(We’ll be posting the stories the next two days so you have a chance to read them. Then we’ll put up a poll on Thursday so you can vote!)

Among our many, many pets over the years, Jenny was the dog who touched my heart the most with her devotion. We got her when she was one and we had her for 13 more years. As with most of our animals, she was with a family who couldn’t keep her anymore. We took her sight unseen and when they arrived we saw a beautiful, long-haired, pure white, German Shepherd climb out of their car. She was so pretty and so large! We fell in love instantly. Even our cocker spaniel Boo accepted her. She was so gentle to our young children and to our smaller dog. All of them climbed on her and used her for a pillow. She attached to me immediately and became my girl. She followed me everywhere, wagging her tail. Every night she waited for me to go upstairs and slept on the floor next to my bed.

It seemed so sudden when she began to slow down. Her soft hair became more brittle, she started to lose teeth and her eyesight began to fade. She became more skittish and was afraid of loud noises and thunderstorms. Perhaps the hardest ailment was when her back legs began to weaken from arthritis. She still insisted on coming upstairs with me every night even when I knew it caused her pain. Eventually I tried to make her a bed in my son’s room on the first floor. She wouldn’t have to climb and she would still be close to someone at night. She refused and continued to follow me. Before too long it became so bad that she could only do the stairs one at a time. That wasn’t easy for her, especially with the bend in our staircase. I followed behind with my hand on her back so she wouldn’t slide backwards. She made it every time still wagging her tail. While it was hard going up it wasn’t easy coming down either. After the curve, her size and momentum would make her speed down the last 8 steps. Fearing an injury, I would walk backward down the stairs in front of her with my hands on her soft chest. After she made the turn I would use my weight to hold her back and slow her down. Together we made it down every morning.

When she developed a large tumor we knew it was bad. Knowing this was probably our last trip I had my kids and my husband say goodbye. I took her to the animal hospital and we sat in the waiting room, me petting her head and she wagging her tail. The vet told me that it was probably cancer and it was likely that she had more tumors. He could do tests and surgery but she was old. He didn’t recommend it and I didn’t want it. I told him that I knew it was time. He left the room so I could say goodbye. I wasn’t allowed to be with her at the end. I sat on the floor and hugged her close, rubbing her ears. I told her I loved her and would miss her terribly. I thanked her for coming to us and joining our family and I apologized to her for not being with her when she left. When the vet returned he let me say more good-byes and then he slipped off her collar and put on his leash. I hugged her again and I cried. As he took her away she was wagging her tail.

We have three dogs now – a cocker spaniel, golden retriever and chocolate lab. We adore them all and spoil them rotten. Allie and Cassie are young and Boo is now old. He is losing his sight and can’t hear well. He follows me everywhere and waits for me at night. He sleeps by my side of the bed. He doesn’t have a tail but he wags that little stump. Although I dread what is coming that’s part of the package. As much as it hurts it’s worth the love and everything good that we gain. I will always have a pet and they will always have me.

About the Book: Silicon Valley: the eccentric inventor of a new encryption application is murdered in an apparent drug deal. Istanbul: a cynical undercover operative receives a frantic call from his estranged brother, a patent lawyer who believes he’ll be the next victim. And on the sun-drenched slopes of Sand Hill Road, California’s nerve center of money and technology, old family hurts sting anew as two brothers who share nothing but blood and bitterness wage a desperate battle against a faceless enemy.

Alex Treven has sacrificed everything to achieve his sole ambition: making partner in his high-tech law firm. But then the inventor of a technology Alex is banking on is murdered, the patent examiner who reviewed the innovation dies–and Alex himself narrowly escapes an attack in his own home. Off balance, out of ideas, and running out of time, he knows that the one person who can help him is the last person he’d ever ask: his brother.

Ben Treven is a military liaison element, an elite undercover soldier paid to “find, fix, and finish” high-value targets in the United States global war on terror.

Disenchanted with what he sees as America’s culture of denial and decadence, Ben lives his detached life in the shadows because the black ops world is all he really knows–and because other than Alex, whom he hasn’t spoken to since their mother died, his family is long gone.

But blood is thicker than water, and when Ben receives Alex’s frantic call he hurries to San Francisco to help him. Only then does Alex reveal that there’s another player who knows of the technology: Sarah Hosseini, a young Iranian American lawyer whom Alex has long secretly desired–and whom Ben immediately distrusts. As these three struggle to identify the forces attempting to silence them, Ben and Alex are forced to examine the events that drove them apart–even as Sarah’s presence, and her own secret yearnings, deepens the fault line between them.

My Review: This is my first novel by Barry Eisler, but he has a pretty extensive backlist. This book is a classic thriller and quite the pageturner. In this novel, Eisler brings together two brothers with very different lifestyles to fight an enemy. Alex is the “good” brother. He became a lawyer and is hoping to make a significant career leap by bringing a new security program to his firm. The day they are supposed to present the program, however the inventor disappears.

