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Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   Published : 2021   ||    Format : print   ||    Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the story of her family through the other protagonist, El

The Sunday Salon: Some reading and some petting


The Sunday 
Salon.com

It's been ages since I did the last Salon post and I feel pretty clueless around here for a change. I've been up since two hours ago and the hour hand is only just slowly making its way to the 8 o'clock mark. Dogs and their early morning urges! It's been two weeks since we got Rue, and it's been a lot of revelations, learnings, changes, fun, and anxiety since then. The first week was all lovey-dovey. We loved the dog, she loved us. It was all a big happy family. We were pretty relieved that Rue was turning out to be low maintenance. As with things like these, once the honeymoon ended, the nightmares started. One day I came home to see that she had pretty much upended the recycle bin and started chewing on bottles and cans and strewn the litter in the hall. The neatofreak in me had a terrible panic attack. That same evening she ran out of the house (to do her business) but she didn't return back when I called her. Anyways, the point is, we found she has separation anxiety and I have seen pretty much all the symptoms in her - she follows me around all the time, she hates sitting alone, she jumps over-excitedly when I return from work, she chews crazily, she barks madly, etc. Did I really say low maintenance?

Still, she's already become such a core part of our home that I don't remember much about how things "used to be". I'm just hoping that we can get her to reduce her barking (I sit terrified every day that some neighbor will go and complain. *fingers crossed*) Right now, she barks at every Tom, Dick, Mary and their dog. Drives me mad!

Dog tales aside, my reading is slowly picking up. Or rather, I'm making it pick up. I doubt I'll ever get back to the 'plenty of time to read and blog' kind-of life, so I might as well make the time to do either when I can, which means warming up more to ebooks. Audiobooks have never worked for me, so I doubt I'll rush over to pick them. I'd rather spend my eyes-occupied time listening to podcasts or Lady Antebellum. Last night, I finished the first book of Patrick Ness' wildly popular Chaos Trilogy series - The Knife of Never Letting Go, which has left me with mixed feelings. I plan to read the next book in the series sometime later, after I'm done with the other two reads I started yesterday - Make It Stay for a book tour and Neal Shusterman's Unwind for serendipity. Both are going great, although I'm able to get through the former only in sprints.

At the moment, I'm looking forward to a lazy Sunday and plenty of reading, and some barking frenzy during Rue's training class that we have today.

Comments

bermudaonion (Kathy) said…
I was gone a couple weeks ago and missed that you got Rue! I clicked over and she's a doll! I'm sure she'll settle down soon.
Jill Broderick said…
I love hearing your Rue stories so I can get a dog and go through all the stages vicariously, since we can't get one! I'm sure she will settle down eventually!
Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com said…
Awwwww I remember those days.
I think it takes months to really cement the dog/owner relationship and for the dog to get into the groove of what is expected of him or her.
Hang in there.
:)
Athira / Aths said…
Yeah, we figured her few weeks at the shelter frightened her. She should settle down in a bit.
Athira / Aths said…
We didn't think we'd get a dog this soon either. I am trying to keep Rue stories at a minimum on the blog, but it's hard. :) So I'm glad that you are looking forward to them.
Athira / Aths said…
Yeah, I guess we'll just wait it out until she settles down with us. But she's doing great at home, so that's nice.
Bellezza said…
Hope you had more reading than barking at the end of the day; still we live our pets, don't we?! Have a good week!
Helen Murdoch said…
Ah dogs... love and wish they'd go away since they are so much work. Truthfully, I would be heartbroken if our dog (Charlie) was gone. But, each day I resent having to be home around a certain time to walk and feed him. Luckily, he was never a chewer!
Veens said…
What a cute name..Rue :) We have one at my mom's place and well she hasn't changed and I think with time she has become the dominating figure around there :D I haven't read any of the books you mention but I have the heard of the 1st one :) I hope to read your review and decide on all of them.
Athira / Aths said…
We did have plenty of barking, but I got some good reading done too. But sigh, we do love our pets too much.
Athira / Aths said…
You said that right. I am beginning to get annoyed that I have to be home by a certain time to walk Rue. I am waiting for the days when she can sit in the house without whining or getting destructive. Sigh, we'll get there.
Athira / Aths said…
Haha, we let Rue have the run of the house initially, but with the few things that happened last week, we've taken the 180 degree turn.
Tina Reed said…
I really think crate training helps with that. It makes them feel safe. It's hard at first, but after a few days, they really begin to like the crate. Then when they are out, they do their business and the routine helps them feel confident. if you do it, Google it and do not put potty pads are food in there just water. You want her to learn to hold it.
Athira / Aths said…
Thanks for the suggestions. We started crating her after the littering incident, and she's been going to the crate (sometimes) on her own. I feel so much better leaving her alone now, and I'm beginning to feel she likes it too. Luckily, she is very well housetrained, so as long as I stay to her schedule, she does her business outside. Water's the thing I'm not so sure about. I want to leave a little of that inside, but I worry she may choose to play in it, as she once did when we were outside.