Spring Challenge 2013

Well, the first weekend of spring in St. Louis this year was not what we were expecting! It still feels like winter with a foot of snow! It's still officially spring, though; that means it's time for the spring challenge. Let's make it an easy one this time. We'll read the follow up to Jeff Well's first book that we enjoyed so much. This spring we'll read All My Patients Kick and Bite.

The highly amusing, uplifting and entertaining follow-up to All My Patients Have Tales... In this second collection by our intrepid vet, Jeff Wells has his work cut out for him when he learns that llamas do not take kindly to having their toenails trimmed, dog owners in the medical field can be a real pain, Scottish Highland cattle stick together and just might run a vet out of their enclosure, and fixing an overly amorous burro often needs to be prioritized. Told with Wells’s trademark humor and gentle touch, these and many other heartwarming, heartbreaking, funny and strange stories will give readers a whole new appreciation for those who care for our pets.

This should be a pretty easy challenge that we can all actually finish!

Group Picture-All My Patients Have Tales

We read a fun, uplifting book this month. We needed it after last month's book. We loved this book...and we're going to read his follow-up book too! We're suckers for animal stories!

 

Linda is not pictured, but her iPad is, see right.

 

This meeting was a decoy event for the surprise party planned later in the day for Karen's 60th birthday! We pulled it off...barely!

 

 

April Book Choices!

It's the comedy genre for April...

Seriously, I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres | Paperback, 269 pages

Everyone loves Ellen! Television icon, actress and proud wife, Ellen is a star like none other. This comedienne is known for her talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which is going strong.

Seriously… I’m Kidding is a look at Ellen’s life through her humour.

In her own words, Ellen says, “I've experienced a whole lot the last few years and I have a lot to share ... I think you'll find I've left no stone unturned, no door unopened, no window unbroken, no rug unvacuumed, no ivories untickled. What I'm saying is, let us begin, shall we?”

Seriously, I'm Kidding has a 3.65 rating on Goodreads.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach | Paperback, 320 pages

Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way.

In this fascinating, ennobling account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries—from the anatomy labs and human-sourced pharmacies of medieval and nineteenth-century Europe to a human decay research facility in Tennessee, to a plastic surgery practice lab, to a Scandinavian funeral directors' conference on human composting. In her droll, inimitable voice, Roach tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them.

Roach is also the author of  Spook and Bonk as well as others. Stiff has a 4.05 rating on Goodreads.

Death by Chocolate by Sally Berneathy | Paperback, 256 pages

Lindsay Powell awakens one bright Sunday morning to find her almost-ex-husband in bed beside her. Had she really been glad to see the cheating creep standing on her front porch last night? At that burst of insanity she should have called 911, requested she be declared mentally incompetent and locked up for her own protection.

While sleeping with the jerk feels like the absolute worst thing that could happen, that error becomes insignificant as Lindsay’s life rapidly spirals downward into complete chaos and a near-deadly bout with the chocolate she loves.

Lindsay’s neighbor, Paula, is an enigmatic single mom of a two-year old boy. Though Lindsay and Paula have worked together for two years, Lindsay has no idea why her friend dyes her blond hair brown, hides from people and insists on always having a second exit. Secrets from Paula’s past have come back to put all their lives in jeopardy.

Determined to help her secretive friend, Lindsay enlists the reluctant aid of another neighbor, Fred, a computer nerd who rarely leaves his always-tidy house. In spite of his mundane existence, Fred possesses arcane tidbits of knowledge about such things as hidden microphones, guns and the inside of maximum security prisons.

Battling Paula’s elusive stalker, poisoned chocolate, Lindsay’s irritating almost-ex, and a dead man, Lindsay needs more than a chocolate fix to survive.

Death by Chocolate has a 4.20 rating on Goodreads.

Vote for your favorite!