Review #1 – ‘Walking Ollie’

For my first book review, I will be talking about the book Walking Ollie by Stephen Foster (link to his blog is in my sidebar).

Having picked up the ‘sequel’ to this book, Along Came Dylan, after its release around October/November, which I loved, and reading a thread on the Greyhound Walks Forum which linked to this post about Ollie’s death, I grabbed this book for below RRP from Amazon, along with a Jodie Picoult book that I’ve forgotten the name of.

Now, with my mother dearest having such a keen interest in greyhounds and lurchers (greyhound x something), and the invention of Greyhound Walks, it was only natural that I caught on to this buzz. When we got our second greyhound, George, a year and a bit ago, he was (and still is) nervous, jumpy and a bit lot of a ‘fraidy cat. In reading Foster’s book about his experiences with the neurotic lurcher (who was greyhound x saluki – which is like chalk mixed with cheese in all but general appearance) I found myself drawing comparisons to our own experiences with George. Foster explains how Ollie warmed to his partner, Trezza, but was afraid of him and would not go near him. This almost exactly mirrors George’s absolute devotion to my mum, but his utter terror of her husband, Dave. As he recalled Ollie’s behaviour I began to fall for him myself, and I felt a great deal of sympathy for Foster as he tried in vain to both train and befriend the poor dog.

Foster made the story of his journey with Ollie very readable and by the end, the feeling that you had got to know both Ollie and his owner was unmistakable. Reading about Ollie’s battle with bone cancer and the decision Foster made to have him put to sleep to relieve his suffering brought genuine tears to my eyes. I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone – dog lover or otherwise. It is funny, genuine and absolutely brilliant. Absolutely deserving of its bestseller status, and if you read and enjoy Walking Ollie as much as I did, make sure you pick up Along Came Dylan when you’re done, for the second part of the Ollie saga – his new pure-bred saluki brother.

Thanks for reading,

F x

Well, isn’t this exciting…

So, this here is my writing and reviews blog. I suppose the first thing I should do, really, is introduce myself to the world.

My name is Franki. I am 20 years old, 21 on August 23rd. My home is in Essex, my uni is in Canterbury, and the place I spend most of my time is in NW London, which is where my wonderful fiance lives. I am currently in my second year of an English and Creative Writing degree at the University of Kent, after transferring from the University of Northumbria at Newcastle.

I am shy, reserved and I like to spend a lot of time on my own. Until you get to know me, that is. Then I turn into a strange mix of a bit too talkative, not-quite-confident and far too defensive for my own good. I love dogs and at home we have three. Mine is the hard-nut, full-of-beans collie-cross named Millie, and my mum has two gorgeous greyhounds, one 13 year old OAP (Old Age Princess) named Chelsea, and the nervous wreck that is 3 year old George.

I love writing, but I’m not so good at finishing things. I have a lot of ideas which tend to fizzle after a page or so. My goal for this year is to FINISH SOMETHING for a change. I also love books. Lots and lots of lovely books. I have a to-read list about ten miles long. My favourite favourite author is Stephen King, and one of my big sore points in life is books-that-were-ruined-by-Hollywood. The two biggest being The Shining, which wins the ‘Nothing Like the Book It’s Named After’ award, and IT, which, while starring the AMAZING Tim Curry, just plain sucks.

My guilty pleasures are World of Warcraft, The Sims (how gutted am I that they’ve pushed back the release of Sims 3 til June?!), The Internet and junk food. I love crime-shows (Midsomer Murders, CSI (Vegas only, please), Without a Trace….), as well as House, Primeval, Smallville, Doctor Who and Torchwood. David Attenborough should be King of the World, with Tim Curry as his right-hand-man. The best movie I’ve ever seen is The Rocky Horror Picture Show, for it’s unashamed flamboyancy and pure strangeness (not to mention the songs win at life).

YouthNet and Greyhound Walks (run by my very own mummy) are the best charities ever.

And now I think I’ve written quite enough! Later on I will do my first book review, on Stephen Foster’s Walking Ollie. For now I think this will do.

Toodle-pip!

F x