I approach books about animals, and especially service animals, cautiously, after all, there is a big chance for tears (at least for this reader). While there were some of those moments in Secret Service Dogs: the Heroes Who Protect the President of the United States: by Maria Goodavage, for the most part it was about the training and the actual work these amazing teams do. (Note I said 'for the most part'). Be sure to read about the Friendly Dog Project (aka the Floppy-Eared Dog program), they perform a very special service!

As much as I love Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books, I've not enjoyed some of his other books ... until now. Tall Reader (who feels the same way) brought over My Italian Bulldozer this past weekend and said "read this!!" I did, and it was good! It starts with the end of a relationship, a manuscript that needs to be finished, and a shady car rental employee. The result is a trip to Italy and the vehicle mentioned in the title. Nice bits of humor, lovely descriptions of the countryside, and a few life lessons learned.

Do you enjoy crosswords? Did you ever wonder how they came about, or when the first one was published? Did you know there is a difference in clues depending on where the puzzle was created? I found the answers to be most interesting! Read The Cross Word Century: 100 Years of Witty Wordplay, Ingenious Puzzles, and Linguistic Mischief, by Alan Connor.

Reading Hermit With Dog