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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.

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It's hard to believe that summer is already half-way gone, definitely going by way too quickly. I always take summers off every year to spend time with my family and it gives me a good reason to catch up on the reading that I miss so much of during the year. When you have a child like mine, this is the time that he makes up every excuse in the "book" not to read, because after all, it is summer. All of our bookstores contain a section that is just for the children. Encourage your child to continue reading during the summer months, allow them to make their own decision on which books will interest them. Here are just a few that are popular in our house:

What's New in the Bookstores?

Every month our bookstore editors are busy putting in the books that will be coming out soon or that have been recently released. Seeing what will be coming out in the upcoming months, will give you time to pre-order the books that interest you. Here are some top pticks:

Those are only a few of the many books that are coming out or soon will be released. Below you will find the links to each of the New Releases Bookstores.

PetHobbyist.com Top Ten Books

What's selling best in our bookstores? In July of 2005, our top selling book in each bookstore was:

Kingsnake.com
Venomous Snakes of the World by WP Mara

DogHobbyist.com
What Your Dog is Trying to Tell You by John M. Simon DVM with Stephanie Pedersen

CatHobbyist.com
The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

AquariumHobbyist.com
Hawaiian Reef Fish by Astrid Witte and Casey Mahaney

BirdHobbyist.com
The Encyclopedia of Macaws by Werner Lantermann

PondHobbyist.com
Tadpoles: The Biology of Anuran Larvae

You'll find the complete list of top ten books for every month on the main page of each bookstore!

Book Reviews
By Christie Keith

The Lost Pet Chronicles: Adventures of A K-9 Cop Turned Pet Detective
by Kat Albrecht
Bloomsbury USA; 2005; Paperback; 256 pages

Animal lovers of all kinds will enjoy this true story of Kat Albrecht, a police officer in California who launched a new career for herself and her dogs by searching for lost pets.

Albrecht became a police officer in California's Central Valley after becoming disillusioned with her police dispatcher job and wanting to become a canine police officer. She ended up relocating to Santa Cruz, where she did some work with her search dogs for local authorities. However, after an injury on the job left her disabled and out of law enforcement, she began to train her dogs in a new career: Searching for lost animals instead of criminals and lost humans.

This is far from a smooth ride, as Albrecht’s gift with dogs doesn’t immediately translate into happy endings or a solid business plan. But eventually she gets things sorted out, and spreads her system of using dogs to search for lost pets, especially cats, nationwide. Lots of interesting searches, with a mix of happy, sad, and indeterminate endings, and much excellent background on training the dogs that even non-dog owners should enjoy. Lots of fun, and really invaluable for cat owners, as it contains critical and useful information, based on hundreds of searches, on how to find a missing cat.

Gazehounds & Coursing: The History, Art and Sport of Hunting With Sighthounds
by MH Dutch Salmon
High Lonesome Books; 1999; Hardcover; 288 pages

It’s going to be a stretch to get people who don’t have sighthounds (the dogs in the greyhound family) to read this book. But if you have any interest in the shared history of humans and dogs, if you are fascinated with dogs in general, if you are a hunter or are interested in hunting, or if you like “salt of the earth” commentary on obscure topics by crusty old-timers with encyclopedic knowledge of their subject, you will absolutely love this book. And if you do, in fact, have sighthounds, even if you are adamantly against hunting, this book will get you inside the head of your dogs in a way that will forever change how you see them.

And for those looking for a more practical guide to performance with sighthounds, you couldn't do better than to read Sighthounds Afield: The Complete Guide To Sighthound Breeds & Amateur Performance Events (With A Comprehensive Chapter On Adopted Ex-Racing Greyhounds) by Denise Como. The word "comprehensive" in the title is an understatement. There is quite simply nothing about sighthounds that Como doesn't cover, from history to health issues, from familiar breeds to the rarest of the rare. If you would like to be notified of an upcoming guest chat with the author, be sure to sign up for the Hound Chat reminder here!

