Introduce Yourself > Likes and Comments

Let me know about yourself and what you would like to talk about in this group.

Hi Stephen, This is a great idea for a group. I love polls and hope you will add a few. One that might be interesting is How many dogs have you owned so far in your life?

My latest count is 12!

Thanks for the invite, Stephen. I love dogs, and books about dogs.

Granny Alice wrote: "Hi Stephen, This is a great idea for a group. I love polls and hope you will add a few. One that might be interesting is How many dogs have you owned so far in your life?

My latest count is 12!"

That is a great idea for a poll! I will consider it. Sure reminds me of my old dogs. Sigh.

Thank you for the invitation, Stephen! I do enjoy reading books about dogs - both fiction and nonfiction. However, that's not my sole interest - I read books in many genres! I do enjoy reading other people's reviews of books about dogs and do review the ones I read. So I'm looking forward to seeing other people's comments/reviews in this group.

I did enter a drawing for two dog books that were listed in Goodreads giveaways - I didn't win either one but am adding them to my TBR list! Here are the titles:

A Sheepdog Named Oscar: love and companionship in rural Ireland by Dara Waldron. (new and not yet published)

The Corgi With Starlight in His Eyes: a true story by Richard Wolkomir

Cheryl wrote: "Thank you for the invitation, Stephen! I do enjoy reading books about dogs - both fiction and nonfiction. However, that's not my sole interest - I read books in many genres! I do enjoy reading othe..."

Thank you very much Cheryl! They look interesting and were not on my radar. I have added them to my list.

Although my focus is primarily on books on dogs, I do read (or listen on audible) other genre's. But come on, a great dog book is the best, right ;-)

You can often go to the publisher's website or NetGalley and get the same books to review. I've done that a couple of times.

Hi, I'm Kelly, that woof was awesome!

I'm excited about this group!

I love dogs, books on dogs, talking about dogs, pictures of dogs, media about dogs, etc. Yes I have other interests but they're made even better with the addition of dogs. :)

I live in Seattle. My kids are grown so I share a home with friends and my dog. One of the dogs died of old age last year and I'm hoping she'll get a new one, but things are up in the air here so it might be a while.

I see and take care of my granddaughter about every 6 weeks for a few days and it's the highlight of my life. (I have other great things like friends, hobbies, and GR but she is the best.)

I would love to have group reads, maybe two a month/bimonthly/whatever, like a fiction book and something else like nonfiction, memoir, art/photography book, kids book, etc.

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "You can often go to the publisher's website or NetGalley and get the same books to review. I've done that a couple of times."

Hi Kelly! Yes, I’ve been using NetGalley for many years (since about 2009). Before I retired from my position as a reader’s advisory librarian I used them quite a bit. But now that I’m retired I honestly prefer to read a print book instead. That’s just me though. 😂. I think most readers here use audio or ebook format which is fine. I’m just an old crank who likes real hardcover or paperback format 😂

I prefer hardcopy, too, but I can't afford to buy them and only so many things are available at the library. :(

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "I prefer hardcopy, too, but I can't afford to buy them and only so many things are available at the library. :("

Yeah sometimes that can be a problem. Waitlists too! I’ve stopped buying books for myself - my shelves and stacks are all over and full. And you’re right - books are pricey these days!

Kindle Unlimited and my library have been amazing since I generally read a book a day.

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "I prefer hardcopy, too, but I can't afford to buy them and only so many things are available at the library. :("

I prefer a hardcopy book. Smart people read books on kindle, from Netgallary, or from their library, but i don't claim to be smart. It is nice you can get used books for a lot less, even 100 year old ones. So I find the best price between Thriftbooks, Biblio, or eBay.

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "Hi, I'm Kelly, that woof was awesome!

I'm excited about this group!

I love dogs, books on dogs, talking about dogs, pictures of dogs, media about dogs, etc. Yes I have other interests but they're..."

Kelly mentioned Group Reads, I would be interested in knowing what everyone thinks of that. I can open a topic for that, but it only let's me open like 2 new topics a day.

What I have seen on group reads is the need for a bunch of conversation to pick one out before one is agreed upon.

I figure this site is going to recommend a lot of books and people can read what they want, and then mention what they thought somewhere. But I love it when people have the same shared experience from reading the same book.

