Pat much acclaim, the rift it caused with his father brought even more attention. Their long-simmering conflict burst into the open, fracturing an already battered family. But as Pat tenderly chronicles here, even the oldest of wounds can heal. In the final years of Don Conroy’s life, he and his son reached a rapprochement of sorts. Quite unexpectedly, the Santini who had freely doled out physical abuse to his wife and children refocused his ire on those who had turned on Pat over the years. He defended his son’s honor.

The Death of Santini is at once a heart-wrenching account of personal and family struggle and a poignant lesson in how the ties of blood can both strangle and offer succor. It is an act of reckoning, an exorcism of demons, but one whose ultimate conclusion is that love can soften even the meanest of men, lending significance to one of the most-often quoted lines from Pat’s bestselling novel The Prince of Tides: “In families there are no crimes beyond forgiveness.”
A Dance with Dragons: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Five by George R.R. Martin. Available October 29, 2013.
In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance—beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.

Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever.

Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone—a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.

From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.

After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris. Available October 29, 2013.

Dead Ever After marked the end of the Sookie Stackhouse novels—a series that garnered millions of fans and spawned the hit HBO television show True Blood. It also stoked a hunger that will never die…a hunger to know what happened next.

With characters arranged alphabetically—from the Ancient Pythoness to Bethany Zanelli—bestselling author Charlaine Harris takes fans into the future of their favorite residents of Bon Temps and environs. You’ll learn how Michele and Jason’s marriage fared, what happened to Sookie’s cousin Hunter, and whether Tara and JB’s twins grew up to be solid citizens.

This coda provides the answers to your lingering questions—including details of Sookie’s own happily-ever-after…

The book will feature extensive interior art by acclaimed Sookie artist Lisa Desimini, including a Sookieverse Alphabet, color endpapers, and several full-page black and white interior illustrations.

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October 24, 2013 · 10:38 am

Fun Books for Animal Lovers

Fun Books. Laughter and Love and Animals.

How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You by The Oatmeal, Matthew Inman.
If your cat is kneading you, that’s not a sign of affection. Your cat is actually checking your internal organs for weakness. If your cat brings you a dead animal, this isn’t a gift. It’s a warning. How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You is a hilarious, brilliant offering of cat comics, facts, and instructional guides from the creative wonderland at TheOatmeal.com.
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Sorry I Barfed on Your Bed (and Other Heartwarming Letters from Kitty) by Jeremy Greenberg. I am not picking on Cats.
The cat’s answer to Sorry I Pooped in Your Shoe, Sorry I Barfed on Your Bed is a hilarious collection of full-color photos and letters of excuses and suggestions from cats to the people who love them—no matter what bad thing they’ve done!

Inside Sorry I Barfed on Your Bed, writer and comedian Jeremy Greenberg presents a collection of laugh-out-loud letters and photographs that offer a cat’s eye view on common feline vs. human cohabitation conundrums. It’s the perfect gift for crazy cat lovers and anyone who appreciates hilarious (and so true!) insights into cat—and human—nature, including:

Your cat sits on your laptop not just for warmth or attention, but to prevent you from interacting with the outside world. After all, isn’t the main reason to have a cat so you don’t have to waste time developing normal human relationships?

If you spent a third of your life licking yourself, you too would occasionally forget to stick your tongue back in your face. Eating grass has medicinal purposes, and most cats believe grass should be legalized. The cat feels bad about barfing on your bed…because now it must get to up to go sleep on your clean laundry instead.

I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano.
Cat lovers will laugh out loud at the quirkiness of their feline friends with these insightful and curious poems from the singular minds of housecats. In this hilarious book of tongue-in-cheek poetry, the author of the internationally syndicated comic strip Sally Forth helps cats unlock their creative potential and explain their odd behavior to ignorant humans.
With titles like “Who Is That on Your Lap?,” “This Is My Chair,” “Kneel Before Me,” “Nudge,” and “Some of My Best Friends Are Dogs,” the poems collected in I Could Pee on This perfectly capture the inner workings of the cat psyche. With photos of the cat authors throughout, this whimsical volume reveals kitties at their wackiest, and most exasperating (but always lovable).

Texts from Dog by October Jones.
My dog sends me texts. Yeah. It’s weird.
When October Jones figured out he could send text messages to himself on his mobile phone, he naturally decided that the best use of this discovery was to send passive-aggressive messages to himself under the guise of his bulldog. And so the exasperating, slightly delusional, and utterly endearing Dog and his alter-ego BatDog were born.