Ben is his brother who enlisted in the military and is an assassin. Alex turns to him for help when he fears his own life is in danger.

While the thriller part of this story is interesting, the more interesting part of the book to me was the conflict between the two brothers as they both grapple with the life decisions they’ve made. There are quick examinations of politics and how far is too far, and how everyone sleeps at night.

A quick read, but not without some interesting explorations. Please note there is some profanity and sexually explicit scenes.

I received this book through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program, but the book will be available to all on March 10, 2009.

Randy Singer is one of our favorite authors! He writes fantastic legal thrillers dealing with interesting issues. So we were really excited to hear about this opportunity:

Beginning today (January 12), readers will have an opportunity to determine the verdict in Randy’s upcoming legal thriller, The Justice Game (Tyndale House, July 2009), which features a court case centered on the gun debate. The verdict voted on by the readers will be written into the story and kept under wraps until the book’s release. This is the first time in recent memory that an author has taken reader involvement and feedback to this level.

“I wanted to do something different and get my readers really involved in the story,” said Singer. “This gives them an opportunity to hear both sides of the national gun debate and gets them thinking. Plus, it adds an element of fun to the book.”

Taking a new approach to the popular book trailer, Singer has produced a short, online video that mimics a cable news report. Featuring real-life talk show host Lorri Allen as the lead news anchor, the video shares the latest updates on the trial at the center of the book interspersed with segments of the closing arguments direct from the courtroom. At the end of the video, viewers are directed to a special section on Singer’s Web site to render their verdict.

You can watch the video and learn more about this fantastic opportunity at Randysinger.net
I can’t wait to find out what everyone else decides! I already voted!

From the back cover:  This sixth volume in Susie Fishbein’s celebrated Kosher by Design cookbook series was crafted with your good health in mind!  Kosher by Design Lightens Up is a gorgeous culinary guide, bursting with easy-to-do ideas for eating and feeling better.  This cookbook teaches healthy cooking techniques through delectable recipes, with special commentary by certified nutritional expert Bonnie Taub-Dix, national spokesperson fo the American Dietetic Association.

Susie says, “These nutritious recipes are easy to integrate into your everyday menus.  If you’re looking to migrate into a better way of eating and living, you’ll find delicious options here.”

*Over 145 brand-new recipes

*Creative new entertaining ideas, including tasting parties, a spritzer bar, and more!

*Healthy approaches to oils, sweeteners, grains flours, nuts, and superfoods

*Tips for smarter supermarket shopping and more efficient kitchen gadgets

*Comprehensive cross-referenced index and nutritional glossary

Kosher by Design Lightens Up is a shift in Fishbein’s approach to bringing simple elegance into kosherhome cooking.  In explaining the swing toward whole grains, healthier oils, less fat and reduced sugars, she said, “Since the original Kosher by Design was published in 2003, I’ve certainly grown as a home cook and my kids have grown.  I was looking to do better by them and so I began investigating and experimenting with healthier foods and cooking methods.  Lightens Up is the homegrown result.”  For expert nutritional advice for Lightens Up, Fishbein recruited certi?ed nutritionist Bonnie Taub-Dix, national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.  A frequent guest on Good Morning America and CNN, with many published articles in the New York Times, the Washington Post, WebMD, and other national publications, Taub-Dix was delighted to be part of the project. “When Susie asked me to collaborate on this book, I jumped at the challenge of combining my love of the science of nutrition with my passion for the art of cooking,” she enthused.  

My Review:  This book will be very helpful with me as I learn to cook for my newly diagnosed with diabetes husband, and as I try to keep off the weight I recently lost.  Susie gives some VERY helpful information, definitions, and explanations about food as well as yummy recipes.  She also has a page giving ideas for helpful gadgets to use in the kitchen and table setting ideas.  This is so much more than just a cookbook!  Here are some pictures of recipes I plan to try.

Product Description
A hard cover childrens book about a father and daughter spending a day together hiking in the hills around their town. With no distractions, a bond can be built between a father and a daughter that can last a lifetime. This book embodies those moments that can stay with children for their entire lives

My Review: This is a very cute book.  Dad picks up his little girl after school and they go on a date and visit the beach.  The dog, Beegee comes along.  The three of them play in the ocean,  build a sand castle, and everything else fun you can do at the beach.  I read this book to my second graders and they loved it.  I think they could relate to it because the author is from San Diego and we also live in Southern California.  I don’t think the students I had in the midwest would relate to this book though.  The book is written with rhyming words and I like that in a book because it leaves room for interaction and prediction. The illustrations by Manuela Pentangelo do a good job supporting the text.  I like the emphasis on father and daughter.  I would like to see more of this!

Product Description: In his 14th book, bestselling author Nicholas Sparks tells the unforgettable story of a man whose brushes with death lead him to the love of his life.

