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51 reviews for:
The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival, and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming
Shreve Stockton
3.84 AVERAGE
51 reviews for:
The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival, and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming
Shreve Stockton
3.84 AVERAGE
Well, I didn't quite finish this one. Although I liked it to a degree, I happened to put it down halfway through and never felt compelled to pick it up again. Maybe I was worried that Charlie would come to a tragic end? Maybe I was a bit bored. I enjoyed learning something about coyotes.
I read the author's blog about Charlie regularly and a friend bought me this book for Christmas. I now have a clearer view of how this relationship evolved. The most interesting bit is when the author and Charlie tussle over who is the alpha, and why. Animals are so much smarter than we ever give them credit for.
Except maybe cows and sheep--they don't inspire me with their overall intelligence.
But I digress. Stockton is a little woo-woo spiritual for me, but I love her voice and her sensibility. She seems to have a clear view of priorities in life. Now, if only I could see a picture of Mike.... {jk} {mostly}
Except maybe cows and sheep--they don't inspire me with their overall intelligence.
But I digress. Stockton is a little woo-woo spiritual for me, but I love her voice and her sensibility. She seems to have a clear view of priorities in life. Now, if only I could see a picture of Mike.... {jk} {mostly}
Some of the author's insightful comments reminded me so much of my thoughts and feelings. Highly enjoyable read!
The greatest thing about this book is the photos. Charlie is the star of the show, and Shreve has captured him in all of his moods and stages of development. She has a degree in photography, and the pictures are delightful.
It would be easy enough to nitpick about the flaws in this book, but I won't do it because it seems like too much of a cheap shot. The author never intended to write a book. She was approached by publishers and she gamely stepped up to the challenge, with a six-month deadline. I doubt I could have done as well.
I was surprised that she didn't definitively establish herself as the alpha from day one with Charlie. I sort of thought everyone knew that, but then she did say she'd never had a dog before. She ended up doing a lot of remedial work to deal with some serious and potentially dangerous behavioral and aggression problems when Charlie got to be about nine months old. He certainly showed that he was still a wild animal.
I got a kick out of the way her cat Eli was really the king of the castle. He's the true alpha, over both Shreve and Charlie. Even when Charlie started becoming aggressive, he was always totally obsequious toward the cat. Funny!
It would be easy enough to nitpick about the flaws in this book, but I won't do it because it seems like too much of a cheap shot. The author never intended to write a book. She was approached by publishers and she gamely stepped up to the challenge, with a six-month deadline. I doubt I could have done as well.
I was surprised that she didn't definitively establish herself as the alpha from day one with Charlie. I sort of thought everyone knew that, but then she did say she'd never had a dog before. She ended up doing a lot of remedial work to deal with some serious and potentially dangerous behavioral and aggression problems when Charlie got to be about nine months old. He certainly showed that he was still a wild animal.
I got a kick out of the way her cat Eli was really the king of the castle. He's the true alpha, over both Shreve and Charlie. Even when Charlie started becoming aggressive, he was always totally obsequious toward the cat. Funny!
Grabbed this from the bargain bin because I vaguely remembered the blog from several years ago. Silly me, I didn't actually flip through the book.
I assumed this would be a picture heavy book that would recap the blog posts since that's a pretty common trend. I didn't really care about Shreve's life or love or hippy thoughts about energy and life after death. I wanted cute pictures of a coyote.
I love Wyoming and did enjoy the first chapter and its descriptions of the country and the differences between city life and country life. But there still weren't enough pictures.
I didn't want to rate the book any lower just because it didn't meet my expectations. If I had taken 10 seconds to flip through the book and realize that there were a lot of words, I wouldn't have gone in expecting lots of adorable pictures of Charlie growing up. The writing isn't terrible, and it is interesting to read about the growth of a coyote and his family. So if that's what you're into, then this is a perfectly satisfying quick read.
