Dog Days

(August 25, 2003)

There is no better way to spend the dog days of summer than with a good book. We hope you will enjoy this list of books compiled by Reader Advisor Susan Higgins and perhaps you will find the perfect read for a dog day afternoon.

To order any of these titles, contact the library by email, mail or phone. You may also request these titles online through our OPAC. Happy Reading!

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The Curious Affair of the Third Dog by Patricia Moyes.
RC 48902.
While on holiday in Dorset, Scotland Yard Inspector Henry Tibbett and his wife, Emmy, investigate skullduggery in greyhound racing that leads to a murder.

A Dog’s Life by Peter Mayle.
RC 44236, BR 10858.
The autobiography of the mutt, Boy, who was abandoned at an early age by his mother, mistreated by his master, and eventually adopted by the Mayles. Boy tells how he learned to please and manipulate the management and mixes a lighthearted account of his adventures with advice on dealing with the human species.

Dog Days by Mavis Cheek.
RC 34959.
Patricia Murray sheds her opera-singer husband, Gordon, and begins life anew with their daughter, Rachel, and Brian, a mongrel dogbrought in to keep Rachel company. But neither the challenge of single parenthood nor the adjustment to her resuscitated social life is any match for the pitfalls of owning a dog. Brian is a dummy, content to slobber about the house, until the day he destroys the neighbor's pet rabbit and endangers his own life.

Give a Dog a Name by Gerald Hammond.
RC 39920.
It is late in the day when John Cunningham and Isobel, one of his partners, return to Three Oaks from adog trial. Waiting to greet them is his wife, Beth, and Arthur Lansdyke, abusinessman whose dog is full of buckshot. As they work on removing the buckshot, Isobel and the Cunninghams discover something unusual. Events become further complicated when their own dogis kidnapped and an imposter put in her place. Some strong language.

Isle of Dogs by Patricia Cornwell.
RC 53045, BR 13655.
The misguided Virginia governor decides to put speed traps everywhere. He begins with the small Chesapeake Bay island of Tangier, but the eccentric natives do not cooperate. Meanwhile police superintendent Judy Hammer and her undercover assistant Andy Brazil chase a female serial killer. Strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some violence.

Murder on the Iditarod Trail by Sue Henry.
RC 55480, BR 10307.
Critical injuries are rare during the Iditarod dogsled race, but on day two musher George Koptak is found dead. While Alaska state trooper Alex Jensen is investigating, he learns that another contestant has died. Now Jensen turns to contestant Jessie Arnold for help. Violence and strong language.

My Dog Skip by Willie Morris.
RC 41612, BR 10740.
The author tells how he grew up in a small southern town in the 1940s with a dogthat could run football patterns and, it was believed, drive a car. The author demonstrates his evocative storytelling skills in this tribute to his dog, Skip.

Rover’s Tales by Michael Z. Lewin.
RC 48015.
Short stories about Rover, a stray dog, who loves the freedom of the street. In his travels Rover gives and receives advice from the other canines he encounters. He despises humans for their cruelty but learns how to use them.

Ruffly Speaking: A Dog Lover’s Mystery by Susan Conant.
RC 41444.
Obsessed with dogs, Holly Winter owns two Alaskan malamutes, writes a column for Dog's Life magazine, and dates her dog's vet. When fellow dog-lover Morris Lamb dies after eating poisonous greens from his garden, a female rector with a hearing dog moves into his house. Interviewing the rector for the magazine, Holly is surprised to learn that the dog has been exhibiting odd behavior in his new house. Some strong language.

Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen.
RC 49307.
Young, deranged millionaire Twilly Spree rails against the overdevelopment and pollution of his beloved state of Florida. He takes matters into his own hands when lobbyist Palmer Stoat conspires with the corrupt governor to turn a pristine island into urban sprawl. Some descriptions of sex, some violence, and some strong language.

Timbuktu by Paul Auster.
RC 48519.
Told from the dog's point of view, a story of boon companions: Mr. Bones, a devoted mutt, and Willy G. Christmas, a self-named, homeless, terminally ill writer. Willy's final wishes are to bequeath his literary endeavors to a former teacher and to find a new owner for Mr. Bones. Some strong language.