Kate’s 2¢: “What sheep think about the weather: how to listen to what animals are trying to say” by Amelia Thomas

“What sheep think about the weather: how to listen to what animals are trying to say” by Amelia Thomas

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Amelia Thomas read her own book, so she knew right where to put a smile in her voice, her tongue in-cheek, and the professional spin on the facts  she’d researched 

   Well done, Amelia.

AI Overview

Amelia Thomas is a Cambridge University-educated British author, naturalist, and journalist who lives on a farm in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Amazon.com – Amelia Thomas: books, biography, latest update – Amazon.com. Related results

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

What sheep think about the weather: how to listen to what animals are trying to say DB133914

Author: Thomas, Amelia

Reading Time: 10 hours, 38 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Amelia Thomas

Subjects: Animals and Wildlife, Nature and the Environment, Science and Technology

“It started with a hummingbird dive-bombing Amelia Thomas over her morning coffee, and a pair of piglets who just wouldn’t stay put. Soon Amelia, journalist and new farmer, begins to question the communications of the creatures all around her. Are they all just animals reacting instinctually to the world around them — or are they trying to communicate something deeper? Driven by lifelong curiosity, Amelia embarks on a journey to uncover what animals truly seek to say to humans. On the way, along with groundbreaking chimps and circumspect octopuses, she’ll meet an extraordinary cast of experts, from animal behaviorists and anthrozoologists to trackers and psychologists, and even explore the surprising insights of pet psychics, A.I. researchers, and animal mindfulness practitioners. Each perspective offers a new layer of understanding about the subtle, complex ways animals connect with us — and will deepen our appreciation for every creature with whom we share our planet. In What Sheep Think About the Weather, Amelia chronicles her sometimes difficult discoveries with humor, heart, and awe. More than just a memoir, this book is a call to listen — not only to the animals we love but to the untamed world around us. What if the answers to some of humanity’s greatest questions have been whispered to us all along?” — From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Old Saybrook : Tantor Media, Inc, 2025.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Fireworks every night: a novel” by Beth Raymer

“Fireworks every night: a novel” by Beth Raymer

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   I listened enthralled as Rachel L. Jacobs narrated this, apparently, semi-auto-biographical  story.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Raymer was born in Steubenville, Ohio in 1976 and grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she attended Palm Beach Community College.[citation needed] Her work often draws on her challenging childhood and the struggle of maintaining a relationship with her homeless father.[8]

Raymer attended Florida State University, graduating with a B.A. in social work. As a student, she worked as an “in-home stripper” and later modeled for adult websites.[9] After being fired from a social work job[10] Raymer moved to Las Vegas at the age of 24 and found work in the world of high-stakes gambling and bookmaking.[11][8][12] She received an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from Columbia University in 2008.[13]

Raymer’s book, Lay the Favorite, was published in 2010.[14] It follows Raymer as she navigates the legal and illegal world of sports gambling. It has been described as a “tragicomic biography” [15] and a “Dickensian picaresque that paints an entertaining view of sports gambling and her own unconventional character.”[16]

In 2007, Focus Features and Random House Films acquired the rights to produce a movie adaptation of the book.[17] Stephen Frears directed the movie, also called Lay the Favorite, which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.[18] Rebecca Hall plays Raymer, starring alongside Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vince Vaughn.

Fireworks Every Nightedit

Raymer’s debut novel Fireworks Every Night, Random House (summer, 2023),[19] explores class differences, the lasting effects of childhood dysfunction, and complex family bonds.[20]

The Lingerie Showedit

Raymer is the writer and narrator of the short film The Lingerie Show, 2015.[21] This film about addiction, loss, and a new start, debuted at the New York Film Festival and was an official selection of the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Melbourne International Animation Festival, Madrid International Film Festival, the Chicago Underground Film Festival, and the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Head of Household: A Journal for Single Momsedit

Head of Household: A Journal for Single Moms, Princeton Architectural Press, May, 2023[22]

