2016 Dog Stuff to Read and Watch - Current Books

Year End Dog Books - Books for Dogs, about Dogs, and with Dogs

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: 2015-16 Dog Books
 
Tomorrow: beginning a series of letters to Mr. Trump, encouraging reading (dog books)

A Dog Named Jimmy, by Rafael Mantesso (Avery/Penguin Random House, 2015, 160 pages, $19.95)

            Creative photo-drawings will bring a smile to your day.

Free Days with George: Learning Life’s Little Lessons from One Very Big Dog by Colin Campbell (Penguin Random House Anchor Canada, $16.95, 224 pages, 2015)

            A young divorced man gets a rescue dog and then proceeds to learn about dogs, taking George surfing in California to the delight of everyone they meet.

Scents and Sensibility: A Chet and Bernie Mystery (#8), by Peter Abrahams, alias/aka/nom de plume/pen name Spencer Quinn (Simon and Schuster, 2015, 307 pages, $25)

            DogEvals loves these mysteries written from the dog’s point of view.

Don’t Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood, by Alexandra Fuller (Random House, 301 pages, 2002, $17).

The best and funniest! It’s here because of the dog in the title.

Scribbling the Cat: Traveling with an African Soldier (Penguin, 269 pages, 2005, $16)

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness (Penguin, 258 pages, 2011, $16)

Leaving Before the Rains Come (Penguin, 274 pages, 2015, $20.95).

The story of a divorce and good.

sit! stay! speak! by Annie Noblin (Harper Collins, $14.99 [softcover], 364 pages, 2015)

            A young woman and a young man plus a delightful dog.

My Beloved Dogs: Record Keeping for the Canine Competitor and Multi-Dog Homes, by Leila Grandemange (SunnyVille Publishing [self-published], 2015, 227 pages, $17.95)

            Workbook to keep records of your dogs.

A Breeder’s Companion: Record Keeping for Your Dogs’ Litters, by Leila Grandemange (SunnyVille Publishing [self-published], 2015, 213 pages, $17.95)

            A workbook to keep your dog’s records.

Pet Fashion Almanac 2015, by Laurren Darr and Ellen Zucker (Left Paw Press, 2014, 132 pages, $2.85) Volumes for the years 2014 and 2016 (where ‘almanac’ is spelled ‘almanack’) are also available for $9.99 each.

            There is an audience for this book, though small: teenage girls and some women perhaps.