Best Books on Dogs discussion

Please let me know what are your favorite books on dogs.

At one time when I started to read a lot of books on dogs, I wondered, 'what are the best books on dogs?' I searched the web and only found one good site that took a stab at that, one by Wesley Banks on '100 Best dog books of all time.' But he came up with his list using an algorithm. I decided to come up with my own list by reading all the dog books, but there does seem to be quite a few, so could use some help to help find the best.

Here is my list of favorite dog books across all types at this moment:
A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog by Koontz, Dean *
A Dog Called Hope: The wounded warrior and the dog who dared to love him by Morgan, Jason
A Dog of Flanders and Other Stories. by Ouida. a New Edition, Etc. by Ouida
A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs, and Me by Katz, Jon *
A Dog's Journey (A Dog's Purpose, #2) by Cameron, W. Bruce *
A Dog's Purpose (A Dog's Purpose, #1) by Cameron, W. Bruce *
A Handful of Stars by Lord, Cynthia
Almena's Dogs by Woody, Regina J.
Ball by Sullivan, Mary
Bat: The Story of a Bull Terrier by Meader, Stephen W.
Bob, Son of Battle by Ollivant, Alfred
Bruce by Terhune, Albert Payson
Buddy- How far will a boy go for the dog he loves? by Herlong, M.H.
Buff: A Collie - A Story by Terhune, Albert Payson
Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words by Pilley, John W.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Loving Our Dogs: Heartwarming and Humorous Stories about our Companions and Best Friends by Canfield, Jack
Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Dogs by Amy Newmark *
Daughter of the Mountains by Rankin, Louise S.
DAWGS: A True Story of Lost Animals and the Kids Who Rescued Them by Trull, Diane *
Dog Man: Chronicles of an Iditarod Champion by Buser, Martin
Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, And 3 RVs On Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure by Rosenfelt, David
Emma and I by Hocken, Sheila
Fabulous Finn: The Brave Police Dog Who Came Back from the Brink by Wardell, Dave
Flush: A Biography by Woolf, Virginia
Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship by Ryan, Tom
His Dog by Terhune, Albert Payson
How Dogs Really Work! by Snow, Alan
Ice Dogs by Johnson, Terry Lynn *
Judy: A Dog In A Million by Lewis, Damien
Lad: A Dog (Lad, #1) by Terhune, Albert Payson
Lassie Come-Home by Knight, Eric
Lessons from Tara: Life Advice from the World’s Most Brilliant Dog by Rosenfelt, David
Love Is the Best Medicine: What Two Dogs Taught One Veterinarian about Hope, Humility, and Everyday Miracles by Trout, Nick *
Many Dogs There Be by Dyer, Walter Alden
Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World’s Worst Dog by Grogan, John
Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Kerasote, Ted
Molly: The True Story of the Amazing Dog Who Rescues Cats by Butcher, Colin *
My Friend the Dog by Terhune, Albert Payson
National Hero (Scout #1) by Shotz, Jennifer Li
No Better Friend: One Man, One Dog, and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage and Survival in WWII by Weintraub, Robert
No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid by Chesney, Will *
Not Left Behind: Rescuing the Pets of New Orleans by Society, Best Friends Animal
Old Yeller by Gipson, Fred
Pierrot, Dog of Belgium: An Unbreakable Bond in War-Torn Europe: A Tale of Loyalty and Resilience by Dyer, Walter Alden
Portrait of a Dog by Roche, Mazo de la
Racing the White Silence: On the Trail of the Yukon Quest by Killick, Adam
Rescuing Finley (Forever Home, #1) by Walsh, Dan *
Rescuing Penny Jane: One Shelter Volunteer, Countless Dogs, and the Quest to Find Them All Homes by Sutherland, Amy
Rose in a Storm by Katz, Jon *
Sailor's Choice by Carlson, Natalie Savage
So That Others May Live: Caroline Hebard & Her Search-And-Rescue Dogs by Whittemore, Hank
Songs of Dogs, an Anthology by Frothingham, Robert 1865-
Stay: A Girl, a Dog, a Bucket List by Klise, Kate
Stella (Best Friends Dog Tales, #1) by Hoyle, McCall *
The 101 Dalmatians (The Hundred and One Dalmatians, #1) by Smith, Dodie
The Best Dog in the World: Vintage Portraits of Children and Their Dogs by Long, Donna
The Best Loved Dog Stories of Albert Payson Terhune by Terhune, Albert Payson
The Call of the Wild by London, Jack
The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic by Salisbury, Gay
The Dog Who Could Fly: The Incredible True Story of a WWII Airman and the Four-Legged Hero Who Flew At His Side by Lewis, Damien
The Dog Who Danced by Wilson, Susan *
The Kill Switch (Tucker Wayne, #1) by Rollins, James *
The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption by Gorant, Jim
The Pawprints of History: Dogs and the Course of Human Events by Coren, Stanley
The Speckled Beauty: A Dog and His People by Bragg, Rick
The Underdogs: Children, Dogs, and the Power of Unconditional Love by Greene, Melissa Fay
This Much Country by Pace, Kristin Knight *
Togo (Dog Diaries, #4) by Klimo, Kate
Upland Passage: A Field Dog's Education by Jones, Robert F.
Wallace: The Underdog Who Conquered a Sport, Saved a Marriage, and Championed Pit Bulls-- One Flying Disc at a Time by Gorant, Jim
Werewolf: The True Story of an Extraordinary Police Dog by Hedges, David Alton
What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs by Warren, Cat *
Why Dogs Are Better Than Cats by Greive, Bradley Trevor
Wine Dogs USA Edition by McGill, Craig
Winterdance : Fine Madness of Alaskan Dog-Racing by Paulsen, Gary