Texts from Dog features Dog’s attempts to keep the neighborhood safe from the likes of Mr. Postman and his arch-nemesis Cat-Cat—he has managed to only smash three TVs and a patio door in the process. And in between crime fighting sprees and run-ins with the squirrel mafia, there are romantic interludes with pillows, fetch sessions gone terribly awry, and the abusive banter only a bromance between man and his text-savvy dog can spawn.

For those of us who have ever had a conversation with a pet in our heads, Texts from Dog will make you laugh out loud and perhaps even make you think twice about leaving your pet home alone for the day.

Hope and Happy the Parakeets are arguing. Now the dogs are barking and running around. Why? The doorbell didn’t ring. What did the parakeets just tell them? I may never finish this post. 😉

I Could Chew on This: And Other Poems by Dogs by Francesco Marciuliano.

A New York Times bestseller? Oh, you know the dogs weren’t going to let the cats get away with that! This canine companion to I Could Pee on This, the beloved volume of poems by cats, I Could Chew on This will have dog lovers laughing out loud.
Doggie laureates not only chew on quite a lot of things, they also reveal their creativity, their hidden motives, and their eternal (and sometimes misguided) effervescence through such musings as “I Dropped a Ball,” “I Lose My Mind When You Leave the House,” and “Can You Smell That?” Accompanied throughout by portraits of the canine poets in all their magnificence, I Could Chew on This is a work of unbridled enthusiasm, insatiable appetite, and, yes, creative genius.
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Sorry I Pooped in Your Shoe (and Other Heartwarming Letters from Doggie) by Jeremy Greenberg. See I told you I wasn’t picking on cats.

Inside Sorry I Pooped in Your Shoe, writer and comedian Jeremy Greenberg presents a collection of 50 laugh-out-loud letters and accompanying full-color photographs that explain Fido’s love of funky smells, why a ball needs to be thrown again, and practically every other lovably loony canine characteristic.

From an impassioned plea to stop the silly nicknames, to an attempt to skip a bath, to explanations for stolen shoes and swiped sandwiches, Sorry I Pooped in Your Shoe offers a pooch’s perspective on common canine vs. human cohabitation conundrums. Sorry I Pooped in Your Shoe is the perfect gift for dog lovers and anyone who appreciates hilarious (and so true!) insights into dog–and human—nature.

Animals Talking in All Caps: It’s Just What It Sounds Like by Justin Valmassoi. See I told you – animal fun.

A goat who wants to sell you some meth.
A giraffe who might be violating his restraining order.
An alpaca with a very dirty secret.
A cat who’s really mad at you for cancelling Netflix instant.
Blog author here. Are you reading? I’ll tell you a secret, only 3 of my dogs are in the chair with me as I write this and I swear all three just farted. I may not complete this blog as I am pinching my nose and typing with one hand.

Selfish Pigs: Adorably Awful Little Swine by Andy Riley.

From the creator of The Book of Bunny Suicides comes the book you’ve been waiting for: Selfish Pigs. Filled with more than 90 pieces of line art depicting pigs being selfish, this is the must-have for pig-lovers and Riley fans.

It’s pigs—and they’re being selfish. Horribly, nastily selfish. They drink, they smoke, they steal, they eat pork and bacon, and they’re funny while they’re doing it.

Do they metaphorically represent humans at their worst? Or are they just horrible swine who don’t give a damn about metaphors? You’ll have to judge for yourself.

I thought about adding the book The Book of Bunny Suicides and Return of the Bunny Suicides but didn’t want bunny friends to get any ideas or Bunny parents to send me hate mail.

Evil Penguins: When Cute Penguins Go Bad by Elia Anie.

What’s black-and-white and evil all over? Get ready to find out the terrifying truth…Penguins.

They’re everywhere-gracing movie screens, Coke ads, and merchandise. But don’t let those happy feet fool you. When they’re not surfing or marching bravely across the Antarctic, penguins have a whole other agenda going on. And it isn’t pretty.

In Evil Penguins, Elia Anie captures the antics of cute little birds who have gone over to the dark side. If you thought the worst a penguin could do is make you feel guilty about global warning, think again. Here are cartoons of penguins leading revolts, giving SpongeBob a swirly, causing plagues, clubbing baby seals, killing Inuits while dressed as ninjas, and wreaking havoc in dozens of other hysterically appalling ways.

Both penguin lovers and those who know that evil can come in even the cuddliest packages will appreciate these bad birds.

Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who’s Det by Jenny Gardiner.

A gift from an overseas relative, Graycie, an African Gray parrot, arrives in the Gardiner home not long after the birth of their first child, adding the responsibilities of parrot-hood to their newfound parenthood. Jenny Gardiner and her husband were hoping for a docile, beautifully plumed, Polly-want-a-cracker type of companion—but patchily feathered, scrawny, ill-tempered Graycie was the furthest thing from what they envisioned.

