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gwengwyn's review
4.0
Sometimes you need a relaxing time when an elderly British veterinarian tells you about the interwar period in the Dales and you experience predictable, comforting emotional rhythms
alyhowell's review against another edition
5.0
Always a good natured classic, won’t disappoint!
Perfect for lovers of funny, yet thoughtful and heartfelt stories. James Herriot is like a favorite neighbor. A great read for those who love animals!
Perfect for lovers of funny, yet thoughtful and heartfelt stories. James Herriot is like a favorite neighbor. A great read for those who love animals!
kararkoehn's review against another edition
Very good books. I enjoyed reading them to relax.
bookaneer's review against another edition
4.0
The rating and review only applies to All Creatures Great and Small.
Even though the book is semi autobiographical, it is still a very moving and immersive read.
Even though the book is semi autobiographical, it is still a very moving and immersive read.
melissarochelle's review against another edition
4.0
5 stars. All Creatures Great and Small is a fantastic read. It's educational -- who knew being a vet in the late-30s was so harsh -- it's hilarious -- seriously, laugh out loud funny -- and absolutely timeless. I can't wait to watch the TV show (it's currently available on Netflix!) to see just how beautiful it is. I feel my Googling just hasn't done the area justice.
4.5 stars. All Things Bright and Beautiful didn't move along as quickly as the first book. The timeline threw me off a bit, but despite that I still loved the people, the place, and the stories. You can just tell how much the author loved this place.
3.5 stars. All Things Wise and Wonderful is the choppiest of these three books. While the first two were clearly essays about being a country vet, in this one Herriot does that weird flashback/reminiscing thing. For example, in this book he is in the RAF training to be a pilot and somehow everything he experiences keeps reminding him of home and being a vet. I could have done without that and just had the wacky, hilarious, and sometimes sad stories of being a vet before antibiotics.
All of these are great, easy reading though. It's so easy to just fall back into these stories after time away. And it must be pretty clear that I love them because I just spent 2000+ pages in Yorkshire with Jim, Tristan, Tricky Woo, Cedric the Farting Boxer, Siegfried, and all of the farmers and animals in Yorkshire.
09/29/13 - Ebook omnibus editions are brutal. I've finished with the first book and LOVED it, but there's still a thousand pages to go. The other books on my shelves are quietly judging me. Do I read something else before I go on or do I dive right into the next book? I'm not sure that I'm ready to leave Yorkshire just yet. Of course, there's also the problem that the ebook is going to expire in 3 days and I can't possibly finish the final 60% in that amount of time. Hopefully there are no holds...
10/11/13 - Finished with book two! I am going to give it a little break before I move on to the third book in the omnibus, but only because I have a book club book waiting for me.
12/16/13 - And done with the omnibus! On to Book 4!
4.5 stars. All Things Bright and Beautiful didn't move along as quickly as the first book. The timeline threw me off a bit, but despite that I still loved the people, the place, and the stories. You can just tell how much the author loved this place.
3.5 stars. All Things Wise and Wonderful is the choppiest of these three books. While the first two were clearly essays about being a country vet, in this one Herriot does that weird flashback/reminiscing thing. For example, in this book he is in the RAF training to be a pilot and somehow everything he experiences keeps reminding him of home and being a vet. I could have done without that and just had the wacky, hilarious, and sometimes sad stories of being a vet before antibiotics.
All of these are great, easy reading though. It's so easy to just fall back into these stories after time away. And it must be pretty clear that I love them because I just spent 2000+ pages in Yorkshire with Jim, Tristan, Tricky Woo, Cedric the Farting Boxer, Siegfried, and all of the farmers and animals in Yorkshire.
09/29/13 - Ebook omnibus editions are brutal. I've finished with the first book and LOVED it, but there's still a thousand pages to go. The other books on my shelves are quietly judging me. Do I read something else before I go on or do I dive right into the next book? I'm not sure that I'm ready to leave Yorkshire just yet. Of course, there's also the problem that the ebook is going to expire in 3 days and I can't possibly finish the final 60% in that amount of time. Hopefully there are no holds...
10/11/13 - Finished with book two! I am going to give it a little break before I move on to the third book in the omnibus, but only because I have a book club book waiting for me.
12/16/13 - And done with the omnibus! On to Book 4!
raben_76325's review
4.0
I have a child who loves animals. All animals. Earlier this year a James Herriot omnibook came available for Kindle on a fairly cheap deal. I snagged it, thinking that Bennett might really enjoy the books at some point. Then, I read James Herriot’s Treasury for Children to the children as part of our school day this fall, and I found that I was as charmed as the children were.
So, when I started looking at the categories from this year’s #VTReadingChallenge, I saw that book number four was a “book by an author who is no longer alive.” I immediately thought of the James Herriot treasury, and I picked it up to read for myself. I will quickly review all three books here, so that you can see what is included in the kindle bundle.
All Creatures Great and Small
In All Creatures Great and Small, James Herriot is a young veterinarian. He’s just out of school, and he is taking his first job in a small town in Yorkshire as an assistant to veterinarian Siegfried Farnon. Herriot quickly learns that like as a veterinarian is not the way that he pictured it in college, and we begin to see him grow and mature as a veterinarian as well as seeing him fall in love with both the countryside and with his future wife.
I found myself completely enchanted by the book. I loved the depiction of the different farmers. Loved the repeat of certain special animals and their owners into Herriot’s life. However, best of all was the interaction between Farnon, Herriot, and Farnon’s carefree little brother Tristan. Just seeing the big brother and the rebellious little brother would make me smile as I would read about their interactions.
