Review - How Dogs Work

How Dogs Work by Raymond Coppinger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

At first I assumed this to be some kind of training book, at least indirectly. It is not. The behaviors it goes over are less about how to teach dogs, and more about why dogs do what they do in a general, scientific sense.

This book takes a mechanical (literally) approach to dogs. What about their bodies make them act a certain way? What evolutionary changes have occurred in order for a border collie to be different than a Maremma? Why do humans anthropomorphize dogs?

We want to believe our dogs are special, emotionally and cognitively. But just because we want to believe doesn't mean it's the truth. This book does NOT attempt to argue or prove that our dogs don't love us. What it does is takes the approach of: is this really special behavior? Why, or why not? This is about learning, dissecting information we've assumed and asking whether it is a fact or a belief.

For me it's about knowing the why behind the actions. I find it absolutely fascinating, and it actually increases my awe at these beloved companion animals.

I loved it. I learned so much about dogs as a species, and vicariously about a couple other animals, too.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in dogs going beyond the 'man's best friend' mentality.

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Book Review - The Heathen's Guide to Christmas

The Heathen's Guide to Christmas by William Hopper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wish it had been longer.

Will's sarcastic humor had me from the start with the story of his betrayal from none other than Santa Clause one Christmas morning. Going through popular aspects of Christmas, from Mistletoe to the infamous Candy Cane, he unravels the myth that Christmas has always been about the Christ of the Bible. About the babe in the manger.

The journey goes back well into the B.C. era and informs why it's the Celtic and Norse traditions that have been weaved so intricately with the Christmas we know of today, and not Grecian or Persian so much. It takes a jaunt through the roughly two-hundred years of Christmas hibernation, when Puritan influence decided celebrating it was a no-no. And then we're brought to mid to late 1800s, when a very specific poem was first penned and started the marketing schemes we are so aware of today.

Twas the night before Christmas...

This book goes through, making case after case that the 'true' spirit of Christmas has never been about baby Jesus, or the wise men, or angels on high. Christmas has always been about bringing together traditions, appropriating them from other cultures, and making them into something acceptable for the religious and political leaders at the time.

If you can't beat em...

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Book Review - TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking

TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking by Chris J. Anderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Chris J. Anderson takes the reader through strategies of some of the most famous TED Talks, and how a perspective public speaker can utilize them - no matter the talk or presentation they're giving.

He warns of pitfalls for the reader to avoid, such as a take vs give talk where the speaker is trying to gain something from the audience instead of giving, which can lead to the talk becoming little more than an elaborate sales pitch. Or trying to impress your audience with your greatness. Even if the talk is about you and your accomplishments, your audience generally doesn't want to sit through an hour of bragging.

He gives suggestions for how to structure your talk, all the way down to the singular decision of should it be memorized or not. There are pros and cons no matter the decision, and I enjoyed reading how both may work and may not work for a particular speaker.

Most importantly, I feel, was he gives the reader the okay to be human on the state. To make mistakes. To have to bring note cards. To fumble. In fact he gives numerous examples on how this can work to an advantage. Embraced, but not beaten to death with apology after apology, a mistake or two can actually endear you to your audience. You're sharing a vulnerability - and with that people are more likely to want to root for you. To see you surmount your obstacle and succeed.

Specifically those people interested in TED Talks.

This is a book I would recommend to anyone interested in the slightest in public speaking - be it for a school presentation, a dreaded board meeting, or for fun. I learned so much from it and will definitely be keeping it on hand to review when the need arises!

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Book Review - God: The Most Unpleasant Character in all Fiction

God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction by Dan Barker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Lord Jealous.

"For you shall worship no other god, because the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous god..."
- Exodus 34:14

From the get-go Dan's dry humor about the god from the bible drew me in. Throughout the book he points out the inconsistencies and downright weird crap in the bible's numerous passages (not to mention numerous versions), and he uses versus from the Old and New Testament to support the claim of Lord Jealous being:

"The god of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully."
- Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

This is not a book for those who believe in this god or even the bible as anything more than fictional historical accounts by ancient civilizations, if you couldn't tell.

Dan goes through each trait Dawkin's subscribed to Lord Jealous, and adds a few of his own at the end. Right from the beginning he warns the reader some pages will be a little much to read in one sitting, and he recommends scanning through at first and coming back later. In my ignorance I was determined to read through every single verse he gave me to understand his arguments.

Yeah. Um... After three pages of pure verses on how fire-happy the god of the bible was I took his recommendation and skimmed. I will be going through later and re-reading - and I look forward to it!

Dan's understanding of the bible is a huge help throughout this book - he used to be a preacher - and there are many points he can make that someone with a lesser innate knowledge of the books and how the verses work would be able to.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for arguments the religious will make about "taking it out of context" and for a better understanding of why the bible is not a great moral compass - and while this won't happen I'd also recommend it to anyone who does believe in the bible's god. To better understand the religion a solid take on what is good and bad about it is needed.

Any religious sort who does has my admiration, regardless if they agree with Dan or not.

I wish I would have read this sooner. <3 br="">
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