Elephants

In desperate need of a good read, my son and I stopped at the little second hand bookstore in town.  Its been there for a couple years and I've wanted to stop many times before.  The bookstore is in the basement of a very old building on the square of a quaint country town. It was dark, with a low ceiling, a maze of little rooms crammed from floor to ceiling with books, and little overloaded tables and shelves shoved in any available spot.  It smelled dusty, musty and a little like cigarette smoke.  A book reader's haven at best. A perfect fire hazard at worst. There were a half dozen visitors perusing the tight aisles -- a mom and her kids, a few men of which a couple were Amish.  The guy behind the counter (the owner - or so I assumed)  inquired as to my taste.  My genre is usually women's contemporary fiction or books off Oprah's book list.  He suggested, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.  He said that he thought this would be right up my alley.  I read the back of the book.  It didn't say much about the story line.  By the cover, it had something to do with a circus.  It was #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list.  I did remember seeing this book on a few book lists.  I went with his recommendation.

Then the book guy suggested that I take a look at another book that he read called, When Elephants Weep -- the Emotional Lives of Animals, by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy.  And I wondered what was up with the elephant theme.  We walked back to another room and he pulled that book from the shelf.  He said it was non-fiction...it was about animals and how they really do have feelings and emotions.  I must have been an easy sell that day.  I walked out with two elephant books.  The dilemma:  which elephant book should I tackle first?