Water For Elephants Book Review

Water For Elephants is a fictional novel by Sara Gruen that is set in the Depression. It follows the story of a young man whose circumstances are suddenly altered and who finds himself homeless and jobless. He jumps aboard a passing train and discovers he has landed on the train of a travelling circus. He is given a job with the animals because he has veterinary skills and falls in love with the star of the circus. Is it a bit cliched? Perhaps but it is still a good book.

Water For Elephants Fast Facts

AUTHOR: Sara Gruen
COVER ARTIST: Charles Mason
GENRE: Historical Romance PUBLISHER: Algonquin Books PUBLICATION DATE May 26, 2006

Is Water For Elephants A True Story?

Water For Elephants is a period drama and romance story based on real circus history. It is a work of fiction but does include factual information about the history of the circus based on accounts of circus life in the Depression years, a time when men were desperate for jobs. They were so desperate in fact that they would take and stay on at jobs where the work was extremely hard and unpleasant and where the pay was not necessarily delivered when it was supposed to be.

I found the author's note at the end of the book very helpful. In that section, Sara Gruen answered the numerous questions that I had when I was reading the book.

The note also tells how Gruen came to write a story based on the circus. She read a story in the Chicago Tribune about travelling circuses in the 1920s and 1930s and the accompanying photo took her fancy. She subsequently purchased two photographic circus-themed books: Step Right This Way by Edward J. Kelty and Wild, Weird and Wonderful: the American Circus by F.W. Glasier. This was the start of an obsession (my word, not hers) that eventually included a large collection of circus-themed books; visits to The Ringling Circus Museum, Circus World and the Kansas City Zoo; and, a large knowledge bank about conditions and life in the circus.

True Events Included In Water For Elephants

The circus has a rich and somewhat loose history. The line between fact and fiction is somewhat blurry. The following are three simple stories that author Sara Gruen uncovered in her research and incorporated into her book.

• Legend has it that there was really a hippo pickled in formaldehyde.  
• Legend has it that there was a 400-pound strong lady displayed in an elephant cage.
• Circus lore also says that there was an elephant like Rosie who pulled up her stake in order steal lemonade.

Reviews of Water for Elephants

Reader Lisa on Amazon said that this book was unusual in that it was an enjoyable read and factual at the same time. I agree as it was a great story that also imparted the history of the circus.

The New York Times says, "With a showman's expert timing, she (Gruen) saves a terrific revelation for the final pages, transforming a glimpse of Americana into an enchanting escapist fairy tale."

If you are fascinated by historically based stories, I believe that you will enjoy this book. If you have always been interested in the history of the circus and you enjoy period pieces, you will not want to miss this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and yes, I recommend the movie, too. A copy of the book and the movie bundled together would make an interesting gift idea for any woman who is interested in circus history.

Have you read Water For Elephants? What did you think? If you are interested in the movie, you can read my movie review here.

Happy Reading!
Brenda

MORE CIRCUS READING:

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Author's Note: This page was originally written elsewhere in 2011.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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3 Ways to Light Up Your Yard Without Using Electricity

By now we're all pretty familiar with solar string lights for the backyard, however there are additional creative ways you can incorporate solar lighting.

Here are three creative ideas to help you light up your yard at night by using the power of the sun during the day:

Table Umbrella with Solar Lights Via Amazon

Find Additional Solar Umbrellas Here

1. A Table Umbrella with Solar Lights 

In the evening, your backyard celebration will surely include people sitting around a patio table either chatting, eating, playing games or just relaxing. 

Most of the time we light a table using candles (sometimes bug candles). You can still light up that bug candle to keep those bugs away, however, a solar patio umbrella is a better way to naturally light up the entire table. Although lights attract bugs, we've battled that very effectively by putting a huge mosquito net over our patio umbrella. We've used this net when we have a sit-down dinner outside in our backyard as well. 

The top of a solar umbrella has a rechargeable solar panel that charges all day. At night, your umbrella will light up via an on/off switch. On average you'll find most solar umbrellas have approximately 24 to 40 lights. Of course that will vary depending up the size and manufacturer.

2. Inflatable Portable Solar Lights

Luci Color Inflatable Portable Solar Light via Amazon

Or Find More About Luci Solar Lights Here

If you haven't heard of Luci Inflatable Solar Lights, you're going to love their many multiple uses and applications.

These compact solar lights that deflate to approximately 1" in size make them ideal for not only backyard gatherings, but also to take camping, hiking, as emergency lighting, pool lights, indoor mood or night lighting, and much more.

In terms of backyard gatherings, these waterproof inflatable solar lights are a great way to provide lighting in a pool at night. Just toss a bunch of them in the water and your pool will have multi colored night time funky lighting!

The goodness doesn't end there: The lights are made by USA based MPOWERD, a socially-conscious company who aims to provide lighting to poorer countries around the world where access to electricity is non-existent or limited. One example of their mission is the difference they've made providing portable inflatable solar lights to the victims of the Nepal earthquake in 2015.

