Saralee Says
When our cat Max died several years ago I was stunned at my grief. It was hard for me to go home after work, our home seemed so empty. Finally I talked with my mother and told her I had grieved for that cat more than I had some members of my family. Her wise reply was, "Of course you did because Max was nicer to you than some members of your family."
Animals do not ask you for money, they are always happy to see you, they don't care about your religious or political beliefs, your sexual orientation, what your income is or even your sense of style. If you want unconditional love, get a pet and if you want to read stories by animal lovers, let me suggest the following:
My Angels Wear Fur (Rutledge Hill Press) by Devon O'Day Local radio and music celebrity O'Day shares more than 30 stories of how animals have changed the lives of people and other animals for the better.
All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful, The Lord God Made Them All (Bantam Books) by James Herriot are stories set in Yorkshire about a vegetarian that will make you laugh and cry. If you have not read these books then start with All Creatures Great and Small. You will then want to read everything Herriot has written and will understand why some of his books are required reading at many area schools.
My favorite writer about animals is Cleveland Amory who wrote The Cat Who Came for Christmas (Penguin USA). Amory is a witty and intellectually stimulating writer who was surprised one holiday season when he adopted a stray cat named Polar Bear. Not a big fan of cats, the author learned like so many dog lovers do, that cats can also be affectionate and satisfying pets and Amory has more adventures with Polar Bear in his follow up books The Cat and the Curmudgeon, (Little Brown) and The Best Cat Ever (Back Bay Books).
That Quail Robert (Fawcett Books) by Margaret Stranger is a great gift for a shut in and is about a family that makes a pet out of a quirky quail. If you want mysteries, Lilian Jackson Braun started with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (Berkley Publishing Group) and has written more than 25 mysteries that feature Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum.
Larry's Language
Books about animals illustrate the range of every human emotion and thought. Just try reading Ole Yeller (HarperTrophy) by Fred Gipson without coming to tears and claiming you got something in your eyes.
You can study the four-legged world with books such as Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds (Pantheon) by Joy Adamson and its sequels about surrogate parenting of a lion and freeing her into the wild. Gorillas in the Mist (Mariner Books) by Dian Fossey, a Kentucky woman, tells of her life examining and protecting the mountain gorillas of Rwanda. A similar book worth reading is My Life With the Chimpanzees (Aladdin) by Jane Goodall.
Other studies of the animal kingdom disprove longstanding myths. Never Cry Wolf (Bantam Doubleday Dell) by Farley Mowat reports the adventures of a Canadian scientist who spends an Arctic summer living among the Inuit people and a wolf pack. Mowat concludes that the wolves' reputation as needless killers is false.
When Elephants Weep: the Emotional Life of Animals (Bantam Dell) by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy shows their complicated inner life and criticizes their use in scientific experiments.
If you like mystery with your pets, try The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night (Doubleday) by Mark Haddon where an autistic child solves the murder of Wellington, his neighbor's poodle. Anonymous Rex: A Detective Story (Villard) by Eric Garcia is strange and twisted as dinosaurs, disguised as people, solve crimes.
If you want animals and great adventure, then read the Jack London books such as White Fang (Puffin) or The Call of the Wild (Aladdin) which will transport you to the harshness of the far north or read about the terror of rabies in Cujo (Signet) by Stephen King. Just as good but factual is Monster of God (Norton) by David Quammen about the man-eating predators of the world.
If you want to read the great books about animals, try Animal Farm (Signet) by George Orwell where some animals, like some people, think they are better than others. Be sure and read Seabiscuit (Random House) by Laura Hillenbrand for wonderful lessons about perseverance. My Dog Skip (Vintage Books) by Willie Morris is one of the best coming of age books for both puppy and owner.
Join us for our next Book Club discussion which will feature Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich.
