two books with dogs in them, two without

Last week, I read The Hidden Life of Dogs by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas. Thomas also wrote Tribe of Tiger: Cats and Their Culture which I read and enjoyed a while back, thanks to an_gadhar. I really liked this book, which she had written earlier on. As a non-dog person, I found it interesting, and it made me feel as though I understand a little bit better what is important to dogs. Three stars.

This week, I read Strangers in Paradise: Sanctuary by Terry Moore et al. I think I should have stopped with Immortal Enemies. I liked where that ended. This one - is more murky. The flashing forward and backward in time just confused me. And there was a cliffhanger quality to it. (The dog in this book is the indomitable Muffins, companion to Francie's mom.) Two stars.

This week, I also read Coyote Dreams by CE Murphy, third in her popular Walker Papers series. I didn't think this book was as strong as the previous two, although it was certainly engaging. My sense of "unfairness" for the main character was invoked in a few places - she's way too hard on herself, and the people around her mostly don't seem to help. Three stars.

This morning, I finished Once Upon Stilettos by Shanna Swendson. This book is the sequel to Enchanted, Inc where the main character finds out that her superpower is immunity to magic, and gets a job based on same. I thought it was well-plotted, and it wasn't as "cutesy" as the first book. I'm looking forward to reading the third in the series, Damsel Under Stress. Four stars.

easy vegetarian walnut pate

This afternoon I was meeting 7j in the park for a picnic lunch, lunch provided by moi. I realized that what I desperately wanted to serve was pear sandwiches with greens, brie, and walnut pate.

I soon discovered that Pemberton Farms does not carry walnut pate. Not to be discouraged, I decided I would make it myself. I looked at some recipes online, but they weren't what I wanted - long ingredients lists, tons of dairy, tofu, or meat, long preparation times - so I decided I would just do it the way that I thought made sense, and if it didn't work out, so be it.

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This was terrific. Especially awesome in the sandwich mentioned above.

a movie everyone should see...

is The Host. It's completely unlike any other movie I have EVER seen. It is a horror movie, true, but it is touching and funny and gritty and realistic and even a little bit political. The characters are great, the dialogue will make you laugh out loud, and the monster is terrific. Seriously. See it. Even if you need to cover your eyes in a few places, it'll be worth it.

However, I am unable to recommend it as a first-date movie.