Fabulous list! One of my favorites is Greyfriars Bobby: The Real Story at Last but it does make me cry.

2. Lad: A Dog
3. Lassie Come-Home
4. Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog

Granny Alice wrote: "Fabulous list! One of my favorites is Greyfriars Bobby: The Real Story at Last but it does make me cry."

I overall loved Greyfrairs Bobby but have not read the book you mentioned. It is on my list though. Sometimes it is not so good to read things that detract from original myth. One example is the story from Wales where a nobleman kills his dog because he thinks it hurt his son only to realize the dog was bloody from protecting his son, but sorry don't remember the book that talks against the myth. Another example is regarding Hachiko (see details in my review from 'Empire of Dogs: Canines, Japan, and the Making of the Modern Imperial World (Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University)' by Aaron Herald Skabelund.)

A lot of stories on dogs do make you cry, which usually means it is a good book to me.

I'm the opposite. I hate crying. I get enough of that in real life. ;)

I love your list. There are tons I'll have to look up. I also have to put my own list together but it will take a while. In the meantime, if you like kids/young adult books, which I usually don't, I read a really good book to my granddaughter recently:

Dogtown by Katherine Applegate

I highly recommend it. The sequel is coming out in September and I've already pre-ordered it.

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "I'm the opposite. I hate crying. I get enough of that in real life. ;)

I love your list. There are tons I'll have to look up. I also have to put my own list together but it will take a while. In t..."

Dern it, my excel list and Biblio history says I got Dogtown, but I can't immediately find it. Need to organize my bookcase better. I will try to find the book and read it based on your recommendation.

It's a fast read.

When it comes to non-fiction my faves are:

Finding Gobi
Craig & Fred
Speckled Beauty
Werewolf: True Story of an Extraordinary Police Dog
Three Wild Dogs
Ubac

For fiction dog stories, my all-time faves are the Chet & Bernie series and the Sydney Rose Parnell series. LOVE THEM!!! After that I like the stories of SAR doggie duo teams like:

Timber Creek K9 Mystery series
FBI K9 series

Then there were the tear jerker stories like Seven Perfect Things and Christmas with Tucker and to some degree, A Dog Named Christmas.

