Dog is My Co-Pilot: Great Writers on the World's Oldest Friendship, from the Editors of The Bark (magazine) has been out for years but I am just now getting around to reading it. I subscribe(d) to The Bark, and the last issue just came out, (very sad) so I thought I'd read this to remember many of the articles they have published. I especially like that they got permission from the author of God is my Co-Pilot to use this spin for their title. (He loved it). As with all collections some I loved, some I didn't but it's fun to have that sort of choice! There are companion dogs, and rescue dogs, and how dogs have made an impact on lives ... and one, written from some time ago, where the author (female, single, with a dog) was told that by having a dog it meant she was ready to get married and have a baby! She was puzzled because if a single man had a dog, well, that was just a 'dog is man's best friend thing. An interesting collection.

I always feel a bit sorry for the 'next' book after reading something wonderful by a new or favorite author and will try for something completely different, one that might fit with my 'you read WHAT?' blog from a few years ago. This time it was Fashion Climbing: a Memoir, by Bill Cunningham. Published after Mr. Cunningham's death, it was found, completely written and ready to go. From a very young boy (he was caught, at age four or five in his sister's clothes), he had an interest in fabric, color, texture ... This did not go over well with his Boston, conservative, religious family. (His Mom once beat him severely). They tried sending him to trade school but he learned he liked making beautiful and delicate designs in wood, or iron. He served in the military ... and ended up exactly where he wanted to be, in Paris (he spoke French). He loved making hats, unique, one of a kind hats, but when that fashion statement dried up, he turned to photography, and was amazing at it. What impressed me here was that no matter what life dished out, he took it and ran with it. A most interesting read about a most interesting man.

There are lots of small towns here in the Pacific Northwest, each with it's own unique history and, of course, stories! Some are almost mythical ... so that's what author Dorothy Wilhelm set out to clear up! She visits the town, hears the story, then searches out the real story. True Tales of Puget Sound was a great, fun read! Mannikins, set out to attract business, took on a special life (they married, bought a house, had a kid). A moose won in a local election. The best pies in the world had a special ingredient, which the baker was happy to share. Great pictures, hard to put down.

Reading Hermit With Dog