I also would smirk when Farnon would give Herriot advice. Why? Because every single time Herriot would follow Farnon’s advice, Farnon would criticize Herriot and give completely conflicting advice. Farnon is just such a wonderful character to read about, and I enjoyed him so much in this book.
All Things Bright and Beautiful
This book continues James Herriot’s adventures in his early year of veterinary work. He is a young newlywed, and his enjoying the married life. He continues to work and see a multitude of animals, and we get to hear new stories of animals and of their amazing owners throughout the book.
The timeline of this book slips around. Although he is married to Helen in the book, readers will occasionally find him going backwards to tell a story from their courtship or his younger, single days, and I found that a little frustrating in the first half of the book because I like my stories to travel in a straight line, but the stories themselves are so warm and wonderful that I finally learned to just step back and embrace them.
Faron is still in these stories, and he’s just as hilarious as in the first book. We also see the addition of Granville Bennett, a small pets veterinarian who always seems to get Herriot drunk and into more trouble than Harriot really means to get into. I look forward to his appearances with delight!!
In the shadow of the book, looming throughout the book is the probability that both Herriot and Farnon will go off to war. This becomes a reality at the end of the book as Herriot leaves for London. I look forward to the next book in hopes of seeing how this adventures in the RAF turn out.
All Things Wise and Wonderful
In this book, James is in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He shares stories of his time in the Air Force, of the birth of his son, of his discharge and being ready to come back home, along with reminiscences of his life before the war as a veterinary surgeon.
The stories don’t progress in a straight line because many of them are stories that the goings on the air force remind him of. However, this doesn’t bother me in the way it did in the second book because I enjoyed seeing him compare his military life to his life as a vet. I enjoyed seeing the similarities between the two lives. It was really a pleasant read, and perhaps my favorite of the three books in this omnibus.
I’m a little surprised by how much I enjoyed all these books because I’m not an animal lover. However, this is one of the most charming sets of books I’ve read in a long time.
So, when I started looking at the categories from this year’s #VTReadingChallenge, I saw that book number four was a “book by an author who is no longer alive.” I immediately thought of the James Herriot treasury, and I picked it up to read for myself. I will quickly review all three books here, so that you can see what is included in the kindle bundle.
All Creatures Great and Small
In All Creatures Great and Small, James Herriot is a young veterinarian. He’s just out of school, and he is taking his first job in a small town in Yorkshire as an assistant to veterinarian Siegfried Farnon. Herriot quickly learns that like as a veterinarian is not the way that he pictured it in college, and we begin to see him grow and mature as a veterinarian as well as seeing him fall in love with both the countryside and with his future wife.
I found myself completely enchanted by the book. I loved the depiction of the different farmers. Loved the repeat of certain special animals and their owners into Herriot’s life. However, best of all was the interaction between Farnon, Herriot, and Farnon’s carefree little brother Tristan. Just seeing the big brother and the rebellious little brother would make me smile as I would read about their interactions.
I also would smirk when Farnon would give Herriot advice. Why? Because every single time Herriot would follow Farnon’s advice, Farnon would criticize Herriot and give completely conflicting advice. Farnon is just such a wonderful character to read about, and I enjoyed him so much in this book.
All Things Bright and Beautiful
This book continues James Herriot’s adventures in his early year of veterinary work. He is a young newlywed, and his enjoying the married life. He continues to work and see a multitude of animals, and we get to hear new stories of animals and of their amazing owners throughout the book.
The timeline of this book slips around. Although he is married to Helen in the book, readers will occasionally find him going backwards to tell a story from their courtship or his younger, single days, and I found that a little frustrating in the first half of the book because I like my stories to travel in a straight line, but the stories themselves are so warm and wonderful that I finally learned to just step back and embrace them.
Faron is still in these stories, and he’s just as hilarious as in the first book. We also see the addition of Granville Bennett, a small pets veterinarian who always seems to get Herriot drunk and into more trouble than Harriot really means to get into. I look forward to his appearances with delight!!
In the shadow of the book, looming throughout the book is the probability that both Herriot and Farnon will go off to war. This becomes a reality at the end of the book as Herriot leaves for London. I look forward to the next book in hopes of seeing how this adventures in the RAF turn out.
All Things Wise and Wonderful
In this book, James is in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He shares stories of his time in the Air Force, of the birth of his son, of his discharge and being ready to come back home, along with reminiscences of his life before the war as a veterinary surgeon.
The stories don’t progress in a straight line because many of them are stories that the goings on the air force remind him of. However, this doesn’t bother me in the way it did in the second book because I enjoyed seeing him compare his military life to his life as a vet. I enjoyed seeing the similarities between the two lives. It was really a pleasant read, and perhaps my favorite of the three books in this omnibus.
I’m a little surprised by how much I enjoyed all these books because I’m not an animal lover. However, this is one of the most charming sets of books I’ve read in a long time.
panxa's review
4.0
I'd seen the TV show before I read the book, and it was fun matching up what bit of plot went where. The writing style is very conversational and engaging. And of course I cried at quite a few scenes.
purlewe's review
4.0
Another fantastic novel by Mr. Herriot. I find it interesting how he says very clearly how he won't be dicussing the war.. and yet this whole book is framed as his memories of home DURING the war. He gives no info about what his time in the RAF except that he was there, was grounded (no clues as to why), and finally discharged. But each beginning of the story starts out with him doing something in the RAF (marching, flying, etc) and how it reminds him of a something that happened in Darrowby.
The vet stories are always so wonderfully written. I am often moved to laughter or tears. I wish I had found these books when I was younger. I am glad I am reading them now.
The vet stories are always so wonderfully written. I am often moved to laughter or tears. I wish I had found these books when I was younger. I am glad I am reading them now.
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