The Next Best Book Club discussion

amberville

"A Dog's Life" by Peter Mayle is great fun. I also liked The Ugly Dachshund by G.B. Stern, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, The Labrador Pact by Matt Haig, and Timbuktu by Paul Auster. (All dog books). I also recently read "King: A Street Story" by John Berger. The main character is a dog...although, near the end...one can't be so sure...

Someone upthread mentioned Firmin by Sam Savage; I read it in January, and I absolutely loved it!

Does anyone know of the book about a colony of ants? A student mentioned such a thing to me three years ago, and I've totally forgotten the title. I do remember looking for it on Amazon, and at that time it was out of print.

Nothing adult that hasn't already been mentioned but three additional kids/young adult:

Cricket in Times Square (and there is a sequel whose name escapes me).
Argggh...have somehow managed to forget the other two in the interim! Will post back later if I suddenly remember.

Mel

Animal Farm

not funny characters but brilliant..love it ;p

Oh my goodness the best books where animals are the main, in fact the only characters, are the wonderful series of Redwall by Brian Jacques. He weaves amaxing tales of heroes and bad guys and the lives of the cutest mice, otters, moles, etc. Please pick one up and tell me what you think. I am pretty sure he's written about 20 in the series so far.

Ah...I forgot a couple of cat books. Probably because they are still in my TBR pile.

This looks like fun: The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr by ETA Hoffmann.

And this one, too: I am a Cat by Soseki Natsume.

I recently started Paul Auster's Timbuktu A Novel which is a story told from the dog's point of view.

Amy wrote: "Ah...I forgot a couple of cat books. Probably because they are in my TBR pile.

This looks like fun: The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr by ETA Hoffmann.

And this one, too:..."

Did you read The Cat Who Went to Paris about Norton the Scottish Fold (true story).

Has anyone read Merle's Door? That is in my TBR pile; true story also.

Jacquie Rogers has Down Home Ever Lovin' Mule Blues where the narrator is a cogitating mule who has decided to help his human find love and happiness.

To Diane: Nope, I haven't read The Cat Who Went to Paris. Thanks for the recommendation.

I came back to the thread because I had forgotten one that I read earlier this year: Giraffe a Novel, by J.M. Ledgard. Several chapters are told from the point of view of....a giraffe; no kidding. However, be warned - it is not a happy story.

Mel wrote: "Nothing adult that hasn't already been mentioned but three additional kids/young adult:

Cricket in Times Square (and there is a sequel whose name escapes me).
Argggh...have somehow managed to f..."

Just remembered "The Incredible Journey" which is one of the ones I had forgotten. Still trying to remember the third.

Thomma wrote: "I love Charlotte's Web and Watership Down, and Mel just reminded me of Cricket in Times Square -- I loved that book as a child. And yes, The Incredible Journey.

A recent discovery, recommended by..."

Did you read Tales from Watership Down? (also by Richard Adams). I have it but haven't read it. Watership Down is one of my favorites.

Robin wrote: "Becky wrote: "Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery. About a cuddly bunny who is also a vampire. ..."

Oh my God....Bunnicula sounds too funny - I must read it for Easter - thanks for brining it to..."

Bunnicula is great as are the sequels to it. My son and I are currrently reading them.

I also love Charlotte's Web (in which I'm not alone I see), The Cricket in Times Square.

Let us not forget "ANIMAL FARM" !

Tarka the Otter
by Annabel Large, Henry Williamson
Have not read it but I have heard about it forever. Comments?

El wrote: "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien."

I remember reading this book when I was in 4th grade and loving it. I'd forgotten about it until just now.

AAA, every time I remember Watership Down I start to cry. The Velveteen Rabbit had the same effect. I don't know what it is about books with animals that make me turn into a mushy pot of goo.

Watership Down was on my reading list for quite a while. I finally got around to reading it and I swear I've never felt so uninvested in a cast of characters. Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig and the gang just kinda hopped from one page to the next, never gainging dimension or emotional weight.
Maybe I have rabbit issues...

Animal Farm by George Orwell- absolutely love it.

Kockroach: A Novel
by Tyler Knox
A lowly cockroach reverses the tale by Kafka & metamorphs into a human, takes R M Nixon (& the Mafia) as his model, but at heart he remains a cockroach, actually not much differance in behaviour although Tricky Dick may have had a better survival instinct.

Charlotte's Web will forever be the #1 Animal Classic for me. A pig and a spider. Who would've "thunk"?

Winnie-the-Pooh. I know that Winnie was a stuffed bear but he's alive in the book and I think that Eeyore is one of the great characters of children's literature. I don't mean the Disney version, but A.A. Milne's original sarky, pessimist of a donkey.

Hey - if we're going to branch out to stuffed animals, or toy-ish animals, then I recommend The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, who also wrote The Tale of Despereaux, which has probably already been mentioned, but I'm too lazy to check.

Does anyone know about The Warrior series? Are they told through the point of view of a cat?

Robin wrote: "Am I the only one here who read Duncton Wood? It reminded me a lot of Watership Down - surprisingly enough there are some "sex" scenes in there that are pretty racey considering it i..."

