TLC BOOK TOURS and REVIEW: National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America by Jon L. Dunn and Jonathan Alderfer

Synopsis

This fully revised edition of the best-selling North American bird field guide is the most up-to-date guide on the market. Perfect for beginning to advanced birders, it is the only book organized to match the latest American Ornithological Society taxonomy.

With more than 2.75 million copies in print, this perennial bestseller is the most frequently updated of all North American bird field guides. Filled with hand-painted illustrations from top nature artists (including the ever-popular hummingbird), this latest edition is poised to become an instant must-have for every serious birder in the United States and Canada. The 7th edition includes 37 new species for a total of 1,023 species; 16 new pages allow for 250 fresh illustrations; 80 new maps; and 350 map revisions. With taxonomy revised to reflect the radical new American Ornithological Society taxonomy established in 2016, the addition of standardized banding codes, and text completely vetted by birding experts, this new edition will top of the list of birding field guides for years to come.

Paperback, 592 pages

Published September 12th 2017 by National Geographic Society

My Thoughts

One of the joys of having your own home is having your own yard. And one of the joys of having your own yard is the wildlife that comes with it. Squirrels, opossums, raccoons, butterflies and bees, even rats (yes, they are wildlife, too! What's a squirrel, but a rat with a fluffy tail!) And, of course, birds!

Every spring I keep an eye out for the baby birds that wind up on the ground, in order to protect them from the dogs and make sure the parents are caring for them. And at times in the past it has led to me trying to figure out what type of parent bird is attacking me in defense of its baby. I wish I'd had this guide then!

This is a really nice guide! The cover is heavy gauge paper and glossy, and declares that the guide has ALL 1,023 SPECIES of North American birds!  Now in its seventh edition, this guide has more than 900 maps and 3500 illustrations. The book is a nice size at 5.5 by 8 inches-- not too big and not too small!

Open the book to find a Quick-Find Index on the inside cover listing every type of bird (i.e. grouse, eagle, martin, vireo) and a quick page listing. The inside of the back cover has a map key to common map symbols used throughout the book. Both the inside front and back covers fold out to reveal a "Visual Index of Bird Families".

The book is notched with quick tabs to Sandpipers, Gulls, Hawks, Flycatchers, Thrushes, Warblers and Sparrows. The introduction explains what species were included in the book, which includes some "accidental species" that have made appearances, but don't have a foothold in the country and have fewer than three sightings in the past two decades (or five sightings in the last hundred years). Some species are introduced species, like the European Starling, and are even deemed a nuisance. The book explains:

In general the ABA [American Birding Association] requires an introduced population to have been present and stable for at least 15 years to be considered established.

The book diagrams the parts of a bird, for those of us interested in an anatomy lesson, and talks about things like plumage variations and voice.

Each family listing outlines the different species found in that family and has a brief description of the family. For example, for the Anatidae family (ducks, geese, swans) it describes them as:

Web-footed, gregarious birds, ranging from small ducks to swans. Largely aquatic, but geese, swans, and some "puddle ducks" also graze on land.

It then tells us that there are 160 duck, geese and swan species worldwide, and 66 in North America.

Each listing then goes on to list each species, and includes illustrations for both juveniles and adults, maps of the range of the various species, their size, how their plumage changes as they mature, and a description of their voice. The species within a family are sorted, such as grouping together Whistling Ducks, or Perching Ducks (like our own invasive Muskovy Duck here in south Florida).

At the end of the book is a list of "accidentals" and extinct species. Extinct species include the Labrador Duck, Passenger Pigeon, and the beautiful Carolina Parakeet (last seen in the early 1900s).

I would like to thank TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour. Check out the website for the full tour schedule:

Tuesday, November 6th: she treads softly
Tuesday, November 6th: Cerebral Girl in a Redneck World
Wednesday, November 7th: BookExpression
Thursday, November 8th: Helen’s Book Blog
Friday, November 9th: Instagram: @booksofmainandmaple
Monday, November 12th: Birdchick
Monday, November 12th: Minnesota Birdnerd
Tuesday, November 13th: Bourbon, Bastards, and Birds
Wednesday, November 14th: Doing Dewey
Thursday, November 15th: Just a Secular Homeschooler
Thursday, November 15th: Instagram: @wellreadmama
Friday, November 16th: The Bird Blogger
Monday, November 19th: 100 Pages a Day…Stephanie’s Book Reviews
Tuesday, November 20th: Instagram: @megabunnyreads
Wednesday, November 21st: Literary Quicksand
Monday, November 26th: Eliot’s Eats
Tuesday, November 27th: A Dream Within a Dream
Tuesday, November 27th: Well-Read Naturalist

My final word: This book really has it all. It's thorough and concise. The book feels high-quality, and is beautifully illustrated and enormously informative. This one is a must-have for all birders, whether amateur or experienced!

