Book Review of My (not so) Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella

Way back in high school, I discovered British Chick Lit. The first author I found whose works I enjoyed in this category was Jane Green. I don't even recall how I came across Jemima J, but I loved it. A few books later, someone saw me reading a Jane Green novel and said, "If you like her stuff, you should check out Sophie Kinsella." So, I did. And they were right.

I actually haven't read and loved a Sophie Kinsella book in quite a while. I didn't enjoy Finding Audrey, and I feel like the Shopaholic series has gotten completely out of control. In fact, the last Sophie Kinsella book I fell head over heels for was Remember Me. I'm pleased to say that My (not so) Perfect Life reminded me of Remember Me in all the best ways! I was lucky enough to get to read it now because I was given a free ARC from Shelf Awareness. Though I don't feel the cover accurately represents the book as well as it could, I'm quite keen on the verdant green cover.

Katie Brenner is a farmgirl struggling to live within her means in London while working at the lowest rung of a PR graphic design firm and posing as a confident up-and-coming businesswoman. She's talented and eager to learn, yet never truly seen for her abilities or potential by Demeter, her boss. Demeter appears to live a shiny, perfect life, which Katie envies greatly, but Katie (and almost everyone else) is only privy to Demeter's public face. Katie finds a bit of escapism in the form of an Instagram account more filtered than Evian water, where she posts pictures of food she can't afford to eat and places she was too stressed out to enjoy as if they were accurate representations of her London lifestyle. When Katie's dad and stepmom want to turn the family farm into a glamping business, Katie is given a chance to lend her understanding of chic urbanites' vacation desires and keen graphic design skills to the cause, in a much-needed fusion of her city mouse/country mouse personas.

My (not so) Perfect Life deals with issues that will ring true with many readers. In today's age of social media, who doesn't either reframe her own life to seem more idyllic for public consumption, or know somebody who does? Kinsella also writes humorously about basic girls' trendy obsessions with Goop, and buzzwords like "organic," "gluten-free," "authentic," and "artisanal."

This is a must-read for any fan of British Chick Lit! It comes out on February 7th, 2017.

Book Review of The Secret Language of Dogs by Victoria Stilwell

As a member of a family with our first pet, whom we've had for four years now, I feel we still have much to learn about animals in general, and dogs specifically. So, I always jump at the chance to read non-fiction books about dogs and the way they communicate and process the world. Thus, I requested a free review copy of The Secret Language of Dogs by Victoria Stilwell from Blogging For Books.

Its strengths are the conversational tone in which Stilwell explains what could be presented as page after page of dry scientific facts, the plentiful and adorable photos of dogs, and the diagrams, which are easy to read and understand. Additionally, the material is broken down into small sections, usually a couple of pages long at the most, making it ideal for readers to take in facts on one subtopic at a time, process it, and apply it for use in his or her own communication with dogs.

Its weaknesses are that there's another book (published by author Heather Dunphy) with the exact same title, and that Stilwell's concise chapters don't end with concrete guidance for dog owners. I'd suggest a short list of bullet-pointed action recommendations and tips to try. This style of information presentation is used successfully several times in the book when describing dogs and their behavior, but could provide some more clear guidelines for readers. Also, one of the topics I was most interested in was Separation Distress. Stilwell spent less than a page on it, explaining how the dog is processing fear of separation and that it shouldn't be dismissed, but giving no clear action plan for me  to take for managing or reducing separation distress. I'm not reading this book merely to learn about my dog, but also to learn how I can help her, and I feel like Stilwell totally failed in giving me tips on how to do that with regard to separation distress.

All in all, I'm very meh about this book. Reading it was quick and easy, and enjoying the cute dog pictures was fun, but it displayed a serious lack of understanding with regard to what dog owners are looking for in such a book. I now know what my dog is trying to say with her behavior, but in most instances covered by the book, I still have no idea what Stilwell's suggestions would be for a response from me to each of those behaviors. That said, I'm not sure The Secret Language of Dogs by Victoria Stilwell is worth paying cover price.