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If you follow our Instagram, you know that we’re pretty dog obsessed. Between two office dogs, there’s no shortage of canine content to get us through our day or distractions to run to when we need a mental break. However, we recently had a very special office visitor that has had a major influence in our blog-post inspiration this week.
Brian is a 10-year-old golden retriever who hung out with us for a beautiful 8 hours earlier this week. He snuggled up next to our shelves. He sniffed our books. He spread joy around our pod. We’ll never forget our day with Brian as a part of Team Agora. So, in honor of Brian’s brief time with us in office, we’d like to share with you our favourite books about dogs. (Some tissues may be necessary in the reading of these titles — don’t say we didn’t warn you.)
Yes, we’re plugging one of our own books — but it makes perfect sense, we promise! You see, Mavis Cheek’s story about a woman navigating the world post-divorce features its very own dog named Brian. Through Mavis’s classic sense of humour and witty observation, we’re given a hopeful story about family and relationships and further proof that Brian is the best name for any dog.
The hook with The Art of Racing in the Rain is that it’s told from the perspective of the dog — could anything be more delightful? While the tone could have spiraled in the direction of the Thoughts of Dog Twitter, Garth Stein uses the incredibly sweet voice of a pup who wants to be reincarnated as a human. It’s the ultimate ode to the purity of our furry friends and a heartwarming analysis of how to be human. (Bonus: it may just make you cry on an airplane.)
My first experience with Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls was in grade school. We read the book as a class, then, upon finishing, marched out to the woods behind our building to set up our very own faux red fern graves. Is the mimed act of burying imaginary dogs an appropriate method of analyzing classic texts? In hindsight, I’m not so sure. But either way, Where the Red Fern Grows is a timeless tale of friendship and loyalty that will make your heart swell in its final pages.
The ultimate tear-jerker. You know Marley and Me because, even if you’ve never read the book, it’s the movie your friends who never cry told you they may have finally shed a few tears to. No one is immune to the heartbreak that is Marley and Me. No one. I’m not sure if it makes it better or worse that this is a true story, but the story of Marley is the best example of just how devoted we can become to the pets in our lives, even when they’re absolute horrors.
This is another nostalgic one for me, as it was one of the novels I read just at the beginning of the formation of my literary obsession. It expertly stitches together the feeling of what it’s like to be a young child looking for adventure during a sweltering summer. When Winn-Dixie catches the eye of 10-year-old Opal, both their lives are changed for good. They become inseparable, creating havoc around town, digging up secrets, and, eventually, bringing an entire community together. Because of Winn-Dixie is the ultimate reminder that dogs really are some of the best friends we’ll ever have.
As always, thank you for reading, and be sure to tweet us @AgoraBooksLDN with your favourite book featuring a dog!
