Friday, February 16, 2018

Celebrating the Year of the Dog!

Stalking Ground: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima

Robo is back, along with his handler, Deputy Mattie Cobb. Together they find a missing woman, weather a mountain snowstorm, take on a mountain lion, and help solve a murder mystery. They're a good team. I like Mattie, but Robo is my favorite. (He's such a smart dog!) In Killing Trail, the first book in this series, I felt the characters were a bit stilted, but in this one they felt much more natural and well-developed. And the mystery itself had a few added layers I did not anticipate. (Although I did guess right about who did it.) All in all, this was a fun read.


The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs by Nick Trout

This is a mildly entertaining book about Dr. Cyrus Mills, a 40-year-old veterinary pathologist who inherits his estranged father's veterinary practice. There's just a few problems:  the practice is in Vermont, it's deeply in debt, and Cyrus hasn't practiced on live animals since veterinary school. Which leads to some humorous situations. There's also the obligatory small-town quirkiness. But this book felt a little too predictable to me. (And a little long, too!) It's also written in present tense, which isn't my favorite thing. So while it's not a bad read, I didn't love it. Or even like it much. But you might!



Hotel For Dogs by Lois Duncan

Feeling nostalgic, I couldn't resist rereading one of my favorite children's books about dogs. I love this one! It's a charming and funny adventure involving two siblings, the mean boy next door, nine dogs, and an abandoned house at the end of the street. There's even a ghost dog! I'd forgotten how much I like this book; it made me smile all the way through it. I think it's the best read of the three...and a great way to start off the new lunar year.





What dog books would you recommend this year?
Happy Reading! 


26 comments:

  1. Are you doing the dog challenge at Booker T's Farm? Looks like you have read a few books you could use for it if you read them this month!

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    1. Well, that's typical. The one year I don't sign up for any reading challenges and end up filling them accidentally anyway. ;D

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  2. I really like the Timber Creek K-9 series--Robo is a great character! The Hotel for Dogs really appeals to me, too! :)

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    1. If you an find a copy of it, Hotel For Dogs is really cute and funny.

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  3. I’m glad you liked the second book in the Timber Creek K-9 series. I like when the books get better and better as the series progresses. Too bad The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs was too long. Yay for old favorites.

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    1. I'm glad the 2nd book read better, too! Here's hoping the 3rd book in the series is just as good. :)

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  4. Glad that you enjoyed the second K-9 Mystery even more than the first!

    What a great idea as a theme. I love (and live with) dogs, but have never read any dog related fiction that I can recall.

    I could try The Phantom Tollbooth, a book I never read as a kid (though I do remember its cover). I have long wanted to read it since it is so beloved. I think it features a dog!

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    1. Oops, just recalled The Call of the Wild that I read last year! But I didn't love it.

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    2. I never read The Phantom Tollbooth as a kid either. That's a great idea. (And I know what you mean about The Call of the Wild...it's well-written, but I didn't love it either.)

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  5. What a fun post. Isn't that cover for the Lois Duncan book great. Happy Year of the Dog!

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  6. I read Lad a Dog by Albert Terhune too many times to count growing up. I had a children's version with full color illustration, and then I had the novel as I grew older. Still one of my favorite dog books.

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  7. I haven't read many dog books, but I did love MARLEY & ME. Made me laugh, made me cry ...

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  8. Great dog books! When I was a kid, I loved the Big Red dog series. As an adult, I'll admit to crying while reading A Dog's Purpose.

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    1. There's something about dogs, isn't there? :D

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  9. Thanks for the list. Hotel for Dogs sounds interesting and I have heard good thingscabout thevauthir Lois Duncan.

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    1. I love Lois Duncan. She wrote several kind of scary YA novels that I read over and over as a teen. Hotel For Dogs is more middle-grade fiction and not scary at all, but very charming and fun in my opinion. :)

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  10. I read the 2nd book in the Trout series, Dog Gone, Back Soon because I always seem to read things out of order ;) I gave it a three. I enjoyed it and despised it in equal measure.

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    1. Ha! Well, the 1st book in the series isn't much better, so I wouldn't bother if I were you. :)

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  11. Great books to kick off the Year of the Dog! I've heard lots of good things about Margaret Mizushima's books so I'll have to check them out. :)

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  12. Great books to kick off the Year of the Dog! I've heard lots of good things about Margaret Mizushima's books so I'll have to check them out. :)

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    1. So far the series has been pretty good. I'm looking forward to reading the third one. :)

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