My favorite fiction novels are as follows:

- Cujo by Stephen King
- Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight
- Hell Hound by Ken Greenhall ( AKA Baxter by Jessica Hamilton)
- The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams
-The Book of Riley Series by Mark Tufo


Non-Fiction-
- My Dog Tulip by J.R Ackerley
- How Dogs Learn by Mary R. Burch
-The Book of the American Pit Bull Terrier by Richard Stratton
-How Dogs Work by Raymond Coppinger & Mark Feinstein

Thanks Donne and Casey for playing along!

Finding Gobi - yes
Craig & Fred - yes
Speckled Beauty - yes, yes!
Werewolf: True Story of an Extraordinary Police Dog - yes, yes!
Three Wild Dogs - not read yet, 2025 book, maybe I will go to the library
Ubac - is this book available in English?

the other ones Donne mentions are good too! If you liked Warewolf, I would recommend Fabulous Finn: The Brave Police Dog Who Came Back from the Brink by Dave Wardell, Lynne Barrett-Lee

Of Casey's books, I have only read 3.25 (Lost the Plague Dogs book part way in) So you are ahead of me on them. Some are horror which is not everyone's cup of tea, but I like different types. Give me a little more time to catch up with you on those :-)

Stephen wrote: "Thanks Donne and Casey for playing along!

Finding Gobi - yes
Craig & Fred - yes
Speckled Beauty - yes, yes!
Werewolf: True Story of an Extraordinary Police Dog - yes, yes!
Three Wild Dogs - not re..."

Yes, Three Wild Dogs and Ubac are pretty new books and I did read the English edition of Ubac. I've had Fabulous Finn on my list for a while now and I really need to make time to finally getting around to reading it.

Lists of dog books are fun to browse to find books you may not be aware of. Unfortunately, I think a lot of them are 'best known' dog books, and not always the best dog books, but a lot of the 'best' rise to the top and become best known for a good reason.

I was on Goodreads for a while before I knew about the lists. You can find them by using the menu for Browse > Lists. A couple of months ago I searched by 'dog' and here is a list of the lists I found.

What are your thoughts on the lists?

Title - Total books in list (at the time I looked at them)
Great "Dog" Books 1242
Dog Lovers 640
Top Dog Reads 620
The dog dies...a cautionary list. 345
Picture Books About Dogs 679
Fiction: Police, Military & Service Dogs 274
Dog's Eye View 140
Best Picture Books About Dogs 177
Books with Dogs on The Cover 643
Top Books For Dog Lovers 158
Young Adult & Middle Grade Dog Novels 342
Best Dogs in Romance Novels : Canine not Man 190
Dog Care and Training Books 117
Dogs, Literal and Metaphorical 359
Best Dogs in Contemporary Romance 151
Dog Related Mysteries 276
Dogs: Great Pets in Romance 261
YA & MG Dog Covers 381
Best Dog Books for Kids Under 12 166
Dog Books Where the Dog Doesn't Die 213
Best Fictional Canine Characters 85
My Favorite dog books 94
Favorite Dog Books 91
Dogs: Behavior, Training, Cognition and Fun 163
Humorous Paranormal Canine 25
Best Dog Books for Young Dog Lovers 74
Best Dog Psychology and Training Books 52
Books for Dog People 58
Books About Service Dogs 57
Best Books with Dogs 105
Man's Best Friend In Their Finest Hour 67
Novels With Dogs 58
Dog as Woman's Best Friend 34
Best Dogs in Historical Romance 70
Dog 73
Books with Specific Dog Breeds in the Title 237
Best Children's Books About Dogs 136
Non-Fiction Books About Dogs 78
Iditarod/Dog Mushing Nonfiction 31
Living with Dogs List 23
Dog Lover's Must-Reads 79
Best Books For Dog Lovers 146
Picture book series about dogs 16
Dogs, dogs, dogs, short stories and creative illustrations 67
Dog Lovers List 358
Dog Main Characters 82
Dog Books I Loved 57
Best Dog Characters in Fictions 51
Novels Featuring Dogs 102
Adult Fiction Narrated by a Dog 23
Year of the Dog 250
Fictional Dog Stories (Not Wolves) 72
Best Dog Books 108
Canine Magic 57
Dog Memoirs 183
Books with Dogs 234
"Greyt Literature" - Greyhounds (and Other Sighthounds) In Books 117
Dog-Human Relationships in Nonfiction
“Best in Show” Dog Memoirs 35
Husky Galore 35
Dog Books That Won't Make You Cry 57
Dog Trainer in Romance Novels 65
Dog Breeds - Titles 105
Dog Books Worth Reading 77
Doggone Good Fiction 66
Iditarod Trail, Dog Mushing/Sledding - FICTION 36
German Shepherd Stories 47
Border Collie Books 52
Dog-Gone Good Books 62
Best Dog Cognition & Training Books 23
Best Dog Books For Middle Schoolers 66
Best Funny Dog Books For Adults And Dog Lovers 44
Books about dogs 84
Little-Known and Rare Dog Books 46
Dog mysteries with breed 16
Best Dog Non-fiction 73
Books about Labradoodles 56
Animal protagonists : Dogs 42
Dog Horror 45
Working Farm Dogs 8
Dog Showing Books 6
Tracking and detection dog training 8
Enormous Dogs in Fiction 32

