Ericka Waller's "Dog days"

 

You can find this book here.

Ah, the dog. Everybody's best friend (unless you are a cat person). In Waller's novel, the dog is part of three different characters' lives (whether they like dogs or not). They become a sounding board for reflecting emotions and communications that may not always be as easy for humans. Just be aware that whilst the cover focusses on the dogs, they may not always be as central in the book if you like that type of thing.

The three focal characters in the novel are George; a grumpy old man whose wife has just died; Dan who is a counsellor with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and Lizzie who lives with her son Lenny in a women's shelter. The difficulties with identity, communication, love and loss are brought through the novel in ways that are in part funny and gritty (psychologically speaking); with a dog there the entire time. 

The characters have very different and full personalities throughout the book, even if you think the chapters are too short. Each chapter alternates between the three characters, which some readers may find frustrating if they only like perspectives of one character. However, they are all written well, and you can really see what each character is feeling or going through across their individual journey. Please note though, you may not find them likeable. They are snapshots of real lives, and not necessarily the best of them. 

The pace is quick: the timeframe for the characters' stories is also short. Because of the short chapters and revolving character focus, it makes the novel move quickly. 

Again, I will bring you back to the cover. Only because it looks light and fluffy. Even if people are dealing with grief, you expect a satisfying end for the characters. You may not get any of this when you read it. It is a much heavier read than the cover allows you to think (that's why you don't judge by it!). There are difficult scenes in there that may be hard to read through and its ending is more realistic than romantic. In the end, it really is about what it is to be human (whether you like the characters or not).

This book isn't like 'Dog's purpose'; the dogs are less centred here. But they are there. And I do feel as if at least some of the time you really get to see them shine. It does have a lot of emotion, but the dogs aren't centre-stage. If you prefer your animal books to be more like Cameron's, this one is not for you. This is also not a book for reader's looking for a light story. But, if you like a challenge; this could be for you. 

Links for you

The books I have below are possibly more dog-centred than Waller's. However; themes will be similar, just written in different and unique ways.

Read-a-likes in the Library

Friend

Sigrid Nunez

Nunez's book looks at a character's grief.

Art of racing in the rain

Garth Stein

This book is from the perspective of the dog Enzo and how to bring a family back together.

Dog who saved me

Susan Wilson

Cooper goes home after his dog in the Boston K-9 Unit is killed. As he tries to rescue a feral dog, perhaps the dog will also help him heal.

Wonder of lost causes

Nick Trout

Cory Doctorow's "Attack surface"

 

You can find this book here.

I should start by writing that though this is essentially part of Doctorow's 'Little Brother' series, and number three in fact, it is also a stand-alone novel. 

I did not know this when I chose to read it; but now I can understand what some references were referring to as if I had read the past books, I would have had a more complete picture. For example, I might have understood more about the bombing in San Francisco or the terms easily used by characters if I had read book one, 'Little Brother'. 

Unfortunately books 1 and 2 are not available at Camden Libraries; but as I have said, you can read it and understand the story set within. I mean, the book itself gives no indication it is part of the series 😊

Anyway, back to the novel in hand ...

Masha Maximow is a compartmentalising tech wizard (though because she is a compartmentaliser, she realistically sees her skills and probably would never deem herself a wizard). Masha works for a transnational cybersecurity firm where she enables organisations and countries to keep people, states and countries in line through spying, malware and disinformation. On the side, Masha helps protestors fight against these same regimes. The problem for Masha is, can you really play both sides without hurting people you care about, let alone strangers across the world? And, has Masha really helped enough people to counteract the bad choices she has made? Can you even do that: counterbalance bad choices by making more good ones?

The setting of the novel is near-futuristic: you can see it looming on the horizon like a large rectangular server. This means you can relate to the world the characters are in. You just may not be able to understand it for at least the first third of the book. There is a lot of jargon: tech-talk for days. Doctorow's past is in technology, so he understands it clearly: I did not. However, the pace eventually picks up and the tech-speak becomes less involved (or I was able to manoeuvre through it). This might trip you up in the beginning though. 

The characters work. Masha is, well, not relatable (as I am not that great at compartmentalising), but she is realistic. She juggles the world in a way that probably most of us do, whether we like ourselves for it or not. The remaining characters that we see are mostly female (except for Marcus and some side characters), and they appear strong and fleshed out. 