Is there really such thing as a lucky charm? The hero of Nicholas Sparks’s new novel believes he’s found one in the form of a photograph of a smiling woman he’s never met, but who he comes to believe holds the key to his destiny. The chain of events that leads to him possessing the photograph and finding the woman pictured in it is the stuff of love stories only a master such as Sparks can write.

My Review: I always find Nicholas Sparks’ books rather surreal, and this one was no exception.  I will say it was the first one I have finished since Night in Rodanthe (I have all the ones in between as well).  He is a great writer and the story was riveting, just not at all true to life.  The characters are likeable (except the one you are not supposed to like), the setting was great (a dog kennel in rural North Carolina), and the story which was quite romantic was also very engaging. I read it in two days.  I have a problem with the dichotomy of a couple going to a Baptist church also sleeping together.  I don’t know why this is always necessary.  However, I liked this book and recommend it if you are looking for a great and entertaining escape.  I wonder if this one will become a movie?

I (Amy) am trying to listen to more audio books in the new year as a way of squeezing in even more books. I’m almost finished with one, but they will take awhile as my commute to work isn’t that long and that’s the best time for me to listen.

There are elements that I like about audio books…being able to hear another story…and this one seems extra special because it’s read by the author. I do find myself at times having to go back a few minutes because my mind has wandered.

Do you listen to audio books? If so, what do you find to be the difference between reading and listening to a book? Are there certain types of books you’d prefer to listen to? If you don’t listen to them, why not? And do you have any recommendations for good books on audio?

From the back cover:  Some secrets just won’t stay buried.  When strange bones surface on a U.S. senator’s property, the FBI enlists forensic entomologist Nick Polchak to investigate the forgotten graveyard.  Polchak’s orders are simple:  figure out the mess. 

But Polchak, known as the “Bug Man” because of his knowledge of insects and their interaction with the dead senses darker secrets buried beneath the soil.  Secrets that could derail the senator’s presidential bid.  Secrets buried in the history of a quaint Virginia town.  Secrets someone is willing to kill to protect.  With the help of a mysterious local woman named Alena and her uncanny cadaver dogs.  Polchak sets out to dig up the truth.  But with a desperate killer hot on his trail, he’ll be lucky to wind up anything less than dead.

My review:  Again Downs has a winner.  Nick Polchak is such an endearing character – brilliant, yet sarcastic and funny.  This book was a real page-turner.  I could hardly put it down.  I think because we are in the midst of a presidential campaign and one of the characters in the story was a presidential candidate, the story was timely and brought to mind how what you perceive to be true may not be true at all.  Alena, her amazing dogs and her unconventional lifestyle truly endeared herself to me.  Downs does a great job developing characters – many times they are people you “know” or would like to know.  The mystery keeps you guessing right up until the end.  Nick’s life is constantly in danger and he is willing to take risk after risk in pursuit of truth.  There are some twists and unexpected surprises along the way and right up until the end, which of course, make me anxious for the next installment of The Bug Man.  This book is clean yet contains all the elements of suspense and mystery that I love.  Keep the books coming, Mr. Downs!

Product Description
As John Baxter makes plans to marry Elaine, one of the Baxters enters into the most trying season of all. During a time of renewed love and hope for the future, the Baxters try to come together to establish the sacred ground of marriage and to chart a course for the future. Memories of times gone by meet with the changes of today in a story that proves only the support of faith and family can take a person into the sunset years of life.

My Review: This is the last book of many books of the Baxter Family.  Whew!  Never fear dieheart fans – I read that these characters will make some visits in future Kingsbury books, so don’t fear withdrawal.

I don’t want to ruin this book for you, but it was, in my opinion rather weak.  The ending was happy and most of the loose ends were tied up – no huge surprises.  I think it’s time for this series to end, although I do feel like I know the Baxters.  I do not, however, know anyone LIKE the Baxters.  The same Scripture verses are used repeatedly throughout the series.  I think this is one reason I like the Baxter series; that is, it is somewhat realistic and God always answers prayers the way we feel He should.  I will continue to read Karen Kingsbury books – they draw out deep emotion in me and provide a positive escape.  I enjoy the nice, sweet story.  I recommend this book, it’s a good ending to a long series.

With the release of the movie Marley & Me this past Christmas, we thought it would be fun to do a special little Marley & Me Giveaway!

Here’s what you’ll get if you win:

Plus the mass market edition of the original book! (the one with the movie cover.)

We’re going to have a little fun with this contest! To enter, please write a short story about your favorite pet that you’ve ever had. It should be at least five sentences long, but the longer the better. If you have a picture, go ahead and send that along too! Entries should be sent to thefriendlybooknookATgmailDOTcom. We’ll post our five favorite entries (assuming we get that many!) and then let you vote on the winner!

This contest will be open until Januaray 12th at midnight. I hope you’ll enter…I think we could use some animal love around here.