Scent of the Missing and a Stroke

A woman with short dark hair, wearing a black linen dress wrapped in a large purple scarf came to the counter. She saw SCENT OF THE MISSING, which I have displayed next to my register.

       

I told her about the book, how Susannah Charleson trained Puzzle, the dog on the cover, to work Search and Rescue, how hard the training is, how amazing it is what the dogs can do.

"I know, dogs are amazing," she said. "I had a lab, well, I've had two labs. The yellow lab I had before was wonderful. I've had three strokes. After one of them, I was using a walker. At the same time, my in-laws were also using walkers. When we came into the house, the dog would come greet us, and back up in front of all of us, backing, backing, until we were all seated. She was keeping an eye on all of us, making sure we made it to the seat safely. She knew we were fairly precarious!"

"Oh, wow. That's wonderful, what a great dog."

"Yes, I miss her. Now I have a chocolate lab, and he's also amazing. After another one of the strokes, one of my legs would tremor really badly. When it did that, he would come and lay his body on top of my leg. And it would stop the tremor." She shakes her head and smiles, remembering. She reaches out and touches the cover picture of Puzzle. "I think I need to buy this. It would be good for me."

I happily sold her a copy.

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More on the Book Link Changes

So it seems that Barnes and Noble is not eliminating their affiliate program altogether. They are just "changing networks". I will be on the lookout for the new network. Will not be adding it to older posts, just to newer ones as I go along.

Some Book Link Changes on the Blog!

I'm having to go through all the blog posts and re-do some of the book links. Barnes and Noble has discontinued their affiliate program, so all of the book covers that previously linked to Barnes and Noble will now be linked to Amazon.

It's too bad, Barnes and Noble has a significant online book ordering presence. I'm not sure what precipitated their decision to do away with their affiliate program, I'm just complying with their request to remove the links.

As the links are being changed, I have to republish the individual blog posts. I am hoping that they just reappear under the original dates they were posted. I apologize for any inconvenience or awkwardness in the blog!

Thanks for understanding!

Good Reads!

What good books I’ve been reading lately!

I just finished BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP by S.J. Watson. At first we’d only gotten a few in at the store. It was selling quickly, so when we got more copies in, I got one.

When Christine awakens every morning, she has no memory of her life in the present time. She remembers herself as a child and a young woman, but has no recollection of the past 20 (or so) years of her life. She wakes up next to a man and has no idea that he’s her husband. Each day is a challenge of remembering, piecing her life back together…until she goes to bed and forgets it all over again. How did this happen? Can she get better? I won’t say more about the story, too much information would spoil it. Great read!

        

I also recently read The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. It’s been selling like crazy and everyone who has read it that I’ve talked to really liked it, staff and customers alike. Shelved in the “Teen” section, schools are even making it a reading requirement.

And well it should. It’s a stunning premise. Set in the future, the United States is no more. Katniss and her family live in District 12, the coal mining district. Every year there is a contest. Two teen-agers are chose from each district and the people in control orchestrate Hunger Games, where the children fight to the death. The last teen alive wins. This barbaric tradition began as a way to remind the people in the districts who is in control. I liked this much more than I thought I would. Definitely worth the read!

         

A customer recommended THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE. She, a recent transplant from Atlanta, came to our store to connect with a bookstore in her new neighborhood. Short-ish, short brown hair, wearing cargo shorts and talking really fast, she told me that this was her favorite book. Ever. I’d been looking at it for a few weeks and finally just bought it. I’m about halfway in and am enjoying it.

Calli, a seven-year-old girl who doesn’t speak, is missing. So is her best friend, Petra. Why doesn’t Calli speak? Why are they missing? Will the girls be found? Told from several points of view, including Calli’s, Petra’s, Calli’s mother, the deputy sheriff in charge of the investigation, Calli’s brother, and Petra’s father, I get deeper into the families and their stories and am really enjoying it.

        

I just bought a copy (finally) of Erik Larson’s DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY. I’ve heard (for years!) how good it is, that it is non-fiction, but that it reads like a novel. He has a new book out, which has been selling well. One of my co-workers also decided to finally read DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY and says it’s as good as everyone has been saying. All right then!

        

What are you reading?

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