Book Reviews: 2 easy reads for diverse audiences

Thank goodness there are so many genres of books. Sometimes I need a break from heavier subject matters. Sometimes I don’t want a serious lesson or to have to think.

The following two books are both quick, easy reads. They aren’t totally lighthearted, but they are relaxing reads that were enjoyable for very different reasons.

The first—D is for Dogs (BabyLit, 2024) by Greg Paprocki—is wonderful for real little ones. Being a dog person, I loved it at my age. It’s an ABC book, where each letter represents something related to dogs. As in A is for Athletic and Z is for Zoomie.

The illustrations are outstanding. There is so much going on that I could see a youngster being involved with the book for hours (as if that kind of attention span is even possible). More likely they are going to find something new on each page every time they read it or look through it.

It really is a fun book.

Another Step Up the Mountain: A Journey of Courage (Mango Publishing Group, 2024) is the story of Dianette Wells who wrote her memoir with Brit Elders.

It’s about finding happiness through adventure sports and no longer conforming to the ideals that some believe is “normal” spousal activities and parenting. It’s also a story about loss and living through the pain.

Wells’ perseverance to pursue her calling is admirable. I think so often people choose the life that’s expected of them, not the life they want. We can worry too much about what others think that we sacrifice our own happiness.

Her decisions, like all of ours, came with consequences.

It was interesting to learn about what it’s like to compete in adventure races and to be an extreme athlete.

Ultimately, this book is about one woman finding happiness by being true to herself.