3. Mosaic Solar Glass Color Changing Table Lights

Mosaic Glass Color Solar Light via Amazon

Or Find More About Mosaic Glass Solar Lights Here

If you're looking for a funky way to light up your backyard patio table and are especially eager to add colorful interest, then you're going to love these little gems!

They're appeal are the colors they emit at night and of course, the lovely mosaic glass also looks decorative during the day.

You can set this crystal glass mosaic solar light to single color mode or set it to cycle through all colors. You can also set it to emit a clear light through the funky colored mosaic tiles to give off a lovely constant pattern as you see in the photo displayed here.

Again, like all things solar, they charge during the day in the sun, and have an on/off switch for you to use it or not use it at night.

There you have it, three ways to light up your yard at night without flipping that electricity switch.

Happy Summer Savings :)

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry - Book Review

by Fredrik Backman

A Delightful and Most Charming Story

Elsa is seven-going-on-eight, and different.  Granny is seventy-seven years old, and nutty. They are best friends and love each other dearly.  Elsa admits only to herself that her granny is her ONLY friend, as her school chums think her strange and are mean to her. Elsa's strangeness is only in the fact that she is extremely smart and very grown-up for her age (constantly looking words up on Wikipedia!). Her world revolves around her grandmother, her parents, adventures in the fairy tales granny tells, and her admiration for superheros and Harry Potter.

Elsa's parents are divorced and she sees her dad every-other-weekend.  The rest of the time she lives with her mom, who is expecting a baby, and George on the top floor of a 4-story flat across the hall from her grandmother.  The rest of the apartment building is filled with a strange mixture of people we learn about as time goes on. 

The Land-of-Almost-Awake

 

For quite some years, Granny has been telling fairy tales to Elsa to help her go to sleep and get her to practice Granny's secret language.  The fairy tales take place in the "Land-of-Almost-Awake" and the "Kingdom of Miamas" where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal. 

Later, Elsa's grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged.  The letters are entrusted to Elsa to deliver, bringing about her greatest adventure ever.  The stories of the people who live in the apartment building, including a brave dog who is very much like the 'wurse' in the Kingdom of Miamas, are revealed to us one by one.  As each letter is delivered we learn the truth about fairy tales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry was written by Fredrik Backman, a native of Sweden who lives in Stockholm. This is only his second novel, but you get the feeling from this well-written story that he has been writing for a very long time. 


His first novel is A Man Called Ove, which became a #1 bestseller in Sweden. 

*Note: When Backman's second book was first published in England in 2014, it had the title: My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises. 

My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry

 

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry is an absolutely charming story filled with humor and wisdom, and with a glimpse into a fairy tale world we all wish we could visit.  I took Elsa and her grandmother so much to heart that when I finished the book I wanted to immediately go back to page one and read it all over again. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you will fall in love with these delightful characters. I highly recommend this book.

*Wednesday Elf

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Good Cook Safe Cut Can Opener Reviewed

Are you tired of can tops that will cut your fingers and hands?  Do you worry that anyone who sticks their hands in the trash can will cut their hands on can lids with sharp edges?  Or perhaps, you stress that just compressing the trash with your hands will result in an injury due to sharp can lids.  If this is a problem in your home, than I have a solution for you. 

I know that intro just sounded like an infomercial, but this article is in fact a review of the Good Cook Safe Cut Can Opener.  I can tell you from years of experience that this simple can opener will make working in the kitchen safer when opening cans.    

This simple safe cut can opener removes the lid from a can without leaving a sharp edge on the lid top.

Discovery of the Safe Cut Can Opener

 Good Cook Classic 4 in 1 Can OpenerSeveral years ago, we were vacationing in Florida.  We rented a condo that was fully furnished which included dishes, silverware and appliances in the kitchen.  Upon arrival, everyone was hungry.  Since we had brought groceries with us, that was no problem.  I grabbed the sea shell pasta and started preparing a light lunch of everyone's favorite pasta dish.  I had no trouble finding the large saucepan in the cookware or the spaghetti strainer in the condo kitchen, but I couldn't find the can opener for the tomato sauce anywhere.  I had found something that looked like a can opener, but it didn't work!  It wouldn't grip the can and cut it open.  

Several people in the condo tried their luck at making the blade-less can opener work.  Then, miracle of all miracles, our young son who had actually never used a hand held can opener, tried this unique can opener and it worked without any problem for him.  So, I tried to open the next can.  Nope!  Didn't work.  I called my little magician back into the kitchen and again, no problem.  He whipped that lid off so easily it actually started to annoy me.  

I studied the can opener, I studied the can for an explanation.  Then I checked out the lid and discovered the biggest shocker.  There was no sharp edge on the lid!  Now, that just really freaked me out.  I was seriously wondering if my son really did have magical abilities.

