All About Animals discussion

Hi everyone. I'm an assistant at a foundation in Northern California, an independent novelist, a breast cancer survivor, a book worm, a gym rat, and a busy bee! (But I'm not a bar fly, ha ha.) I love reading books about animals. I like The Art of Racing in the Rain and I just finished The Dog Lived. I'm looking for more animal books to read, so I'm happy to be a part of this group. I'll accept any friend requests anyone might send me!

C.C. wrote: "Hi everyone. I'm an assistant at a foundation in Northern California, an independent novelist, a breast cancer survivor, a book worm, a gym rat, and a busy bee! (But I'm not a bar fly, ha ha.) I..."

I recently bought The Dog Lived; the cover pic was awesome! I have a shelf for animal books so feel free to check it out for ideas. I also loved The Art of Racing in the Rain. It was one of my all time faves! Welcome to the group!!

C.C. wrote: "Hi everyone. I'm an assistant at a foundation in Northern California, an independent novelist, a breast cancer survivor, a book worm, a gym rat, and a busy bee! (But I'm not a bar fly, ha ha.) I..."

Loved all the animals and insects, and your not a bar fly. Too funny! lol

Hi all. I'm a retired teacher (taught 18 years in Japan and Korea) and now a full-time writer. After writing five nonfiction books totally unrelated to animals, I wrote a novel entitled Bad Elephant Far Stream, the life story of a circus elephant, told through her own eyes. I guess you could call it a part of the emerging genre of animal books like The Art of Racing in the Rain that tell a story from an animal's perspective.

Hello everyone! I'm currently a student and I enjoy reading books on animals. One of the first I really like was Marley& Me by John Grogan and of course there was The Black Stallion. I actually have a dog, a papillion and a European cat. However since I'm living in a dorm they are with my grandma. I'm really looking forward to learn more about animal books and making friends!

Thetravelingpanda wrote: "Hello everyone! I'm currently a student and I enjoy reading books on animals. One of the first I really like was Marley& Me by John Grogan and of course there was The Black Stallion. I actually hav..."

Nice to meet you. Love those movies as well.
Cheers,
Gord

Gordon wrote:Nice to meet you. Love those movies as well.Cheers Gord "

You too Gord! Have a nice week end.

Hi everyone. My first Goodreads reading group!

I have 8 cats, 2 dogs and 14 betta fish and a few assorted tropical fish. My mother and I also foster kittens in the summer. I love all animals and my favorite wild animal is the elephant.

Books about animals tend to make me cry but that is not a bad thing. Some favorites are James Herriot, Walter Farley, Farley Mowat, Marguerite Henry, Joy Adamson and Mary O'Hara.

Welcome!

Samuel wrote: "Hi all. I'm a retired teacher (taught 18 years in Japan and Korea) and now a full-time writer. After writing five nonfiction books totally unrelated to animals, I wrote a novel entitled [book:Bad E..."

I enjoyed The Art of Racing in the Rain -- set in my part of the world. I wish you as much or more success. Your book sounds interesting.

Hi all, I'm Stephen. I already mentioned what animals I have at home in another post. As for favorite reads, so far it's a couple of books, each from a different series by Erin Hunter. I haven't read many animal books or just books in general, so i've yet to find out what my favorites are.

About me: i'm currently a full-time student who's struggling to finish and not procrastinate too much.
Over last summer, I decided to try getting in the habit of reading and i came across this site when I was looking for ratings on books i was considering purchasing at the local bookstore. I can't believe I didn't come across this site sooner! it's amazing.

Until I finished reading a couple of books by Erin hunter, I didn't think i'd be as intrigued as I am by reading about animals. I do like animals, but
the idea of reading stories involving them didn't excite me as much as it would if I were to watch something like Nat Geo or Animal Planet.

I was of course, wrong. I'm coming to the realization that sometimes reading is just better than watching, and my hope now is that I don't falter from wanting to read even more--whether or not that means reading about animals. I'm hoping that by joining this group, it would be easier to find a book to read through the suggestions of others.

