The Secret Lives of Cows by Rosamund Young

 

I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Secret Lives of Cows by Rosamund Young, which was narrated by the author.

The Secret Lives of Cows by Rosamund Young was my first read for August 2025 and was a book that had been on my reading wishlist for some time. The Secret Lives of Cows is a work of nonfiction and is a quick listen at 3 hours, 41 minutes.

I'm glad I finally read The Secret Lives of Cows as I love cows and wanted to learn more about them from the author. Rosamund Young is an English farmer and she provided a lot of interesting information about cows on her farm. The personality and behavior of individual cows is amazing, but not surprising.

Rosamund Young discusses hens, sheep, and pigs in her book as well as organic farming. Although, I found these topics to be interesting, I wish they'd been excluded from this book altogether. The Secret Lives of Cows is already a very short book as it is and I'd rather have had the sole topic of this book be about cows exclusively instead of a book that included other animals in it.

Below is the publisher's summary for The Secret Lives of Cows by Rosamund Young from the Goodreads website:

Cows can love, play games, bond and form strong, life-long friendships. They can sulk, hold grudges, and they have preferences and can be vain. All these characteristics and more have been observed, documented, interpreted and retold by Rosamund Young based on her experiences looking after the family farm's herd on Kite's Nest Farm in Worcestershire, England. Here the cows, sheep, hens and pigs all roam free. There is no forced weaning, no separation of young from siblings or mother. They seek and are given help when they request it and supplement their own diets by browsing and nibbling leaves, shoots, flowers and herbs. Rosamund Young provides a fascinating insight into a secret world - secret because many modern farming practices leave no room for displays of natural behavior yet, ironically, a happy herd produces better quality beef and milk.

I am giving The Secret Lives of Cows by Rosamund Young a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

 

Wear Your Dreams: My Life in Tattoos by Ed Hardy with Joel Selvin

 

I started reading the hardback edition of Wear Your Dreams: My Life in Tattoos by Ed Hardy with Joel Selvin in late 2021, but I eventually switched over to the audio version in July of this year due to another recent flare up with my vision issues.

I liked the hardback edition of Wear Your Dreams: My Life in Tattoos for its beautiful dust jacket. Even the endpapers within the interior of Wear Your Dreams: My Life in Tattoos were beautifully rendered with tattoo artwork. The physical book also contained many photographs as well that are (of course) not part of the audio version of Wear Your Dreams: My Life in Tattoos.

Overall I enjoyed listening to Wear Your Dreams: My Life in Tattoos from start to finish. This book was narrated by Johnny Heller and I found him to be an okay narrator. I think a different narrator could have been chosen as I felt Johnny Heller's voice was too gravelly.

I have always enjoyed reading or listening to memoirs and biographies. Ed Hardy became such a big cultural icon and well known tattoo artist that I wanted to learn more about the man behind the public figure and how he became the man he is.

I enjoyed listening to Wear Your Dreams: My Life in Tattoos. The memoir discusses Ed Hardy's childhood, education, personal and professional life. Ed Hardy has lived a very colorful life to date and has met and interacted with various artists and people from different walks of life. He's pretty much lived in a wide range of places like Japan, Hawaii, New York, Vancouver, Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, and Orange County, California. 

It was interesting to read about Hardy's life as a tattoo artist, how he became a painter and showed his paintings in exhibits later in life, and how Ed Hardy paired up with French fashion designer, Christian Audigier, which explodes the Ed Hardy brand through the use of his tatto imagery on clothing and accessories.

As much as I enjoyed Wear Your Dreams: My Life in Tattoos, I found it to be a bit dry. I also found the few chapters about Ed Hardy's life as a painter to be boring.

Below is the publisher's summary for Wear Your Dreams: My Life in Tattoos by Ed Hardy with Joel Selvin from the Goodreads website:

The memoir of iconic tattoo artist Ed Hardy from his beginnings in 1960s California, to leading the tattoo renaissance and building his name into a hugely lucrative international brand "Ed Hardy" is emblazoned on everything from t-shirts and hats to perfumes and energy drinks. From LA to Japan, his colorful cross-and-bones designs and ribbon-banners have become internationally ubiquitous. But long before the fashion world discovered his iconic designs, the man behind the eponymous brand spearheaded nothing less than a cultural revolution. In Wear Your Dreams, Ed Hardy recounts his genesis as a tattoo artist and leader in the movement to recognize tattooing as a valid and rich art form, through to the ultimate transformation of his career into a multi-billion dollar branding empire. From giving colored pencil tattoos to neighborhood kids at age ten to working with legendary artists like Sailor Jerry to learning at the feet of the masters in Japan, the book explains how this Godfather of Tattoos fomented the explosion of tattoo art and how his influence can be witnessed on everyone, from countless celebs to ink-adorned rockers to butterfly-branded, stroller-pushing moms. With over fifty different product categories, the Ed Hardy brand generates over $700 million in retail sales annually. Vividly packaged with original Ed Hardy artwork and ideal for ink devotees and Ed Hardy aficionados alike, Wear Your Dreams is a never-before-seen look at the tattoo artist who rocked the art world and has left a permanent mark on fashion history.