Nuclear: Family and its Aftermathedit

Nuclear: Family and its Aftermath, Random House, Spring, 2025.[23] This book explores the diverging destinies of two sisters growing up in poverty in 1980s Florida.[23]

From NLS/BARD/LOC;

Fireworks every night: a novel DB117922

Author: Raymer, Beth

Reading Time: 8 hours, 39 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Rachel L. Jacobs

Subjects: Family, Human Relations, Psychological Fiction

““Florida, we got it all. Motorsports, ribs, beer. You can drive on the sand right on up to the ocean. Fireworks every night.” That’s how twelve-year-old CC’s father, who named her after his beloved Canadian Club whiskey, describes the appeal of their new home. The man is a born grifter, a used-car salesman who burns down his dealership in southern Ohio for enough insurance money to set up a life for himself, his wife, and his two young daughters in a place he picks largely at random, because the living seems easy. CC’s mother is thirty-five going on seventeen, a housewife who just wants to drive a Mustang and hang out at the mall. CC’s sister goes from loving Debbie Gibson and jelly shoes to having a full-on drug addiction and listening only to heavy metal, after enduring forms of abuse within her family. In the midst of this dysfunction, CC is trying to stay afloat and make it out—to achieve some semblance of a stable life in America while coming up against the structural and cultural challenges of growing up in poverty.” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. “”Florida, we got it all. Motorsports, ribs, beer. You can drive on the sand right on up to the ocean. Fireworks every night.” That’s how twelve-year-old CC’s father, who named her after his beloved Canadian Club whiskey, describes the appeal of their new home. The man is a born grifter, a used-car salesman who burns down his dealership in southern Ohio for enough insurance money to set up a life for himself, his wife, and his two young daughters in a place he picks largely at random, because the living seems easy. CC’s mother is thirty-five going on seventeen, a housewife who just wants to drive a Mustang and hang out at the mall. CC’s sister goes from loving Debbie Gibson and jelly shoes to having a full-on drug addiction and listening only to heavy metal, after enduring forms of abuse within her family. In the midst of this dysfunction, CC is trying to stay afloat and make it out-to achieve some semblance of a stable life in America while coming up against the structural and cultural challenges of growing up in poverty.” — Provided by publisher.

New York : Penguin Random House, [2023]

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Kate’s 2¢: “First snow, last light” by Wayne Johnston

“First snow, last light” by Wayne Johnston

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Iole Fabbro and  Stephen Pineo did a good job of narrating this tale for us. I enjoyed listening to this story and I actually liked the ending.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

waynejohnston.ca

Wayne Johnston (born May 22, 1958) is a Canadian novelist. His fiction deals primarily with the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, often in a historical setting. In 2011 Johnston was awarded the Writers’ Trust Engel/Findley Award in recognition of his contribution to Canadian literature.[1]

Early life and education edit

Johnston was born on May 22, 1958, in Goulds, Newfoundland, and graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in English. He worked for three years as a reporter for the St. John’s Daily News.[1]

In 1981, he moved to Ottawa and began to pursue writing full-time. He graduated with an MA from the University of New Brunswick in 1983.[1]

Careeredit

Fictionedit

His first novel, The Story of Bobby O’Malley—which was written while he was a graduate student—won the SmithBooks/Books in Canada First Novel Award in 1985.[1][2]

His second novel, The Time of Their Lives, won the Air Canada/Canadian Authors Association Award for Most Promising Young Canadian Writer in 1988.[3] His novel won the 1991 Thomas Head Raddall Award and was subsequently adapted into a film of the same name.[4] Johnston wrote the screenplay for the film, which won best screenplay in the Atlantic Film Festival and was nominated for an ACTRA Award.[3]

Johnston’s breakthrough novel, 1998’s The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, was shortlisted for both the Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Award for English-language fiction.[5][6] It was acclaimed for its portrayal of historical Newfoundland politician Joey Smallwood.[7][8] The Colony of Unrequited Dreams was adapted into a play by Robert Chafe.[9] The novel was chosen for the 2003 edition of CBC Radio’s Canada Reads competition, where it was championed by politician Justin Trudeau.[10]

