Need a good beach book? Check out our list of top 10 books that dog owners and dog lovers will adore.

Who doesn’t love summer, sun and a good book? The Good Dog Hotel & Spa team especially loves those that have something to do with dogs. That’s why we put together a list of our top 10 books for dog owners and lovers.

Whether you’re going to be on a beach, by a pool, in a hammock or on a plane, these reads will keep you engrossed and entertained. And remember, if you’re not taking your pooch with you on vacation, they can have a vacation of their own at the Good Dog Hotel! But reserve your space now – we’re filling up fast.

Have a great summer, and happy reading!

1. E.B. White on Dogs by E.B. White
In E. B. White on Dogs, his granddaughter and manager of his literary estate, Martha White, has compiled the best and funniest of his essays, poems, letters, and sketches depicting over a dozen of White’s various canine companions. 

2. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope–a captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life . . . as only a dog could tell it.

3. Merle’s Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote
This touching portrait of a remarkable dog and his relationship with the author, Merle’s Door, explores the issues that all animals and their human companions face as their lives intertwine, bringing to bear the latest research into animal consciousness and behavior as well as insights into the origins and evolution of the human-dog partnership. 

4. Off the Leash: A Year in the Dog Park by Matthew Gilbert
Off the Leash is a group portrait of dog people, specifically the strange, wonderful, neurotic, and eccentric dog people who gather at Amory Park, overlooking Boston near Fenway Park. And it’s about author Matthew Gilbert’s transformation, after much fear and loathing of dogs and social groups, into one of those dog people with fur on their jackets, squeaky toys in their hands, and biscuits in their pockets.

5. Travels with Casey by Benoit Denizet-Lewis
“I don’t think my dog likes me very much,” New York Times Magazine writer Benoit Denizet-Lewis confesses at the beginning of his cross-country journey with his nine-year-old Labrador-mix, Casey. Over the next four months, thirty-two states, and 13,000 miles in a rented motor home, Denizet-Lewis and his lovable, moody canine companion try – with humorous and touching results – to pay tribute to the most powerful interspecies bond there is, in the country with the highest rate of dog ownership in the world.

6. Thurber’s Dogs by James Thurber
If you’re a James Thurber fan, you know he created some thirty volumes of humor, fiction, children’s books, cartoons, and essays in just about as many years. A founding member of The New Yorker staff, Thurber wrote and illustrated such enduring books as The Thurber Carnival and My Life and Hard Times, which have appeared in countless editions and dozens of languages throughout the world.
Thurber’s Dogs explores the charming world of Thurber’s hounds as recorded in his prose and drawings.

7. A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog’s search for his purpose over the course of several lives, and touches on the universal quest for an answer to life’s most basic question: Why are we here? Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden-haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey’s search for his new life’s meaning leads him into the loving arms of eight-year-old Ethan. During their countless adventures, Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog.

8. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
The Call of the Wild, considered by many London’s greatest novel, is a gripping tale of a heroic dog that, thrust into the brutal life of the Alaska Gold Rush, ultimately faces a choice between living in man’s world and returning to nature. Adventure and dog-story enthusiasts as well as students and devotees of American literature will find this classic work a thrilling, memorable reading experience.

9. Following Atticus by Tom Ryan
Following Atticus is an unforgettable true saga of adventure, friendship, and the unlikeliest of family, as one remarkable animal opens the eyes and heart of a tough-as-nails newspaperman to the world’s beauty and its possibilities. The author decided to pay tribute to a close friend who died of cancer by attempting to climb all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000 ft. peaks twice in one winter while raising money for charity. Tom was middle-aged, overweight, and acrophobic (a fear of high places). It was an adventure of a lifetime, leading Tom and Atticus across hundreds of miles and deep into an enchanting but dangerous winter wonderland. 

10. Dog Gone, Back Soon by Dr. Nick Trout
New York Times bestselling author and double-board certified veterinary surgeon Dr. Nick Trout wrote this lively novel about a small-town vet with big time challenges and a host of eccentric cases to treat (and those are just the pet-owners). This tale of new beginnings is a glimpse into the challenges and joys of being a small independent veterinarian who has to cure pot-head puppies, overly sensitive service dogs, and feline obesity.