Title:  Giant George: Life with the World’s Biggest Dog

Author:  Dave Nasser with Lynne Barrett-Lee

Genre:  Pets, Pet Memoirs

Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing

Publication Date:  April 10, 2012

Rating:

BLURB: 

“With his big blue eyes and soulful expression, George was the irresistible runt of the litter. But Dave and Christie Nasser’s “baby” ended up being almost five feet tall, seven feet long, and 245 pounds. Eager to play, and boisterous to the point of causing chaos, this big Great Dane was scared of water, scared of dogs a fraction of his size and, most of all, scared of being alone.

GIANT GEORGE is the charming story of how this precocious puppy won Dave and Christie’s hearts and along the way became a doggie superstar. In 2010, George was named by Guinness World Records as the Tallest Dog in the World-ever. He appeared on Oprah, and even has his own global fan club. But to Dave and Christie, this extraordinary animal is still their beloved pet, the one who has made them laugh, made them cry, and continues to make them incredibly happy.”

REVIEW:

I have to say that when I first heard about Giant George I was in awe, it was on one of the news channels online and they said you can friend him on facebook, so I did.   Then I heard about his book and knew I had to read it. Bottom line is, the book is good. I enjoyed every minute of it and I even learned some new things about the great dane breed. Being a fellow animal lover and dog owner myself I couldn’t help comparing how George and my lovable goofy dog, Bear aka Bubba Dog, who is also rather big, are so much alike. I kept thinking, “wow that’s too funny, Bear does that too!” or “how interesting, Bear is also afraid of water…” 

Yes, it’s true, Bear is by all means part ‘water dog’ (he’s a black labrador retriever and from what I’ve been told part great dane mix) and is afraid of water. He avoids puddles at all costs, hates baths and refuses to go out in the rain, and yet he loved playing in the snow when we lived in Minnesota. I know my dog is weird. Luckily though we don’t really have to worry much about his water phobia problem anymore now that we live in Arizona.  Giving him a bath though is a whole nother story, but I’ll leave that for another day, back to the review.

There were several laugh out loud moments and moments that will probably make you cry, I know I was tearing up. I also liked the fact that this story wasn’t just focused on Giant George as an animal in general, but the story focused on his family as a whole and how he affected them, and helped them along the way through all their good times and bad times. He is not just a pet to them, but a part of the family.

Obviously, being the “World’s Biggest Dog” being big sometimes has it’s disadvantages. Taking a quote from page 76, Dave says, “He was big and, to a lot of people, big equaled scary.” I cannot even describe how that is so true. To people who have big dogs it’s not a big deal to them, they know their dog is big and they are used to it, but sometimes for someone who is meeting this person’s dog for the first time, they get scared, they seem to think that because this dog is so big it might hurt or bite them, they feel intimiated, which is understandable. I can’t keep track of how many times I have to tell people that my big dog is the nicest dog ever and won’t bite, of course they aren’t going to believe me, my dog doesn’t know them and they don’t know him so anything can happen. It’s just sad sometimes to see these gentle giant dogs being utterly avoided because of their size, but it happens.

Over all, it’s a great story and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good pet story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you’d like to purchase Giant George just click on one of the links below:

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Also be sure to check out Giant George’s website (click on the author’s name above, Dave Nasser) and friend Giant George on facebook and twitter! Bear and I are fans!

Hugs & Happy Reading,

Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict

Book Provided for Review by:  Bullhead City Mohave County Library

Anyway, back to the blog. You’ll slowly be seeing me update and change things on here and the pages. I’ll be adding and removing some things and hopefully getting a domain name too so I can change the layout to the way I’d like it. Since it’s been so long since I’ve been here I’m having to re-learn things on the site, I’ll be a little slow with the updating and changing, so bare with me. We don’t have internet set up at our place yet either so I’ve been going to the local library (which is awesome by the way) so until we do you’ll only see me posting about once a week. Also my book contests and author interviews are on hold temporarily too. For now you’ll basically be seeing book reviews and basic book topics and random ramblings.

All right, I’m off.

Hugs & Happy Reading,

Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict

Title: Love, By George

Author: Debra Salonen

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Harlequin

Publication Date: August 1, 2007

Rating:

BLURB:

“Name: George

Breed: Harlequin Great Dane

Identifying Traits: One blue eye, one brown eye… and a propensity for trouble!

George was last seen escaping from the hoem of his recently divorced owner, restaurateur Brad Ralston. He wasn’t wearing a leach and had a mischievous glint in his eye and is probably headed for Paws Spa, where single mom Kara Williams can be found grooming dogs and nursing her old crush on Brad.

Canine suspect is unarmed, but has an agenda-possibly recognizing two of his favorite humans, Brad and Kara, are so busy protecting their wounds from past hurts they can’t see what’s plainly under George’s nose. If you see this dog, please do not report him immediately. He’s got matchmaking to do.”

