The Secret Life of Cowboys, by Tom Groneberg

Really good book about what it takes to ranch ahe life, and work with animals in the west, what depending on the land really means, now. The author takes care not to overly mythologize the subject, and is very honest about his failings, and discoveries of strengths. Nicely written, very evocative.

I miss the West.

The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise, by Julia Stuart

Just After Sunset, by Stephen King (on CD)

Some really great stories here (and some that I just didn't quite get). I realized something in the midst of listening to them: King likes happy endings, and he's really an incurable romantic.

Another realization: I'm not a teenager anymore, so the creepy doesn't scare me like it used to. Now, porta-potties....

Go read the book.

The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival, and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming, by Shreve Stockton

I read the author's blog about Charlie regularly and a friend bought me this book for Christmas. I now have a clearer view of how this relationship evolved. The most interesting bit is when the author and Charlie tussle over who is the alpha, and why. Animals are so much smarter than we ever give them credit for.

Except maybe cows and sheep--they don't inspire me with their overall intelligence.

But I digress. Stockton is a little woo-woo spiritual for me, but I love her voice and her sensibility. She seems to have a clear view of priorities in life. Now, if only I could see a picture of Mike....

Wolf, No Wolf, by Peter Bowen

Somewhat difficult reading for a mystery, because the author writes the main character's dialogue in Métis Creole. The story is about the murders that occur when wolves are reintroduced to a ranching area in northern Montana. Fascinating view of how people living in underpopulated areas view the government and outsiders in general. [Hint: not very pleasantly, and with pretty good reason]

A good book for a quick primer on how people "out west" think.

Dakota, by Martha Grimes

Strange book.

Interesting character.

Andi Oliver is walking across the plains when she comes upon a woebegone donkey in a field. She rescues him, continues with him to the next town--Kingdom--and stops for a bit there.

The thing is, she has no memory of anything beyond a year ago. And she's got a bit of a savior complex about animals. She gets work at a corporate pig farm outside Kingdom and makes nothing but trouble for them, eventually hiring an attorney to sue them for multiple Ag. Dept. infractions. This, of course, earns her no friends. Between the corporate guys wanting to get rid of her and some guy who is following her around from Idaho across Montana and into North Dakota, she has every right to be freaked out.

She's close to being completely unbelieveable, but her sense of humor and wry awareness of how she must look to everyone else redeems her as well as the book.