Catching Up!!!

Hello all!  I am so sorry I have been AWOL lately. Life has been really hectic!  I have been reading, but not as much as usual, although I do have a few books to post for today!  Hopefully now I will be back on track!

Woof! Writers on Dogs edited by Lee Montgomery

This book is a bunch of short stories that are written by professional authors who also happen to be dog owners. I am not usually a fan of short stories, which my friend Jay can attest to, but I absolutely love animal stories. I really enjoyed this book because it is well-written and even though I am not a dog lover, it was easy for me to fall into the stories being told. There were, of course, some really sad stories as our beloved pets cannot live forever, but there are also great stories of friendship and companionship. They are all very different from one another, and there was only one story that I skipped over because I just could not get into it.  I recommend this book if you are a dog lover or love animal stories in general!!!

Christmas With Anne and Other Stories by L.M. Montgomery

In the spirit of Christmas, I thought I would write about a Christmas book. Another book of short stories, this compilation was put together by a fan of Lucy Maud Montgomery's who came across some unknown short stories that had never been published. They are tales of tradition and the spirit of Christmas. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of these stories and it was really interesting to have an idea of how people used to celebrate Christmas and what it used to mean before it became a materialistic holiday. If you would like to go back to earlier times and the joy of Christmas, you should definitely read this book!

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

This book was only released a few months ago by the wonderful author who wrote the Chaos Walking Trilogy for young adults (of which I have read the first one and it was fantastic!) This book was inspired by another writer, Siobhan Dowd, and is his interpretation of her idea.

The story is about Conor who lives with his mom and she is very sick. He has to look after himself, and he doesn't mind, but he keeps having an awful nightmare that haunts him in his sleep. One night a monster visits and Conor is told he was called by Conor and he is going to tell him three tales and Conor has to tell him a tale when he is done. The purpose of the monster being there is for him to help heal, but who is he helping heal and why? This is an incredibly written book that is very heartfelt and true. It deals with the effects of grief and how we can move on after a loss. I think this is a great book for any young adult who has experienced loss because it shows them it is okay to go through grief and to feel the things they feel. I hope everyone will give this story a try and let me know what you think!

I hope you have enjoyed my quick reviews for today! I am still trying to figure out how to add pictures so the text is broken up some. Thank you, as always, for reading my blog and I would love to hear any and all feedback you may have!  Please let your friends know about my blog and ask them to "follow" me too!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!