But if you want to see lots of adorable pictures of animals, go check out the blog.
I assumed this would be a picture heavy book that would recap the blog posts since that's a pretty common trend. I didn't really care about Shreve's life or love or hippy thoughts about energy and life after death. I wanted cute pictures of a coyote.
I love Wyoming and did enjoy the first chapter and its descriptions of the country and the differences between city life and country life. But there still weren't enough pictures.
I didn't want to rate the book any lower just because it didn't meet my expectations. If I had taken 10 seconds to flip through the book and realize that there were a lot of words, I wouldn't have gone in expecting lots of adorable pictures of Charlie growing up. The writing isn't terrible, and it is interesting to read about the growth of a coyote and his family. So if that's what you're into, then this is a perfectly satisfying quick read.
But if you want to see lots of adorable pictures of animals, go check out the blog.
I liked the book because I admired how she took risks and worked through all the hard times that resulted from her decisions. I didn't like that she never showed herself in an unflattering light. That's her right, of course, but it weakened the impact of the story for me. And I know she didn't write the book for me, but this is my review.
If I take this book as simply a memoir, then it's fine. Interesting, philosophical, beautiful descriptions of snow and sagebrush...and I admire her absolute commitment to Charlie's well-being. I don't share the belief she seems to hold that life is always trying to teach us something.
My belief is that life is ruled by science that we humans may never fully grasp, and is completely emotionless. That quality of dispassion makes me sometimes feel that life is random to the Nth degree, but mathematics and chemistry underlie everything.
The one part of Shreve's story that leaves me with a funny feeling....like information is being withheld from me, information that might be very important to me...is that she never mentions sexuality. She has a sexual relationship with a man, her un-neutered coyote regularly sleeps in the bed with them, she raises Charlie right through the time he comes into maturity, and she barely touches on sex. Sex is a major life force. How can she ignore its impact, and why? I could understand if she said it was private and she chose not to talk about it in this memoir, but she didn't. She just ignores it.
So okay, like I said this is her memoir, only hers; she didn't write it for me. But that whole struggle for dominance thing? Did she ever entertain the idea that sexuality might be in play? She made it ALL about alpha status and emotional balance--but you can't achieve balance if you pretend that the bowling ball on your scales is not only invisible, but also weightless.
If I take this book as simply a memoir, then it's fine. Interesting, philosophical, beautiful descriptions of snow and sagebrush...and I admire her absolute commitment to Charlie's well-being. I don't share the belief she seems to hold that life is always trying to teach us something.
My belief is that life is ruled by science that we humans may never fully grasp, and is completely emotionless. That quality of dispassion makes me sometimes feel that life is random to the Nth degree, but mathematics and chemistry underlie everything.
The one part of Shreve's story that leaves me with a funny feeling....like information is being withheld from me, information that might be very important to me...is that she never mentions sexuality. She has a sexual relationship with a man, her un-neutered coyote regularly sleeps in the bed with them, she raises Charlie right through the time he comes into maturity, and she barely touches on sex. Sex is a major life force. How can she ignore its impact, and why? I could understand if she said it was private and she chose not to talk about it in this memoir, but she didn't. She just ignores it.
So okay, like I said this is her memoir, only hers; she didn't write it for me. But that whole struggle for dominance thing? Did she ever entertain the idea that sexuality might be in play? She made it ALL about alpha status and emotional balance--but you can't achieve balance if you pretend that the bowling ball on your scales is not only invisible, but also weightless.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!! If you are an animal lover, please do yourself a favor and read this book!!!
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I just didn't like anything about this book.
Week 50 of the Popsugar Challenge: A book with a main character in their 20s
Week 50 of the Popsugar Challenge: A book with a main character in their 20s
A nice relaxing read. And there are cute pictures of coyotes. I get the feeling that the author is pretentiously spiritual, but I'm kind of okay with that because she spends a minimal amount of time dwelling on that and a majority of the time describing coyote-related antics.