X
    Categories: Law Life

Book Review: The Art of Racing in the Rain

After my workout with my trainer, I hurried home, showered and threw together this super quick salad since I wanted to make it downtown and back without hitting rush hour. The salad was spinach with half a can of salmon and a sprinkle of feta cheese. For dressing I mixed together balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, a teeny bit of dijon mustard and splash of lemon juice. I little bitter… but it worked.

I was still hungry after the salad so I grabbed a Pink Lady Apple as I ran out the door! I love this type of apple, especially when I used it in my apple pie oatmeal this past weekend!

I had to go downtown to go to my law school’s campus and turn in some paperwork for our On Campus Interview process. I also wanted to return one of those books I ordered. I didn’t realize that I’d ordered the loose leaf version (which you can put into a binder) rather than the normal book.
By the time I got home 3 hours later… I was STARVING! My recipe for dinner is what I like to call: Use Everything In Your Fridge! I made another delicious zucchini spaghetti dish, tonight with about a cup of steamed broccoli, green onions, a handful of Kale, 1/2 cup of chickpeas, 1/4 cup of low fat trader joe’s marinara sauce, and a sprinkle of feta cheese. It was exactly what I needed! So good!
After my run this morning and working out with my trainer, I felt like I needed to throw in some protein, so I snagged a couple pieces of Turkey Jerky from Trader Joes! I love this stuff because it’s low in calories and not too much sodium! Perfect if you feel like a salty snack.
For dessert, I had banana ice cream again (aka 1 frozen banana whipped in a food processor). This time, I made it in the morning and put it in my freezer all day. It definitely had a more ice-cream consistency to it!
So I just recently finished reading a book called The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein. I had seen the cover all over the place, but I hadn’t heard anyone say much about it until I went to Michigan with a friend and I saw that her sister was reading it. I decided to give it a go, and I’m certainly glad I did!
The Art of Racing in the Rain is a novel about a man (Denny), his wife, their daughter, and their dog (Enzo). Denny is a race car driver living in Seattle waiting for his big break. He and Enzo share a love for racing, which is a career Enzo hopes he can pursue once he has passed on and been reincarnated as a human.
What struck me first about this book is that it’s told from a dog’s point of view! I had recently read Room by Emma Donoghue, which is told from a 5 year old boy’s perspective, so when I realized that Enzo was about to tell the story I became much more interested! I loved when he talked about how smart he is and how he just wished he could communicate with everyone, or at least have abosable thumbs!
The great part about having Enzo tell the story is that what would just be a normal story of someone’s life becomes much more insightful. Enzo is able to see (and smell) things that the people in the story cannot. He also misses out on a lot of happenings since he’s stuck at home quite often, so discovering what is occurring in the lives of the other characters becomes more like a puzzle.
The book was also full of twists and turns. This story wasn’t boy meets girl, they fall in love, have a baby and live happily ever after. Every time you think you know what is going to happen, you get hit with a whole new problem. I like that Stein does this because that’s how real life happens: just when you think you’ve gotten yourself under control, you get knocked off your feet again. Not only is it a story about life, but it’s a story about the bond between a man and his dog; Stein makes it clear that this family needed Enzo for support through all of their difficult times. The Art of Racing in the Rain is great for any dog or animal lover, or someone looking to view a story from a new perspective.
I lent this book to my brother and sister-in-law, who just recently got a golden retriever puppy, and immediately my sister-in-law e-mailed me saying that this book makes her wonder what Molly is thinking!


Kathryn Wheeler: My name is Katie and I moved to Chicago in 2010 for law school and graduated in May 2013. I'm originally from Kansas City, MO and I did my undergrad at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. I started this blog in August of 2011 because I needed a creative outlet and I wanted to write about my life in a way that other women could relate to and realize that they aren’t alone in many aspects of their lives.