Johnston’s The Custodian of Paradise, published in 2006, tells the story of Sheilagh Fielding, a fictional character originally introduced in The Colony of Unrequited Dreams.[11] In 2002, Johnston published The Navigator of New York, a historical novel about the race by Robert Peary and Frederick Cook to reach the North Pole; it was shortlisted for both the Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Award for English-language fiction.[12][6] The Custodian of Paradise (2006), A World Elsewhere (2011), and The Son of a Certain Woman (2013) were longlisted for the Giller Prize.[13][14][15]

Johnston was awarded the Writers’ Trust Engel/Findley Award in recognition of his contribution to Canadian literature in 2011.[16] In April 2014, Johnston was shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour for his novel The Son of a Certain Woman.[17]

In 2017, his novel First Snow, Last Light was released, with the fictional character Sheilagh Fielding returning for the third time.[18] In 2021, he published The Mystery of Right and Wrong.[19] The Novice of Holloway Hall was published in 2026,[20] and was longlisted for the 2026 Giller Prize.[21]

Non-fictionedit

Johnston has also published non-fiction. His Baltimore’s Mansion (1999), is a memoir about his father and grandfather. It won the inaugural Charles Taylor Prize.[22]

His 2022 memoir Jennie’s Boy recounts his childhood in Newfoundland and won the 2023 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.[23][24]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

First snow, last light DBG09757

Author: Johnston, Wayne

Reading Time: 14 hours, 49 minutes

Production: CNIB

Read by: Iole Fabbro, Stephen Pineo

Subjects: Family, Growing up, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Human Relations, Mystery and Detective Stories, Psychological Fiction

Ned Vatcher, only 14, ambles home from school before the first storm of 1936 to find the house locked, the family car missing, and his parents gone without a trace. From that point on, his life is driven by the need to find out what happened to the Vanished Vatchers. His father, Edgar, born to a poor family of fishermen, had risen to become the right-hand man to the colony’s prime minister, then suffered an unexpected fall from grace. While searching for the truth, Ned finds himself enmeshed in the family of his missing father, who are themselves haunted by the inexplicable disappearance of a third Vatcher, a young man who was lost at sea on a calm and sunny day years earlier. Two other people loom large as Ned becomes Newfoundland’s first media mogul, building an empire to insulate him from loss: a Jesuit priest named Father Duggan, and Sheilagh Fielding, a boozy giantess who, while wandering the city streets at night, composes satiric columns that scandalize the rich and powerful. Bestseller. 2017. Unrated. Marrakesh title.

Toronto : Knopf Canada, 2017.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Good Morning, Killer” by April Smith

“Good Morning, Killer” by April Smith

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   I enjoyed listening to Martha Harmon Pardee, my favorite narrator, share this story with me. The author wielded her craft well to develop the narrative arc and come to a satisfying climax.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

www.aprilsmith.net

April Smith is an American novelist, television writer and producer. Her most recent novel, suspenseful historical fiction, is Home Sweet Home. Previously, A Star For Mrs. Blake, chosen by the Cincinnati Public Library as their 2014 “On The Same Page” all-city reads book [1]. Other works include a series of four mystery/thrillers featuring FBI Special Agent Ana Grey. One of them, Good Morning, Killer, was adapted and executive produced by Smith for the TNT Mystery Movie Nights in 2011. She is also the author of a stand-alone thriller about the only woman baseball scout in the major leagues, Be the One.

Educationedit

A 1967 graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, Smith earned a BS with Distinction in English from Boston University and a master’s degree in Creative Writing from Stanford University.

Television producer and writeredit

Smith worked on several hit television series from the late 1970s through 2000 as producer, writer, and executive story editor, including Lou Grant, Cagney & Lacey, and Chicago Hope. She also adapted stories by Stephen King for the TNT series Nightmares & Dreamscapes.