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
by Mark Bittner
Three Rivers Press; 2004; Paperback; 304 pages

This best-selling book, which was made into a critically acclaimed documentary of the same name, is another one with lots of local color. Set in San Francisco, it’s the true story of a down-and-out musician who moves into an apartment on Telegraph Hill and begins to observe the flock of wild parrots in the trees outside his new home. Bittner knew nothing about parrots before he started observing them, and as he learns, we learn, too. Totally unsentimental but powerful and engaging nonetheless.

That Yankee Cat: The Maine Coon
by Marilis Hornidge
Tilbury House Publishers; 1992; Paperback; 102 pages

It took me a long time to read this book, even though it came highly recommended by a number of friends. In fact, it took me so long it’s out of print, although I had no trouble getting a copy through the CatHobbyist.com bookstore. I’m sorry I waited so long, because it truly is the best cat breed book I’ve ever read. I won’t say “you’ll love it even if you don’t like Maine Coon cats,” because you won’t. This book is the story of the Maine Coon cat and it doesn’t try to be all things to all people about all cats. Still, this uniquely American kitty has a fascinating story, and Hornidge’s book does it full justice. Highly recommended.

If Only You Knew How Much I Smell You: True Portraits of Dogs
by Roy Blount, Jr., and Valerie Shaff
Bulfinch; 1998; Hardcover; 112 pages

I buy at least one copy of this book, usually more, to give as gifts every Christmas. Featuring the short, warmly humorous poems of Roy Blount, Jr., and the sepia-toned photographs of Valerie Shaff, this little book has made me smile, laugh out loud, and cry. My favorite poem:

What does that mean, “expensive shoe”?
I ate it because it smelled like you.

It’s not all humor, though – there is poignancy to some of the photos and poems that will evoke tears rather than laughter. But if you’ve ever had your heart ripped out of you by the loss of a beloved dog, or felt you could hardly bear to belong to the human race when reading about how a dog was mistreated, this book is for you, tears and all.

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Message From the Editor

Welcome to the first editon of the PetTales newsletter! In PetTales, you'll find book reviews, information on new book releases, interviews with authors, and available news articles on books. Being a subsriber to this newsletter means you'll be among the first to be informed of special guest chats and interviews with authors. If you have any recommendations or suggestions, would like to submit a book for review, or would like to review a book for our newsletter, please let me know!

If you haven't visited our bookstores in a while, you'll be surprised at all the changes we've made. Each site has an editor who is busily going through the books we have, making sure they're the best of the best, and adding new releases, gift ideas, and classics that we had missed in the past. We have increased our database of PetHobbyist book reviews and linked to off-site book reviews as well. We now have a Bestseller List for each site's bookstore. We improved our search and display functions, and there are more changes happening all the time. Be sure to drop by at http://www.pethobbyist.com/bookstore/index.html!

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
Contact Me

Dog Lovers' Mysteries
By Christie Keith

I was in the Georgia swamps, tracking a missing child through the snake-infested Okefenokee. Sweat poured down my back under my protective gear. Bugs bit at my exposed flesh. My bloodhound's leash was gripped fiercely in my hand, as we crawled and crouched and slithered through the brush. Was my dog on the track? Would we be in time? Would he start baying in joy as we approached a lost and confused child, or would it be too late?

"Would you like anything else?" I looked up from my book, dazed. I wasn't in Georgia at all. I was sitting in a restaurant, lost in one of Virginia Lanier's bloodhound mysteries.

The dog mystery is a fairly new genre in publishing, but it's one with many fans. In addition to Lanier's bloodhounds, Susan Conant's Alaskan Malamutes Kimi and Rowdy have solved many a crime with their partner, dog writer Holly Winter. Carol Lea Benjamin is best known for her series of books on dog training, but is the author also of a series of mysteries featuring slick private investigator Rachel Alexander and her pit bull, Dash. A cheerful Standard Poodle named Faith accompanies Melanie Travis while she investigates murders in her quiet suburban neighborhood in Laurien Berenson's mystery series.

