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From The Editor: One Year Gone By

It's hard to believe that a whole year has gone by since our first edition of PetTales. During this year, there have been many changes to the Pethobbyist bookstores. Our editors have updated and increased our selections of books, made categories more specific, added a monthly top 10 book list, and featured a new recommended book each week.

In addition, we've been fortunate to welcome many authors as guests in our chats. Here are the books of just a few of the authors who have joined us for chats.

A complete listing of available transcripts for guest chats on the PetHobbyist.com websites is here. If there are any authors you'd especially like to see in a guest chat on the site, or if you are an author who would like to be a guest on PetHobbyist.com, please contact PHChristy.

I'm really excited to get the second year going with more newsletters, wider range of book reviews and more expansion. If you have any ideas that you would like to see in the newsletters or in the bookstores, or would like to review a book on our website, please let me know here!

On behalf of all of us at PetHobbyist.com, I wish you a very happy holiday season - see you in the New Year!

Melanie Martinez
Bookstore Editor, PetHobbyist.com

Top 10 Books Of The Year:

Each month for the last year, our editors have compiled a list of the top ten books in each of our bookstores. We've taken those "top ten" lists and created a site-wide Top Ten Books for the last year.

What's New In The Bookstores

Being an animal lover, I find one of the hardest things to do during the year is to pick out which calendar I want to use in my household or work. I have found one of the easiest ways to solve this problem is place which ones I like on my holiday list, then let someone else decide for me. So if you know someone like me, and are looking for a great quick gift, check out our calendar bookstores; the selection is amazing.

Great Gift Ideas

Linda Johns, author of A Feathered Family: Nature Notes from a Woodland Studio, is a successful painter and sculptor. While living in a woodland studio she became known as the "Bird Lady" due to her loving rescue of birds and other wildlife. Beginning with one at a time, today Linda shares her home with many of her feathered friends. In Feathered Family Linda shares with us many funny stories and drawnings of the world of nature both around and with her. She brings to life many of the characters and their distinct personalities due to her vivid gift of storytelling.

Christmas Dogs: A Literary Companion is a treasure trove of holiday stories for dog lovers. With both classic and previously unpublished selections, from authors as diverse as James Herriot and Matthew "Uncle Matty" Margolis, this collection is introduced by dog mystery writer Laurien Berenson, who writes, "These are essays about people who opened their hearts and their homes for the holidays: people whose lives became inextricably bound up with dogs and who, in return, found their lives changed forever." If you know someone like that, they'll love this book!

Absolutely not to be left out (NOT EVER!), the cats, too have a special holiday book: Christmas Cats: A Literary Companion, introduced and with a lovely story by cat mystery author Shirley Rousseau Murphy. Like its canine companion volume, this is a mixture of new and previously published pieces. Contributors include Amy Shojai, Rita Mae Brown, and the late Cleveland Amory. A meowst for any cat lover on your gift list.

I originally purchased Bad Cat: 244 Not-So-Pretty Kitties And Cats Gone Bad by Jim Edgar as an holiday gift last year for someone whose cats are her "children." Before I had a chance to wrap the book up and send it out, I was in stitches after the first page and couldn't put it down. Each photo shows some of the most unflattering natural images of our feline friends. Grab a tissue and you cry in laughter and get to know each one as you read their vital stats of name, age, breed and hobby. Bad Cat is definately a must for any cat owner.

Herbs for Pets by Mary L. Wulff-Tilford and Gregory L. Tilford is that rare book that is both beautiful and useful. Full of glossy, full-colored photographs, this book provides scientifically detailed descriptions of different herbal treatments for dogs and cats, including dosages and how to give them, as well as information on general holistic care for animals. A great reference that has become a classic.

Any horse lover will adore Spirit Horses by Tony Stromberg. Each photo shows an image of truth and beauty that captures your heart. The photographer uses each of the images as a quide to teach. They show an untamed view of horses unmanaged by man and well kept by nature. Throughout the book are quotes from other writers whohave explored the spirituality and wisdom of such beautiful and graceful animals.

Great Horse Books
By Christie Keith and the readers of HoofBeats, the Newsletter of HorseHobbyist.com

I'm not sure when I've had as much fun as going through all the responses to a query on "Great Horse Books" asked of the readers of HoofBeats. I think we all had the same childhood, as our number one book is not likely to take anyone by surprise: National Velvet. The rest of the list is a combination of childhood favorites, training and husbandry volumes, and stories of great horses. I discovered a few new books, and re-discovered some old friends, too - yes, I confess, at the ripe old age of 46, a reader's recommdation got me to dig up an old copy of Misty of Chincoteague.

These are the top ten books cited by readers ... you can view the full list in the latest issue of HoofBeats.

Pet Tales is copyright 2005 by OnlineHobbyist.com unless otherwise specified. All rights reserved. --

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