Rachel Toor

This is a great little book for the woman runner (or men too really, I don't think you "have" to be a woman to appreciate it, but much of the humor is intertwined with dating and being a woman in sport among mostly men). I am SO not a fan of sarcastic humor usually, but I ended up really liking Rachel Toor, a lot ... you must, as you spend a lot of time in her head. This book is comprised of a series of essays having to do with running, in all its glory, therapy, heartache and pain. I show more whipped through this book, the essay length being just perfect to read a few before bed. Also, I found the writing surprisingly inspiring. I've been a casual runner most of my life, never really felt I had any particular talent, that is for sure, just for the joy of it ~ but this book made me consider other options, different kinds of goals and basically, surrounding myself in people who love to do what I do. There is no question you have to be a runner to enjoy this one, but it also make you WANT to run. show less

[b: Misunderstood: A Book About Rats|25689036|Misunderstood A Book About Rats|Rachel Toor|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1444655322s/25689036.jpg|45517440] is yet another in my 'let's put every book my library has on rats on hold and see what I may find' experiment. This was, so far, probably the most fun of the books I've found. While it doesn't go into quite as much detail about the actual intricacies of rat care as other handbooks I've read, it does a better job of encapsulating the show more whole rat-human experience that comes from living with these pets. I don't feel saying 'owning' them is quite the right term - you more just share your home with them for the duration of their lives.

[a: Rachel Toor|17545|Rachel Toor|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1193155752p2/17545.jpg] has written a wonderful book for young audiences that is equally engaging for older readers. She writes about her own life with her rat, Iris, and in the process the other rat enthusiasts and the scientists who study them. There are ample citings of interesting facts about rats and the people who keep them. Scientific studies are delved into, as is the natural history of the animals and the way humans have interacted with them over the ages. This is a book about fancy rats, and one of the few that exist. It'll be an eye-opening book for anyone interested in them.

As testimony to this books intense readability and fascinating content when I was adopting a hedgehog out recently, the woman's children became very interested in my pet rats. I let them play with them, and was sharing facts with them. The daughter noticed I had this book on my table, and picked it up right then and there. She ended up reading about 20 pages in a single sitting, all the while sharing the facts with me and showing me the pictures within it. Not a bad way to help people understand just how cool these animals are. show less

Read this after hearing Rachel Toor on Another Mother Runner podcast and about her again through a favorite company of mine, Skirt Sports. She sounded like a cool lady and I wanted to read her book.

I enjoyed her writing about the experience of learning how to run. I found some of the exposition about running tedious but that's because I've been running for a dozen years, non-runners would need to exposition, I think.

The information about Walter the Rat was both interesting and strange. I show more understand how it contributed to the story of Alice but I still found it a bit irritating. Must be my anti-rat bias!

The lessons about learning to be wrong and choosing a college wisely are good lessons as is the one about paying more attention to the people you love although delivered in a somewhat heavy handed manner.

Overall it was enjoyable but not spectacular. I might share it with my friend's daughter who recently started to run cross country in high school. show less

I latched on to the following statement early "... bigotry and prejudice rely on ignorance to thrive.", deciding that it was a key point to understanding and reviewing this book. In "Misunderstood" the author provides rat facts in a entertaining and whimsical manner. I could feel the authors love for rats and animals in general come through her writing. While it is not enough to convert this reader, the book is well written, informative and entertaining.

To my own surprise I recommend this show more book to the target age range. show less