Stephen wrote: "Hi all, I'm Stephen. I already mentioned what animals I have at home in another post. As for favorite reads, so far it's a couple of books, each from a different series by Erin Hunter. I haven't re..."

I'm a fan of Erin Hunter too! She -well they actually- is great!!!
Nice to meet you welcome in the group !

Stephen wrote: "Hi all, I'm Stephen. I already mentioned what animals I have at home in another post. As for favorite reads, so far it's a couple of books, each from a different series by Erin Hunter. I haven't re..."

Hi Stephen! Great to meet you and welcome to the group.

Thanks for the welcome, Travelingpanda and Tanya!

I just remembered Erin hunter was actually a group of writers. I should probably refer to them as "Erin Hunters" from now on :P

Hey yall!
I posted in the pet post all about my animals..but I have plenty! I'm a huge animal lover..I've been volunteering with my local shelters since I was a teenager, used to work at an animal hospital, and have been a vegetarian for about 10 years now.

I'm from South Carolina and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I'm a southern girl through and through. :) I read all kinds of books, for the most part. I like to keep a good variety!

Feel free to add me! I leave detailed reviews on most books I read, and I love reading others' reviews!

Jessica wrote: "Hey yall!
I posted in the pet post all about my animals..but I have plenty! I'm a huge animal lover..I've been volunteering with my local shelters since I was a teenager, used to work at an animal ..."

Hi Jessica! I'm a northern girl through and through! LOL But I see how lovely the south certainly is too. :-) Welcome and nice to meet you!

A warm welcome to all the new-comers here. Just jump in any of the conversations.

hi every body i am a lonely lady and i spend my time by writing... my english language is not enough good for writing . but i understand whatever you writ . i had a dog and my dog dead by accident and now i am sad and full of sorrow and all day long cryng ...ohhhhhh i am searching for someone to talk and write for me i"m so lonely... please for the sack of god need someone to be freind and talk with and writ for me

Welcome to the group Mah. I'm so sorry for your loss of your dog. It is sad when we lose a pet. Maybe you could volunteer somewhere to keep busy. Time will heal your wounds from losing your dog. Though we will never forget the happy times our pets bring to us.

I am Lilo, and I have already said everything about me on the pages "Where are you from" and "Tell us about your animals".

Welcome Lilo.

So delighted to find this group. So many books here that I loved and so many I want to read! I'm an author, dog and horse lover, amateur photographer, and former librarian who now lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains with an highly energetic labradoodle. You can see photos of him in my recent blog "Snowdoodle."

Some of my favorite books: The Art of Racing in the Rain, One Good Dog, all of Spencer Quinn's Chet and Bernie series, Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation, Cat Warren's What the Dog Knows, and Susannah Charleson's Scent of the Missing and The Possibility Dogs.

Can't wait to share good books with the group here!

Welcome Susan.

Hi, I am very pleased to join you! I am newly retired and looking for interesting things to engage my time. I love to read, and I love animals, and I REALLY love to read about animals! I have raised two Bernese Mtn Dogs, a (presumed) Tibetan Terrier (she was a rescue, but I am told she was sure the spitting image of an excellent Tibetan Terrier), and I had one Leonberger (what?, you have NEVER heard of a Leonberger? You must stop what you are doing and Google, Bing or use whatever your favorite search engine is and research this fabulous breed immediately and fill in this gaping hole in dog knowledge!). My current family consists of second Leonberger, named Pandora and a (presumed) Yellow Lab named Buddy (yes, he was a rescue).

I just finished reading the Healing Companions: Ordinary Dogs and Their Extraordinary Power to Transform Lives by Jane Miller. It was terrific. If the group has not read it yet, I am going to suggest they ought to give it consideration.

