Pack of Two by Caroline Knapp and

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Just finished two books in the last day or so.

 

Pack of Two by Caroline Knapp was interesting. I am always interested in explorations of the "crazy dog lady" mindset - that is, I'm used to being thought of as one, and it is interesting to me to hear a dithyramb by someone else who gets called, or at least thought of by that sobriquet. Her story was uncomfortably like my own - minus the drinking - I was raised by alcoholics so I gave booze a wide berth. But I enjoyed most of what she had to say. She describes her dog as a GSD mix, but it looked more like a Malinois or Malinois mix to me.

Largely a stream of conciousness/ memoir sort of thing. Definitely readable, but no great moments of insight for me.

 

Dogged Pursuit: My Year of Competing Dusty, the World's Most Unlikely Agility Dog by Robert Rodi was from a different planet entirely. The prose was funny - very funny in places, but I kept having the feeling that I didn't really like the protagonist much. And I felt that I was never properly introduced to Dusty, his rescued Shetland Sheepdog. Agility is sort of terra incognito for me, and I've always had the feeling that I sort of wanted it to stay that way - the competitive aspects of it, at least. The story is about the author, his significant other and their dogs. It follows him through his first year in agility. Some of you may even know him. A strange read for me, but absorbing, for all that. Worthwhile. But not a warm feel-good sort of thing - although there are moments...

[AlexC]

I've read Dogged Pursuit and liked it for its light-heartedness. I liked the guy well enough. The main thing that bugged me, though, was that it was obvious everyone in the "inner circle" was going to read the book and so had to be painted in the best light possible, while the author had to remain ever-humble. I would have appreciated more conflict. x d