Video of author J. Wesley Porter reading A Spiritual Dog

[Scott]

Video of author J. Wesley Porter reading his children's book, A Spiritual Dog: Bear

What do you think?

View A Spiritual Dog: Bear on Bookshelves

[Annelore Trujillo]

I honestly think this reading could have been portrayed better. I like hearing the authors read their books, but this video just isn't very engaging. First, I think it is a tad weird that it takes place in his car. Of course, that's just my opinion. The second thing that really got me is that he doesn't show any of the pictures! The pictures were my favorite part! You can tell he is reading a real life copy because you can hear the pages turning. Why didn't he show the pictures?

I think, however, that this is a great idea! As I said before, I love hearing authors read. I just think it could have been done better. It should be like a show for the audience. It's should keep the audience engaged. Just my opinions

[Kia]

I love hearing authors read from their books! But I have to agree that it's a little strange that the reading takes place in the gentleman's car.

[braver]

I have to say that I found this whole video strange. If he wasn't going to bother showing the book and the pictures, why make a video rather than just an audio file? And, as earlier posters mentioned, why was it in his car? Enunciation could have been better, and the pacing was awkward. In general, I think the idea here was fine but the execution was poor.

[Rachaelamb1]

I like it because you can see how much the author loved his dog. Very sweet. Maybe his car was the only quiet place he could find or best place to set up camera...I do agree that enunciation could have been better.

[MerryLove]

I love hearing books read by their author, but when I see a video of a children's book I want it to be something I can show my kiddos or a class of students.

The introduction from the author was great, but from there I wouldn't show any more of the video to kiddos. One of the best ways I like to find videos of books being read is when the video shows the pictures while the author voices over the story.

Children do not have the attention span to just listen to a story without the pictures, and they also are often not capable of following along with the words on their own to turn the page. I would love to see a video of the book with the author's voice reading in the background, but with pictures and obvious page turns. I love it when there's a short message from the author and the beginning and end of the story, but beyond that the focus should be on the book itself to keep kiddos engaged.

[LifeTimeBookAddict]

First I read the Kindle version of this book and then began it again along with the video of the author, J. Wesley Porter, reading to me and my daughter. We enjoyed seeing the pictures of Porter's boys and the dog, as well as the artwork on my Kindle download, but I have some constructive criticism that I hope is helpful and not meant to be hurtful.

I noticed the boys and dogs in the book seemed to drastically change appearance from one page to the next. My aunt and uncle had Shih Tzus, so I was confused by the change in the appearance of yours. And why was the dog considered a "Spiritual Dog?" I know that pets can be spiritually soothing, comforting, and healing, but these weren't mentioned.

There were some technical problems like improperly used semicolons, misspelled words (mixed breed puddle, weighted, petted), misplaced modifier (paws with curly hair) and the tense was a confusing mix of present and past tense. Also, "you" was used when talking about yourself and your boys. For example, if you were having a bad day, why would Bear give ME a warm greeting that could melt MY heart? See what I mean? When you write "you," you're taking yourself out of the story and putting ME in it. Yes, we all speak like this, but it's still incorrect.

Another issue was not using the correct verb form. For example, "The place we took Bear for grooming was ... We also take [TOOK] Bear here ..." and "The Groomers enjoyed ..." so "They encircled him with love and Bear always seem[ED] ..." You also used redundant words. For example, if you are saying, "His breathing was very fast and rapid," decide which you want to keep (fast or rapid?).

I still think your book was good with some better proofreading and editing because spelling and grammar can be fixed, but without the story of Bear, you don't have much to work with. Honestly, if I didn't know what to look for, I might not have noticed these problems. So take the advice others have given you, and use those recommendations on your next writing project. I think there is a lot here that you left out, and you clearly are inspired to write! Best of luck to you, Mr. Porter!

[t-michelle]

Not very stimulating. Definitely not something my kids would stick around for.

[DancingSouls]

I love stories with a dog in it. I got a dog from a rescue center and we both chose each other. I too knew that she was the one for me, not when she licked me, when she laid her head on my lap. The descriptions show how much he loves the dog Bear. I think there could be more tone variation to attract his audiences' attention, but I don't think his reading is bad. It is nice to hear the author read his own story. He can improve his reading of it and add some more color in the background, maybe balloons or streamers.

[ebeth]

I will have to agree that reading it allowed in the car is weird. I think he should have chosen a different place to do something like that. I feel it is a distraction.

[lucymn11]

I agree with what most people have said. I always enjoy hearing an author read his/her own work, but this seems peculiar. It definitely could have been better. Also, why in his car??

[CzechTigg]

Good effort. Maybe would have been better as an MP3 or like others have said have some images to accompany it.

[Micheal Ukewuihe]

I enjoy watching authors read their book. Though the environment he is reading the book is quite strange but I’m guessing he has his reasons. He didn’t fail to show the love he feels for his dog.