Category: book review

Dogs are loving, nurturing and healing animals. They sense our pain and are there to help us through the worst moments of our lives. Almost Perfect by Diane Manning follows the relationship of a young boy and an older woman with her aging dog.

About Almost Perfect

Seventy year old, Bess Rutledge, has fantasized about winning the Westminster Dog Show all her life. She has now come to the decision that she is just too old to follow her dream. By chance, she meets Benny her neighbour one night. Benny is an angry, fourteen year old with mild autism and ADHD. Benny has his own dream: to impress his self-absorbed mother. He becomes convinced that the only way to do so is by winning Westminster with McCreery, Bess’ aging champion standard poodle. Trying to get Bess on board with his plan is not going to be an easy accomplishment.

My Thoughts

When I first read the excerpt of this book I knew it was going to be one that just melted my heart, made me cry and bring me back up again. Diane Manning delivered on this and more!

The relationship between a dog and it’s owner is special. There is an unconditional love and bond that forms that lasts a lifetime. I still miss my Pepper with all my heart – the way she would jump and bark by just hearing our voices even over the phone! A dog can also be very therapeutic and help a child learn responsibility.

When we meet Benny you can tell this is exactly what he needs. He is hurting inside and is angry at the world. He has a Mother, that no matter how hard he tries does not want to be part of his life. She is so absorbed in her own life and her needs that she places a great burden on Benny. He shows this burden through his actions and anger at others. I wanted to cry and reach out to him as my heart broke for the pain he felt. From the way Diane writes you can tell she has had experience with children with social and emotional challenges. I was not surprised at all by her education and work experience! It shows through strongly in her work.

Almost Perfect is a well written, emotional journey that will reach to the heart of every parent and dog lover. You will not be disappointed with this read! You can purchase your own copy on Amazon, Audible and Barnes and Nobles.

Rating: 5/5

About Diane Manning

Diane Daniels Manning is the co-founder and director of The New School in the Heights, a therapeutic school in Houston, Texas which helps children dealing with social-emotional challenges find success in school and life. She has a Ph.D. in Education and a post-doctoral M.P.H from Harvard and is a practicing child psychoanalyst certified by the American Psychoanalytic Association. She was formerly the Director of the Reading and Learning disabilities Clinic at Tufts University, Lecturer and Research Associate in the Department of Behavioural Sciences at Harvard and Chair of the Department of Education at Tulane University. She learned the inner workings of dog show kennels by writing an oral history of a lifetime President of the Poodle Club of America.

You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook and her website.

The Giveaway!

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Bonus Info: Westminster Dog Show!

This year the 139th Westminster Dog Show will be running from February 16-17. Make sure to check out their website.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was blessed to be able to visit Venice while I was in my teens. I immediately fell in love with the history, romance and architecture. Every street has a story and being there was like taking a walk through history. I was able to see glass being made which was just an incredible tradition to be able to see. With its beauty, Venice can also be home to tourist traps as I know I was witness to some – many times with blankets laid out in the streets selling traditional Venetian items.

The author of Authentic Arts: Venice Travel Guide, Laura Morelli,  is an art historian and trusted guide in the world of cultural travel and authentic shopping. She guides you to the best of the city’s most traditional arts: Murano glass, carnival masks, gondolas, lace, paper, and more. This indispensable guide includes practical tips for locating the most authentic goods in one of the busiest tourist destinations in the world. The Authentic Arts: Venice Travel Guide is full of useful information on pricing, quality, and value, and with a comprehensive resource guide, Laura Morelli’s Authentic Arts: Venice is the perfect guide for anyone wanting to bring home the unique traditions of Venice.

Artisans of Venice is the companion to Laura Morelli’s Authentic Arts: Venice, A Travel Guide to Murano Glass, Carnival Masks, Gondolas, Lace, Paper, & More. Put both books together and you’ll be the most knowledgeable traveler in Venice!

In Venice, it’s not easy to tell the treasures from the trash. This is true now more than ever before, as increasing numbers of carnival masks, glass, and other souvenirs flood into Venice, imported from overseas and passed off as authentic. There is no substitute for an educated buyer. Laura Morelli helps you locate the city’s most authentic artisans–those practicing centuries-old trades of mask making, glass blowing, wood-turning, silk spinning, and other traditions. Wouldn’t you rather support authentic Venetian master artisans than importers looking to turn a quick profit without any connection to Venice at all?

Venice boasts some of the most accomplished master artisans in the world. Here’s how you can find them.

Laura Morelli leads you beyond the souvenir shops for an immersive cultural experience that you won’t find in any other guidebook. Artisans of Venice brings you inside the workshops of the most accomplished makers of Venetian fabrics, Murano glass and millefiori, carnival masks and masquerade costumes, gondolas, Burano lace, mirrors, marbleized paper, hand-carved frames, and other treasures. This book leads you to the multi-generational studios of some 75 authentic master artisans. If you’re reading on your Kindle device, tablet, or smart phone, you can click directly on their street addresses for an interactive map, and link to their web sites and email addresses directly from the guide. A cross-referenced resource guide also offers listings by neighborhood.

Laura Morelli, an art historian and trusted guide in the world of cultural travel and authentic shopping, leads you to the best of Venice’s most traditional arts. Laura Morelli’s Authentic Arts series is the only travel guide series on the market that takes you beyond the museums and tourist traps to make you an educated buyer–maybe even a connoisseur–of Florentine leather, ceramics of the Amalfi Coast, Parisian hats, Venetian glass, the handmade quilts of Provence, and more treasures.

Bring Laura Morelli’s guides to Venice with you, and you’ll be sure to come home with the best of Venice in your suitcase!

About Laura Morelli

Laura Morelli holds a Ph.D. in art history from Yale University, where she was a Bass Writing Fellow and Mellon Doctoral Fellow. She authored a column for National Geographic Traveler called “The Genuine Article” and contributes pieces about authentic travel to national magazines and newspapers. Laura has been featured on CNN Radio, Travel Today with Peter Greenberg, The Frommers Travel Show, and in USA TODAY, Departures, House & Garden Magazine, Traditional Home, the Denver Post, Miami Herald, The Chicago Tribune, and other media. Recently her art history lesson, “What’s the difference between art and craft?” was produced and distributed by TED-Ed.

Laura has taught college-level art history at Trinity College in Rome, as well as at Northeastern University, Merrimack College, St. Joseph College, and the College of Coastal Georgia. Laura has lived in five countries, including four years in Italy and four years in France.

Laura Morelli is the author of the guidebook series that includes Made in Italy, Made in France, and Made in the Southwest, all published by Rizzoli / Universe. The Gondola Maker, a historical coming-of-age story about the heir to a gondola boatyard in 16th-century Venice, is her first work of fiction.

Connect with Laura on Facebook, Twitter and her website.

The Bauta

The baùta is the quintessential Venetian mask, worn historically not only at Carnival time but any time a Venetian citizen wished to remain anonymous, such as when he may have been involved in important law-making or political processes in the city. The simplest of the traditional Venetian mask types, the baùta is a stark faceplate traditionally paired with a full-length black or red hooded cloak called a tabàro (or tabàrro), and a tricorn hat, as depicted in paintings and prints by the Venetian artist Pietro Longhi. Most baùte were made of waxed papier-mâché and covered most of the face. The most prominent feature is a distinctive aquiline nose and no mouth. The lower part of the mask protruded outward to allow the mask wearer to breathe, talk, and eat while remaining disguised.

The Giveaway!

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