I live in a suburb of Atlanta, GA - though I was born and raised in NY. I was told I would get used to the heat down here. That was 30+ years ago. I was LIED to folks!

I am not sure what else I ought to add other than I am glad to be here!

Hi everyone,
My favorite authors includeErica Spindler, Tanya Huff, and Michael Koryta. I read historical fiction and fantasy novels a lot.
I own a bookstore in Baltimore, Maryland.

Welcome Melissa.

Anne wrote: "Hi, I am very pleased to join you! I am newly retired and looking for interesting things to engage my time. I love to read, and I love animals, and I REALLY love to read about animals! I have raise..."

Healing Companions was done in 2013 but the threads are always open for discussion. Here's this thread...https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Welcome to the group. You can always see what we have read in the Bookshelf section. Bookshelf located on the upper right hand side of the group.

Join in the discussions anytime.

Welcome, all newcomers!

Hello. I used to work with animals a lot. My first job was on a dude ranch, and I have worked for veterinarians and on horse farms as well. But now I do not even have any pets, just a garden. Green things are fun but I do miss the horses.

I read a great variety of topics and I have a large collection of animal books. I was one of the lucky students whose fifth grade teacher (oh so many years ago) read Walter Farley books to the class every afternoon. She also gave me the book Black Beauty at the end of the school year. I still have that book. I even still have the first book I ever read all by myself, called Bear Country; all about two bear cubs and what they discover their first day in the wide world.

Does anyone else have fond memories of animal books from their childhood? Just a late night can't sleep no chocolate in the house question.....=))

Debbie wrote: "Does anyone else have fond memories of animal books from their childhood? Just a late night can't sleep no chocolate in the house question.....=)..."

Welcome. And, yes...I do. When I was in middle school my all time favorite book was "Call of the Wild" by Jack London. I'm sure there are others.

Barb wrote: "Tell us about yourself. What animals do you have at home? Favorite reads. Anything you'd like here."

Hello everyone,
I learned to love and respect animals from my parents, especially from my father. I can’t adopt as many animals and donates as much as I would love to, so I started thinking about what can I do as a writer to help animals in need? I thought, I can write, sell the book and donate the money to animal shelters. I started putting together a book of short stories I have written the past few years and asked my animal lover friends if they’d like to participate. My Read for Animals project was born and two books are published in the anthology series.

Read about the project here: http://www.authorerikamszabo.com/read...
And take a look at free and discount books here: http://www.authorerikamszabo.com/stor...

This is SO me!

Kirsten, that is so true. lol.

Hi im Leah, i have 2 rescue dogs, a siberian husky and a shepherd mix. I also have an Eclectus Parrot and two bearded dragons. I like to read books about animal training, my favorite is Living with Wolfdogs by Nicole Wilde and i plan to go to school for Animal Behavior

Welcome Leah. I'll have to look that book up. And, good luck with your schooling.

Hello,
Having always loved Jack London-- who knew not only the behavior, but revealed the soul of the dog--I very much look forward to reading more contemporary titles I see on your list.

I spent my childhood longing for a dog, and at 12, when my dad thought he was dying in the hospital, he relented-- and then when he made it home, he too found a great friend in our mixed breed Casey. I have since had the good fortune to live with 18 dogs of various breeds, all of whom taught me much about good will and fully appreciating the moment: a meal, a swim, a romp in the snow.

Later I created a story for my own son about an Italian greyhound artist, which evolved into a series of novellas--and I've had as much fun writing about Piccolo, as raising my own pups (canine and human).

Thanks again and I look forward to being a part of your group.

Welcome Piccolo. Thanks for letting us know about your book.

Thanks, Barb, I've already picked up some great titles from other members. Can't wait to read: How the Dog Became the Dog...

