The Dog (Book) Post

Yoshi, his now-faceless toy and his favorite book.

Lately, the Casa de New Dork has not exactly been an environment conducive to literary pursuits. My girlfriend and I adopted a mini-dachshund named Yoshi last week, so reading time (and sleep) has been scarce. But Yoshi coming to live with us is really exciting and has been a lot of fun.

Yoshi's arrival has also gotten me thinking about dog books, and how few I've actually read — either fiction or non. So maybe you can help — what are your favorite dog books? Any recommendations as far as books that'll teach me to train a dog how to stop barking and lunging at other dogs three times his size?

Anyway, here are a few dog books I've read, and a few I've heard are good and I mean to read.

The first book that came to mind was one I enjoyed a lot — The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. This was one of those books that went viral about two years ago, sort of like The Helpthis year. And then Oprah helped  even more by selecting it for her book club. But just so we're clear, I read it before Oprah picked it. The story, which is an inventive retelling of Hamlet, is about dog breeders in rural Wisconsin.

The only other dog books I've read, at least that my sleep-deprived brain can conjure up right now, are childhood classics — books I read when I was just a pup myself. Of course, any dog book list would be incomplete without Old Yeller, which if you're a dog lover may be the saddest book of all time. Then, there's The Call of the Wild— which made me want to be a dog-sledder. And, finally, Where the Red Fern Grows, which is one of the first books I remember really loving.

Leading off the haven't-yet-read list is the "new classic" Marley & Me. I don't know a single female who has read this book without bawling her eyes out. That's just touching, isn't it? Owen Wilson's silly-looking mug on that movie tie-in cover, though, is enough to take any emotion out of even the most heart-felt book, in my humble opinion. Another non-fiction dog book I've heard is good is Tell Me Where It Hurtssubtitled A Day of Humor, Healing and Hope In My Life As An Animal Surgeon, which pretty much explains it well enough. Finally, in the fiction category, I've heard a few dog-lovers say Catherine Schine's sort of obscure novel The New Yorkersisn't too bad.

So, what say you? What are your favorite dog books? Did you like Edgar Sawtelle? As a first-time dog parent, what books should I grab to initiate myself into this close-knit fraternity?