One tries to influence one's human's reading habits..

I suspect I'm not the only blogging dog to live in a house full of books.

But I do wonder how many of you have to put up with a human whose summer reading has included titles like "The State of the Universe - A Primer in Modern Cosmology" or "Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality".

Yes really! I'm beginning to understand how Hamish the Westie turned out the way he did. (Remember his Parallel Universe Theory?)

OK I will admit that we have lots of fiction and travel books too, and a smattering of biographies, as well as all the sciencey stuff.

Now you might imagine that I, and Hamish before me, would be sufficient inspiration also for a whole shelf full of canine-related literature. But no, not at all, our house is woefully deficient in this particular category. 'Call of the Wild' sits alone in its own barren wasteland in the bookcase.

Well a couple of weeks ago I decided to take matters in hand and use my fast developing computer skills (us six month olds are such quick learners) to order a new book for Gail.

I hope I do not sound too self-congratulatory if I say that this book was cleverly and subtly chosen. You see, I have come to realise that Gail likes her dogs to be fluffy, but not her reading material. So didn't I do well to unearth a story about a fox terrier set in communist Hungary*? Gail could kid herself that she was reading something 'worthwhile' and 'serious' about the human condition, but really we know that she was enjoying a nice tale about a cute little pup!

Now that I have got her started, I wonder if any of my friends have other recommendations for books about dogs, preferably one that aren't too blatantly sentimental?


*'Niki: The Story of a Dog' by Tibor Dery.