Sunday, May 18, 2008

Don't Judge a Book By Its Title


James Herriot. I knew he wrote about being a veterinarian, but I always got the impression his books (with their All Things Bright and Beautiful titles) had a religious bent as well. They just didn't sound like much fun. Then a few weeks ago, a "Best Of" compilation crossed my desk. I paged through it and decided to give it a try. Well, who'd've guessed--it wasn't religious at all, and it was pretty funny! Now, that said, I'm not in a rush to proceed to the other six or so James Herriot books on the shelf at my library, but it was a pleasant diversion.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember watching the TV show with my mom when I was a kid. I picked up one of his books somewhere and enjoyed it, but I don't think I ever bothered reading any of his other books. Thanks for the reminder - next time I'm sick in bed and need some light entertainment, this would probably hit the spot.

Little Black Car said...

Everyone should read James Herriot. I used to work as a veterinary assistant and I was shocked a) by how familiar his stories seemed despite the 60-ish year time difference, and b) how many veterinarians don't know who he was!

The TV show was excellent but the DVD's, unfortunately, are outrageously expensive. The books are terrific.

Anonymous said...

Look at the James Herriot love! Thanks for the reminders that there are videos out there. I just checked, and we have them in our library system, so I'll be checking them out (as soon as we're done with the Anthony Bourdain dvds).