In Winging It, Gardiner shares in vivid and hilarious detail the many hazards of parrot ownership, from endless avian latrine duty to discovering the multiple ways a beak can pierce human flesh. Whether she’s swearing at the dog, mimicking the sound of the smoke alarm, or bobbing to the beat of the kids clapping for her amusement, she brings the family joy, laughter, and, sometimes, tears.

So why would the Gardiners subject themselves to the crazy behavior of this parrot for so long? Well, because, as the Gardiners realize, Graycie is a part of the family, and just like in any relationship between living creatures, things do not always go according to plan..

A mix of hilarious pet hijinks and a poignant story of family commitment, Winging It is a reminder of the importance of patience, loyalty, and humor when it comes to dealing with even the most temperamental members of the family.

Cross Posted to I Love Dogs and Animals.

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Filed under Animals, Books

Tagged as Animal, evil penguins, Humor, Pets

October 23, 2013 · 1:45 pm

WWW Wednesday 10/23/13

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions:

• What are you currently reading? • What did you recently finish reading? • What do you think you’ll read next?

What am I currently reading? Multiple books at the same time this week. For reviews and pleasure and well, why not?

The Forest Bull by Terry Maggert. Review will be posted next week.
Three lovers who stalk and kill the immortals that drift through South Florida (tourists are a moveable feast, after all) are living a simple life of leisure- until one of them is nearly killed by woman who is a new kind of lethal. When Ring Hardigan isn’t making sandwiches for, and with, his two partners, Waleska and Risa (they’re cool like that), he’s got a busy schedule doing the dirty work of sending immortals to the ever after. Wally and Risa provide linguistics, logistics, and finding the right place for him and his knife– together, they’re a well-oiled machine, and they’ve settled into a rhythm that bodes ill for the Undying. Warlocks, vampires, succubae and the odd ghoul have all fallen to their teamwork. Life is tough, but they soldier on killing the undead, liberating their worldly goods for charity, and generally achieving very little.

How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain by Gregory Berns. I can’t say enough about this book. I love dogs.

The powerful bond between humans and dogs is one that’s uniquely cherished. Loyal, obedient, and affectionate, they are truly “man’s best friend.” But do dogs love us the way we love them? Emory University neuroscientist Gregory Berns had spent decades using MRI imaging technology to study how the human brain works, but a different question still nagged at him: What is my dog thinking?
Berns and his dog embark on a remarkable journey and be the first to glimpse the inner workings of the canine brain. Painstakingly, the two worked together to overcome the many technical, legal, and behavioral hurdles. Berns’s research offers surprising results on how dogs empathize with human emotions, how they love us, and why dogs and humans share one of the most remarkable friendships in the animal kingdom.

How Dogs Love Us answers the age-old question of dog lovers everywhere and offers profound new evidence that dogs should be treated as we would treat our best human friends: with love, respect, and appreciation for their social and emotional intelligence.

The Wedding by Julie Garwood. This is one of my comfort reads. I re-read many of my favorites and I need some comfort this week. Written in 1996 and I still enjoy.

What did I recently finish reading?

Unwind (Unwind Dystology) by Neal Shusterman. I have read this book before and can only say WOW! My what to read next is why I finished reading this book. Then I will do reviews.
In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would “unwind” them.

What am I reading next? (After I finish what am I currently reading).
The Unwind Collection: Unwind; Unstrung, An Unwind Story; UnWholly; UnSouled (Unwind Dystology).

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Filed under Books, Reviews

Tagged as meme, www wednesday

October 19, 2013 · 11:43 am

Saturday Steals 10/19/13 Book Bargains

Triangles

by Kimberly Ann Miller. Digital Retail price $8.00. A STEAL at $1.99.

A cruise ship. A beautiful island. Two sexy guys. What could possibly go wrong? In the Bermuda Triangle–a lot. Hoping to leave behind the reminders of her crappy life–her fathers death years ago, her mothers medical problems, and the loser who is practically stalking her–seventeen-year-old Autumn Taylor hops on a ship with her sister for a little distraction. When she wakes up in the Bermuda Triangle…

Young Ladies of Mystery Boxed Set by Stacy Juba. A STEAL at $0.99. Juba’s acclaimed adult mystery/romantic suspense novels Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and Sink or Swim, and her young adult psychic thriller Dark Before Dawn, in one bargain-priced download. Solve a cold case with aspiring reporter Kris Langley; discover the downside of fame with former reality show contestant Cassidy Novak; and meet teenage psychic Dawn Christian, who discovers that ESP spells D-A-N-G-E-R. More on the three books included in the download.

