2016 Dog Stuff to Read and Watch (less current books)

Another year has come and gone and, listening to NPR reminds us here at DogEvals that we need to talk about “The Year in Dog Books.” In 2016, DogEvals posted 48 book/DVD reviews, 44 of them about dogs, and 4 of the non-dog type that we just couldn’t resist reading – and when we read, we review! (We also posted about and compared new and wonderful leashes and events and other ‘things’ of the ‘K9 Kind!’)

It’s hard to read only books published in the current year (many are published late in the year), and we never manage to do just that for several reasons. Added to that dilemma are the reviews written in the past and then misplaced - only to be found in 2016! (Canine Behavior, for one. Our apologies.)

But enough excuses. Here is our list of books in approximate order of merit and by category. Enjoy!

Today’s category: Pre-2016 Dog Books

Next: 2015-16 Dog Books

Pre-2016 Dog Books Worth Reading

The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick’s Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption, by Jim Gorant ($26, 2010, 304 pages, Gotham Books)

Gorant’s well-researched gripping tale of the Michael Vick dog-fighting dogs who become family dogs – and what happened to Vick.

Chill Out Fido! How to CalmYour Dog, by Nan Arthur (Dogwise, 189 pages, 2009, $15.95)

Lovely, helpful book about helping your hyper dog.

Canine Behavior, A Photo Illustrated Handbook, by Barbara Handelman, Woof and Word Press, 350 pp, 2009, about 50$ (www.WoofandWordPress.com)

A reference book to learn from as you learn to read, understand, and communicate with your dog.

Pound for Pound: A Story of OneWoman’s Recovery and the Shelter Dogs Who Loved Her Back to Life, by Shannon Kopp (William Morrow, 2015, 307 pages, $25.99)

A book you will stay up all night to finish. About a bulimic woman who devotes her life to shelter dogs and gets better as a result. Full of love, especially for pit bull devotees.

I Could Chew on This: And Other Poems by Dogs, by Francesco Marciuliano (Chronicle Books, 112 pages, 2013, $12.95)

Also, poems by cats. Also calendars! Some of these are great photos and poems.

The New Yorker Book of Dog Cartoons, by “New Yorker” (Knopf, 1992, 112 pages, $22)

You either love The New Yorker cartoons or you like a few of them.

Wallace: The Underdog Who Conquered a Sport, Saved a Marriage, and Championed Pit Bulls – One Flying Disc at a Time, by Jim Gorant (Gotham Books, 256 pages, 2012, $26)

By the Sports Illustrated author of the enthralling Lost Dogs, Wallace is about Wallace, a shelter dog who becomes a champion and saves a marriage, but Wallace just can’t measure up to Lost Dogs – maybe no book can.

The Thin Man, by Dashiell Hammettt (Knopf, 1933, 201 pages, $13.95)

The story behind the classic movies and TV series both of which are great murder mysteries solved by a high-society couple in the 30s and their dog, Asta. Plenty of fast talk.

Dog Tricks, Step by Step, by Mary Ann Zeigenfuse and Jan Walker (Howell Book House, 135 pages, 1997/2009, $19.95)

An early book on the topic.

E. B. White on Dogs, ed. Martha White (Tilbury House Publishers, 178 pp, 2013, $22.95)

If you like The New Yorker style of writing. Many poems, letters and other shorts about dogs.

The Yellow Dog: An Inspector Maigret Mystery, by Georges Simenon (written in 1931, translated from the French and reprinted by Penguin Classic in 2013, 134 pages, $10.00)

May be termed a classic but it takes a fan to read this one.

Dog, Inc,: The Uncanny Inside Storyof Cloning Man’s Best Friend, by John Woestendiek (Avery Publishing, 2011, 320 pages, $26) (Current cover subtitle: How a Collection of Visionaries, Rebels, Eccentrics and Their Pets Launched the Commercial Dog Cloning Industry)

Dog cloning could be an interesting topic but this book relates the underside and is hard to follow.