She wrote teleplays for several made-for-TV movies, including the critically acclaimed 1998 remake of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and the 1999 adaptation of the Anna Quindlen novel Black and Blue. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her screenplay for Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (1984).

In 2011 Smith penned the adaptation of her own novel Good Morning, Killer, for the TNT Mystery Movie Night series.[1]

Smith’s work has been nominated for three Emmys and two Writer’s Guild awards.

Novelsedit

Smith is the author of seven novels published by Alfred A. Knopf in hardcover and Vintage trade paperback, including thrillers and historical novels of suspense.

The latest, Home Sweet Home (2017), is the epic saga of a family that becomes the victim of a murderous witch-hunt during the McCarthy era in 1950s South Dakota [2]. A Star For Mrs. Blake (2014)[3] is historical fiction based on the Gold Star Mothers pilgrimages of the 1930s, during which the U.S. government authorized funds for widows and mothers of soldiers killed during World War I and buried overseas to visit the graves of their loved ones. Now a forgotten footnote in history, almost 7,000 American women made the journey. It was the first official recognition of the sacrifices made by women during times of war.

She is also known for four novels of suspense featuring FBI Special Agent Ana Grey as the central character: North of Montana (1994), Good Morning, Killer (2003), Judas Horse (2008), and White Shotgun (2011), as well as a standalone thriller about the only woman baseball scout in major league baseball, Be the One, (2000), and two young adult books based on the TV series James at 15.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Good morning, killer DB56612

Series: Ana Grey mystery

Order in Series: 02

Author: Smith, April

Reading Time: 10 hours, 43 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Martha Harmon Pardee

Subjects: Mystery and Detective Stories, Psychological Fiction

FBI agent Ana Grey from North of Montana (DB 38878) is searching for a kidnapper who preys on teenage girls. But after Ana is arrested for shooting her lover, police detective Andrew Berringer, she follows the case behind the scenes. Violence, strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2003.

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, c2003.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Flee, fly, flown” by Janet Hepburn

“Flee, fly, flown” by Janet Hepburn

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   I enjoyed listening to Diane Mackay narrate this bitter/sweet story of two spunky oldsters, who were not ready to be shuffled off, and a young man, who had a lot of potential.  

   I couldn’t find a bio for this author on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, but her information is in the beginning of the book. Janet Hepburn lives in Port Dover, Ontario. Her novel, Flee, Fly, Flown, was published in March 2013 with Second Story Press.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Flee, fly, flown DBG00013

Author: Hepburn, Janet

Reading Time: 6 hours, 45 minutes

Production: CNIB

Read by: Diane Mackay

Subjects: Human Relations, Humor and Humorous Fiction, Psychological Fiction

Lillian and Audrey hatch a plot to escape from Tranquil Meadows Nursing Home, “borrow” a car, and spend their hastily planned vacation time driving to destinations west. They set out on their journey having forgotten that their memory problems might make driving and following directions difficult. Then they meet up with the unsuspecting Rayne, a young man also heading west in hope of reconciling with his family. 2013. Unrated. Marrakesh title.

Toronto : Second Story Press, 2013.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Great House” by Nicole Krauss

“Great House” by Nicole Krauss

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   I enjoyed listening to Jill Fox narrate this lengthy tale of a desk with 19 mismatched drawers. I admit I sometimes got lost in the purpose of the convoluted narrative arc.

   A few takeaways:

–We failed to support each other, as we should have.

–Why is it that the same thing that destroys one, does not destroy another?

–How do you help someone who won’t help himself?

–How simple to put myself into storage (of those 19, mismatched drawers)

–There are times that the kindness of strangers…one realizes how badly one needs kindness.

–My love for her was a failure of imagination.

–We began to assemble more than a thousand years of oral law…it became the Talmud.

–Turn Jerusalem into an idea.

–His school became known as the great house.

–A perfect assemblage of the  infinite parts of the Jewish memory.

