Thursday, July 11, 2013

Booking Through Thursday #9

 
 
Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursday.

This week's topic is 'BOOKS ABOUT PETS'

My dog just had his birthday (12 years old, thanks), so … how do you feel about books about dogs or pets? Fluffy stories of fluffy family members? Solid books on training them or taking care of them? Touching reminiscences of trouble and the way a person’s dog (or pet) has helped get them through?
(Mind you, almost all the pet-related books on my shelf are about dogs, but I’m well aware that people love their cats, horses, ferrets, rabbits, fish, etc. just as much, so … any species is fine!)
Any favorite books to recommend?


First of all, congrats on having your dog that long! I had a dog (years ago) that lived 'til she was 18. Now-a-days, people are like 'WHAT?!' and I get the feeling that no one wants to deal with animals for that long. I guess it just isn't convenient for some people to take care of their animals. I recently watched a horrible documentary about how many domestic animals are euthanized and poisoned every day because people drop them off at the pound for reasons like not wanting to get them neutered or having to go on vacation. It's sad. So hearing about an older dog is kind of nice.

On to the question:

When I was a kid, I LOVED dogs (I still do). Almost all of my stuffed animals were dogs and if a book's character had a dog and that dog was on the cover or mentioned on the back cover, I would read it. I didn't read books only about dogs, though, such as non-fiction books about dog breeds or how to train your dog.

Now I don't really want to read fluffy pet stories like 'Marley & Me' even though I hear great things about it. I recently picked up 'The Art of Racing in the Rain' at a thrift store and even though a booktuber recommended it, I just don't think I will find the time to read it anytime soon. I did read The Incredible Journey (Homeward Bound was the name of the movie adaptation) at the beginning of the year but I didn't really enjoy it even though the movie was one of my childhood favorites. Last year I read 'The Cat Inside' by William S. Burroughs but I didn't really like it either.

I was very into books about animals as a kid, though, particularly the talking animal books such as Brian Jacques' 'Redwall' series and 'The Wind in the Willows'. There were even a few about rats and mice that I really loved such as 'Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh' and 'The Castle in the Attic'.

But I haven't had a dog since I moved out of my childhood home. It's probably not the best idea to have a dog when renting. I did get rather lonely though and ended up getting a cat even though I didn't really like cats at all when I was a kid. I think that was to blame on the prejudices between cats and dogs. The dogs fought cats and we all 'had' to choose one or the other and I chose dogs. Cats were 'prissy' and I wasn't a girly girl, I was a tomboy. I look back on that mindset and shake my head. I love all animals. I just don't like reading about them anymore. 

2 comments:

  1. I had a cat that made it to 19 and she was one crotchety madam towards the end. I think she had pure vinegar coursing through her veins and she was healthy right up until the end. I steered away from too cutesy books with my post and focused on sidekicks Backchatting Books BTT

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  2. Our oldest dog was 15 yrs. old, it's sad to see them go.

    http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2013/07/booking-through-thursday.html

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