REVIEW:

I have to say this book caught my eye because of the cover. I’m a sucker for love stories involving pets, especially dogs, and when I saw this cover with one of my favorite dog breeds on it, a Great Dane, I just had to get my hands on it and read the story.

George, is a big, lovable, gentle, sweet, “talkative”, Great Dane who reminds me so much of Bear aka Bubba Dog. I’m not sure if anyone else notices these sorts of things about their pets, maybe it’s just because I tend to notice more things than some people, but my dog has a very expressive face just like George and is very “talkative” too. Bear has this thing where he raises his eyebrows a lot and talks back to me when he doesn’t agree with what I’m saying or when he just needs to voice his opinion. It’s quite adorable and I can’t help laughing everytime he does it, he especially knows to do it when he’s in trouble because he knows I just can’t stay mad at him when he talks back to me and gives me his puppy dog look. Throughout the whole story just the little things George did made me giggle and smile, those are the best kinds of stories, if you can make me laugh and bring a smile to my face your story is worth the read.

Kara, the heroine of the story reminded me a little of myself. She’s very kind hearted and talks to the animals like they’re human beings and are involved in the conversation right along with you. I’m the same way. I know I sound crazy, but I honestly believe pets can understand what we’re saying and if they could talk they’d definately answer. They’re great listeners and even though they can’t speak they’re there for you no matter what. She’s also afraid of being hurt and doesn’t want to get involved with Brad even though she still has a crush on him, and she puts her twin 5 year old daughters, Sadie and Sophie, above all else, they’re her world and are just like their mother, they’re love for animals is absolutely adorable.

Recently divorced Brad, the hero in the story, has a 14 year old son named Justin. Brad is a hard working man, but is also very distant and isn’t close to his son. He was too hurt and mad at his ex-wife, Lynette, to bother and fight for her and try to make their marriage work. He ends up noticing these things, wanting to change. and make his relationship stronger with Justin. He’s also a restaurant owner and a chef which I just love! Some of the recipes he cooked in the story I’ve never tried making and I’m tempted to look for the recipes. They sound amazing, especially the pear tart with chocolate hazelnut sauce dessert, sounds yummy, huh?

Another character in the story I just had to talk a bit about is Justin, Brad’s son. Justin is a rebellious 14 year old who reminded me a bit of my younger sister, Demitra. When our parents divorced my sister rebeled just like Justin and got in to quite a bit of trouble in school. The author did a great job of explaining how some children react to parents divorcing, every child is different, but divorces effect children in a lot of the same ways. I felt for Justin and knew exactly how he was feeling.

Overall, the story was a good read. I’d recommend it to anyone who has a soft spot for animals and enjoys a good light romance story with a few kids thrown in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you’d like to purchase Love, By George just click on one of the links below:

Amazon

Amazon (Kindle Format) 

Barnes & Noble (only available in ebook format and used format)

Also, be sure to check out Debra Solnen’s other books and her website!

Hugs & Happy Reading,

Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict

Bo-Bo Dreaming the Day Away

This stomach bug I have is kicking my butt so I’ve been doing a lot of sleeping and resting and not much blogging, as you can tell. I’ve been feeling much better today so hopefully that continues and I can keep on track with my blogging.

I’ve been meaning to post a better Review Policy for quite some time, but just hadn’t gotten around to doing it. Now, it’s finally posted on it’s own page HERE. You can also see it’s listed in the right hand column under the list of pages I have. I’m currently working on a Privacy Policy and updating my Contest Rules, so stay tuned for that.

I’m also busy getting ready for the Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference this weekend! I’m super excited for it! I’ll be participating in one of the panels on Saturday in the Blue Room on Panel 3 which is about Organizing & Planning Your Blog. If you haven’t signed up already you definately should, it’s going to be a great learning experience for everyone attending and a lot of fun! I did a post about the conference already so if you’d like to learn more about it then click the link above. I hope to see you there!

Hugs & Happy Reading,

Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict

I’ll post 5 photos. Some of these are older photos I’ve taken some I’ve taken recently. All I ask is that you do NOT take any of my photos without my permission! All of these photos are originals except for the fourth photo which I did a bit of editing to.

Looking Up 

In Search of a Four-Leaf Clover

Cali Mae & Jack

Yes, I’m one of those Twilight People…  

Lets Play Fetch

 The first photo was taken in my backyard and was just walking and I looked up and snapped the picture. The second photo was taken in my front yard where we have tons of 3-leaf clovers that grow in the spring, I have yet to find a 4-leaf clover. The third photo of the two kittens are from Monkey‘s litter of three she had last spring. We no longer have Monkey, Jack, or Dusty (not pictured), but Cali Mae is still staying with us. The fourth photo is of my sister with one of my favorite books, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer showing off some vampire fangs. Last, but not least the fifth photo is of Ginger and Moochie playing fetch in the backyard. Well there you have it… let me know what you think.

Hugs & Happy Reading,

Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict

Time for a few more book quotes! I love these things!