You as the moderator decide what the group reads are going to be. When I started ours up on my sites, I just chose two books from our already established shelves and opened discussions for them. Then I established a discussion called 'what should we read next?' and gave people a couple of weeks to make recommendations (or a couple of months depending on the activity in the group). Some mods put up a poll for their group reads each month. It doesn't have to be a big deal.

If people don't come up with ideas, I suggest just getting people to add books to the shelves and choosing from books on the shelves the first few times as long as people participate.

We have 3 dogs and a foster dog. Obviously, dogs are a major part of our lives and I also love reading about dogs - both fiction and non-fiction. But there are so many meh books out there. The worst, for me, being "I am writing this book about my dog that changed my life because ..." and then nearly the whole book is about "my 'spiritual journey' and I happen to have a dog. "

C wrote: "We have 3 dogs and a foster dog. Obviously, dogs are a major part of our lives and I also love reading about dogs - both fiction and non-fiction. But there are so many meh books out there. The wors..."

I know what you mean as I have run into a few books like you describe. Sometimes if the book is well-written and inspiring you can still feel ok, but still irksome when the hype says 'dog!' and their ain't much dog.

They know dogs sell books.

Granny Alice wrote: "Hi Stephen, This is a great idea for a group. I love polls and hope you will add a few. One that might be interesting is How many dogs have you owned so far in your life?

My latest count is 12!"

What a great question. Thank you for the trip down memory lane. My current count is also 12.

C wrote: "We have 3 dogs and a foster dog. Obviously, dogs are a major part of our lives and I also love reading about dogs - both fiction and non-fiction. But there are so many meh books out there. The wors..."

Lol, yeah those are annoying. Same for fiction too when there are dogs on the cover and in the story the dog is nothing more than a piece of furniture. Seriously!!!

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "They know dogs sell books."

Lol🤣 That they do! I am the classic case too. I am such a sucker for a cover with a cute doggie.

C wrote: "We have 3 dogs and a foster dog. Obviously, dogs are a major part of our lives and I also love reading about dogs - both fiction and non-fiction. But there are so many meh books out there. The wors..."

I agree! 😁

I think I'm at ten. It would be more but it hasn't been a good idea to add to my dog family in recent years. Currently I have an elderly dog and she'd be fine with another dog in the house but not in our room. My landlord/housemate's dog died probably a year ago but things in the house have been really tense and she's not ready for a new dog. Things should be better in a few months but then her granddaughter is having a baby. So I don't think a new dog is in the cards anytime soon, assuming my old lady lasts a while longer. :)

Hi, everyone! I’m Stephanie, currently a “mom” to six dogs. 2025 has been like a rollercoaster dog-wise. My little Audrey died on January 30. 😢 Then, my MIL made the decision to move to a place where dogs are not allowed. So rather than have her two dogs go off to unknown people, my husband and I adopted them!
Obviously, I love dogs, and therefore books about dogs. Books for younger readers are what I enjoy most. So many adult books have too much “adult” and not enough “dog”.
Looking forward to discussing great dog books with everyone!

I'm so sorry about your Audrey. How old was she? It would be a dream to have six dogs as expensive as it would get as they aged.

Thanks for reaching out, Kelly.
Audrey was almost eight. I became her “mom” when she was two. Due to neglect as a puppy, her teeth were in bad shape; had to have eleven removed when we got her. Didn’t affect her eating, surprisingly, but the rest of her teeth remained unhealthy, even with care.
She was a gray teacup poodle. Always weighed about 3 pounds, max, but she was a tiny love bug. It’s been six months, and my husband and I miss our little “Spin-Spin” a lot (that’s what she did when excited!)

Oh I love little poodles so much. We had a mini poodle, which is quite a bit bigger, growing up. She was so smart. But I love little dogs who like to be held. My friend's pit bull likes to be held to but that doesn't work quite as well...

I imagine not! My Schnauzer thinks he’s still a four pound puppy. 😂

It's funny that they're unaware of their size, although most dogs I've seen know that little kids should not be knocked over. Not all, but most dogs seem to know.

The pit bull is a great dog. She's timid, though. During the fireworks last week, she went into the back of this dark closet that's really long and full of stuff and just hid. I want all anti-pit-bull people to meet her.