Bloodhound handler Jo Beth Sidden made her debut in the award-winning Death in Bloodhound Red. Sidden is being stalked by her ex-husband, recently released from prison for nearly beating her to death. All that stands between her and his lead-filled baseball bat is a flimsy restraining order and the high-security compound she built around her home and kennel. Sidden, though, is very far from a helpless victim. She carries a gun, has contracts with local counties to assist in search and rescue work with her bloodhounds, and worked as a waitress and a secretary to save the money she needed to start her business. She also has a bad habit of mouthing off to people in authority, and creates odd alliances that save her from trouble almost as often as she gets into it.

Sidden's adventures take her into the swamps to save a child from a molester, into the backwoods, one step ahead of the DEA, to find and destroy the pot planted on a friend's land without his knowledge, and after armed killers escaping from prison. Sidden's soul mate is a bloodhound named Bobby Lee. Blind since birth, he is nonetheless the finest tracking dog she has ever seen. With her employees Wayne, a deaf dog trainer, Jasmine, an ex-hooker, Rose, Wayne's mother and the wife of the fire chief, and a cast of good old boys, lifelong friends, and warped family members, Lanier's books rise above genre. Pick one up, and see if you can put it down.

Carol Lea Benjamin is best known as a dog trainer and writer on dog behavior and training, but her Rachel Alexander and Dash mysteries will find her a whole new set of fans. Rachel is a private investigator in Manhattan, and Dash is her pit bull. In the series opener This Dog For Hire, they solve the case of the mysterious death of artist Clifford Cole, whose death has been written off as a gay-bashing by the cops. Magritte, Cole's Basenji, is missing, and the reason for the murder and the disappearance of the dog involves dog shows, dog breeding, and the darker side of human nature. The second book, The Dog Who Knew Too Much, focuses on the seeming suicide of Rachel's cousin Lisa, the practice of t'ai chi, and a black Akita. Rachel adopts the identity of her cousin to a frightening degree, as part of her investigation into what really caused Lisa's death. Murder, of course... with Lisa's black Akita as a witness. However, my personal favorite in the series is her deadly accurate and hysterically funny portrayal of the dog training world's best known figures in A Hell of a Dog.

Susan Conant is probably the best known, and is certainly the most prolific, of the dog mystery writers. Her character Holly Winter, introduced initially in A New Leash on Death, is an amateur sleuth, and it's necessary to suspend a certain amount of disbelief as this dog writer in Cambridge, Massachusetts manages to stumble on at least one murder in each book. Rowdy, Kimi, and Holly investigate crimes in every setting from a nursing home to a research laboratory to a puppy mill to a dog camp. Like her dogs, Winter is indomitable, relying mostly on luck and sheer nosiness to solve her crimes. Conant sprinkles her books with tips and trivia about the dog world, training suggestions, commentary on responsible dog ownership, and the very spicey relationship between Holly and her veterinarian. This enormously popular series weighs in with seventeen books as of this review - enough for a whole summer or winter of cozy reading for any dog lover!

Laurien Berenson's Melanie Travis isn't a dog person when her poodle mystery series begins with A Pedigree to Die For. She's a single mom and a schoolteacher, struggling to make ends meet after her husband walks out on her. She starts out snooping around the circumstances surrounding the death of her uncle, and before long her eccentric Aunt Polly has turned her into a poodle person and amateur detective. Berenson does what few authors ever manage to do: portray the reality of having to find a baby-sitter before jumping in the (on its last legs) car to follow up on a lead. Travis, also unlike her sisters in the dog mystery genre, doesn't want to be a sleuth. Her aunt, who merrily takes over Travis' life, supplying her with dog, hobby, and handsome poodle-breeding love interest, forces her into it.

Copyright 2004 by Christie Keith. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Great Gift Ideas

The holidays are just around the corner, but it still isn't too late to grab those book gifts for the animal lovers in your life. Below you will find 5 books from each section in Pethobbyist that would make great gifts. Clicking on the link will bring you right to the book page

Reptiles and Amphibians

Pet Tales is copyright 2004 by OnlineHobbyist.com unless otherwise specified. All rights reserved. ]]>