Summer Reads and Flicks

We've got a long summer ahead, with the kind of hot days that make you want to sit on a shady porch, kick your feet up and sit down with a good book and an icy cold drink. Whether you're a fiction or non fiction reader, there's a steady stream of new dog themed books on the market in every genre. The Bark Magazine features book reviews in every issue. Their latest selections include autobiography "Timmy's in the Well: The Jon Provost Story" co-authored with Provost's wife, Laurie Jacobson. Provost was profoundly affected by his years co-starring with collie, "Lassie" in the 1950's t.v. show. Also reviewed were "Puppy Chow is Better Than Prozac" by Bruce Goldstein about a Bipolar man who finds puppy love to be therapeutic, and "The Art Of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein. Old dog, Enzo is the narrator of this book. He reflects on his life with his human, race car driver, Denny Swift. Bark's non fiction picks were "Positive Perspective 2: Know Your Dog, Train Your Dog" by respected dog trainer and prolific author, Pat Miller, "Crate Games for Self-Control and Motivation" by Susan Garrett, and "Perfect Paws in 5 Days" by another expert in the dog behavior field, Jean Donaldson.

Dogwise is a fabulous site to search for dog books. They serve up mostly non fiction, educational type reads, but have recently added some good fiction material. Last week, they spotlighted "The Ethical Trainer" by Jim Barry and "Canine Behavior: A Photo Illustrated Handbook" by Barbara Handelman.

The last dog themed book I read was "Shaggy Muses" by Maureen Adams. It's an interesting exploration into the lives of historical women authors and how they were affected by their canine companions. After searching the local weekend movie section, I could find no summer movies involving dogs. Not even one cute snout poking through the human legs on those movie posters. But, I did look up the progress report on "Marley and Me". Most dog lovers have read the story of the yellow lab written by owner, John Grogan. The movie version is in production and release date is December 25 of this year. It stars Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson and a bunch of adorable labs who will play Marley and be the real stars of the show.

Any readers out there who want to share their favorite dog books and movies, please publish them in responses. Or use the "Email Me" link (under my profile, upper left hand corner of the blog) and I'll post them.