Holy cow. I can't even read all that and you put it together!

I'd like to look at this list:
Best Funny Dog Books For Adults And Dog Lovers All in all, here are some of the best funny dog books for adults and dog lovers. 44
but you can't search by list name anymore just by category unless it's been fixed.

I've love it if you chose a few of these that you think are the most interesting/important/useful for us to check out. I'm good with not including the horror dog one. :)

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "Holy cow. I can't even read all that and you put it together!

I'd like to look at this list:
Best Funny Dog Books For Adults And Dog Lovers All in all, here are some of the best funny dog books ..."

Kelly, you really challenged me with your questions or implied question in this message.

First you challenged me to chose a few from that list that are worth checking out. It is an odd lot of books of which very few I have read. It looks like a lot of books that try to be funny, but from the Goodreads ratings fail at being funny. There is a few 'Where's Momo books, of which I have one, where you look for a dog in a picture and is interesting to look through, but not funny. There are also some cartoon books which is not a favorite type for me, and also seem to not be rated too high in GR. Maybe someone else can look at the list and see if I am missing some gem in it. The list can be accessed here:

https://joelbooks.com/best-dog-books-...

I also took your question to ask, what are the funniest dog books? This would be a good question for people to chime in.

The ones I can think that made me laugh out loud include Police dog books. Not sure why, but a dog biting people (good and bad) can sometimes be very funny. So these two books had some very funny situations:
Fabulous Finn: The Brave Police Dog Who Came Back from the Brink
Werewolf: The True Story of an Extraordinary Police Dog

Another book to me that had some very funny parts in it and for other reasons is one of my favorite is 'Winterdance.' At one point he is dogsledding in fall on the trails and the dogs grab a skunk. He has to get it away from the dogs and gets sprayed. They go on and hit like another dozen more skunks with similar results. That, and what his wife said when he got home, really made be bust up.

Then another book I thought was very funny was 'Why Dogs Are Better Than Cats' by Bradley Trevor Greive. Not too many words in the book, mostly gorgeous pictures of both dogs and cats, but the what was written made me laugh. (And I think the book was fair on the good and bad qualities of both types of pets without getting snarky.)

Would love to hear any other suggestions for funniest dog books.

I've only read the last one, the dogs vs. cats book and its really funny.

Have you heard of How to Live with a Neurotic Dog? I read it as a teen but as I recall it was very funny. Don't be fooled by the cover. It's an adult book. I'd like to read it again.

Dogs by Lewis Blackwell


Underwater Dogs by Seth Casteel

This may be a new read to some of us.
Mostly Bob

Diane in Australia wrote: "This may be a new read to some of us.
Mostly Bob"

Oh, this one sounds like a tear-jerker, but I'm adding it to the to-read list anyway.

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "Dogs by Lewis Blackwell


Underwater Dogs by Seth Casteel
"

These look like great books. Who doesn't love adorable pictures of amazing dogs.

Donne, I agree, those books have great photographs. And I also would agree they probably are be the best photography books on dogs.

