Crowded in the Middle of Nowhere
Tales of Humor and Healing from Rural America
Dr. Bo Brock
Greenleaf Book Group Press, June 2016
ISBN 978-1-62634-264-4
Trade Paperback
From the publisher—
Crowded in the Middle of Nowhere: Tales of Humor and Healing from Rural America is a collection of humorous and poignant stories from a veterinarian in a small, dusty farming and ranching community in rural West Texas. Dr. Brock gives you an intimate look into his small-town and big-hearted perspective on life, animals, and their owners. His unique perspective and tales of doctoring beloved pets, cantankerous livestock, and occasionally their owners will make you smile, laugh, cry, and evoke every other emotion under the sun.
Mention the words “veterinarian” and “book” to me and I’m a very easy mark. In fact, I’m a pushover. My near-obsession started years ago with James Herriot—I re-read and re-listen on a regular basis—and I’m always on a subconscious mission to find more vets/authors like him. So far, I’ve never been disappointed though some are slightly less successful than others.
Crowded in the Middle of Nowhere falls into the latter end of the range but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it, not at all. The main thing I found missing was a sense of time, of when things were happening and my other quibble had to do with the brevity of many of Dr. Brock‘s stories, making it difficult to get invested sometimes. This book is a collection of vignettes, some as short as a few paragraphs, rather than the longer episodes you usually see that give you the chance to get to know the vet and other characters and, of course, the animals.
Still, this gave me a few hours of pleasure and I must say I won’t soon forget the pregnant mouse or the indestructible little red pig while Leonard’s horses brought tears to my eyes. In fact, Crowded in the Middle of Nowhere gave me both tears and smiles and that’s what a vet book should do. Should Dr. Brock write another one, and I hope he will, I’ll certainly want to read it.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, September 2016.
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The Room with the Second-Best View
Tales from the Goose Creek B&B #3
Virginia Smith
Harvest House Publishers, September 2016
ISBN 978-0-7369-6481-4
Trade Paperback
From the publisher—
The B&B Is Open for Business!
Shhh…
Excitement is in the air in Goose Creek, Kentucky, as the small town prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary and the veterinarian’s upcoming wedding. But trouble is brewing in this provincial paradise…
Al Richardson agreed to open a B&B with his wife after his retirement in two years, but Millie secretly invites some guests to stay for the wedding. She plans to be the most gracious Southern hostess—until a tumble down the stairs leaves her unprepared for their quirky and cantankerous first guest.
Meanwhile, the town’s anniversary plans are in a state of chaos as the celebration committee scrambles to raise the necessary funds—an effort spearheaded by a “newcomer,” which ruffles the townsfolk’s feathers.
Goose Creek has lasted 150 years. Can it survive the next month?
When I first made the acquaintance of the folks in Goose Creek back in July (see my review of Renovating the Richardsons), I fell in love with the town and its citizens and I could hardly wait to catch up with the rest of the books in the series. I haven’t yet gotten to the first book, The Most Famous Illegal Goose Creek Parade, or Dr. Horatio vs. the Six-Toed Cat, a novella that was published following Renovating the Richardsons but chronologically precedes the first book. Instead, I jumped right into the third novel and I couldn’t be happier.
Al and Millie are moving ahead with the renovations on their large house, turning it into a B&B that they plan to open when they retire but Al’s suspicions are raised by Millie’s culinary bribery tactics. When he hears she wants to do a “practice run”, he’s not the least bit pleased because, as he puts it, he won’t retire for another two years and eight days and they agreed on that timeline. Never mind, Millie gets her way because, after all, Al is nearly unable to seriously say “no” to this woman who’s the center of his life but a simple hosting of a few wedding guests soon mushrooms into so much more. Al has been forced into taking charge, grudgingly, because Millie suffered a mishap so when the first guest to arrive, the groom’s meddling eccentric Aunt Lorna, is three weeks early and exceedingly annoying, the problems are just beginning. One might question if Goose Creek can survive this wedding. Even if it can, will Millie be able to work on a civic program with the aggravating Lulu Thacker whose obnoxiousness is only exceeded by that of her husband, Franklin?
There are no overwhelmingly important issues in this kind of story but I love the comfort and pure pleasure to be found with no gratuitous anything…sex, violence, what have you. Humor and concern for one’s neighbors abound in this book and I can’t recommend it highly enough. I have no problem reading series out of order but I truly believe this one can be comfortably read in any order and you won’t feel that chunks of backstory are missing. Goose Creek, as always, is a wonderful town to visit at any time and Ms. Smith never disappoints.
Now, I really need to get those two missing books and I’m thrilled there’s another novella coming, A Goose Creek Christmas, at the end of November. I’ve pre-ordered it and, because I know I’ll forget all about it by the time it’s released, I’ll have a most delightful surprise 😉
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, September 2016.
Buried Under Books 