Red-Blooded American Male

Wow.

Robert Trachtenberg is quite the photographer.

Red-Blooded American Male is everything that you would expect it to be, plus throw in a few Canadians and British celebs too!

The cover with Will Arnett sets the mood for the entire book. Trachtenberg has a unique way of capturing men in the most unconventional shoots. 

Imagine Seth Rogan with a baby lamb.

Neil Patrick Harris soaking up water in the tub.

Jonah Hill and Channing Tatem doing what best buds do.

Paul Rudd being too sexy in bed.

John Stamos and Bob Saget dressed as women.

Mark Walberg and his kids shoved into a tiny car. 

Jimmy Fallon wearing Victoria Secret angel wings.

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, is in this book.

And I loved every minute of it. 

As part of his "personal project" Trachtenberg put together of book of these photos with stories behind each one of them. Each story tells about the celebrity, the shoot, and the overall mood. It lets us glimpse into Trachtenberg's mind and really understand what it means to capture a picture perfect moment. 

I would like to send a HUGE thanks to Blogging for Books for providing me a copy of Red-Blooded American Male!!

Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett

With the holidays coming up, I want you guys to imagine something.

Imagine you're running low on money and just want to make the holiday great, big meal, gifts for everyone. An opportunity arises for you to make a whole lot of cash, FAST. Just carry a little bit of cocaine and you'll make your family so happy when they see the money. 

Elaine Bartlett did just that and was sentenced 20-to-life for a drug bust she was barely a part of. 

Elaine and her boyfriend Nathan were set up by a guy named Charlie, or George Deets, if you will. Charlie didn't want one of his good friends to go to prison, so he promised a couple of police officers of a drug bust that was going to go down. Resulting in the arrests of Elaine and Nathan.

This event is what starts Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett. 

Told in 4 separate parts, we follow Elaine through court, prison, clemency, and getting back on her feet. We follow her family who has to deal with their parents being in prison. Trust is broken, bonds are broken, and home will never feel like home again.

After 16 years incarcerated, Elaine finally was released on clemency. She couldn't wait to get home to her babies. But her babies were no longer babies. Her babies had babies!! Apache, her oldest, basically took over the parental role when she was arrested. He grew up into a fine young man. But Jamel... Oh Jamel walked a dangerous line with the law. Throughout the book he continuously finds his way back to Rikers Island. 

It hurts to read something like this where family is so broken....

But we are the ones doing this to our society.

I had to read Life on the Outside for my Community Corrections class.

This class has taught me so much! This book has even taught me more than I ever imagined.

Excuse the profanity, but we treat our prisoners like absolute shit. 

We're breaking families apart. We're creating a society where kids grow up without parents. Without parents, we're seeing more and more kids become entangled with the law and then wonder why our prisons are overcrowded??? 

OPEN YOUR EYES PEOPLE.

These people still need our help, we cannot turn our backs on them when they make a mistake. 

They are still people and believe it or not, they will be coming out of prison. They will be joining our society once again. Lets help them before it's too late.

The Secret Language of Dogs

Being a dog mom is one of the best feelings in the world. You get to do life with your best friend, hang out and get to know all their little quirks. But why are they doing these things? The silly little things we see our dogs do are things that come natural to them. 

In The Secret Language of Dogs, Victoria Stilwell explains the inner workings of dogs and their brains. Dogs and humans have coexisted for an incredibly long time now, so we must know a little bit about our canine companions! But did you know dogs can have phobias, fears, emotions, and disorders? Dogs are far more complex than we give them credit for. Each dog learns differently, feel differently, and interact differently. 

This book taught me how to care for my pup in a completely new way. I rescued my mini poodle, Sophie, in January 2016. She needed so much help. Her hair was matted and dreaded; she was all of 5 pounds (not much bigger now, just healthier); you could see her ribs and irritation on her skin. But the worst part of all was that she was skiddish. Her socialization skills were so skewed that walking too loudly next to her would scare the beejezus out of her! But Victoria Stilwell knows there is still hope for dogs like this! By teaching dogs that there is at least one person that cares for them, they will not feel as insecure as before. 

So this book is for all you fellow dog lovers out there.

Dog Moms, Dog Dads, Fur babies everywhere.

I am so thankful that Blogging for Books provided me a copy of this wonderful book!

P.S. It's filled with dog pictures too!!!