Pure Joy: The Dogs We Love by Danielle Steel

In this funny, lovely, moving memoir, Danielle Steel tells the story of how she met a dog the size of a mouse with a personality that could light up an entire room. From Minnie’s arrival at home in San Francisco to clothes-shopping jaunts in Paris, her adventures provide the perfect backdrop for a heartfelt look at the magic that dogs bring to our lives and howthey become part of the family.

We meet Steel’s childhood pug, James; and Elmer, the bassethound who was steadfastly at her side in her struggling days as a young writer. We also meet Sweet Pea – unveiled in a Tiffany box for a dog-loving husband – andall those lucky dogs who shared a household of nine children, other canines,and one potbellied pig. As Steel reflects on the beloved pets who have brought joy – and sometimes chaos – to her home through the years, she also shares her thoughts on the trials and tribulations of bringing a new dog into a household,the challenges of housebreaking and compatibility, and the losses we feel forever.

Filled with colorful characters (human and otherwise), delightful photographs, practical wisdom drawn from long experience, and brimming with warmth and insight on every page, Pure Joy is a love letter to this special relationship – and one of the most charming books yet fromthe incomparable Danielle Steel.

Thoughts
I LOVE animals, especially dogs and cats, so I knew as soon as I saw this book that I’d be getting a copy.

This book is filled with the love that Danielle Steel (and her family) has for dogs. She has had a lot of dogs over the years, even a lot at one time. She and her husband had their own as did all of her children. She shares many stories from them and they are full of every emotion a person has when they love a dog. They bring us so much happiness, laughter, companionship, and comfort. And when we lose one it is a tremendous ache that, for me, never goes away. I still miss all the dogs I’ve lost over the years, especially my childhood dog (an American Eskimo) and Patches (my soulmate dog) who I lost in 2015.

I enjoyed reading (listening) to this book and learned some things that I didn’t know, like the do’s and don’ts when flying with a dog, which I will probably never do but I enjoyed learning about.

I’ve been a fan of Danielle Steel books since the early 70’s and I loved getting to know the dog lover behind the books. I’ve read some reviews that stated this book wasn’t what they expected compared to her other books, but you have to remember this isn’t fiction, it’s a memoir about her life with dogs. I think anyone who loves dogs or animals in general will enjoy it.

This book is funny, touching, and also sad at times. I loved it!

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley

Sometimes all you need is one person to really see you.

Piper Parrish’s life on Frick Island—a tiny, remote town smack in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay—is nearly perfect. Well, aside from one pesky detail: Her darling husband, Tom, is dead. When Tom’s crab boat capsized and his body wasn’t recovered, Piper, rocked to the core, did a most peculiar thing: carried on as if her husband was not only still alive, but right there beside her, cooking him breakfast, walking him to the docks each morning, meeting him for their standard Friday night dinner date at the One-Eyed Crab. And what were the townspeople to do but go along with their beloved widowed Piper?

Anders Caldwell’s career is not going well. A young ambitious journalist, he’d rather hoped he’d be a national award-winning podcaster by now, rather than writing fluff pieces for a small town newspaper. But when he gets an assignment to travel to the remote Frick Island and cover their boring annual Cake Walk fundraiser, he stumbles upon a much more fascinating tale: an entire town pretending to see and interact with a man who does not actually exist. Determined it’s the career-making story he’s been needing for his podcast, Anders returns to the island to begin covert research and spend more time with the enigmatic Piper—but he has no idea out of all the lives he’s about to upend, it’s his that will change the most.

Thoughts
When I first read the synopsis for this book I thought “Wow, that’s different, I want to read it!”, so I got a copy of the audio and patiently waited until it moved up my tbr list. It was SO worth the wait!

I loved everything about this book. The storyline was creative and very different from anything I’ve ever read. Each character was well written and played an important role in the book. There wasn’t one character that I didn’t like. Yes, I liked some more than others, but they were all very interesting.

The book led me to believe that the story was going in one direction, but nope, it went somewhere else. I loved that, it kept me engaged in the story, trying to figure it out.

The ending wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was very close. And after thinking about it, I decided it was an ending that could make it possible for a book #2. I would love that!

This was the perfect book to bring me out of my last reading slump. I’d recommend this to all my book loving friends!