The pace was okay. There are flashbacks within the book that you may find slow the pace, but I found the slowness came from slogging through the tech-talk more than the flashbacks. You might also find it feels long. That could be because without flashbacks it would be a much shorter novel; but it also could be the themes that slow you down. The book is not exactly made to make you think unicorns are at the end of every rainbow. Though I did enjoy that about this book. 

There are also two afterwords at the end of the novel. These, and the author's note, possibly explain why the book is written the way it is and how people should be taking care of technology (it helps change the world, it can't save it: that's the general message). I liked this about the novel too. 

Hopefully you find the book has enough thrills for you to keep reading, if you are looking for a focus on the thriller aspect. If you are interested in the technology and hacktivist side, there is enough of that to keep a reader content. Then you can try a couple of his other works we have in the Library.

Links for you

Doctorow in the Library: 

Walkaway

Doctorow in cloudLibrary:

Radicalized (US spelling)

Read-a-likes in the Library:

Fox

Frederick Forsyth

A compelling cyber-thriller that focusses on using a hacker to inform on national enemies. Whilst Doctorow looks at how this works inside countries, the same feel will be there.

House on fire 

Joseph Finder

This novel doesn't have the cyber-thriller element to it (so is it really alike?). However, it is fast-paced and focusses on whistleblowing. It makes it just as compelling and thought-provoking on the issue as Doctorow does.

Doubt factory

Paolo Bacigalupi

Whilst not a focus on technology; this book is a compelling thriller that revolves around whistleblowing for social action. Again, it has an issues-oriented feel about it relevant for today; however, the main character goes up against their own father.

Stop! Grammar time.

 

                           The punctuation station. (2010). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publishing Group, 36.

You can find this book here.

Apostrophes, like commas, can be tricky punctuation to use well. As the example above shows, apostrophes have two main meanings: working with contractions and working with possessives. Perhaps that already sounds a little tricky? Don't worry, even professionals make mistakes:

The first image (click on it for a link to the source) is missing an apostrophe. It should be we're open (we are open) to show that you can go in. However, the mistake by removing the apostrophe has suggested the past tense to show they once were open, but currently are not. They needed to create a contraction.

The second image (click on it for a link to the source) has added apostrophes to CD and DVD. The sign means to make these objects plurals to show they sell more than one CD and DVD; however, they have instead written it so that it looks like a CD and DVD own something, though we don't know what. They have created a possessive instead of a plural. 

So let's have a look at how to do this together.

A contraction is a shortened version of a single word or a combination of a group of words. What the apostrophe does in these instances is replace the missing letters or words from what has been shortened:

                                                             I've = I have

Mornin' = Morning

We're = We are

She'd = She would

Could've = Could have

You'll = You will

'ere = Here

A possessive is when nouns and pronouns have ownership over something. The general rule is to add an apostrophe followed by an s ('s) after the word. 

This is Peter's chair. 

This one is not too hard. Peter, whether he physically owns the chair or is just using it, shows that it is currently his chair. 

A hard day's work. 

In this sentence, there isn't a human subject to own something; however, "day" is the noun that is able to possess something, in this case work. Think of it like this: "A hard day of work". This sentence shows that the day has been full of work and therefore "work" cannot be the noun because it has described what has been done during the day. 

Let me show you a couple more:

I am reading today's newspaper.

Stacey and Tanisha's project won first place in Science.

Does that help? Hopefully. Until you meet this one ...

There is one more rule when it comes to possessives. And that is the pluralised possessive. This rule is for nouns and pronouns that are already pluralised, or if they have an s on the end of them. When this comes up, you add an apostrophe at the end of the word only if the plural ends with s, and you add an 's if it does not.

The job ad required someone with five years' experience.

'Years' is the plural form of 'year'. Therefore, to make this possessive, you just add an apostrophe. 

There is going to be a New Year's Eve party at the Smiths' holiday home.

'Smith' is someone's surname. If the word is 'Smiths' this means the noun incorporates everyone in the Smith family. Therefore as it ends with an s, only an apostrophe is needed. 

"The children's toys are everywhere!" 

'Children' is a plural that does not end in s. Therefore, 's is required to show the possessive form of this word. 

Dolphins were caught in the fishermen's nets.

'Dolphins' and 'fishermen' are both plurals and nouns in this sentence. However, it is only the fishermen who own the net to catch fish. Therefore, 's is added to 'fishermen'.