It also shows the point that in order to talk 'best dog books' we generally have to compare by type. Hard to compare those two books against 'Old Yeller' or other types of dog books, as to which is 'better, but the nice thing is, we don't have to!

A close friend gave me Mostly Bob after one of my dogs died. I loved it at that time because I was grieving. I couldn't read it now. ;) It was really good. 5 stars.

Stephen wrote: "Donne, I agree, those books have great photographs. And I also would agree they probably are be the best photography books on dogs.

It also shows the point that in order to talk 'best dog books' w..."

Yeah, there are so many different types of doggie books. I just read a review of a dog book that I have on my to-read list and the review was terrible (it was a 2star review). I immediately deleted the book from list. I just knew I couldn't read it.

Donne wrote: "Stephen wrote: "Donne, I agree, those books have great photographs. And I also would agree they probably are be the best photography books on dogs.

It also shows the point that in order to talk 'b..."

It is sometimes hard when you look at reviews if the book is worth our time. People's reviews can be up and down. I feel pretty confident the book is good when the overall rating is over 4 stars, and the distribution is like 65% 5 stars, 25% 4 stars. But one review indicating a pet peeve is in the book can kill your opinion. Also, if your GR friends give it high or low reviews that has more weight. Then it can be questionable when the book only has a few reviews and those are by people who have very few book reviews. Overall, Goodreads is a great help!

That's exactly how I decide. Wow. I almost never read anything below 3.5 but a couple of days ago I read a book rated 3.33 for a challenge and it was easily a five star book for me. So you really never know.

But I look for over 4 stars, too, and give more weight to my friend's ratings. I scan a couple of the reviews that are both low and high to see if there's something that would really bother me or that I would really like.

I kind of feel that ratings have gone up in general, that people are being easier on books. So if it's an older book, I'm more willing to read something closer to 3.5.

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "That's exactly how I decide. Wow. I almost never read anything below 3.5 but a couple of days ago I read a book rated 3.33 for a challenge and it was easily a five star book for me. So you really n..."

You have the right idea at looking at a couple of reviews who rated it high and a couple who rated it low. You then just hope they don't give too much away.

I know my ratings are easier than others. But when you look at the distribution of ratings, if there are more 4's than 5's, means even the easier people are giving it one less star.

Stephen wrote: "Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "Holy cow. I can't even read all that and you put it together!

I'd like to look at this list:
Best Funny Dog Books For Adults And Dog Lovers All in all, here are some of ..."

You may enjoy "Cassius" by Gordon Thorburn. :)

Diane wrote: "Stephen wrote: "Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "Holy cow. I can't even read all that and you put it together!

I'd like to look at this list:
Best Funny Dog Books For Adults And Dog Lovers All in all, h..."

Yes! Cassius: The True Story of a Courageous Police Dog by Gordon Thorburn was another great Police dog book. Loved the book, but those other two I liked even a little more. But there seems to be enough funny moments included this one which had:

‘Then another very tall policeman arrived with a huge hairy hound that took one look at the assembled and noisy throng, decided that he had better go for the nearest one and bit him in the hand. Pity of it was, the nearest one was the sergeant.’

I added Cassius and want to read it soon. The other two sound too poignant heartfelt and serious for me. Thanks, though!

For me, I know what my triggers are and when I read a review with my triggers, or a trigger warning that is also my trigger, then I won't read the book. I wish more reviews had trigger warnings and I would have less DNF books and less one and two star reviews.

If I see the trigger warnings somewhere, like on Amazon or a different edition of the book, I add them to the description of the editions in all the books.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this one. I haven't read it.
Bookshop Dogs

Diane in Australia wrote: "I don't know if anyone has mentioned this one. I haven't read it.
Bookshop Dogs"

It sounds like a good read.

It sounds great. I've put it on my wishlist. It doesn't look like there's an ebook but there's an audiobook which I prefer anyway. But it's costly. Well it looks like there's a Kindle version in Italian. Woo hoo.

it's fun to look at websites to see what people recommend or promote on dog books. Here is one that seemed a bit different:

https://comewagalong.com/must-read-bo...

