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London's No.1 Dog-Walking Agency
London's No.1 Dog-Walking Agency
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Enjoyable easy read (0 more)
Typos (0 more)
Who doesn't love dogs??!!
This book is non-fiction but at times you would think some of the people were made up characters. There are some strange people out there :)
This is Kate MacDougall's account of setting up a dog walking service in London, before anyone else was doing it. She leaves her office job at Sotheby's after knocking over one too many valuable objects and starts off walking one dog.
As the number of dogs increases, she has to bring in other walkers. We hear about some of the dogs, some of the strange owners, the successes and failures of the walkers, and the stages of Kate's life over a period of about ten years.
I found it entertaining, sometimes funny and there is a bit of sadness of course as dogs don't go on forever. Kate's mum is a bit of a hoot with her expectations of how life should go, and Kate's life is chaotically not living up to that.
The dogs are lovely despite some of their issues, the owners are trying their best for their dogs (although some shouldn't have them as they have no clue!), and it is an enjoyable and quick read.
  

"I was on a panel at NYU a few years ago with Larson and enjoyed immensely listening to him talk about his craft. I’m also a Winston Churchill junkie, having recently finished Andrew Roberts’ 800-plus-page juggernaut. But this is a Churchill largely unseen in other works. It focuses on a finite time period as Britain, the last country standing after France falls, desperately tries to not just hang on until Churchill can convince the Yanks to join the fray, but to take the fight to Hitler. Larson has drawn on new material, some just recently released, to build upon the legendary status of a man who did enough during his life to justify three lives. The only historical figure who might have rivaled him in the energy and “nine lives of a cat” persona was Theodore Roosevelt. This book will reinforce many things you might have already known about the Second World War and Churchill’s place in it. But you will also learn many new things about that man and that time period that will compel you to find out more. A thoughtful, at times part funny and horrific, and scintillating read that I would recommend to all."

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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Akin in Books

Oct 2, 2019  
Akin
Akin
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Touching. Witty. Heartbreaking. Emma Donoghue’s latest is all of those and more. This was such a wonderful read that I found myself savoring it, reading only a chapter or so a night, making it last.

Noah is a retired chemistry professor living in New York. His wife, Joan, passed away nearly a decade ago. Noah is originally from France, and he’s finally planned a trip to his birthplace, Nice. But shortly before his trip, he receives a call from social services: he is the only available relative able to take care of Michael, an eleven-year-old great-nephew he’s never even met. Noah reluctantly agrees to take Michael on his trip. This unlikely pair take on Nice together: looking at France through two very different lenses. But Michael’s tech savvy helps Noah as he attempts to unravel some details about his family’s past, and Noah can’t help but see some of his late troubled nephew in this funny, acerbic boy.

I fell hard for Noah and Michael. Donoghue captures them perfectly. Their wit, their banter, and their various insecurities. This book is alternately hilarious and heart wrenching. It’s beautifully written, touching, and just a lovely read. 4+ stars. Highly recommend!
  
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ClareR (5674 KP) rated The Resident in Books

Jul 26, 2020 (Updated Jul 26, 2020)  
The Resident
The Resident
David Jackson | 2020 | Crime, Thriller
9
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
How can a thriller be both horrific and hilarious at the same time? The humour in The Resident keeps poking its head up in the most unlikely and inappropriate circumstances, and I loved it.

Thomas Brogan is a serial killer on the run, who finds an abandoned end of terrace house to hide in. He discovers that this house and the other three in the row have a shared loft space. So Brogan starts to spy on his neighbours. He has a penchant for playing games with his victims, and this is an ideal set up for him - and the secrets that he discovers are more than enough to keep him entertained.

This is such a fast paced, entertaining read, and I can well imagine it as a film. There are some very interesting twists and turns, and some real heart-in-mouth moments. It was another great reading experience with The Pigeonhole, the comments and opinions from the other readers making it all the more entertaining, and the author dropping in to answer questions. This is what makes The Pigeonhole so great!

If you like your thrillers a bit gory and a bit inappropriately funny, you’ll love this book - I did!
  
The Wrong Missy (2020)
The Wrong Missy (2020)
2020 | Comedy, Romance
8
5.8 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Annoyingly awesome
Contains spoilers, click to show
OK so I know it's the whole point of the movie, but the first missy Tim meets is scratch your eyes out annoying and quite frankly I would have climbed through the window to escape her too, as much as she was annoying though I did find her funny. The second missy which he meets at the airport seems perfect for him, neither of them drink, they both have the same bag and read the same book. They exchange numbers and are soon texting each other. To me though it was obvious throughout their texting that he was texting the first missy,especially when she asks for an explicit photo! How did he not realise?? Anyway he invites her along to his work retreat for the weekend, and it's when she turns up on his flight that he then realised he text the wrong missy. Obviously given the title of the movie that's hardly a surprise but he knew he was in for a shocker of a weekend. The movie is full of laughs throughout, and I love that you get to see that even though missy is crazy she is also human. If you love happy madison movies, you won't be disappointed.