2016 Holiday Gift Guide: The Top 5 Books for Pet Lovers

Welcome to Day 2 of the 2016 OMD Holiday Gift Guide!

This year, we’ve brought you the best of the best! Today’s guide is all about the best books for pet lovers!

Y’all know I’m book-obsessed. I jump at any opportunity to review books. This year’s book roundup is extra special because two of the books include the herd!!

Let’s dig in:

1. The Shepherd’s View: There’s something so magical about working dogs. The partnership with their person blows me away, and the sheer determination of the dogs to get the job done inspires awe. Here’s the backstory: “Shepherd James Rebanks relies on his two incredibly loyal sheepdogs, Floss and Tan, to help him tend to his sheep every day in the Lake District of England. Now he invites readers onto his farm with stunning photographs of his farm, his flock, and his dogs in his new book.” It mixes stunning, awe-inspiring photography with essays about life with sheep and shepherds. This is a lovely and unexpected gift for dog lovers! Available at Amazon.

2. Cooking for Two: I love, love, love the concept of this book! Brandon Schultz and furry co-author Chase Schultz-Osenlund wrote this cookbook that is full of recipes that are “people food” and also safe for sharing with your pup. Cooking for Two—Your Dog & You! has recipes for every occasion, including holidays, party plates, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and, of course, dessert. This is by far Emmett’s favorite book in this entire collection, and we’re working through the recipes together! Available at Amazon.

3. What to Expect When Adopting a Dog: This book is a must-have for every single dog lover. If you know anyone who’s adding a dog to their family this holiday season, this is the perfect gift!  The book answers questions like whether dog adoption is right for you, how to adopt a dog from a shelter or rescue group, how to prepare your home for a new furry family member, integrating him into your home, family, lifestyle, and so on. I am honored to have been given the opportunity to contribute to this book, too! This is a must for every bookshelf in every dog-loving home! Available at Amazon.

4. Makin’ Biscuits: For the cat lovers among us, this is the perfect gift! And I’m not just saying that because Newt makes a cameo! 🙂 Though, she does! The full title of this gem is Makin’ Biscuits – Weird Cat Habits and the Even Weirder Habits of the Humans Who Love Them. It’s at times funny, at times sweet, and always touching. The things we do for our pets, amiright? I adore this book, and I think it’s the perfect gift for any cat lover. It’s so spot on to all the quirks and love and silliness that comes from caring for our feline friends. Available at Amazon.

5. The Artist’s Way: This may not seem like a pet-lover book, but bear with me.  Twenty-five years ago, Julia Cameron was looking for a way to tackle a moment of personal and professional rejection in her life. The result of that hard time was The Artist’s Way. More than a decade ago, I dug into the book because I was struggling with my creative work. Well, about halfway through the book, I came home to find that young Emmett, new to our family, had pulled it off the shelf and chewed it into a million tiny pieces. At the time, our budget was extremely tight, so instead of buying a replacement, I said to myself… I’ll wait until the time is right to get this book again. Well, as I was preparing this guide, the book’s publicist reached out to say that the 25th Anniversary Edition was coming out and was I interested! Was I!?!? YES! But, since not all readers here are bloggers, writers, or artists–though many are–I felt like it would be disingenuous to accept a review copy. She wrote back and said that, coincidentally, Cameron’s other book about creativity later in life includes an entire section on the importance of pets and their role in the creative process. Can you even?! Anyway, I highly, highly recommend The Artist’s Way for everyone, whether you consider yourself artistic or not. We are all creative, and this book helps explore that! Available at Penguin Random House: the 25^th Anniversary edition The Artist’s Way and It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again.

There you have it, friends! Our top 5 picks for pets this holiday season. All of these make great gifts for the furries in your home or to take as hostess gifts as you attend pet-loving holiday parties this year.

And, I was able to either purchase or procure extra copies of each of these books, so YOU have a chance to win one of the five book recommendations!

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Did you miss the Black Friday gift guide? There’s still time to enter to win those gift suggestions! Be sure to come back on Monday for even more gift ideas… for YOU, the pet lover!

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