The books it refers to now are:

Pardon My Frenchie (Doggone Delightful #1) by Farrah Rochon Romance, GR current rating 3.72
A Walk in the Park by "Rebekah Weatherspoon, Romance GR current rating 3.97
Furever Enchanted: A Magical Realism Novel by B. E. Bang, Fiction, GR current rating 4.24 (but only a few reviews)
Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder (Baker Street Mystery #1) by Valerie Burns, Mystery GR current rating 3.67

Best Romance Dog book might be another category. I don't have a shelf for that, they would just sink into my big pool of 'dogs-fiction.' I like to read a wide variety, so if anyone has suggestions on a great romance book with a dog I'd be open.

Just read another installment (Dying Cry) of one of my fave SAR series. Love Robo! Mattie too. This series just keeps getting better and better."

Just wanted to comment on three dog books from my childhood:
Follow My Leader by James Garfield
Hotel for Dogs by Lois Duncan ( the edition from the 70’s, NOT the re-write!)
The Trouble with Tuck by Theodore Taylor
These have been, and always will be favorites of mine. They’re old, but they’re great! 🥲💖

I've heard of some of those and had them on my shelves and added the rest except the YA books. I just can't stand YA. I probably should add them anyway just to have them but my lists are all too long. Plus, almost all my shelves start with or have w in the name and my w key is broken.

Stephanie wrote: "Just wanted to comment on three dog books from my childhood:
Follow My Leader by James Garfield
Hotel for Dogs by Lois Duncan ( the edition from the 70’s, NOT the re-write!)
The Trouble with Tuck b..."

Great list, Stephanie! I read the last one way back when. I remember it being a great read. Sounds like a good candidate for a reread.

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "I've heard of some of those and had them on my shelves and added the rest except the YA books. I just can't stand YA. I probably should add them anyway just to have them but my lists are all too lo..."

Lol, I have mixed feelings about YA. I can attest that I have read some absolutely wonderful YA series and yet others that bug the crap out of me in a few chapters.

Donne wrote: "Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "I've heard of some of those and had them on my shelves and added the rest except the YA books. I just can't stand YA. I probably should add them anyway just to have them bu..."

I thought I knew what YA was but got the definition:

YA literature, or Young Adult literature, is fiction written for and about teenagers, typically aged 13 to 18, with a focus on coming-of-age themes and issues relevant to adolescence. Key characteristics include a teenage protagonist, a plot that is generally more plot-driven and to-the-point than adult fiction, and a focus on themes like identity, relationships, and challenging authority, often with elements of romance, fantasy, or dystopian narratives.

I think the them works as we all had to go through it. But some authors use it as an excuse to not work so hard. So as apposed to non-YA (adult?) I think more miss then hit with YA from my perspective as a youth in a grown up body.

Hmm. I disagree with the assessment that it's more plot driven. I think that depends on the book/series. I think some YA books are incredibly impressive, and easily can compete with adult fiction for awards. I think there are plenty of lazy adult fiction writers, too. I think about the romance of the week some authors put out that are all the same. .

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "Hmm. I disagree with the assessment that it's more plot driven. I think that depends on the book/series. I think some YA books are incredibly impressive, and easily can compete with adult fiction f..."

As always, any YA or any other great dog books let me know about. I don't know enough overall to say a comment on if more plot driven.

I tend to agree with your thought that romance are all the same but don't have enough experience in it. The two guys vying for the lady has been done to death, same with the mistaken intentions or some other misunderstanding keeping the lovers apart until they FINALLY clear up the misunderstanding. But I still like variety so not completely ruling out reading any romance books with a dog if one seems interesting enough. GR seems to have the rating on all the romances at an average less than 4 though which is not a good sign.

There are some where there't a little guy who is rescued from this evil guy. Then big guy who di the rescuing has some fight with the guy he's rescued the little guy from and then they live happily ever after, Those are the ones that are crap. But others win regular awards because they're so good. T.J. Klune is a writer whose books are really beautiful and well written, He's constantly winning awards outside the romance community. But it's partially because anything with two guys in love, even if it's just an existing marriage, or sometimes just a gay guy is labeled gay romance regardless if it is or not.