Notes From Early Readers

The strangest part of publishing a book is the transition from private document to public object. For a long time it's just a file on your computer. Every word is familiar. Then one day it's out there, and other people are reading it, and some of them are thinking carefully enough about it to have opinions.

Three early readers liked My Dog Is Better at This Than Me enough to write full reviews on their own platforms — not Amazon, not Goodreads, but the places where they host writing they actually care about. That's a small thing and it's also not a small thing. Posting a quick take somewhere takes a minute. Writing a real review on your own site takes an hour. The fact that three strangers did that is the kind of thing that makes a writer a little quiet for a day.

Here's what they said.

Kristine Eckart — Gilmore Book Club

Kristine is a USA Today Bestselling Author and the founder of Gilmore Book Club, which means when she recommends a book, a lot of readers pay attention. Her review at Gilmore Book Club went up on April 13, the day before the book launched, and it does something most reviews don't: it takes the book seriously as a self-help object while also noting, honestly, where it doesn't quite land for her.

From her post:

“My Dog Is Better at This Than Me treats the reader to a well-balanced menu of puppy prose, self-reflection, expert information, and small moments that can have a big impact.”

And:

“No luring the reader into purchasing pricey classes or equipment, no shaming for wherever you're at in your journey, no Pinterest-perfect portraits of how your life will look after reading this book — just manageable suggestions and practical goals.”

And her verdict, which is a summary any publisher would happily put on a sticker:

“Good for book clubs? Yes. Good for gifting? Yes.”

One honest reservation: she'd have swapped the epilogue and conclusion — a specific, generous note from a reader who took the book seriously. That's exactly the kind of critique that makes a review more useful, not less.

Read Kristine's full review at Gilmore Book Club →

June Price — Daisy Reads

June is a writer, a Goodreads author, and the human companion of a dog named Daisy who, she points out, has figured out something about existence that the rest of us have not. Her review lives at Daisy Reads, which is exactly the kind of blog title that makes you trust the writer immediately.

From her post:

“Yes, my dog is better at this life thing than me. I wish I had what I call Daisy's zen. She doesn't overthink things. She doesn't keep rehashing old memories with ‘I should have...’ Me? I tend to overthink. I rehash events of years ago. We humans keep mental spreadsheets of our past and current inadequacies. Dogs? Nope.”

And later:

“The author offers up stories with real, easy to do wellness activities. You can do each in a matter of minutes with no special equipment or really preparation. In other words, for the busy person who, unlike our dogs, has trouble focusing for more than a few moments at a time.”

And the closer, which made me laugh and then sit with it for a minute:

“Who knew the most grounded, emotionally steady critter in our lives is our dogs.”

Read June's full review at Daisy Reads →

David Wineberg — The Straight Dope on Medium

David Wineberg has been writing book reviews on Medium for ten years, where he publishes at The Straight Dope for an audience of 108,000 followers. That's the kind of long-running, hard-earned audience that doesn't come from algorithm chasing — it comes from a decade of being right enough, often enough, that people keep showing up. His review of the book lives at The Straight Dope on Medium, and it does something I didn't expect: it picks out the specific lesson that hit him hardest and explains why it matters.

From his post:

“Rosie doesn't care what anyone else thinks. She is never self-conscious or hesitant about her actions or appearance. She has her way of doing things, is never embarrassed to do them, and has a totally positive outlook about life all day, every day. And she didn't need years of therapy to come to that point.”

On the play chapter, which seems to have stuck with him:

“The most valuable lesson is on play: play without rules, goals or winning. Running in a circle until you fall down is play. Play is just fun, laughing out loud, silly fun. ‘It is not a luxury. It is not a reward. It is maintenance.’”

And a line that names the whole problem the book is trying to solve:

“Life has become so complex and goal-oriented that businesses strip these attitudes away from us and sell them back to us as advice, therapy and apps — at a large markup.”

His verdict, delivered in his characteristic plain style:

“It is nonetheless a decently entertaining book.”

That “nonetheless” is doing a lot of work, and I love it. David is not a person who hands out unqualified praise — which makes the praise he does give count for more.

Read David's full review at The Straight Dope on Medium →

One more thing

If you've read the book and have thoughts — even messy, unpolished, contradictory thoughts — I'd love for you to put them somewhere. Amazon, Goodreads, your own site, a text to a friend. The reviews I've read in the first few days have already taught me things about my own book I didn't know. That's a strange thing to admit but it's true.

Rosie, for her part, remains unimpressed. She has not read any of these reviews. She has read none of the reviews. She is, as of this writing, asleep on her side with one paw extended, because that is what you do when you have figured life out.