–Of many people, each has his own way of coping with reality

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

www.nicolekrauss.com

Nicole Krauss (born August 18, 1974)[1] is an American author best known for her four novels Man Walks into a Room (2002), The History of Love (2005), Great House (2010) and Forest Dark (2017), which have been translated into 35 languages.[2] Her fiction has been published in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Esquire, and Granta’s Best American Novelists Under 40, and has been collected in The Best American Short Stories 2003,[3] The Best American Short Stories 2008,[4] The Best American Short Stories 2019[5] and The Best American Short Stories 2021.[6]

In 2011, Krauss won an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Great House.[7] A collection of her short stories, To Be a Man, was published in 2020[8] and won the Wingate Literary Prize in 2022.[9][10]

Early lifeedit

Krauss, who grew up on Long Island,[11][12] New York, was born in Manhattan, New York City, to a British Jewish mother and an American Jewish father, an engineer and orthopedic surgeon[13] who grew up partly in Israel.[14] Krauss’s maternal grandparents were born in Germany and Ukraine and later emigrated to London. Her paternal grandparents were born in Hungary and Slonim, Belarus, met in Israel, and later emigrated to New York.[15] Many of these places are central to Krauss’s 2005 novel, The History of Love, and the book is dedicated to her grandparents.[12]

Krauss, who started writing when she was a teenager,[16][17] wrote and published mainly poetry[17][18] until she began her first novel in 2001.

In 1987, when Krauss’s father traveled with his family to Switzerland to take up a medical fellowship in Basel, she was enrolled as a boarder in the International School of Geneva, where she pursued her secondary school studies in Year 9. Krauss’s memories of that experience are conveyed in her autobiographical short story “Switzerland”, published in 2020.[19]

Krauss enrolled in Stanford University in 1992, and that fall she met Joseph Brodsky[11][20] who worked closely with her on her poetry over the next three years. He also introduced her to the work of writers such as Italo Calvino and Zbigniew Herbert. In 1999, three years after Brodsky died, Krauss produced a documentary about his work for BBC Radio 3.[21] She traveled to St. Petersburg where she stood in the “room and a half” where he grew up, made famous by his essay of that title. Krauss majored in English and graduated with honors, winning several undergraduate prizes for her poetry as well as the Dean’s Award for academic achievement. She also curated a reading series with Fiona Maazel at the Russian Samovar, a restaurant in New York City co-founded by Roman Kaplan, Brodsky and Mikhail Baryshnikov.[22]

In 1996 Krauss was awarded a Marshall Scholarship and enrolled in a master’s program at Somerville College, Oxford,[2] where she wrote a thesis on the American artist Joseph Cornell. During the second year of her scholarship she attended the Courtauld Institute in London,[2] where she received a master’s degree in art history, specializing in 17th-century Dutch art and writing a thesis on Rembrandt.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Great house DB71935

Author: Krauss, Nicole

Reading Time: 11 hours, 36 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Jill Fox

Subjects: Bestsellers, Family, Psychological Fiction

Tale of a grand desk of nineteen drawers and its symbolism to owners present and past: a New York writer, a Chilean poet, an Israeli reacquiring family furniture that was stolen by the Nazis, and a woman who escaped the Holocaust. Some strong language. Natal Book Award Finalist. Bestseller. 2010.

New York : W. W. Norton & Co., c2010.

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Kate’s 2¢: “That time I got drunk and saved a human”, Mead mishaps03 by Kimberly Lemming

“That time I got drunk and saved a human”, Mead mishaps03 by Kimberly Lemming

Kate’s 2¢: “That time I got drunk and saved a human”, Mead mishaps03 by That time I got drunk and saved a human Mead mishaps03

Kate’s 2¢: “That time I got drunk and saved a human”, Mead mishaps03 by

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   This is one of the seven books NLS sent to me on one cartridge.

   I smiled a lot as I listened to Hazel Addison narrate this humorous fairytale.  It is hard to take seriously a dragon shapeshifter whose human form still retains one horn.

