As Groucho Marx famously said, “Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” While intracanine reading may be impossible, I’ve long suspected that some of our members’ dogs could be just as bibliophilic as their owners. To that end, I’d love to know what yours would be reading and thought I’d kick things off by showing off the NYSL staff dogs.

Mona, who belongs to Head of Acquisitions Steve McGuirl and Erin McGuirl (Special Collections Librarian emerita), likes to greet adversity with a sense of humor. She’s been getting through the pandemic with the aid of British farce and laughing it up with Leave It to Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse.

Events Assistant Marialuisa Monda’s Winston prefers nonfiction, mysteries, and fables. He enjoys reading a couple of books at once, and is currently working on Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, Thirteen at Dinner by Agatha Christie, and Aesop’s Fables.

Head of Development James Addona’s dog is named Poe, and as you might expect, he’s a voracious reader of science writing and mysteries, especially if there’s a squirrel involved. He recommends the recent biography of the other Poe, The Reason for the Darkness of the Night: Edgar Allan Poe and the Forging of American Science by John Tresch.

Circulation Assistant Linnea Savapoulas’ Norwegian Elkhound Flikka has been getting in touch with her roots by cooking her way through The Nordic Cookbook by Magnus Nilsson. She can’t wait to try the recipes for pytt i panna and köttbullar.

My own Laika loves exploring and hates getting left behind, so she’s checked out The Martian by Andy Weir. A lot of the science goes over her head, but then again, so do most things.

What does your dog read? Send a photo and a title to kcarleton@nysoclib.org, and your pup could be featured in the next edition of “Dogs of the Library.” And don’t forget to bring your canine friends by the circulation desk for treats and pets!