b'The authors talent for provoking candid interviews,her use of archival research, and instinct for narrativecome together to create an entire world. It is a worldmostAmericansknowlittleabout:villagelifeinthe mountains of Japan.Suzanne Bernes The Dogs of Littlefield The booksjacket describes the novel as being suspenseful, wild-ly funny, and quietly devastating. We found it to beanodd,sadstorymixedwithmacabrehumorandplentyofoddballcharacters.Ihavemadedinneralmost every night for 15 years, says Julia, a maincharacter, and no one ever really likes what I make.Sometimes, they dont even notice what it is. We allwanttobenoticedandappreciated.Dailyactsofkindness, however, can become mundane daily habitsif not properly nurtured. Mary Olivers Dog Songs Thequintessentialbookof poems about dogs that belongs on every dog loversbookshelf or nightstand. There are 35 poems and oneessay about the dogs who have shared their lives withOliverinonewayoranother,includingBear andBen, Ricky and Lucy, Luke and Percy. Oliver was anaward-winningAmericanpoetwhoseworkwasinspired by nature stemming from her lifelong passionof solitary walks. Of dogs, Oliver once remarked, Ithink they are companions in a way that people arent.Theylllienexttoyouwhenyouresad.Andtheyremindusthatwereanimalstoo.OliverdiedinFlorida at eighty-three in January, 2019.LauraFahrentholdsThePinkSteeringWheelChroniclesTherearemomentsweallwishwecouldhaveoverandoverandoveragainthemoment before everything changes. That is the firstline in chapter one of the book, a true story of how theauthor dealt with the grief after losing her husbandMarkthe love of her life and father of their twoyoungdaughters.Aftercominghomefromthehospital, where he was officially pronounced DOA,she has to tell her daughters.Hes not coming home, she says to them, afterthey asked about him.Ever? one of them asks her. You mean forever asin, ever and ever? Or just tonight?As heavy as the storyline sounds, there is a lightness,thankstoLauraswritingstyle.Likelife,thebookoffersagoodmixtureoflaughterandtears,andastray dog. It is a love story that blooms over a 31,000-milefamilytripacrossthecountry,travelingwithMark-In-A-Box. Continued on the following page gwww.TheNewBarker.com THE NEW BARKER 47'