AI Overview

Kimberly Lemming is a USA Today bestselling author known for writing humorous and diverse fantasy romance novels, including the popular Mead Mishaps series.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

That time I got drunk and saved a human DB132907

Series: Mead mishaps

Order in Series: 03

Author: Lemming, Kimberly

Reading Time: 9 hours, 0 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Hazel Addison

Subjects: Fantasy Fiction, Romance

“All children are told fairytales. Some are epic adventures with high stakes and exciting twists but others are tales of pitiful princesses trapped in boring towers pining for their Prince Charmings to come and rescue them. But one young woman always hated those stories. Why didn’t they get up and rescue themselves? Little did she know that her own fate would take a similarly ironic turn. Because now, here she is. Stuck. In a tower. Turns out, when a dragon holds you hostage, he doesn’t just let you get up and leave. Who knew? And just when she thinks she sees hope on the horizon, that hope is smashed to bits by — you guessed it — another damn dragon.” — From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

New York : Hachette Book Group, 2023.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Dreyer’s English: an utterly correct guide to clarity and style” by Benjamin Dreyer

“Dreyer’s English: an utterly correct guide to clarity and style” by Benjamin Dreyer

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Benjamin Dreyer expressively read his book with examples voiced by  Alison Fraser. It was fun to review so many of the rules I learned ‘way back when. One of the suggestions I find hard to implement and read concern using italics for titles. My screen reader doesn’t indicate italics so I don’t know when itlaics are used.  If I increase the verbosity, there is too much chatter to hear the text.

   I like his common-sense approach to our written English language.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

benjamindreyer.com

Benjamin Dreyer (born May 11, 1958) is an American writer and copy editor. He was copy chief at Random House until he retired in 2023.[1] He is the author of Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style (2019). The Washington Post called Dreyer “the unofficial language guru on Twitter”.[2]

Early lifeedit

Dreyer was born May 11, 1958[3] in a Jewish family.[4] He grew up in Queens, New York and Albertson, Long Island.[5] He attended Northwestern University.[6]

Careeredit

Early in his career, Dreyer pursued writing[7] and acting.[5] He worked in bars and restaurants before turning to freelance proofreading, and then copy editing.[5] In 1993, he joined Random House full time as a production editor.[6] He was promoted from group manager to senior managing editor and copy chief in 2008[8] and served as vice-president, executive managing editor and copy chief, at the Random House division of Penguin Random House.[6] until 2023. Supervising the publication of hundreds of titles a year—The New York Times describes Dreyer’s role as “style-arbiter-of-last-resort”—he works with novelist Elizabeth Strout as the sole author he continues to copy-edit himself.[5]

Dreyer’s Englishedit

Dreyer’s English began as a revision of an internal memo to advise copy editors and proofreaders at Random House.[9] The memo expanded to about 20 pages, and eventually Dreyer became interested in developing it into a book. That book, Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style, was published by Random House in January 2019.[10] It debuted at #9 on The New York Times bestseller list for “Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous”[11] and received enthusiastic reviews.[12][13]

In The New Yorker, Katy Waldman wrote that “Dreyer beckons readers by showing that his rules make prose pleasurable… The author’s delight in his tool kit is palpable.”[14] Writing in Paste magazine, Frannie Jackson recommended the book as “invaluable to everyone who wants to shore up their writing skills and an utter treat for anyone who simply revels in language.”[15] The Wall Street Journal’s reviewer, Ben Yagoda, saw “wisdom and good sense on nearly every page”,[16] and noted what he termed a trend of “copy editors’ memoirs-cum-style guides”, comparing Dreyer’s English to “the splendid Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen”, from New Yorker copy editor Mary Norris.[16]

The Washington Post calls Dreyer “the unofficial language guru on Twitter”.[2]

In 2020, Dreyer released STET! Dreyer’s English: A Game for Language Lovers, Grammar Geeks, and Bibliophiles, a card game based on his style guide.[17] Dreyer maintains an active presence on social media, where he frequently comments on grammar, usage, and literary culture.[18]

Personal lifeedit

Dreyer lives in Santa Monica, California.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Dreyer’s English: an utterly correct guide to clarity and style DB93768

Author: Dreyer, Benjamin

Reading Time: 9 hours, 41 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Benjamin Dreyer, Alison Fraser

Subjects: Bestsellers, Language

Downloaded: 08/16/2026

Random House editor distills the knowledge that he has gained from working on hundreds of books into a guide on punctuation, grammar, and usage. Provides general rules and lessons as well as tips for specific difficult cases. Strong language. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2019.