The Winter Prince: 1 (The Lion Hunters Novels) by Elizabeth Wein.
No longer available in print, this e-book is a featured STEAL at $1.99. A new presentation of the Arthurian legend is told from Mordred’s point of view, in a dark narrative addressed towards Mordred’s mother and Arto’s sister Morgause, a cruel and beautiful woman who connives to put her son on the throne. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Elizabeth Wein including rare images from the author’s personal collection.
Other books available by this author including the sequel: A Coalition of Lions (Arthurian Sequence, Book 2) and Rose Under Fire.

Finding Emma by Steena Holmes. A mother’s near-obsessive devotion to her missing daughter threatens to destroy more than one family.

Bridesmaid Lotto (McMaster the Disaster) by Rachel Astor. FREE! Book 1 of a Trilogy, you may just find a new series. If you enjoy link here for books 2 & 3. Gamble on Engagement (McMaster the Disaster) and The Wedding Wager (McMaster the Disaster)

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October 18, 2013 · 12:42 pm

Coming Soon. PreOrder for week 10/21/13

Allegiant (Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth. Available October 22, 2013.
What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?
The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

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The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Available October 22, 2013.
The author of the classic bestsellers The Secret History and The Little Friend returns with a brilliant, highly anticipated new novel.
The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present day America and a drama of enthralling force and acuity.

It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a thirteen-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don’t know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love-and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a novel of shocking narrative energy and power. It combines unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and breathtaking suspense, while plumbing with a philosopher’s calm the deepest mysteries of love, identity, and art. It is a beautiful, stay-up-all-night and tell-all-your-friends triumph, an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the ruthless machinations of fate.

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Teardrop (Teardrop Trilogy) by Lauren Kate. Available October 22, 2013.
The first in a new series by the author of the Fallen series, TEARDROP is an epic saga of heart-stopping romance, devastating secrets, and dark magic . . . a world where everything you love can be washed away.

Never, ever cry. . . . Eureka Boudreaux’s mother drilled that rule into her daughter years ago. But now her mother is gone, and everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, the tall, pale blond boy who seems to know things he shouldn’t, who tells Eureka she is in grave danger, who comes closer to making her cry than anyone has before.

But Ander doesn’t know Eureka’s darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her oldest friend, Brooks, and a strange inheritance—a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book no one understands. The book contains a haunting tale about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea. Eureka is about to discover that the ancient tale is more than a story, that Ander might be telling the truth . . . and that her life has far darker undercurrents than she ever imagined.

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Silent Night: A Spenser Holiday Novel by Robert Parker with Helen Brann. Available October 22, 2013.
A special treat for the holiday season – a rumination on Christmas, family, and the meaning of home as conceived by Robert B. Parker.

It’s December in Boston, and Spenser is busy planning the menu for Christmas dinner when he’s confronted in his office by a young boy named Slide. Homeless and alone, Slide has found refuge with an organization named Street Business, which gives shelter and seeks job opportunities for the homeless and lost. Slide’s mentor, Jackie Alvarez, is being threatened, and Street Business is in danger of losing its tenuous foothold in the community, turning Slide and many others like him back on the street. But it’s not a simple case of intimidation – Spenser, aided by Hawk, finds a trail that leads to a dangerous drug kingpin, whose hold on the at-risk community Street Business serves threatens not just the boys’ safety and security, but their lives as well.

Unfinished at the time of his death, Silent Night was completed by Parker’s longtime agent, whose decades-long association with Parker’s work gives her unique insight and perspective to his voice and storytelling style. Her contribution also speaks volumes about their enduring friendship.

How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain by Gregory Berns. Recommended by me as a Dog Lover.
The powerful bond between humans and dogs is one that’s uniquely cherished. Loyal, obedient, and affectionate, they are truly “man’s best friend.” But do dogs love us the way we love them? Emory University neuroscientist Gregory Berns had spent decades using MRI imaging technology to study how the human brain works, but a different question still nagged at him: What is my dog thinking?

After his family adopted Callie, a shy, skinny terrier mix, Berns decided that there was only one way to answer that question—use an MRI machine to scan the dog’s brain. His colleagues dismissed the idea. Everyone knew that dogs needed to be restrained or sedated for MRI scans. But if the military could train dogs to operate calmly in some of the most challenging environments, surely there must be a way to train dogs to sit in an MRI scanner.