For several days, I played around with that can opener determined to solve the mystery.  It was one handle piece that didn't seem to latch down like a normal hand held can opener.  Day after day I kept calling on our son to open the cans for me.  Then, one day, out of the beautiful Florida blue, that can opener latched on to a can for me.  I turned the handle, and viola', the lid was off!  It was a gentle glide that didn't seem to cut at all.  Actually, I was surprised to find the lid was cut off the can.  I couldn't "feel" the can opener severing the lid from the can, but the lid was off and the edges of the lid were smooth.  That was just weird, but really cool!

To Open:  Rest the Metal Guide Bar on Top of Can,
Hold the handle and turn the knob clockwise. 
Cutting wheel automatically engages once the knob starts turning.

It turned out that my mistake when trying to open the can was that I wanted the opener to latch onto the can before I started turning the knob.  You must start turning the knob for the cutting wheel to engage.

Before we left Florida that year, I had already found and purchased a can opener just like the one in the condo.  I still use it to this day.  When our children started college and moved into dorm rooms, I included a Good Cook Safe Cut Can Opener in their dorm room college supplies too.

Life Before My Safe Cut Can Opener

I loved my under the counter Spacemaker can opener.  It was actually one of the first things installed in my kitchen when we first moved in.  I can go further back than that even and tell you that I adored my electric can opener that sat on the kitchen counter before the days of under the counter appliances.  

I was never crazy about hand held can openers.  They were simply a necessity in the kitchen until the invention of the electric can openers.  However, I was more than happy to return to a hand held can opener when we discovered the safe cut can opener.  Having a smooth lid edge is definitely worth the minor inconvenience of holding the can opener.  I will also note that the Good Cook Safe Cut Can Opener is lighter weight than the older hand held can openers.  It also glides when cutting so you don't feel like you are expending the same amount of energy or effort to remove the lid.  

I will never go back to can lids that turn into blades in the trash now that there is a smooth lid edge option!

Unfortunately, my 4 in 1 can opener with the bottle cap opener, is no longer available. However, there is a Good Cook Smooth Edge Can Opener shown below that is still available.
 

 Good Cook Can Opener, Safe Cut Manual Can Opener, no Sharp Can Edges, BlackCheck Price

& 

 Edited to Include this Video Showing how to Use the Good Cook Safe Cut Can Opener

Fay, Favored1, commented below that she watched a video on how to use this can opener.  I thought it would be a wonderful addition to add the video here for all to see, so no need to search it out yourself.  One thing he does mention that I neglected to mention above is how to release the can opener after it has finished cutting the lid.

He is using a different Good Cook Can opener without the pop top opener, but the can opening mechanism is the same on both.

The Good Cook Safe Cut Can Opener Reviewed by:

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Reviewing Earthbath Totally Natural Pet Shampoo

When our dog, Daisy, was just a young pup, she suffered terribly from itchy skin. While she scratched, we researched and consulted with friends, as well as the vet, searching for a solution. Eventually, we found help for that dryness, itching, and irritation from scratching in the form of a product that we still use today, eight years later. What do we believe is the best shampoo for dogs with dry, itchy skin? Earthbath Totally Natural Pet Shampoo with oatmeal and aloe. Oh, what a difference and what a relief!

Daisy likes to sit in the grass, observing nature all around her, and we think the combination of bugs and grass, along with summer heat, tend to trigger her occasional episodes of excessive licking and scratching. As I write this it's early July and, just recently, the symptoms occurred once again. So this past weekend we hooked up the hose, grabbed the trusty bottle of Earthbath Oatmeal and Aloe and put it to work.

Besides the fact that the shampoo does such a great job at relieving her itching, we love using it because it smells wonderful and, while it's softening her skin and coat, it makes our hands soft, too. Today, almost a week after her recent bath, her coat still feels soft and she still smells good, too.

When we bathe Daisy we're liberal with the shampoo, but a 16-ounce bottle of Earthbath Totally Natural Pet Shampoo goes a long way and lasts a long time. Earthbath makes a variety of shampoos, even a version for cats and one for puppies, and you can choose based on your favorite scent or ingredients. Oatmeal baths are known for relieving itchy skin and aloe, of course, helps skin heal, so this version is perfect for our dog's needs. The ingredients are all natural, as the name implies, including the almond and vanilla essences that give it such a wonderful fragrance.

While I can't promise that the same shampoo will heal your dog's skin issues, the makers claim that it is safe, gentle, and effective. Based on our experiences, I have to agree with them 100 percent. This is a top-rated product, awarded 4.6 stars overall by over 1500 users on Amazon.com.

I hope Earthbath products are around forever because I plan on being a customer for life. That's how much I love this pet shampoo.

Where To Buy Earthbath Products

If you're an Amazon Prime customer, you'll find the best price for Earthbath's products on Amazon. If you don't have Prime, then order your Earthbath shampoo on eBay to save money on shipping. Look for more Earthbath products here, including conditioners and grooming wipes for dogs and cats.

~ Susan
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