[New York] : Random House Audio, 2019.

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Dreyer’s English: an utterly correct guide to clarity and style DB93768

Author: Dreyer, Benjamin

Reading Time: 9 hours, 41 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Benjamin Dreyer, Alison Fraser

Subjects: Bestsellers, Language

Downloaded: 08/16/2026

Random House editor distills the knowledge that he has gained from working on hundreds of books into a guide on punctuation, grammar, and usage. Provides general rules and lessons as well as tips for specific difficult cases. Strong language. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2019.

[New York] : Random House Audio, 2019.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Two plus four equals one: celebrating the partnership of people with disabilities and their assistance dogs” by Kathy Nimmer

“Two plus four equals one: celebrating the partnership of people with disabilities and their assistance dogs” by Kathy Nimmer

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   I enjoyed listening to Mitzi Friedlander narrate these often moving vignettes about assistance dogs.

   I can appreciate all the time, emotion,  and effort Kathy Nimmer put into researching this anthology of personal stories. It seem strange that, although she wrote many from her interviews with people, she used her by-line, instead of the interviewee’s name.  I listened to an interview with her, Graham Buck, and Kathie Zubricky from GEB.

   I have partnered with seven guide dogs and can attest to how wonderful it is to pick up that harness and confidently walk with my head held up high.   

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Two plus four equals one: celebrating the partnership of people with disabilities and their assistance dogs DB74137

Author: Nimmer, Kathy

Reading Time: 10 hours, 22 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Mitzi Friedlander

Subjects: Animals and Wildlife, Disability

Downloaded: 08/16/2026

A collection of stories, essays, and poems about beloved canine partners from individuals who have disabilities and others. Describes the challenges and rewards of training guide dogs, the first days with a new service animal, and daily life. Shares moments of humor–and of loss. 2010.

Indianapolis, IN : Dog Ear Pub., c2010.

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Kate’s 2¢: “The absence of mercy” by John Burley

“The absence of mercy” by John Burley

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Dan Bloom did a good job of narrating this gruesome, Psychological Fiction. All too often, we can’t admit to what we see right under our nose.

From the WEB:

John Burley was born in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up near the Chesapeake Bay.  Following college, he served as a paramedic/firefighter in a busy 911 jurisdiction just north of Washington, D.C. He later completed a graduate degree in medical pathology and attended medical school in Chicago, earning his Doctor of Medicine from Rosalind Franklin University before returning to Baltimore to complete an emergency medicine residency training program at University of Maryland Medical Center and the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. 

After graduating from residency, John moved to California, where he began work on his first novel. THE ABSENCE OF MERCY was published by HarperCollins in November 2013. It received the National Black Ribbon Award in recognition of an author who brings a fresh, new voice to suspense writing. 

John currently lives in the San Francisco Bay area where he works as an emergency department physician. His third novel, THE QUIET CHILD, released in the United States in August 2017.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The absence of mercy DB78026

Author: Burley, John

Reading Time: 9 hours, 33 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Dan Bloom

Subjects: Psychological Fiction, Suspense Fiction

In the small Ohio River town of Wintersville, medical examiner Ben Stevenson investigates the worst case of his career–a fifteen-year-old boy was savagely killed and dismembered. When Monica, a friend of Ben’s son, narrowly survives the next attack, Ben fears for his family. Violence and some strong language. 2013.

New York, NY : William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2013]

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