And that should be it. It should be noted that sometimes people will always just use 's for possessive plurals (which does make it easier); and some follow the directions I have laid out here. The most important part of this post, is to know the difference between contractions and possessives. This way, hopefully, you'll remember to add them in before you pay the sign-writer. 😉

NF hobby highlight: Beekeeping

 

This topic is not only fun, but brings awareness to the importance of pollinators for our environment ...

Beekeeping! 

The fact that you don't have to have a beehive to help bees in your yard, on your balcony or even at your windowsill. That's because you can start a hive, you can add a bee hotel, or just know the best flowers to bring in bees and other native pollinators to whatever patch of green you keep!

And we have books for any part of that journey you would like to begin!

First off, maybe you would like to know a little about bees or the issues that arise when faced with declining pollinators? Camden Libraries have some introductions for you:

A honeybee heart has five openings

This book by Helen Jukes discusses the problems facing declining pollinator populations in a way that will be relatable to the reader.

Bee: a natural history

This book is more scientific and looks at bee anatomy and behaviour. However, if you love bees, why not learn their history?

Buzz: the nature and necessity of bees

As informative and enchanting as the waggle dance of a honeybee, Buzz shows us why all bees and other pollinators are wonders to celebrate and protect. 

You wouldn't want to live without bees!

This book is tailored for younger audiences that looks at the science, nature and importance of bees.

Then we have some books for the hobbyists who would like to raise bees. You could do this just to help your plants, or you could turn it into business!

A beekeeper's year: setting up and managing backyard hives

A Beekeeper's Year follows the progress of three novice beekeepers with three different types of hive, as they navigate their way through their first year of beekeeping. Whilst this isn't Australian, you can still follow their journey as they set up and manage hives. It is a book that introduces what equipment is required, how to manage hives, and how to keep bees healthy.

If you would like some Aussie-focussed books, check out Complete guide to beekeeping in Australia and the Australian beekeeping manual.

Finally, if you don't have the space for a whole hive; but still want to help pollinators: you can build a bee hotel or plant particular flowers (they love anything purple, like lavender!) to help encourage them into any space you have.

Handmade bird, bee and bat houses and Bee friendly garden are two great resources to have a look at!

Sure it's a lot of books ... but it's a great hobby to have! Have a think about it and start a new project to be ready for Spring!

Highlight: Youth fiction

I know I often do a YF Highlight section; however, with so many new books coming through, why not point out a couple you could be reading?

White fox

Sara Faring

After their world-famous actor mother disappeared under mysterious circumstances, Manon and Thaïs leave their remote Mediterranean island home -- sent away by their pharma-tech tycoon father. Opposites in every way, the sisters drifted apart in their grief. Lured home a decade later, they discover their mother's legendary last work: White Fox. The clues in the work draw them deep into the twisted secrets hidden by their family to reveal the truth about their mother and themselves.

100 remarkable feats of Xander Maze

Clayton Zane Comber

Xander Maze loves lists, and his grandmother is #1 on his list of People I love most in the world. But now that Nanna has Stage Four cancer, can a new list of 100 Remarkable Feats really save her? Particularly when his list contains difficult things like #2 Make a friend and #3 Make a best friend, plus #10 Kiss a girl (preferably Ally Collins, the girl of Xander's dreams). 

Any place but here

Sarah Van Name

Seventeen-year-old June is completely wrapped up in her best friend Jess. The two girls are inseparable and June feels so lucky that they found each other, even if June thinks she may like Jess more than a friend. But after June is expelled from school at the end of her first semester of junior year, she's forced to move to Virginia, to live with her grandmother and attend an all-girls boarding school. Even as she starts to find friends and an attraction to a boy named Sam, Jess is always on her mind, even as Jess starts to pull away from her. June can't let Jess go; but she needs to figure out how to move forward, and how to find the place she really belongs.

Being black 'n chicken, and chips

Matt Okine

Mike Amon is a regular teenager who wants to fit in at school. He also wants his mother to survive the advance breast and brain cancer she has been diagnosed with. Mike knows it's a long shot, but if he manages to achieve his dreams, maybe it'll give his mum enough strength to beat the disease. In the meantime, he has to live with his African dad whom he doesn't really know and who Mike doesn't really feel comfortable sharing his teenage desires and deepest fears with. He doesn't even want to think about what it might mean if his mum never comes home from the hospital. The book is based off not only Okine's life and loss of his mother at the age of twelve, but his stand-up comedy show to be an example of how people can deal with grief and growing up.