Friday, December 6, 2019

Dear Abby - Dachshund Memes and Pictures

Dear Friends,

I hope you are having a good week. I've looked forward to chatting with you again after my Thanksgiving break!  (Although I hear there is a Christmas break coming up before too long here!)  

Today I thought I would share a few dachshund memes and pictures with you.  A couple of these are ones I shared on the Doxieposse Pals page (Facebook) and there are some new ones that I've found web surfing as well.  (I love to look for dachshund pictures online!)

I like this dachshund's face and hope someone does buy him a bone!


I am not too sure about spiders either.  This looks like a good idea!


Aww! This makes me happy.
 


Oops!  Good thing we don't really get school pictures.
 

Dachshund sleep positions.  If you have a dog, which position does he or she sleep in?  I am a side sleeper, so I would pick C or E.



Now THIS is a silly dog.  I love going to bed at night!



I hope you enjoyed these little pictures.  I'll be back with more fun next week!

Love,

Abby xoxoxo

Book Review and Giveaway - Stay by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Book Synopsis
An unforgettable novel about the power of friendship and kindness by the New York Times bestselling author of Pay It Forward.

In the summer of 1969, fourteen-year-old Lucas Painter carries a huge weight on his shoulders. His brother is fighting in Vietnam. His embattled parents are locked in a never-ending war. And his best friend, Connor, is struggling with his own family issues. To find relief from the chaos, Lucas takes long, meandering walks, and one day he veers into the woods.

There he discovers an isolated cabin and two huge dogs. Frightened, he runs. And the dogs run with him. Lucas finds unusual peace in running with the dogs, and eventually he meets their owner, Zoe Dinsmore. Closed off and haunted by a tragic past, Zoe has given up. She doesn’t want to be saved. She wants out. But Lucas doesn’t want her to go, and he sees an opportunity to bring more than one friend back into the light. It’s either the best or worst idea he’s ever had, but Lucas isn’t giving up on Zoe or Connor.

Their unexpected connection might be the saving grace that Zoe thought she’d lost, that Connor needs, and that Lucas has been running toward.



Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble


My Review
Stay is the story of Lucas Painter. One morning in 1969, 14 year old Lucas goes running.  He encounters two big dogs at a remote cabin in the woods.  To his surprise, the dogs run with him.  This leads to Lucas meeting the dogs' owner, Zoe Dinsmore.  Zoe has chosen to live as a virtual hermit because of her tragic past and notoriety.  During the same time, Lucas is concerned about his brother Roy, who is serving in Vietnam, and his best friend Connor, who is battling depression.  This is the story of how one act of kindness sparks another, and another ... and lives are changed.

I wanted to read Stay because of the setting. I love anything related to the 1960's.  I will admit that I also was curious about the dogs in the story!

I'm so glad I picked this book up.  It is really an uplifting, life affirming read, about friendship and kindness and caring for others.  Although this book is marketed for adults, I think it would be a fine young adult read, and I think teens would find this story very powerful.

The author captures small town life in the 1960's perfectly.  The small town setting is very important to the story;  several times news is seen traveling through the gossip grapevine from person to person in this little town.

Lucas is a wonderful character.  He is such a good kid -- kind, compassionate, putting the needs of others first.  I really cared about his story, and about the people he cared about (Zoe, Roy, and Connor) by extension.  I was especially moved by the story of Lucas's brother Roy, and the strong bond between the two brothers.

The author's writing style is simple and direct and immensely appealing.  The book begins:

"Is it just me, or does everybody have a day in their life like the one I'm about to retell?  I'm talking about those days that act like a fulcrum between everything that came before and your brand-new life after" (p. 3).  

The characterization in the book was also strong.  I loved a lot of Zoe's homespun wisdom, like the words she shares with Lucas:

"Look ... Kid.  Believe me or don't.  It's up to you.  But there's a better reason why you can't sit here on the porch for the rest of your life.  Because you can't control other people.   You can't be responsible for somebody else.  Not if it's a fully grown adult human, you can't.  Sooner or later you have to go home, and you know it" (p. 67).

These words, and the message of much of the book, harken back to the idea of the Serenity Prayer, although it is never directly mentioned -- doing what you can, but also knowing when to accept the things you cannot change.

I could go on and on about what a beautiful book this is.  It's one of the most heartwarming, positive books I've read in a long time, and I recommend it highly to other readers.