I would like a poll as they are so easy.

Can anyone make a poll? If so, do it! Stephen, that's a way to get people involved: make polls.

Hello, I’m happy to be invited to this group. I love dogs and take the bigger of my two dogs, a black mouth cur mixed breed rescue to the dog park at least three times a week where I get to see and love on up to twenty other dogs per week. I also have a miniature toy tri-colored Australian Shepherd with one blue eye and one brown. She is only 16 pounds and not very sociable, her personality is similar to a cat’s. We love both our dogs and the other dogs that have been part of our 32 years of married life. My favorite genre to read growing up were dog and animal stories. Now I read all the genres but love dog books the most. I Love James Herriot’s stories the Stephen Wallace (our group founder here) has inspired me to hunt for my copy of Lad which he recommended highly. It’s a wonderful book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Stephen also inspired me to locate and read a copy of the classic “101 Dalmatians.” This was a great book also. I’d seen the Disney movie many times with my kids when they were young and loved it. Thank you, Stephen for those recommendations.

I didn't know there was such a thing as a toy Australian Shepherd. I want one!

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "I didn't know there was such a thing as a toy Australian Shepherd. I want one!"

My neighbor seems to have something like this. Mini dog bravely barking at people from behind the electronic fence in the yard. Very cute dog.

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "Can anyone make a poll? If so, do it! Stephen, that's a way to get people involved: make polls."

OK, OK! I added a poll and am open to ideas for more polls.

Olaide wrote: "Hello, Stephen. Thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself.

I recently published my book on Amazon. It’s a Magical Realism story about a young girl whose thirteenth birthday unleashes a curse..."

Thanks for joining the group.

Good luck on the book. I added it to my list but not sure when i will get to it. Is it only available on Kindle as Goodreads seem to indicate? There are no reviews yet in GR.

Now i see where you book is also i paperback... GR for some reason doesn't seem to have the kindle and paperback linked.

126 pages, Paperback

Again, good luck on the book!

Stephen wrote: "Now i see where you book is also i paperback... GR for some reason doesn't seem to have the kindle and paperback linked.

126 pages, Paperback

Again, good luck on the book!"


Thank you so much for your response. And thanks for calling my attention to this. I will try and get the kindle and paperback linked.


Much appreciated.

Did you get it linked? If not, I can do it. What's the name of the book?

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "Did you get it linked? If not, I can do it. What's the name of the book?"

Not yet. The name of the book is The Dented Woof.

Thanks.

I've linked them. They show as different editions of the same book but it might take a few days for both not to show up when searching.

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "I've linked them. They show as different editions of the same book but it might take a few days for both not to show up when searching."

Thank you so much. I'm really grateful for this.

No problem at all. You can ask me to do any librarian stuff that you need doing. If it's something I can't do, I'll refer you to who can.

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "No problem at all. You can ask me to do any librarian stuff that you need doing. If it's something I can't do, I'll refer you to who can."

Okay. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.

Hello everyone. My name is Katrina and I live in Brisbane. I have a little Maltese x called Murphy.

I've recently written a book about training and supporting your dog in it's golden years. Would anyone be interested in a FREE Kindle copy of the book?

Katrina wrote: "Hello everyone. My name is Katrina and I live in Brisbane. I have a little Maltese x called Murphy.

I've recently written a book about training and supporting your dog in it's golden years. Would..."

Thanks for the offer Katrina, but I don't have a kindle. Good luck with your book though. Hope you become active in Goodreads to enjoy people's reviews.

Since you asked without subversive spamming, and since Stephen doesn't seem mad, I'll take a copy. I've got an elderly dog, 15 years old. You can message me the info directly.

Katrina wrote: "Hello everyone. My name is Katrina and I live in Brisbane. I have a little Maltese x called Murphy.

I've recently written a book about training and supporting your dog in it's golden years. Would..."

I would be too! You can message me too.

So happy to join this group. Dog lovers know we teach our dogs many things, but they also teach us! The lessons they impart reveal the meaning of lifetime commitment, love and resilience in the face of loss, and the power of determination. The dogs of my life have taught me so much; their wisdom is simple, yet profound.
Through Their Eyes: Reflections on joy, loss, and learning

That book sounds good but I think that it would be too hard for me to read. I can't handle dogs dying. :(