I’ve read four books since we last talked, book‑loving friends, and I haven’t heard from anyone lately. Am I the only one on a reading frenzy this summer?
Since you’re stuck with my reviews and recommendations, I’ve got a thing or two to say about dog books. You know, the ones that break your heart and scar you for life. Which is, frankly, every dog book ever written.
I just finished Alaska Sourdough: The Story of Slim Williams by Richard Morenus. I had previously read Crazy White Man by the same author, recommended to me by a North Shore Reading Roundup reader, and I wasn’t ready to be done with Morenus yet.
Slim Williams was an adventure from start to finish. It’s a true story of a stubborn, resourceful Alaskan sourdough who traveled thousands of miles by dogsled, crossing wilderness, rivers, and bureaucratic nonsense with equal grit. It’s a portrait of early‑20th‑century frontier life and the kind of man who simply refused to quit.
The only bone I have to pick with this incredible true story is how many sled dogs died in these pages. My heart broke so many times at the danger, stupidity, and sometimes cruelty of the era. I’ve never read a book where so many dogs perished. I might have given up halfway through if I wasn’t so enamored with the adventure.
I’ve read many dog books in my life and I almost always regret it. Why are authors so cruel? Last year I read The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, a tale of dog breeders and a retelling of Hamlet. One of the dogs lands into an Ophelia-ish role, though she’s named something different. And we all know what happened to Ophelia. I nearly wrote the author an angry letter for breaking my heart into so many pieces.
Marley and Me, A Dog’s Purpose, The Art of Racing in the Rain… all the way back to Old Yeller. I’m tearing up for all these dead dogs just thinking about it.
Maybe I should stick to whodunits, like Missing Pieces by Heather Gudenkauf, which I finished this week. I picked it up at a fundraising event for Brimson Strong, a rummage‑sale bag sale that raised money for those affected by last year’s wildfires. I saw the main character’s name was Sarah and put it straight in my bag. Debbie’s name is inscribed on the title page. If you’re out there, Debbie, let me know what you thought of the book!
Missing Pieces follows a woman returning to her husband’s hometown after a family emergency, only to uncover long‑buried secrets about a decades‑old murder. What I thought was: I couldn’t guess who did it! It moved fast, and though there may have been some lazy plot work, I read it overnight just to see the culprit. I handed it to my mom, whose name is now under mine and Debbie’s. She read it just as quickly, and the book is in the hands of my BFF who, I’m sure, will read it just as fast.
We (mom and I, not Debbie) also read The Divorce by Freida McFadden. I’ve read others by McFadden that I appreciated more. This one made me squirm a little. The main character thinks she’s living a perfect love story until her husband throws her out, hires top divorce lawyers, and moves on with a younger woman. Devastated, she begins to fixate on the new girlfriend. As curiosity twists into obsession, the story becomes something much darker. It was good at being twisty turny, but I had anxiety the whole time. I was happy to read it quickly and be done with it.
Same with my next pick, Elin Hilderbrand’s Nantucket Nights. I thought it would be a light romance to clean my palate after The Divorce, but it was not that. The book follows three friends whose annual beach tradition goes sideways, revealing secrets, betrayals, and consequences that ripple through their families. I’ve read other Hilderbrands I liked better. I felt uncomfortable and wanted to shake the characters and say, “Would you knock it off?” But somehow, in the end, when I saw the story as a whole, I valued it more. I’m still glad to be done with it.
North Shore Readers, help contribute to North Shore Reading Roundup! Tell me, what dog book broke your heart? What do you do when you’re halfway through a book and not sure you want to finish it? Or tell me anything else about books. What you’re reading, what you abandoned, what you loved, what you didn’t. Write to sarahwritesnsj@yahoo.com. You can remain anonymous if you’d prefer.