My Rating:

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The Cerebral Girl is a forty-something blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

I received a copy of this book to review through TLC Book Tours and the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.

REVIEW: The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

Synopsis

In this astonishing book from the author of the bestselling memoir The Good Good Pig, Sy Montgomery explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus' surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature: and the remarkable connections it makes with humans.

Sy Montgomery's popular 2011 Orion magazine piece, "Deep Intellect"; about her friendship with a sensitive, sweet-natured octopus named Athena and the grief she felt at her death, went viral, indicating the widespread fascination with these mysterious, almost alien-like creatures. Since then Sy has practiced true immersion journalism, from New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, pursuing these wild, solitary shape-shifters. Octopuses have varied personalities and intelligence they show in myriad ways: endless trickery to escape enclosures and get food; jetting water playfully to bounce objects like balls; and evading caretakers by using a scoop net as a trampoline and running around the floor on eight arms. But with a beak like a parrot, venom like a snake, and a tongue covered with teeth, how can such a being know anything? And what sort of thoughts could it think?

The intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees was only recently accepted by scientists, who now are establishing the intelligence of the octopus, watching them solve problems and deciphering the meaning of their color-changing camouflage techniques. Montgomery chronicles this growing appreciation of the octopus, but also tells a love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about consciousness and the meeting of two very different minds.

Hardcover, 272 pages
Expected publication: May 12th 2015 by Atria Books
ISBN 1451697716 (ISBN13: 9781451697711) 


About the Author

Part Indiana Jones, part Emily Dickinson, as the Boston Globe describes her, Sy Montgomery is an author, naturalist, documentary scriptwriter, and radio commentator who has traveled to some of the worlds most remote wildernesses for her work. She has worked in a pit crawling with 18,000 snakes in Manitoba, been hunted by a tiger in India, swum with pink dolphins in the Amazon, and been undressed by an orangutan in Borneo. She is the author of 13 award-winning books, including her national best-selling memoir, The Good Good Pig. Montgomery lives in Hancock, New Hampshire.  

 

My Thoughts

On a rare, warm day in mid-March, when the snow was melting into mud in New Hampshire, I traveled to Boston, where everyone was strolling along the harbor or sitting on benches licking ice cream cones. 

I think probably just about every person who came in contact with me while I was reading this book, and for weeks after, heard about it from me. That's how much it affected me!

This book follows the author's experiences with the New England Aquarium and her time getting to know octopuses, both wild and tame. As the title would indicate, the book showcases the octopus, with its intelligence and complexity and depth. However it also includes many of the other inhabitants of the aquarium, like starfish, anemones, lobster and fish of many varieties.

The author first wrote about the octopus Athena in her piece “Deep Intellect” in Orion magazine in 2011, and this book introduces us not only to Athena, but also to Octavia, Kali and Karma, and their various personalities.

Like the author, I learned that I've "been using the incorrect plural of octopus all these years..."

I knew little about octopuses-- not even that the scientifically correct plural is not octopi, as I had always believed (it turns out you can’t put a Latin ending-- i -- on a word derived from Greek, such as octopus).

And I learned that the power of an octopus is mindblowing…

A giant octopus-- the largest of the world’s 250 or so octopus species-- can easily overpower a person. Just one of a big male’s three-inch-diameter suckers can lift 30 pounds, and a giant Pacific octopus has 1600 of them. An octopus bite can inject a neurotoxic venom as well as saliva that has the ability to dissolve flesh.

Octopus are viewed as frightening enigmas, or even as ugly and disgusting creatures, but the author helps the reader to see their beauty. At one point, she writes of a time that she was standing with the aquarium’s other visitors and observing the octopus Octavia. Some teenage girls were disparaging the aging octopus absorbed in the care of her eggs, and the author engaged the girls through education about Octavia’s anatomy and behavior, but then there was a moment that the girls could identify with, and eventually the girls’ attitudes toward Octavia turned around.