Don't know that this is the group for me, but thought I'd give it a go. I'm a retired licensed veterinary technician, horse trainer, & apparently in the process of becoming a dog trainer, as there are none in my small town & I am beginning to get referrals from the shelter & friends. I'm not a big fan of the romantic, gushy, 'furry human' view of animals, finding it really interferes w/the genuine perception of & communication with a unique creature. Don't talk to me about 'cute' coyotes. Coyotes are amazing, they're intelligent, they're deadly, they're survivors. Same is true of every animal I've met...I don't need to defang & infantilize them to appreciate them.

I have 3 pitbull mixes, all rescues. One I tried to train for wilderness SAR, but she flunked (most dogs flunk...it takes a real focus to ignore squirrels, rabbits, elk, deer, grouse...in favor of a human). Now I have signed up two for nosework, so that'll be fun, entertaining, & as ever enlightening.

I have 4 mammoth donkeys, probably the most intelligent animal I have ever worked with, some of them on a par with primates for intelligence (hence the reputation for stubbornness). Fortunately they tend to be more congenial companions than a rhesus monkey. But both will steal your lunch. I've done wagon trains, gymkhanas, parades, & mountain trails w/my donks.

I really enjoy a good working animal. They are so much more engaged, alive, & exciting to watch than a pet whose intelligence has not been cultivated or channelled. Seeing the communication possible between a good handler & a respected animal brings tears to my eyes.

I'm a bit of a homesteader, living in a rural area, & in the past I've had an extensive garden, trying to produce a substantial amount of my own fresh food. Not easy at 7100'. And then the drought shut it down for a couple of years...my garden was an oasis among the brown for all wild things. This year looks to be wetter, so I have to get back in the swing of things, beginning w/clearing out the warm room in the shed where I start my seedlings! It's amazing how clutter collects.

And, of course, naturally I've made a vow not to buy any new books this year, right before I joined Goodreads, as I have more books than expected life left in me, & I want to get some of them read. LOL So I don't know how much I'll be able to join the discussions, but I will follow w/interest! And maybe ask some stimulating questions?

Very interesting! Welcome to the group, Sparrow Knight! Had to smile at your vow to not buy more books...I've made that same vow a gazillion times over the years. Never sticks. =))

I think we share the same viewpoint towards animals. Have you ever read James Oliver Curwood? I recently finished his Kazan and thought it was incredible. Reading Baree, Son of Kazan at the moment and it's good also but he has put a little more 'cute' into this one and it kind of annoys me. Best thing about it so far is an author quote I added to my profile page, where he shares his view of wild animals.

Hope you enjoy the group and GR!!

Debbie wrote: "Very interesting! Welcome to the group, Sparrow Knight! Had to smile at your vow to not buy more books...I've made that same vow a gazillion times over the years. Never sticks. =))


I have made one exception...any book in a series I've already started. I'm for win-win training. :D

Not familiar w/that author, I'll look into it. Nice thing about both Amazon & Goodreads...wish lists. 2016 is going to be a big shopping year, single-handedly doing what I can to support the national economy, etc. ;-)

Debbie wrote: "Very interesting! Welcome to the group, Sparrow Knight! Had to smile at your vow to not buy more books...I've made that same vow a gazillion times over the years. Never sticks. =))


All available for free at Gutenberg.org. So if I run out of other things... officially it wouldn't be buying... LOL

Welcome Sparrow.

Sparrow Knight joked:"All available for free at Gutenberg.org. So if I run out of other things... officially it wouldn't be buying... LOL "

Yep, that is where I read both those books and you should see the list of Gutenberg Want To Reads I keep on my notepad. Way more than on my official GR list and most of those are on Gutenberg too. I should be embarrassed but I'm not...it's fun to browse there and I love all the forgotten 'orphan' books that haven't been heard of for so long. Have found Treasures!!

Debbie wrote: "Yep, that is where I read both those books and you should see the list of Gutenberg Want To Reads I keep on my notepad. Way more than on my official GR list and most of those are on Gutenberg too. I should be embarrassed but I'm not...it's fun to browse there and I love all the forgotten 'orphan' books that haven't been heard of for so long. Have found Treasures!! "

Yes! I'm currently reading a collection of fin de siecle horror by M.R. James entitled Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. An influence on H. P. Lovecraft, they depend on the reader's imagination quite a bit. Just a light shading of creepy, not the heavy handed stuff of contemporary writing.