With this radical conviction, Berns and his dog would embark on a remarkable journey and be the first to glimpse the inner workings of the canine brain. Painstakingly, the two worked together to overcome the many technical, legal, and behavioral hurdles. Berns’s research offers surprising results on how dogs empathize with human emotions, how they love us, and why dogs and humans share one of the most remarkable friendships in the animal kingdom.

How Dogs Love Us answers the age-old question of dog lovers everywhere and offers profound new evidence that dogs should be treated as we would treat our best human friends: with love, respect, and appreciation for their social and emotional intelligence.

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Tagged as Coming Soon

October 12, 2013 · 1:26 am

Saturday Steals: Book Bargains 10/11/13

Welcome and thank you for returning to Saturday Steals. Every week I search for book bargains for readers. This week has many offerings. I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of the books listed.

I think this book sounds fascinating!
Guardian Cats and the Lost Books of Alexandria by Rahma Krambo. $4.99 from Smashwords.com STEAL.

In the wrong hands, some books can be dangerous—and some libraries can be positively deadly. A small town library cat and newly appointed Guardian of an ancient mystical book finds otherworldly creatures roaming through the stacks after hours. The young tabby is ill-prepared for the daunting task of safekeeping the magical book of power—as well as the very heart and soul of the library.

Phantasy by Marlow SR. FREE on Kindle. How about a paranormal dark comedy?

Fired from his job, dumped by his girlfriend and shoved around by the world, a young, lazy, day-dreamer takes refuge in his world of dreams and fantasies, and finally decides to become a writer. And what does he want to write about? He wants to write about monsters! He wants to write about fights, action, adventure, etc.! He’s writing a book about:

‘Two simple minded, happy-go-lucky buddies suddenly find themselves in trouble. when they are attacked by a fireball-belching monster whom nothing seems to be able to defeat. When all the tricks of the local police fail to control the creature, and ordinary bullets and bombs prove useless, the captain figures out that the monster can be gotten rid of using only (un)natural means!’
He has started created a world of his own, a world in which only HE can rule with full authority. But will he be able to finish what he’s started? More importantly, will he be able to taste success in his new venture?

EARLY FREE ALERT! On 10/31 – Halloween, Blood Stained Lives by Ronald Edward Griffin will be free. Mark your calendar for the haunting!
Namon is a young man with a destiny that has haunted him since his birth. His parents were murdered to protect his existence a secret from those that would cause him harm. His godmother Katrina raises him to the best of her ability. Months before his 18th birthday though events occur that force her to reveal his destiny. Adult-content rating: This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages.

How about a FREE Short Story Curse of Death to introduce you to a new YA Paranormal series? Try out the short then buy the book Touch of Death by Kelly Hashway.

In Touch of Death Jodi Marshall isn’t sure how she went from normal teenager to walking disaster. One minute she’s in her junior year of high school, spending time with her amazing boyfriend and her best friend. The next she’s being stalked by some guy no one seems to know. After the stranger, Alex, reveals himself, Jodi learns he’s not a normal teenager and neither is she.

Jodi discovers she’s the chosen one who has to save the rest of her kind from perishing at the hands of Hades. If she can’t figure out how to control her power, history will repeat itself, and her race will become extinct.

Mystical Maxims by Robert S. Hare. STEAL. MYSTICAL MAXIMS is magical! The 500+ axioms penetrate one’s spirit, releasing pent-up heroic instincts. Enjoy timeless philosophical Truth and invaluable noble aphorisms. HALF-PRICE SALE! Use coupon EP68Y .

Need a little Romance in your life? How about a LOT of Romance? Check out these FREE Wild Rose Press books. Free Wild Rose Romance Reads

Interested in a new series? Here is a STEAL at $0.99 for Book 1 Cruel Justice by M. A. Comley. If you like then try Book 2 Impeding Justice.

The headless body of a wealthy widow is discovered decomposing in Chelling Forest. Then a second victim is found. Detective Inspector Lorne Simpkins and her partner, DS Pete Childs are assigned the case.

Before they can discover the identity of the killer they must make a connection between the two victims. After a third murder, Lorne receives a grisly surprise. Clearly, a vicious serial killer is on a rampage…and Lorne has become the killer’s fixation.

For my Crafting friends. McCalls, yes the pattern company has all books priced 20% off from 10/11 – 10/24.

Thinking of starting a business? Yes you – crafter, blogger, reader? Here is a STEAL.
Fat-Free Marketing by Jeff Kontur. $9.99 from Smashwords.com
An indispensable guide for marketing a small business. This book covers an almost mind-boggling range of promotional ideas, yet remains a quick and easy read.
Link to Smashwords here.