More books ... they keep on breeding!

More books! Like I don't have enough to read already!

I have recently added to my list Marley & Me by John Grogan and LA Candy by Lauren Conrad.


Marley & Me has been on my list of books to buy for a while now, and I managed to score a copy on ebay for $6 including postage! My new year miracle! Don't know how I got it for that price considering the other auctions were going for nearly the recommended retail price. Yes, it's second hand, but I don't sniff at second hand books - there's something about a dog-eared book that makes it even more appealing. I believe books are soulful as it is, but a second hand book not only has soul about it, it has history!


LA Candy has come to me from the lovely Melissa (thanks Mel! I got rather excited with it arrived in the mail!)... she has kindly lent it to me to read while we await the new Lauren Conrad book. I'll admit it now, I LOVE The Hills. Yes I know. I don't know why I love it, but it's that kind of trashy TV that just sucks me right on in. To be honest, I don't even know what I love about it - it's hardly ground breaking and it's just about a bunch of girls bitch fighting and dating guys that aren't good for them at all, and it's shallow, but it makes for happy couch lazing. I like to do that ... couch lazing with good (or trashy, depending on how you see it) TV, chocolate, raspberries and cheese is awesome. Anyhow, Melissa assures me LA Candy is a good read - I believe it will be ridiculous and everything that The Hills is, and I know, just like her, I am going to read it cover to cover. And I am going to love it. And then I am going to go and buy her new book ... and contribute to her probably already overflowing bank account that she has from pretty much doing nothing but bitching about people on TV.

Better get reading! Funny that I am going to probably read the 2 newest books in my collection before anything else gets read ... always the way!

I love my wiener ...

Wiener dog that is (what were you thinking?!).


My dog Luna, or "Lil Black Dog" as I affectionately refer to her as, is my almost two-year-old black and tan dachshund x staffy, and the best money I ever spent!

She's a funny looking little thing ... well she is half sausage dog, half staffy - but despite the funny mix, she's beautiful and people always talk to me and giggle and remark at how cute she is when they see her. She took after her father, the sausage dog, in terms of colouring and while she's not as long as a dachshund, she's definitely longer than other dogs. The staffy in her means that she's a little taller than and "thicker" in the body than a purebred dachshund - and she's strong. Very strong. She has the sweetest, most softest floppy ears too.

Despite her looks, she's also a complete and utter sook, and the most beautiful little soul you will ever meet. Now, warning, I do tend to talk about Luna quite a bit ... people often wonder why I am so smitten by this little dog, but upon meeting her they all say that yes, they can totally see why I am so completely smitten by her. She really is a gentle and sweet little thing. And happy. So very happy, and fat. Well not fat, fat, but plump. She's well fed and loved. Yes, I gush about her a lot.

I took her to the dog park at New Farm Park today, and we were the only ones there. She had a whole dog park to roam around in, all to herself, yet she hovered around me most of the time. She eventually started to chase birds and run around on her own, but I have to say, I was a bit disappointed that there were no other dogs in the park for her to play with. Oh, well. I'll just have to take her back again!

I'm a sucker for anything dog related ...

So, I have decided that one of my New Year's resolutions for 2010 is to read at least one to two novels per month (and thus one of the reasons for starting this blog!).

This resolution came to me last night, after I finished reading the most amazing novel I just happened to pick up, randomly, in Borders on Boxing Day when I was spending the vouchers I received on Christmas Day (if you ever want to buy me a present, book store vouchers are accepted with open arms).

Now, they say you should never judge a book by its cover, but the cover is what made me pick this book up. I admit, I was actually looking for The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (which, by the way is sold out everywhere at the moment - dying to read it), when I happened to come across a novel with a picture of a dog on the front cover - a picture of a dog sporting the most beautiful puppy dog eyes. The cover art grabbed my attention straight away (yes, Mr Graphic Designer, from one designer to another you did your job VERY well!) as I am a sucker for anything dog related (in case you don't know me, heads up, I am obsessed with my little dachshundXstaffy - but more about her later), so I picked up the book and read the blurb. I knew I just had to buy it and read it.

The book I am talking about is called The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I won't give the story away, but it's simply a book about life from a dog's point of view. It may sound childish, but I can tell you now, it's anything but. This book is amazing, a complete work of art. I have never cried and laughed so much while reading a book in my life. I thought Marley & Me (the movie - haven't had a chance to read the book as yet), made me bawl my eyes out while laughing simultaneously, but this book, it's something else. A great piece of writing that tugs on the heart strings and leaves you wanting more, and wondering whether or not your pet dog is like the story's dog, Enzo.

And to think I may have never picked this book up unless the cover art called to me! So here I am passing the love on ... I urge you to read it!