Putting It To The Test by Lori Borrill

“We don’t always get what we want out of life. It’s how we handle what’s left that matters.” – Matt Jacobs (hero)

“Life has a way of fixing things.” – Stu Callebrew (the Dugout’s owner and Matt Jacobs good friend/father figure)

More life quotes. These have a way of making you really think about things and they are so true.

Love Letters From A Duke by Elizabeth Boyle

“Hollindrake once wrote to me that the men who fight for a cause, a noble one, have more honor than any mere gentleman.” – Felicity Langley (heroine)

“Friends are the balm that soothes the heart.” – Nanny Tasha (former nanny to Felicity and Tally Langley)

“There are things a man can’t undo, that a man can’t disavow. But time has a way of making one see what is important, what is necessary and how change isn’t always the bitter potion it is made out to be.” – previous Duke of Hollindrake (grandfather to Thatcher, the tenth Duke of Hollindrake {hero}) 

Lately I’ve been reading books that have two or more quotes pop out at me and I just have to share them. I especially like the third quote, it’s my favorite.

Hugs & Happy Reading,

Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict

 I’m sure every die hard book blogger dreams of attending a book conference or convention, but you just can’t swing it, either a job or it just doesn’t fit in your budget. I know the feeling, I am one of those people.

Recently, I found out about an ONLINE conference that is coming up in March that I thought I would point out to all my fellow book bloggers that I think you all would be interested in. My friend, Terry, the person who is running this online conference, is trying to find more bloggers who are interested in attending and needed some help so I offered to spread the word around.

If you haven’t heard about it yet, it’s called the Book Bloggers & Publishers Online Conference. The conference is scheduled for March 19th and 20th (Friday and Saturday) with a Special Author Day on March 21sth (Sunday).  The paragraphs below in bold are taken directly from the conference site:

“Bloggers and Publishers have the same goals, to bring in readers.  This Conference is to discuss what is working online to promote books and what we can do better.  How can we work together and with authors to bring readers online?  What are Publishers goals in working with Bloggers? What are Bloggers and Reviewers looking for?  Join us for panels, discussions and giveaways.”

“How the Conference Works: This is a two day online event that will feature Blog Talk Radio Discussion Panels and open Forums for more inclusive debate on subjects raised. Attendees can listen to panels live or using the links provided at a later more convenient time. The Forums will remain open and those speaking on the panels will be in the forums afterward to answer questions. The Forums will be held in a private Ning for the Conference.”

I know this will be a great opportunity for all of us and it will be very educational and fun! From what I’ve heard about it so far there’s going to be large variety of topics and panels discussing things and quite a few different publishers attending (such as Dorchester Publishing, Penquin Group YA, Simon & Schuster, Eternal Press, and many more), there will be Publisher and Author Giveaways and a Grand Prize which is an Ebook Reader!

Just to let you know: the Conference is open to Publishers, Bloggers, and Industry Professionals only and there is a $20 registration fee per person.

So, if you’d like more information or you’re interested and would like to attend head on over to the conference website located HERE and register! Looking forward to seeing you there!

Hugs & Happy Reading,

Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict

I’ll be back to blogging on a regular daily basis, I’ve got some author interviews lined up and a lot of book reviews coming up soon too. You’ll also start to see some things being changed/updated or removed  and even some new things being added on the blog, I’ll post updates as these things happen.

One update I’d like to mention right now is that I’ll be deleting my blog’s Facebook. It’s just too much to try to keep up with my personal and blog Facebook, along with Twitter and my blog’s Myspace, BUT I did create a FAN PAGE underneath my personal Facebook. So if you’d like to “Become a Fan” and keep up to date on what’s going on here on the blog, here is the link:

http://www.facebook.com/romancebookaddictblog

Well, that’s about it for now. Here is something for your viewing pleasure…

Moochie and her bright pink monkey pal, Dave.

Talk to you all tomorrow!

Hugs & Happy Reading,

Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict

and the winner is…

Debbie

Debbie please email me with your full name and mailing address, I’ll be emailing you back with a list of books for you to choose your prize!

Happy Reading Everyone! Keep an eye out for more future contests!

Hugs,

Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict

       The King’s Champion by Catherine March

“Love is not nonsense. It is everything. For without love what is a man? Just an empty shell.” – Sir Lindsay Crawford (fellow knight/friend of hero, Troye de Valois)

“Love needs no reason. It just is.” – Lady Eleanor Raven (heroine)

I actually found two quotes in this book, both about love. I like both of these quotes very much, especially Lady Eleanor’s quote.

               Sold Into Marriage by Ann Major

“Life is a journey without reliable tour guides. You made plans and then you got distracted and took detours that proved to be dull, disastrous, or wonderful, or a combination of all three.” – Josie Navarre (heroine)

This quote made me laugh. It’s so true and yet whats wrong with getting distracted or going off course? What’s a journey without a little adventure?

Hugs,

Dani ~ aka The Romance Book Addict