2016 Dog Stuff to Read and Watch: Non-dog 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: Non-Dog Books We Just Had to Read

Next: Dog Movies and DVDs

Non-Dog Books We Just Had to Read

Wilde Lake, by Laura Lippman (HarperCollins, 2016, 352 pages, $26.99)

A quick murder mystery from the queen of murder mysteries.

Sum It Up: 1,098 Victories, a Couple of Irrelevant Losses, and a Life in Perspective, by Pat Summitt with Sally Jenkins (Crown, 407 pages, 2013, $28)

One brave, loved and talented woman whom we lost too soon – Pat Summit was a champion basketball coach.

Adventures of a Female Medical Detective: In Pursuit of Smallpox and AIDS, by Mary Guinan (Johns Hopkins University Press, $17.49, 144 pages, 2016)

A woman doctor works around the world.

City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp, by Ben Rawlence (Macmillan, 402 pages, 2016, $19.45)

This book may just change your life.