Just went to look....added that and the other ghost titles to my lists. Thanks! I thought the Wikipedia article about him was interesting...I like that about Gutenberg, you get to easily learn about the authors themselves too.

Dee, I think I have read all of the books you mentioned. My favorite as a kid was "Call of the Wild".

Movies..I seen all of them you mention except GreyFriars.

I wish you well with the things you are dealing with.

I like to go to antique stores to look around and see what I can find there. I don't buy a lot at them, but I like going.

I'm Benji, and I've always loved animals more than (most) people. Even as a kid, I had a tendency to prefer a person's pets over the person themselves. My first pet was a guinea pig, but I had a love for animals long before I had Chucky (the guinea pig). I used to walk one of our neighbor's dogs. He was a Chihuahua named Peepee. I was eight or nine. Hard to remember. The neighbor never liked the dog much, but I loved Peepee. One day, I went to walk Peepee, and was told he was gone. I was devastated. I could not stop crying. I just didn't understand why someone would get rid of their dog. My mom called the pound (where Peepee had been left). Luckily, he found a home (in some older lady, who no doubt loved him as much as I). I was still heartbroken, though. In that moment, I knew dogs would be my life. I love all animals, but have always had a strong preference for dogs.

Currently, I have two of my own. A corgi mutt by the name of Sandy who is eight this year. (Wow, it's really been eight years!) And a Pomeranian named Sweeney (Todd the Demon Groomer of Wesley Street). I, also, have a Robovrski hamster (not sure I spelled that right, still working on learning) and a rabbit, as well as a 10 year old tomcat named Noble. The hamster and rabbit are Dewey and Nate respectively.

As a kid, I would read animal nonfiction for fun. When I got a guinea pig, I read so many books on guinea pigs... I still hold some of the knowledge, although a lot has changed since then in regards to care (cage size, dietary need knowledge, the fact that they should be in pairs, etc). I enjoy reading fiction, too. I loved Rescuing Sprite, and Marley and Me, as well as The Dogs Who Found Me. I just love animal books in general, particularly dog ones..

My mom was a Pomeranian breeder and dog shower. She was in the confirmation world for some time, but retired into obedience, before retiring entirely. She rescued for some time, too. It's no wonder I grew to love animals. I was born into it all.

I am currently studying Psychology, but considering switching majors. I am thinking that working with animals is really where my heart is. I am considering volunteering for the local animal shelter, as they have recently started a volunteer program. I would love to rescue, but cannot hae any more pets at the moment. Fostering is out of the question for the same reason. I cannot transport as I cannot drive, so I have come to the conclusion that volunteering is the best option for me. I am very passionate about animal welfare, as well as rescue, and if it weren't for social anxiety I'd be a heckuva spokesperson. I've made it my goal to recover from social anxiety so that I can be a voice for animals.

I'm excited to be in this group, as I am anxiously trying to find new dog books to read (or cat, rabbit, etc). I can't wait to get active (hopefully, provided I can find the books!).

Does anyone else have fond memories of animal books from their childhood? Just a late night can't sleep no chocolate in the house question.....=))

I recall reading a book called I, Houdini. It was about a hamster who was named Houdini because he was an escape artist. That was my favorite book, and started my love for rodents. Shortly after reading it, I became obsessed with hamsters. I read a lot of nonfiction books about hamsters. Their care, their history, the different species'. I wanted a hamster. Apparently, my mom's boyfriend confused hamster with guinea pig. Because he brought me a guinea pig... thinking it was a hamster. I loved my guinea pig, and had him thanks to the book I, Houdini.

Hi Benji! Welcome!! And best of luck to you with everything you are working for!