What's your favourite animal themed books and cosy reads?

[Carla]

When housesitting one of my most treasured moments is when the pets are fed and content, happily snoozing in their beds, the house is tidy and I can relax and sink into a good book (with little Zzzzz’s as my backdrop!)

If you are a bookworm like me who devours books any chance they can get or just a casual reader like my husband, I think we can all agree that animal-themed books are a popular read.

This year I have come across a few gems that I would like to share with you all. Maybe sparking some inspiration and then looking forward to your animal book shares.

The Ride of Her Life - The true story of a woman, her horse and their last chance journey across America by Elizabeth Letts

Based in the 1950’s, this author pieces together a true story about a remarkable woman who in her 60’s and with nothing to lose, packs up her bags and small dog - buys a horse and rides from the East Coast to the West Coast of the USA. Full of USA history and culture and a rags to riches type story. You can’t help but root for Annie and her little dog.

My life among the underdogs - A memoir by Tia Torre

Easy read and very punchy and to the point. As the founder of Villalobos (Animal Planet’s Pitbulls and Parolees) one of the USA’s biggest pitbull rescues, which leads to rescuing wolf-hybrids and unwanted hound dogs of the south, Tia tells it as she sees it, love her or not, it’s an interesting insight into the world of rescue and the personal lives of the rescuer.

The Tao of Equus - by Linda Kohanov

Capturing the relationship between Linda and her Black mare Rasa, whilst exploring the spiritual side of horses. This led Linda to set up an equine-facilitated therapy program. Dreamy, floaty book with a new look at the relationship between humans and horses.

It would be great to hear about any Animal animal-themed books you have read or want to read. I would also love some new suggestions, involving any type of animal!

Also as a side note to this topic check out our monthly book club where you can join the discussion on book suggestions for the next meeting.

Happy Reading!

Carla

[PandAonTour]

Here’s a couple of really good reads for starters.

[waltzing_matildas]

I’m definitely a fantasy book person but a few animal-themed ones come to mind.

I discovered the dog-eared paperback Tomorrow’s Sphinx on a forgotten shelf in a school classroom (it would have been 20 years old at that point). I fell in love with the story so completely but have never been able to find another copy to buy one for myself (now 20 more years later). Thankfully it is available to read for free on archive.org these days.

I can’t even really tell you what it’s about but the story is so good. It takes place both in the far future and ancient Egypt as the main character shares a mental link with another unique cheetah like herself. The animal-focus of the story is so rich that the main character even comments that she pities the human she discovers because it’s only able to us use sound to communicate–lacking expression like a tail, whiskers, or ears.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is a very quick read but makes you think and has very lovely illustrations.

And The Tale of Despereaux may be a children’s book, but it does all of us good to put ourselves in that mind every once and awhile. Sometimes all we need is the courage of a very little mouse armed with nothing but courage, a spool of thread, and a sewing needle.

[KateY]

When I was pet sitting in Arizona the Pet parent lend me a series of books she loved about Chet, a lovable canine narrator and Bernie, a down-on-his-luck private investigator. Those books were so funny and such a good read. What is more they contained the heat and smell of the desert that was all around the house and our dog rambles. I re-read these whenever I want to remember that fabulous sit and the wonderful dog I met outside of the book!

[Carla]

Wow, so many great book ideas already! Thank you

@PandAonTour These are Some thought-provoking books, I will check them out, thank you for sharing.

@waltzing_matildas Oh I never thought about animal books and fantasy aligning, you have opened a new world for me as I love fantasy films!

@waltzing_matildas

The animal-focus of the story is so rich that the main character even comments that she pities the human she discovers because it’s only able to us use sound to communicate–lacking expression like a tail, whiskers, or ears.

I love this part! So interesting!

The other books look great as well. I saw the film about the Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse over the festive season and it was very moving. I will check out the book for the illustrations as I bet they are beautiful.

@KateY I’ve read so many books as recommendations from owners we have sat from, I am always in awe of large collections of well-loved books and owners sharing these with me.

It sounds like perfect reading for a pet sit. Another one to add to my list along with all of the other great suggestions.

I am an avid reader so please keep any suggestions coming, the more the merrier.

[Catgoddess_99]

I wouldn’t necessarily call this book “cosy” but it’s informative integrating mythology and fact. The author, professor John Marzluff I’ve studied with during a 3 day Corvid Ecology workshop at the Environmental school in North Cascades National Park in Washington state it’s definitely one of my favorite animal/wildlife books.

[Carla]

Thank you for the suggestion @Catgoddess_99 I just looked this one up:

From the cave walls at Lascaux to the last painting by Van Gogh, from the works of Shakespeare to those of Mark Twain, there is clear evidence that crows and ravens influence human culture. Yet this influence is not unidirectional, say the authors of this fascinating book: people profoundly influence crow culture, ecology, and evolution as well. Examining the often surprising ways that crows and humans interact, John Marzluff and Tony Angell contend that those interactions reflect a process of “cultural coevolution.” They offer a challenging new view of the human-crow dynamic—a view that may change our thinking not only about crows but also about ourselves.

It sounds super interesting and I can remember my Grandparents telling me how intelligent crows were! Another one to add to my list