The Art of Racing in the Rain / Garth Stein / 321 pages

I wasn't sure what to make of this book at first. After having read A Dog's Purpose and loving it, and knowing this book also is from the POV of a dog, it's hard to not draw comparisons. So, while in the former book the dog lives multiple lives, always striving to be a good dog and love its master, the dog in this book, Enzo, lives only one life and is striving to be more human. This makes Enzo into some sort of sage and philosopher, extremely self-aware, and not nearly as lovable as the dog in the former book.

In fact, the book really didn't take off for me until halfway through when the story of the family that Enzo lives with took one bad turn after another. Enzo's master is a race car driver, one who is really good at driving in the rain, and his young wife becomes sick. What happens after is something you need to discover on your own as you read about the human family that is at the center of Enzo's world. By the end, I was very happy with the book and how it ended, but it took a while to get there.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies / Seth Grahame-Smith / 319 pgs.

I picked up the audiobook for my #ReadHarder challenge to read a horror book. Horror is not usually my genre, although I find I really like books about zombies (World War Z, Rot and Ruin, Warm Bodies). Who would ever think? You have no idea how much I enjoyed listening to the audiobook of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies! I highly recommend it! The narrator does all the voices so very well with her highly posh 19th century British accent.


The movie is coming out in just a few days and I definitely plan to see it. If you haven't seen a trailer yet, or figured from the title alone, the author took Jane Austen's classic and added about 30% more content, all related to zombies and the training to kill them. All of the Bennet sisters have been trained in the best dojos in China on the art of killing and the preservation of honor. Those much more wealthy than the Bennets (like Mr. Darcy) have received their training in Japan. Together, in Hertfordshire, they battle the undead, as well as try to figure out love and romance, in Edwardian England.

Wonderful Wizard of Oz / L. Frank Baum 267 p. Dead author + 100 yrs old

Wonderful Wizard of Oz / L. Frank Baum 267 p.   Dead author + 100 yrs old

Thanks to the 1939 movie starring Judy Garland, many know the story of Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  Dorothy is swept to the Land of Oz via a whirling, twirling, spinning tornado ride, only to land on the wicked witch.  Glenda comes and gives her a kiss that gives her a welcome to some of the many inhabitants of Oz. Following the yellow brick road sends her on a series of adventures that keeps one on the edge of one's chair until Dorothy returns home.  There are  many many books that followed (upwards of 30 in the series) to continue the story of Munchkins, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion.

Slight Trick of the Mind / Mitch Cullin 253 p.

Slight Trick of the Mind / Mitch Cullin 253 p.

World War II has ended.  Sherlock Holmes is living out his retirement in a remote Sussex farmhouse.  He is experiencing the typical infirmities that a ninety-three-year-old experiences, difficulty moving around, forgetfulness, and cognitive decline.  He has just returned from a long trip to Japan, a place he had wanted to visit.  There he discovers his host is a Holmes aficionado.  He has a secret hidden agenda with Holmes.  He wants to know about his father who sought Holmes advice ever so long ago.

While gone he leaves his apiary in the care of his housekeeper's young son Roger.  Roger is a most respectful, patient young boy.  His care of the bees is exceptional.  However, he does enter Holmes' attic retreat where he reads an unfinished work about Mrs. Keller.  He checks back hoping to read the end of the case.

Readers expecting to see Holmes deductive powers at work may be disappointed.   This is more a look at the person of Holmes.