I am giving Wear Your Dreams: My Life in Tattoos by Ed Hardy with Joel Selvin a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

 

I initially read and reviewed The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain back in March 2015. I've been meaning to read and review The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain ever since.

Earlier this year, I decided to finally listen to the unabridged audio version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, which was well narrated by Eric G. Dove.

Personally, I found the first, eight chapters kind of slow for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain plot wise. Things FINALLY picked up in chapter nine and I found myself enjoying the storyline more with each chapter that followed.

Although I found The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain to be enjoyable, I actually liked The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain much better.

The publisher's summary for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain from the Goodreads website:

With The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, not even Twain could have known that when he introduced readers to the inhabitants of the fictional town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, he would also be introducing two characters - one a clever and mischievous scamp, and the other a carefree, innocent ragamuffin - whose stories would ultimately shape the course of American literature. But whereas its sequel and companion piece, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, would harken an end to childhood, the story of Tom Sawyer is one that depicts the excitement and adventure of boyhood along the Mississippi.

Revisit this enduring classic and you will be struck not only by Twain's skill at capturing a time and place so vividly but also by his uncanny ability to crystallize those oftentimes tumultuous and conflicting emotions that a child experiences at the precipice of adulthood: a longing to be free from the rules and obligations of adults while enjoying the laxity inherent in childhood; a love of all things macabre, like blood oaths, cemetery cures, and haunted houses, that reveal a true innocence - an unawareness of real-life consequences and one's own mortality; and the pangs of guilt when knowing the right thing to do and doing the right thing appear to be at odds.

I am giving The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works by Jonathan Gruber

 

I read the paperback edition of Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works by Jonathan Gruber. This book was published in 2011. This book contains good information, but feels a bit dated because it was published 14 years ago.

I still feel Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works by Jonathan Gruber is relevant. Jonathan Gruber is an economist with a PhD in economics from Harvard. He seems to have a lot of credibility when it comes to Health Care Reform.

I enjoyed reading Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works by Jonathan Gruber. The information is easy to understand and follow throughout this book. I enjoyed the artwork contained within this book as well.

Below is the publisher's summary for Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works by Jonathan Gruber from the Goodreads website:

You won’t have to worry about going broke if you get sick. We will start to bring the costs of health care under control. And we will do all this while reducing the federal deficit. That is the promise of the Affordable Care Act. But from the moment President Obama signed the bill into law in 2010, a steady and mounting avalanche of misinformation about the ACA has left a growing majority of Americans confused about what it is, why it’s necessary, and how it works. If you’re one of them, buy this book. From how to tame the twin threats of rising costs and the increasing number of uninsured to why an insurance mandate is good for your health, Health Care Reform dispels false fears by arming you with facts.

I am giving Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works by Jonathan Gruber a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

 

New to Us Little Free Library in Castro Valley, California!

 

Yesterday morning, I found a new to me Little Free Library in Castro Valley, California with my mom and husband.

This is a cute LFL located in a nicely landscaped yard.

I left behind three books at this LFL,

but I didn't take any books home with me because

this LFL was pretty picked over.

Little Free Library in Danville, California!!

 

Yes, to finding a new to me Little Free Library in Danville, California with my mom and husband. We found this cute one after enjoying breakfast out last Sunday morning!

I left two books at this Little Free Library, but I didn't find any books I wanted to bring home and read.

Top Ten Tuesday - Books Set in/Take Place During World War II

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

I've read and reviewed the following ten books set during World War II. Most of them I loved. Click on the links below to read my reviews!

1. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

2. The Taster by V. S. Alexander

3. Winter Men by Jesper Bugge Kold

4. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

5. The True Story of Hansel and Gretel: A Novel of War and Survival by Louise Murphy

6.Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

7. Blackout by Simon Scarrow

8. Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

9. Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole

10.Tightrope by Simon Mawer

Have you read of the following books? Which ones did you love?

UC Berkeley University Libraries!!

University libraries are always amazing to visit!! They are so varied in the way they look from campus to campus. 

I recently came across an online article published on July 15, 2025 via UC Berkeley's Library Communication. 

The article is titled, Welcome to the UC Berkeley Library! Here’s what you need to know. There is a ton of information about the multiple campus library locations, their hours, and services offered to students. Great information for incoming students.

Do you have a favorite university library?