Episode 214: Pets

Welcome to our podcast Reading with Libraries! This is the second season of our book group podcast and we are so glad you are joining us again.

This week we are discussing books about Pets!

We discuss different genres of books each week, which is both fun and useful to library people doing Reader’s Advisory work. There are so many book genres out there that it’s tough to be an expert on all of them. So we pick a new genre each week to chat about and hopefully provide you with some insight into what may be an unfamiliar genre!

We want this to be fun – like a book group! And an important part of any book group is the beverages. As we start each episode, we will be enjoying our beverages; and as you – the listener – are also members of this book group, you should also have a beverage!

Our book group is very inclusive; there are no “right” or “wrong” books here! We just like to read and chat about books, and want you to share what you are reading too! All of us will take away at least a title or two that we want to read at the end of our time together!

This week we welcome returning guest hosts Jordan and Grace! Thank you for joining us for this great discussion about the genre of Pets!

 

Beverages:

We have guests, we have our genre. We just need our beverages. Fortunately, we all came prepared with something to sip while we talk about our books. Each week we like to connect the theme of our books with our beverages. Each beverage will have a recipe or a link on our episode page, so you can try them yourself!

“Toilet Water” punch
Lots of dogs enjoy sneaking a drink from the toilet when they get a chance, so this drink is in honor of those pets. (Even though it’s technically just blue punch with a special sign on the front)
Ingredients:

  • 1 (0.13 ounce) package blue, berry flavored unsweetened drink mix
  • 1 (2 liter) bottle lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage
  • 1 (64 fluid ounce) bottle white cranberry juice
  • 8 scoops vanilla ice cream
  • 1 cup white sugar
    Directions:
    In a large punch bowl, stir together the drink mix, lemon-lime soda, and white cranberry juice. Taste, and stir in sugar to your liking.) Float scoops of ice cream on the top. The ice cream melts somewhat and turns the punch a beautiful baby blue color with frothy white clouds floating on the top.
    Add a special sign on the punch dispenser or bowl indicating that this blue creation is one of a dog’s favorite drinks: Toilet Water

Greyhound (alcoholic):
Vodka (or gin) and grapefruit juice. Add salt to make it a Salty Dog. Combine gin and grapefruit juice in a highball glass. Add ice and stir well.

The Sun Spot (alcoholic):
You’ve seen your cat find the perfect sun spot and then just relax the day away. On days you feel like curling up on the floor in some sun, whiskey turns this drink into the sun spot that you need.

Ingredients:

  • Sugar cube
  • Angostura bitters
  • Rye whiskey
  • Orange
  • Peach gummy candy

Put a cube of sugar in a glass, pour over two shots of rye whiskey and three splashes of angostura bitters, and stir. Cut an orange slice out to look like a sun. If you’re feeling extra festive, you can slice peach or cherry sour gummies and craft them into cat ears.

 

Special bonus drink for your pet:
Bowser Beer (Beer for dogs!) “From the beginning, we have been committed to using 100% US made, all natural ingredients.  Pet owners have discovered that they can pour it over kibble for their pickiest eaters.   Creative customers freeze it into beer popsicles or pair it with doggie ice cream and watch their dogs enjoy a cool treat.  Along the way, cats discovered Bowser Beer too.  With the original beef, our lineup now includes chicken and pork flavors!”

NOTE: we gave this to Official Office Dog, Lady Grey; and she was a big fan!!

 

Genre Discussion:

According to Book-Genres.com, “Books in the animals and pets nonfiction genre are about animals in some way, shape, or form. The books can be about inspirational or special animals that help people day to day or have saved lives, and animals from other countries or regions that most people don’t know much about. Some books from the animal and pets genre are about specific animals species, such as birds or rodents. Others books are specifically about pets and care. They help someone select the perfect pet and tell them all the special needs that pet will have.

For our discussion today, however, we want to narrow the topic and keep it focused on Pets specifically. (Of course, we aren’t picky – if other animal books make it onto our list we won’t mind!) We will talk about both fiction and non-fiction today, and include a range of different age groups, from picture books to middle grade to books for adults!

If you are curious about what other books about pets may be out there, we will include links on our website to a number of different useful lists on the topic.

 

Our Book Discussion:

Now we are set with our genre, our yummy beverages, and have some good background information. Let’s get to the book discussion!

  • Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
  • Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know, by Alexandra Horowitz
  • How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You, by Matthew Inman, The Oatmeal
  • Arabel and Mortimer, by Joan Aiken
  • The Guest Cat, by Takashi Hiraide
  • Curious George series, by H. A. Rey
  • Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

 

Here are some other book titles we discussed, along with descriptions from Amazon:

My Pet Wants a Pet Elise Broach

Once there was a boy who wanted something to take care of. Something of his very own. He begged his mother for a puppy. Until she said YES!
The boy loved his puppy. He fed him and played with him and cuddled him. But soon, the dog wanted something to take care of–something of his very own. So the dog gets a pet cat; then the cat gets a pet bird; the bird gets a pet worm; the worm gets a pet flea . . . and on and on it goes as utter chaos ensues.

 

Lily and the Octopus, by Steven Rowley

Combining the emotional depth of The Art of Racing in the Rainwith the magical spirit of The Life of Pi, Lily and the Octopus is an epic adventure of the heart.

When you sit down with Lily and the Octopus, you will be taken on an unforgettable ride.

The magic of this novel is in the read, and we don’t want to spoil it by giving away too many details. We can tell you that this is a story about that special someone: the one you trust, the one you can’t live without.

For Ted Flask, that someone special is his aging companion Lily, who happens to be a dog. Lily and the Octopus reminds us how it feels to love fiercely, how difficult it can be to let go, and how the fight for those we love is the greatest fight of all.

Remember the last book you told someone they had to read? Lily and the Octopus is the next one.

 

 

A Taste Fur Murder (Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mystery #1)

Introducing an animal-loving Gal Friday with a telepathic cat, a shapeshifting dog, and a ghost of a chance of solving supernatural crime…

Meet Deirdre “Foxtrot” Lancaster. Trusted employee of eccentric zillionairess Zelda Zoransky, Foxtrot manages a mansion, a private zoo, and anything else that strikes her boss’s fancy. Her job title is Administrative Assistant, but chaos handler would be more accurate. Especially after she glimpses a giant ghost-beast in Zelda’s pet cemetery. For some strange reason, Foxtrot is seeing animal spirits. And, ready or not, the fur’s about to hit the fan…

Still reeling, Foxtrot comes home to find her cat, Tango—her dead cat Tango—alive and well and communicating telepathically. But that’s not all: There’s an ectoplasmic dog named Tiny who changes breeds with a shake of his tail…and can sniff out a clue like nobody’s business. So when a coworker drops dead while organizing closets, Tiny is on the case. Can Foxtrot and her new companions ferret out the killer among a menagerie of suspects—human and otherwise—before death takes another bite?

 

 

Woof at the Door (Call of the Wilde #1)

Animal behaviorist Grace Wilde keeps her ability to psychically communicate with furry and feathered critters under wraps. But when a Doberman turns out to be the only witness to a crime, Grace will have to let the cat out of the bag in order to catch a killer.

Grace Wilde’s job is anything but normal. When she’s not helping out at the zoo by comforting agitated lemurs, she’s listening to the woes of annoyed house pets. Grace’s life gets even more complicated, though, when the cops summon her to a crime scene to help deal with the murder victim’s terrified Doberman.

The pooch turns out to be the only one who saw what happened the night of the shooting—and only Grace can get the information out of him. The problem is, how will Grace tell the distractingly gorgeous Sergeant Kai Duncan that it’s the dog who’s giving her the intel without spilling her big secret or sounding crazy? Left on her own, Grace will have to follow the pup’s lead to track down the killer. But she’ll have to be careful—or curiosity may end up killing the cat whisperer.

 

 

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat (A Magical Cats Mystery #1)

When librarian Kathleen Paulson moved to Mayville Heights, Minnesota, she had no idea that two strays would nuzzle their way into her life. Owen is a tabby with a catnip addiction and Hercules is a stocky tuxedo cat who shares Kathleen’s fondness for Barry Manilow. But beyond all the fur and purrs, there’s something more to these felines.

When murder interrupts Mayville’s Music Festival, Kathleen finds herself the prime suspect. More stunning is her realization that Owen and Hercules are magical-and she’s relying on their skills to solve a purr-fect murder.

