SAXTON B. LITTLE FREE LIBRARY
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Speaking Volumes

Keeping you up-to-date on what's happening at your library. We invite you to join in the conversation!
MAY 17, 2010
Dog or Cat, CaC or Dog

The April 2010 issue of AARP Bulletin reported the results of a survey regarding pet ownership. I was not surprised to see dogs in the lead at 45% for ages 50-64 beating out cats at 27%. he percentages for both drop a bit in the 65 age group but dogs are still the winner at 27% v. 19%. his got me to wondering what the results would be if I conducted my own poll pitting dog against cat in the world of books.

I really like Feathers for Lunch (Cat) by Lois Ehlert and it is an all-time favorite of my daughter Stacy. But then Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann (Dog) is neat too. And then I adored the recent novel The Art of Racing in the Rain (Dog) by Garth Stein. Cats seem better at solving mysteries as evidenced by the Midnight Louie series by Carole Nelson Douglas, Koko and Yum Yum of the Lillian Jackson Braun mysteries, and Sneaky Pie Brown brought to the page by Rita Mae Brown. The more I think about this, the more I see it's hard to choose.

What say you? Which book gets your vote, feline or canine?


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Comments

Tina said, on May. 18 at 7:02AM
Cat mysteries may be meeting their match with the arrival of Chet, a PI dog, in Spencer Quinn's new mystery series. Chet is a dog's dog, constantly distracted by squirrels, coyotes and food scents, and prone to napping.

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TessS said, on May. 18 at 8:47AM
Hands down Cats, I love the attitude!

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anonymous said, on May. 19 at 7:08AM
Being a cat-person, I absolutely adored Willie Morris' book My Cat, Spit McGee.

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Tammy Eustis, Killingworth Library, CT said, on May. 19 at 7:26AM
This is too funny, Carol! I was just planning a display of various dog stories (fiction and nonfiction), with the quote "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend; inside of a dog, it's too dark to read! - Groucho Marx". Then, in an effort of "fairness", I'll put a selection of cat books on the bottom shelf of the display, with a sign reading "Dogs are jerks - The Cat". It's true that dog books are disproportionate to cat-coverage, but as you said, the cat mysteries are more popular. Of course now, Chet the dog (Dog On It, etc. by Spencer Quinn) is giving them a run for their money. On the nonfiction end, Dewey and Oscar are putting up a good fight against Skip, Marley, and their ilk. Safe to say the "fight" continues!

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Binnie Syril Brausntein said, on May. 19 at 7:43AM
Being a dog person, I still like cat books. One of my all time faves is Paul Gallico's The Abandoned, where th little boy somehow gets bonked on the head and wakes up as a cat. Since he know nothing about being a cat, he's in something of a predicament. Fortunately for him, he ends up being mentored by other, more experienced. cats. "When in doubt - wash."

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mjdq said, on May. 19 at 7:54AM
Although the dog narrator does not solve the mysteries, I have enjoyed very much Spencer Quinn's Dog on it and Thereby hangs a tail. I think I must be a dog person but live with both.

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CarolK said, on May. 19 at 7:58AM
Don't know how I forgot that great new series by Spencer Quinn. I so enjoyed Dog Gone It! and even commented on it on Saxon Reads & Reviews. Need to read Hangs by a Tail. Thanks to all who are adding their votes!

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