Author Bio
Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of more than thirty published and forthcoming books. An avid hiker, traveler, equestrian, and amateur photographer, she has released her first book of photos, 365 Days of Gratitude: Photos from a Beautiful World.

Her novel Pay It Forward was adapted into a major motion picture, chosen by the American Library Association (ALA) for its Best Book for Young Adults list, and translated into more than twenty-three languages for distribution in over thirty countries. Both Becoming Chloe and Jumpstart the World were included on the ALA’s Rainbow List, and Jumpstart the World was a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards. Where We Belong won two Rainbow Awards in 2013, and The Language of Hoofbeats won a Rainbow Award in 2015.

More than fifty of her short stories have been published in the Antioch ReviewMichigan Quarterly ReviewVirginia Quarterly ReviewPloughsharesGlimmer Train, and many other journals, and in the anthologies Santa Barbara Stories and California Shorts and the bestselling anthology Dog Is My Co-Pilot. Her stories have been honored in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest and the Tobias Wolff Award and nominated for the O. Henry Award and the Pushcart Prize. Three have been cited in The Best American Short Stories.

She is founder and former president (2000–2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation and still serves on its board of directors. As a professional public speaker, she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with AmeriCorps members at the White House, and shared a dais with Bill Clinton.

 

Connect with Catherine

Website | Facebook | Twitter


Giveaway
One lucky reader will win a copy of Stay.  The giveaway ends at midnight on 12/12/19.  The giveaway is open to U.S. readers, who can enter at the Rafflecopter form below.  The winner will be notified by email, and needs to respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be drawn.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Spotlight and Giveaway - Murder, She Encountered (Murder, She Reported Series) by Peg Cochran

Book Synopsis

A gutsy Manhattan socialite encounters murder and corruption at the World’s Fair in this captivating historical cozy mystery for readers of Victoria Thompson, Susan Elia MacNeal, and Rhys Bowen.

New York City, 1939. A rising star at the Daily Trumpet, Elizabeth “Biz” Adams has been sent to the World’s Fair—billed as the “World of Tomorrow,” a look toward a brighter future even as the drumbeats of war grow louder—to cover a robbery. What she stumbles upon instead is a dead woman, dumped into the Aquacade’s pool with a nylon stocking wrapped around her neck.

Elizabeth snaps a photo as the police arrest Joey Dorman, a gentle young hot dog vendor who made no secret of his obsession with the murder victim. Even though she’s thrilled that her photo makes the front page, the fear and confusion evident on Joey’s face are haunting. So Elizabeth vows to prove his innocence—or his guilt—with her partner at the Daily Trumpet, Ralph Kaminsky. Meanwhile, her romance with Detective Sal Marino is heating up, and Elizabeth is more determined than ever to follow her heart.

But when Kaminsky’s efforts to expose the real killer land him in the hospital, Elizabeth is forced to continue the investigation on her own. And as she tries to narrow down the long list of suspects, she discovers a dark secret running through the Fair—a secret some would kill to protect.

Look for all of Peg Cochran’s delightful mysteries featuring Elizabeth Adams, which can be read together or separately:

MURDER, SHE REPORTED
MURDER, SHE UNCOVERED

Author Bio

Mystery writing lets Peg indulge her curiosity under the guise of “work” (aka research). As a kid, she read the entire set of children’s encyclopedias her parents gave her and has been known to read the dictionary. She put pen to paper at age seven when she wrote plays and forced her cousins to perform them at Christmas dinner. She switched to mysteries when she discovered the perfect hiding place for a body down the street from her house.

When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading, cooking, spoiling her granddaughter and checking her books’ stats on Amazon.

A former Jersey girl, Peg now resides in Michigan with her husband and Westhighland white terrier, Reg. She is the author of the Sweet Nothings Lingerie series (written as Meg London), the Gourmet De-Lite series, the Lucille series, the Cranberry Cove series,   and the Farmer’s Daughter series.

Author Links:
Website – http://www.pegcochran.com/
Newsletter Sign Up –  http://www.pegcochran.com/newsletter-signup.html
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pegcochran
Twitter – https://twitter.com/@pegcochran
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5352603.Peg_Cochran
BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/peg-cochran

Purchase Links:
Amazon    B&N   Kobo  

Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway