Praise for Merle's Door

Merle's Door
Lessons from a Freethinking Dog

By Ted Kerasote
Publication Date: April 2008

Description
Now including a wonderful new photo insert chronicling Merle’s life, this national bestseller explores the relationship between humans and dogs. How would dogs live if they were free? Would they stay with their human friends?


Merle and Ted found each other in the Utah desert— Merle was living wild and Ted was looking for a pup to keep him company. As their bond grew, Ted taught Merle how to live around wildlife, and Merle taught Ted about the benefits of letting a dog make his own decisions.

Using the latest in wolf research and exploring issues of animal consciousness and leadership and the origins of the human-dog relationship, Ted Kerasote takes us on the journey he and Merle shared. As much a love story as a story of independence and partnership, Merle’s Door is tender, funny, and ultimately illuminating.


About the Author
TED KERASOTE is the author of many books, including the national bestseller Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog and Out There, which won the National Outdoor Book Award. His essays and photographs have appeared in Audubon, Geo, Outside, Science, the New York Times, and more than sixty other periodicals.

Michelle's House Rocks!

We missed you Candace and Julie! Candace, as a lover of dogs, we think that you would really have liked this book. We wish we had your feedback on how the author described his relationship with his amazing partner and friend, Merle.

Michelle, the Apple Dumplings were amazing! I probably shouldn't share the special ingredient so "mums" the word. It was a really fun evening so thanks for sharing your home and family with us rowdy folk!

'The Lacuna' Discussion

We missed you Candace and Michelle!

Joe was a wonderful host as always and the newly restored wooden floors look great! I hear that the Chocolate Mousse was great and so was the Pieces of Red....

We had a wide ranging discussion tonight about Kingsolver's latest book, a historical novel taking place in Mexico and the U.S. She is a great storyteller and weaves her fictional characters in with real people and events with interesting and provocative style.

We also discussed the possibility of going back up to Hill's Resort on Priest Lake the second weekend of October. Thanks for bringing it up Rhonda!! See everyone in five weeks...

Lacuna

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
The Lacuna 3.73 · rating details · 7,526 ratings · 2,769 reviews
In her most accomplished novel, Barbara Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities.

'The Patron Saint of Liars' by Ann Patchett

We had a great discussion at Candace's house about a book that none of us really liked. I think that we agreed that we liked the way the author writes and develops her characters but we didn't like the characters themselves. Someone said that it was Ann Patchett's first novel. It doesn't compare with her novel, 'Bel Canto', that we read several years ago which we all agreed was wonderful.

Mary Shelley Background

From 1983 Signet Classic:
Born in London in 1797, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was the daughter of William Godwin, a noted social theorist, and Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the leading woman literary figures of the day. Her mother died soon after her birth, and Mary was raised first under the care of servants, then by a stepmother, and lastly in the advanced intellectual atmosphere of her father's circle. In May, 1814, she met Percy Bysshe Shelley, and in July of that year eloped with him to the Continent. Two years later, after the death of Shelley's wife, the poet and Mary were able to marry. It was in Switzerland in 1816, as a result of a story-writing competition among the Shelleys and Lord Byron, that Mary began Frankenstein, her first and most famous novel. Published in 1816, it was followed by such works as Valperga (1823), The Last Man (1826), Lodore (1835), and Falkner (1837). In 1823, after the death of her husband, she returned to England; there she devoted herself to the upbringing of her son and the securing of his right to the Shelley family title. She died in 1851.

Terry Tempest Williams to Speak @ Lincoln Center

My favorite author (Refuge, Finding Beauty in a Broken World, and Open Space of Democracy) and wonderful, inspiring speaker will be at Lincoln Center on Monday November 1st, 2010. Tickets are $45 per person. This is a benefit for the Inland Northwest Land Trust.

'Devil' Sparks Discussion & Debate

We had a well attended bookclub at Candace's house including my good friend Jim who is our newest member. We had a lively and wide-ranging discussion regarding "The Devil in the White City" even comparing it to the other book of his called "Isaac's Storm". It was also interesting to hear how many of us had been to various World's Fairs (including New York, Vancouver, Seattle and Spokane's own Expo '74). Michelle had photos loaded on her Ipod of Chicago's Columbian Exposition of 1893 that was the topic of our book. Candace topped off the evening by sharing a final tribute to summer's bounty with home made Zuchini Bread!

Ode to James

Jim Cragan, Jim Cragan, where are you bro'?
We hope you're here with us, 'cause we want you to know
How much your idea for this book club has meant
To all of us members - and look where it went!

To wonderful places... the characters we've met,
20 years on the journey, but it's not over yet.
So, thank you dear Jimmy, for bringing us here
For giving a purpose and making it clear,
That life is much fuller whenever we care
to read the great writings and verses we share.

by Francis Joseph Hasler III

(thank you Joe, from all of us!)

Hill's Resort 20th Anniversary Photos