I’m a bit ambivalent about my latest read, Merrill Markoe’s Walking in Circles Before Lying Down.

These damned books with dogs on the covers. True, I mentioned Paul Auster’s Timbuktu as being one of these books that I really enjoyed. But they’re not all like Timbuktu. In fact, I think the publishing industry has figured out the perfect way to get someone like me to start reading a literature genre that I typically avoid like the plague: slap a dog photo on the cover.

What genre might this be? “Chick Lit.” To be fair, I think this book might qualify as Chick Lit Lite. It’s by no means on par with The Devil Wears Prada, but it definitely does more than just dip its big toe into those estrogen-heavy waters.

All that being said, I’m a sucker for talking dog stories. I was, after all, the only adult willingly in attendance at the Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed matinee a few years ago. So a story about a woman who suddenly finds herself able to hear every dog around her definitely has a certain appeal. And even though Dawn, the canine-conversing character in question, does things throughout the novel that I found frustratingly boiler-plate for this particular genre, it was still an entertaining read. However, I do have to say that I found the slightly glib use of Scott Peterson and the BTK Killer as ways of moving along one part of the story to be a bit off-putting.

Final score: 3.5/5. Another quick and fluffy-fun beach read to keep in mind this summer.

I’d give you a sneak peek at book number 13, but I’m not really sure what that book is just yet. Sadly, I have such a glut of unread books that I could probably do this 50 Book Challenge for the next 2 years and still have books left untouched. I really need to stay away from bookstores…