I have skimmed it & plan to read the series - sometime. I liked the Wind in the Willows & the William Horwood sequels so Duncton sounds like a possible read.

My Life As a Dog
by Moose
The Jack Russell of FRAZIER tells all!

So, I e-mailed my student (who graduated three years ago!) to ask about that book about the colony of ants.

It's A Rustle in the Grass

Sarah, I love the Warrior series. Another great book told from a cat's point of view is Tailchaser's Song.

The Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West is like Watership Down but involves horses instead of rabbits. It has a sequel too: Piper at the Gate.
There is The Sight and Fell, which are from the POVs of wolves. Also by the same author is Fire Bringer involving deer. They all have a really "epic" feel instead of being childish so I enjoyed them very much.

Parts of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle are told from the dogs' points of view.

Grendel, told from the monster's point of view.

Personally I have a sneaking tendency to anthropomorphise animals. I have a deeply tender place in my heart for them so I probably credit them with a richer emotional life than they really have. For that reason it is difficult for me to read books written from the animal's point of view, especially if the animal is suffering in any way. I know....I'm weird.

I also recommend Wabi A Hero's Tale, it's about an owl with a wolf best friend who falls in love with a human girl.

Amy wrote: "Does anyone know of the book about a colony of ants? A student mentioned such a thing to me three years ago, and I've totally forgotten the title. I do remember looking for it on Amazon, and at that time it was out of print."

Could it be Empire of the Ants? I have been meaning to read this one for a while now.

Amanda wrote: "Amy wrote: "Does anyone know of the book about a colony of ants? A student mentioned such a thing to me three years ago, and I've totally forgotten the title. I do remember looking for it on Amazon..."

I answered my own question six posts up. :)

Becky wrote: "Here's some:
Marley & Me Love and Life with the World's Worst Dog. Marley doesn't talk, but he is definitely the main character of the story.

[book:Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of M..."

The Bunnicula series were some of my favorite children's books.

Peribo wrote: "Coalbanks wrote: " Kockroach: A Novel
by Tyler Knox
A lowly cockroach reverses the tale by Kafka & metamorphs into a human, takes R M Nixon (& the Mafia) as his model, but at heart he remain..."

Have you checked it out?

Jenny wrote: "I'm reading The Dark Portal Deptford Mice Trilogy, Robin Jarvis. Which is book 1 of the deptford mice trilogy. It's all about mice and rats and a few bats (wow that rhymed). I read it..."

Thanks! Never heard of this one before.

Fiona wrote: "Books like Watership Down, Animals of Farthing Wood, even Redwall - where the animals are given voices and characters. Not books like Mareley and Me where the dog's a dog and yeah you know.

So w..."
Shardik was a less than great read IMHO.

Saved By Grace wrote: "Redwall series
Watership Down
White Fang
Julie and the Wolves trilogy (they have people in it but the wolves are also the main characters)
Riki Tiki Tavi


And I'm sure I've read a ton of others bu..."


Jack London wrote several animal-based stories, none better than the Sea-Wolf. Ha Ha ! .

Will James a 1920's writer of Western novels wrote several books from the perspective of a horse.

I absolutely adore Watership Down - it's one of my favourite books.
Firebringer & The Sight by David Clement-Davies are also great. Also William Horwood with the Duncton Wood tales and The Wolves of Time series - though I always end up crying my eyes out when reading them.

I've also got The Wild Road by Gabriel King but haven't had a chance to read it as yet.

Charlotte's Web is one of my favorites, although I have many others as well.

I'm interested in this topic in general, not only for animals as main characters.

Poppy and Desperoux

My favourite animal books are The Cricket in Times Square, The Complete Maus, Redwall, The Wind in the Willows, The Jungle Books, Black Beauty, The Chronicles of Narnia, Watership Down, The House at Pooh Corner, and The Call of the Wild, White Fang and Other Stories. Oh, and anything by Beatrix Potter.

Hmmm, I didn't realise how many books that I loved had animals as the main character until I started making this list. Neat!

I forgot about all of those! Those were my favorites!!

Don't forget the Freddy the Pig novels by Walter R. Brooks. The best animal books I've ever read.

Have y'all ever heard of Play Dead by David Rosenfelt ? It's a really, really good book. It's a mystery and a keeper. I have read it a few times and plan to reread it. I give it 5 stars, but I haven't added it to my list of books read yet.

Not sure if anyone knows this author or not, but when I was younger I used to read all of Dick King-Smith's books. Basically, just about everything he writes has talking animals. He's very famous in England, had his books adapted into kids TV shows, etc. The film Babe comes from one of his books. If you don't mind reading something on the younger side of things, take a look.

Not sure if this one is in here yet but I highly recommend this novel! It's fantastic. There are a few animal characters that actually narrate most of the novel. It's one of my favorite books:

At first, I was hesitant about Watership Down but it was fantastic! I need to reread it soon. I think the only other book I've read with animals as the main characters is Animal Farm. I need to read more!