 

 

Suspect (Scott James & Maggie #1) by Robert Crais

LAPD cop Scott James is not doing so well. Eight months ago, a shocking nighttime assault by unidentified men killed his partner Stephanie, nearly killed him, and left him enraged, ashamed, and ready to explode. He is unfit for duty…until he meets his new partner.

Maggie is not doing so well, either. A German shepherd who survived three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan sniffing explosives before losing her handler to an IED, her PTSD is as bad as Scott’s.

They are each other’s last chance. Shunned and shunted to the side, they set out to investigate the one case that no one wants them to touch: the identity of the men who murdered Stephanie. What they begin to find is nothing like what Scott has been told, and the journey will take them both through the darkest moments of their own personal hells. Whether they will make it out again, no one can say.

 

 

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.

Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn’t simply about going fast. On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through.

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life…as only a dog could tell it.

 

 

Dog on It (Chet and Bernie Mystery #1) by Spencer Quinn

Meet Chet, the wise and lovable canine narrator of Dog on It, who works alongside Bernie, a down-on-his-luck private investigator. Chet might have flunked out of police school (“I’d been the best leaper in K-9 class, which had led to all the trouble in a way I couldn’t remember exactly, although blood was involved”), but he’s a detective through and through.

In this, their first adventure, Chet and Bernie investigate the disappearance of Madison, a teenage girl who may or may not have been kidnapped, but who has definitely gotten mixed up with some very unsavory characters. A well-behaved, gifted student, she didn’t arrive home after school and her divorced mother is frantic. Bernie is quick to take the case — something about a cash flow problem that Chet’s not all that clear about — and he’s relieved, if vaguely suspicious, when Madison turns up unharmed with a story that doesn’t add up. But when she disappears for a second time in a week, Bernie and Chet aren’t taking any chances; they launch a full-blown investigation. Without a ransom demand, they’re not convinced it’s a kidnapping, but they are sure of one thing: something smells funny.

Their search for clues takes them into the desert to biker bars and other exotic locals, with Chet’s highly trained nose leading the way. Both Chet and Bernie bring their own special skills to the hunt, one that puts each of them in peril. But even as the bad guys try to turn the tables, this duo is nothing if not resourceful, and the result is an uncommonly satisfying adventure.

With his doggy ways and his endearingly hardboiled voice, Chet is full of heart and occasionally prone to mischief. He is intensely loyal to Bernie, who, though distracted by issues that Chet has difficulty understanding — like divorce, child custody, and other peculiar human concerns — is enormously likable himself, in his flawed, all-too-human way.

 

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron How much of an impact can an animal have? How many lives can one cat touch? How is it possible for an abandoned kitten to transform a small library, save a classic American town, and eventually become famous around the world? You can’t even begin to answer those questions until you hear the charming story of Dewey Readmore Books, the beloved library cat of Spencer, Iowa.

Dewey’s story starts in the worst possible way. Only a few weeks old, on the coldest night of the year, he was stuffed into the returned book slot at the Spencer Public Library. He was found the next working by library director Vicki Myron, a single mother who had survived the loss of her family farm, a breast cancer scare, and an alcoholic husband. Dewey won her heart, and the hearts of the staff, by pulling himself up and hobbling on frostbitten feet to nudge each of hem in a gesture of thanks and love. For the next nineteen years, he never stopped charming the people of Spencer with this enthusiasm, warmth, humility (for a cat), and, above all, his sixth sense about who needed him most.

As his fame grew from town to town, then state to state, and finally, amazingly, worldwide, Dewey became more than just a friend; he became a source of pride for an extraordinary Heartland farming town pulling its way slowly back from the greatest crisis in its long history.

 

Conclusion:

Thank you so much for joining us for this discussion about Pets on our Reading with Libraries podcast!

Special thanks to our returning Guest Hosts Jordan and Grace, and of course our helpful Office Dog Lady Grey.

We will be back next week with another genre, more guest hosts for our book group, and more books to share and discuss. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast so you don’t miss a single episode! And if you want to hear more about the work we do in libraries – which is surprisingly fun! – subscribe to our podcast Linking Our Libraries.

Want to be a full book group member? Join us on Patreon! For as little as $1 a month, you can support the podcast as well as helping to keep Official Office Dog, Lady Grey, in treats.

Bring your book ideas, bring your beverages, and join us back here on Thursday!