Laugh Out Loud: Winterdance by Gary Paulson

Many things amuse me, but few make me laugh out loud. You can ask my friends - I get a wry smile and nod my head at their jokes. But Gary Pauson's book is an exception. At times I put the book down because I was laughing so hard I needed to wipe tears away.

I ran across Winterdance in a used book store, where someone had left it in the wrong section. I opened it and couldn't stop reading. It was a cheap copy, so I figured, what the heck.

Gary Paulson stumbled into putting together a team of sled dogs and entering the Iditarod, which is, to say the least, a punishing ride across Alaskan tundra. The dogs get a kick out of it, indeed, seem to live for it, but some humans don't survive. Now that I think of it, some of the dogs don't either.

Don't let the pretty cover or the sweet, poetic title of this book fool you. This is a bawdy romp of a memoir; Paulson and Chaucer could easily keep company with each other. While Paulson is as crude as he is honest, this makes the beautiful and poignant moments stand out that much more. There are wondrous things to encounter in the wilderness.

Also do not be fooled - the movie Sled Dogs is "based" on this book. Let's say that they are both about guys who run the Iditarod. The movie is a far cry from the book.

Read it. You'll learn something. You'll laugh. You'll be awed by the power of our earth. If you have thought of running the Iditarod, at least you'll know what you're getting into. As for me, this vicarious experience was very satisfying and I was sorry when it was over.

The Parrot Who Owns Me: The Story of a Relationship by Joanna Burger

When I first picked up this book it was on a whim, since I've never had any interest in parrots. You've had that experience of reading the opening sentences of a book and then losing yourself in it, right there, standing in the bookstore. That's what happened.

So, in spite of the parrot, I decided to give it a try.

Burger's neighbor inherits a parrot when an older relative has to enter a nursing home. As it turns out, parrots can live to be eighty years old (who knew?), so it is common for them to become orphaned in this way. The new owner doesn't have a clue about the creature and leaves him in a smallish cage in a dull room. But Burger understands how depressed and heart-broken the fellow is. Eventually, Burger is asked to take him off of her neighbor's hands.

What follows is the story of her relationship with Tiko, who is allowed to fly freely around the home that Burger and her husband open to him. Eventually, Tiko decides that she is his mate, her husband's presence notwithstanding.

Because Burger is an ornithologist, this goes beyond a simple memoir. Fascinating information is woven seemlessly into the narrative alongside the retelling of her own stories both in the field and with individual birds she has known.

I have given away numerous copies of this memoir because it is so beautiful. If you have ever had a close relationship with an animal, any animal, you will relate to the author's story. This is a beautiful love story.