They don’t want to hear how Octavia is different from us. They want to know how we’re the same.

My final word: The author successfully shows that octopuses are so much more than what we typically think. Their behavior is sometimes reminiscent of a pet dog, seeking human interaction and their tactile natures touching and tasting their human companions. The author succeeded in affecting me, and not only making me recommit to never eating octopus or their cousin the squid, but it made me begin to doubt my ability to continue to eat seafood at all. The consciousness of even fish like grouper is phenomenal and at times unsettling. Tender and amusing stories of starfish and anemones had me shaking my head in amazement. I adored this book, and it left me yearning to make the acquaintance of an octopus, envious of others who have been so blessed.

Buy Now:
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
IndieBound

My Rating:

Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book to review through Netgalley and the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof, and quotes could differ from the final release.

QUICK REVIEW: Shaggy Dog Eats by Christy Bright

Synopsis

Now you can make your own healthy dog treats without spending a fortune. All the recipes in this book have been developed and made in my very own kitchen. There is a recipe for every special taste and sensitivity. Also, most of the ingredients can be modified. Have some fun and play around. Your four-legged friends will thank you.

Most of these recipes are fast and easy to make. They also make great gifts and are perfect for bake sales raising money for animal rescue organizations.

A portion from every sale of this book will support animal rescue.

Hardcover, 56 pages
Published December 1st 2014 by Beachbrights Publishing (first published November 19th 2014)
ISBN 0990985601 (ISBN13: 9780990985600)


My Thoughts

This is a brief book of only 56 pages. There is no introduction, no text aside from the recipes, and few photos.

The recipes are very simple to follow. Some are super easy, like "No Bake Treats", which only has three easy-to-find ingredients and no baking required. Some may be more complicated, like the "Celebration Cake" for special canine celebrations, and some may have harder-to-find ingredients, like rice flour.

I made the No Bake Treats, which are just peanut butter, milk (I used almond milk) and oats. The pups love them!

This is a good book for simple homemade dog treats. Nothing fancy and wholesome ingredients.


Buy Now:

Barnes and Noble
Amazon

My Rating:

 

Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book to review through Netgalley and the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.

REVIEW: Decoding Your Dog by American College of Veterinary Behaviorists

Synopsis

More than ninety percent of dog owners consider their pets to be members of their family. But often, despite our best intentions, we are letting our dogs down by not giving them the guidance and direction they need. Unwanted behavior is the number-one reason dogs are relinquished to shelters and rescue groups.

The key to training dogs effectively is first to understand why our dogs do what they do. And no one can address this more authoritatively than the diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Behavior, whose work, the culmination of years of rigorous training, takes them deep into the minds of dogs in an effort to decode how they think, how they communicate, and how they learn.

In Decoding Your Dog, these experts analyze problem behaviors, decipher the latest studies, and correct common misconceptions and outmoded theories. The book includes:

• Effective, veterinary-approved positive training methods
• Expert advice on socialization, housetraining, diet, and exercise
• Remedies for behavior problems such as OCD and aggression

With Decoding Your Dog the experts’ experts deliver a must-have dog behavior guide that ultimately challenge the way we think about our dogs.
  
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published January 7th 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN  0547738919 (ISBN13: 9780547738918)


My Thoughts

This book was written by veterinary behaviorists, who understand both a dog's psychology and it's anatomy and natural behavior. These are the guys that dog trainers learn from. They are called "diplomates".

This book is filled with good tips on dealing with specific issues, like how to introduce children to dogs, and how to teach them the proper way to interact with dogs. And how to deal with fear and aggression in dogs, and even otherwise mundane but highly difficult things like how to get your dog to allow you to brush its teeth. It includes example stories of purportedly real-life scenarios between owners and their dogs to help explain what went wrong between owner and dog, and what the owner could have done differently.

The book talks about the trouble with people misreading a dog’s body language. For example, people often mistake “guilt” in dogs, thinking that when they do something and look “guilty”, it shows they know they did something wrong. However they actually are simply submitting and relaying “I surrender”, because they know that the circumstances that seem to make you angry exist, but not that they are to blame for those circumstances. Such as a dog that has an accident in the house. It knows you get angry when that mess is on the floor, but it doesn’t associate the fact that it caused that mess that is making you angry.

Scientific studies of dog behavior have demonstrated that domestic dogs do not try to form hierarchies with humans. Most aggression directed toward humans occurs because the dog is anxious or afraid and is attempting to ward off something or someone that she sees as threatening to her safety.

