With Pride and Gay Games over and August just around the corner, we can look forward to nice, relaxing summer days at the beach. What to read, what to read? There seems to be quite a few pet books out there right now that would make perfect beach books.
Marley and Me, by John Grogan has been on the bestseller list for a while, and deservedly so! It was a great read. It is both touching and funny. It is about a 'typical' family who end up with a Lab that is less than well-behaved. Chewing apart furniture and eating walls were some of his favorite pastimes. You live through thirteen years with Marley sometimes laughing hysterically and sometimes crying. He was a handful that many people would have given up on.
Rex and the City, by Lee Harrington is also about a hard to manage dog that the author and her boyfriend adopt. The series Rex and the City has been appearing in Bark magazine since 2000. ( By the way, Bark is a fabulous magazine—certainly the best of all the dog magazines. ) The first installment I read had me laughing out loud. While there are similarities with Marley and Me, they are both worth the read. Rex and the City takes place in NY where the couple live in a tiny studio with Rex, the big, unruly dog. As with most books about living in a hole in the wall in NY, it made me glad I live in Chicago! I think I liked both books because the people stuck with these dogs when it would have been easier at times to just drop them at a shelter. Plus both dogs made our two actually look well-behaved.
Hit by a Farm, by Catherine Friend is not really a pet book but there are animals involved. No, it is not some weird porn! It is about two city women—partners in fact—who buy a farm in Minnesota. They raise chickens, sheep and goats. The chapters are very short ( hence a good beach book ) and have witty titles like Chicken Sex, Ducks and Tattoos, and Meeting my Meat. I am half way through the book and it is very entertaining, although it does not make me want to farm in any way, shape or form. These women are brave!
Upcoming Events:
Windy City Animal Foundation's Wine Tasting For Charity
Wed., August 2, 7 - 10 p.m., In Fine Spirits, 5418 N. Clark St., $15. Info: www.WindyCityAnimals.org .
Dog washes to benefit PAWS Chicago
Sun., August 6, 11 - 3 p.m., Simon's Shine Shop, 1439 Shakespeare Ave., $10, $5 facials. 773-348-2000, www.simonsshineshop.com .
Treehouse Animal Foundation Kitty Kindergarten
Wed, Aug 9, 6:30 - 8 p.m., Soggy Paws, 1148 W. Leland Ave., $15, www.TreeHouseAnimals.org .
Welcome to Buddy Boy and Tucker, the newest WCMG family members.