...the dangerous consequence of the dominance myth is that owners try to physically dominate their dog in an attempt to change the dog’s behavior. This “solution” is likely to cause the exact opposite of the result they want. A recent study by veterinary behaviorist Dr. Meghan Herron found that confrontational techniques are, in fact, more likely to escalate aggression, resulting in more dog bites to owners.

It boils down to this: Whatever the dog wants, don’t give it away for free. Don’t open the door just because the dog paws at it, don’t throw the ball just because he barks at you. For those countless other privileges, ask the dog to say “please” first by doing something like sitting quietly. The benefits of this approach are many. For one thing, good manners become part of everyday routines rather than something the dog is asked to do only in social training situations. Your dog also learns a degree of impulse, but rather stopping to consider alternative options, can be rewarding.

A highly intelligent dog can be very draining for the average family, because it is not always easy to stay one step ahead of her.

Unfortunately I only got about halfway through this book before it expired (I got it through Netgalley), but what I did read was chock full of great information. This would be a great addition to the library of any dog lover!


Buy Now:

Barnes and Noble
Amazon


My Rating:

Disclosure:

I received a copy of this ebook to review through Netgalley and the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. 

REVIEW: The Story of Moses by Jennifer Talbot Ross

Synopsis

From surviving the wilds of the Texas Hill Country to a devastating battle with cancer, this is the story of Moses -- a beautiful, big, white dog who, from all indications, began his life as a livestock guard dog on a ranch in Texas (as do many dogs of his breed, the Great Pyrenees). Moses was taken in by a pet rescue group after having wandered onto a ranch in central Texas...homeless. After a few short months in foster care, Moses found his forever family and the road to immortality through their love and devotion. 

In an authentic voice, the author tells the story of her beloved dog, Moses. Fate brought them together and something terrible ended their story far too soon. The Story of Moses recounts how Moses gained celebrity with friends, neighbors and strangers and earned the love and trust of both his human and four-legged family. As Moses illness is discovered and advances, life unravels like a loose thread in a well-worn sweater.

But, Moses' story is much, much more. It is the story of joy and hope and sorrow. It is the story of the wonderful dogs that came before, opening the door for Moses to walk through. It is the story of those left to remember and cherish. It is the story of survival in the midst of great loss-- of loving again, sheltering again, and living in the moment. It is knowing that, however painful, love remains and is the ultimate blessing.

The cast is a rich tableau of canine characters. There's Cleopatra, the first matriarch who won the author's heart and whose story is one of intelligence and grace and love. The story continues to unfold with Odin -- a fiercely loyal and protective dog whose will could not be broken and who loved Cleo immeasurably and grieved deeply and hauntingly through her loss. Odin was a mountain of a dog whose passing left a big hole in the lives of his owners and provided the impetus behind the search that led to Moses. Moses and his 'siblings' Bess, Samantha and Pax provide the next generation of antics and challenges in which Moses shines through with strength, willfulness and gentleness unmatched - a true, gentle giant. Though Moses' life ended tragically, his loving spirit lives on.

The book celebrates the individuality, intelligence and unconditional love of man's best friend. The book also dispels the myth of shelter and rescue dogs being undesirables while frankly exploring the pain and sorrow of loss and the soothing balm of trusted companions.

Animal lovers will delight in the stories of the amazing dogs that grace the pages and empathize over the ruthless destruction of canine cancer. Readers looking from the outside in who have not yet experienced the joy of pet ownership may well find themselves moved to do so.

About the Author

Jennifer Ross is a professional in the hospitality technology industry. she has been a dog owner and lover all her life and comes from a family that bread and raised German Shepherd show dogs. This is her first literary work. Currently she lives near Fort Worth, Texas, with her husband and three dogs-- Bess, Samantha and Pax.

10% of the Author's royalties are donated to pet rescue.

My Thoughts

This book is all heart. Author Jennifer Ross introduces us to her canine companions, one by one, sharing all of their little quirks and idiosyncrasies-- the full breadth of their individual personalities. When all is said and done, we are carried on an emotional journey of animal ownership and companionship, and the heartbreak of loss.

Anyone who has had a dog can identify with the laughter, frustration, heartbreak and pure bliss that they bring to your life, and this book is full of it all. Charming!


My Rating: 8 out of 10

I received a copy of this book to review from the author, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.