SPENCER: BOSTON’S BELOVED MARATHON DOG

A story of hope, inspiration, and a dog who lit up the world with his love.

With a heart as big as the Boston skyline, Spencer gained worldwide fame as the beloved Boston Marathon dog. For eight years, the golden retriever cheered for thousands of runners in the cold, freezing rain, and even as he recovered from cancer.

Spencer began rooting for Boston Marathon runners in 2015, two years after the bombing that injured hundreds and killed three people. At Mile 3, Spencer held his Boston Strong flags, inspiring athletes and fans to be brave and to never give up. Honored as the marathon’s official race dog in 2022, Spencer grew so famous that runners lined up to hug and photograph their loyal fan. 

Not long after Spencer turned 13, he was diagnosed with his second bout of cancer and died in February 2023. Before the start of that year’s Boston Marathon, 200 golden retrievers walked the last mile to honor Spencer. Runners said they still felt Spencer’s spirit at Mile 3. “We will never forget him,” they promised.

Available online and in several stores, including Sherman’s Books & Stationary throughout Maine, The Art Walk Shop and Studio in Winthrop, Kittery Trading Post, and the Portland jetport. Stores, schools, libraries wanting to order the book can do so through Ingramcontent.com 

THE LOBSTER LADY

The Lobster Lady is an inspiring story about Virginia Oliver, the oldest lobster catcher in Maine, and maybe even the world.

At the age of 102, Virginia Oliver is still catching lobsters off the coast of Rockland. People all over the country think Virginia is brave and strong, but Ginny, as her friends call her, knows the secret to staying young is doing what you love. People often ask Ginny when she plans to stop lobstering. She smiles and tells them, “When I die.” An inspiring book for all ages.

Signed copies are available at the Farnsworth Museum, 16 Museum St., Rockland, Sherman’s Book Stores; The Art Walk Shop & Studio, 121 Main St., Winthrop; the Kennebec Cabin Co. (home of the Cabin Masters) 915 Western Ave., Manchester; Jefferson Market & General Store, 242 Waldoboro Rd, Jefferson and online at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

AUGUST GALE

An award-winning journalist’s voyage into her family history and her quest to face the storms she encounters there.

In August Gale, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Barbara Walsh — who has interviewed killers, bad cops, and crooked politicians in the course of her career — faces the most challenging story of her lifetime: asking her father about his childhood pain. In the process, she takes us on two heartrending odysseys: one into a deadly Newfoundland hurricane and the lives of schooner fishermen who relied on God and the wind to carry them home; the other, into a squall stirred by a man with many secrets: a grandfather who remained a mystery until long after his death.

Sixty-eight years after the hurricane that claimed several of her ancestors, Walsh searches for memories of the August gale and the grandfather who abandoned her dad as a young boy. Together, she and her father journey to Newfoundland to learn about the 1935 storm, and along the way her dad begins to talk about the man he cannot forgive. As she recreates the scenes of the violent hurricane and a small boy’s tender past, she holds onto a hidden desire: to heal her father and redeem the grandfather she has never met.

Signed copies are available at The Art Walk Shop & Studio, 121 Main St., Winthrop, the Kennebec Cabin Co. (home of the Cabin Masters) 915 Western Ave., Manchester and online at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

SAMMY IN THE SKY

A deeply affecting tale of love, loss, and remembrance told in clear-eyed prose by a top journalist and illustrated by a renowned American painter.

Sammy, the best hound dog in the whole wide world, loves his girl and she loves him. When illness cuts Sammy’s life short, the girl’s family keeps his spirit alive by celebrating his love of chasing wind-blown bubbles, keeping loyal guard at night, and offering his velvety fur for endless pats and tummy scratches. Painter Jamie Wyeth’s illustrations — infused with his realist style and lifelong fondness for dogs — radiate the joy and sadness of every tongue-licking, tail-wagging moment in this heartening and lovingly rendered story written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barbara Walsh.

Signed copies are available at the Farnsworth Museum, 16 Museum St., Rockland, Sherman’s Book Stores, The Art Walk Shop & Studio, 121 Main St., Winthrop and online at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

THE GOOSE LADY

For 23 years, Marjorie Bean Scott dressed a cement goose on her front lawn in Augusta, Maine. She made over 100 outfits for the friend she affectionately called, ‘Goosey.’ Thousands of tourists, children, and grownups photographed the goose and gave it gifts. People wrote letters thanking “The Goose Lady” for putting a smile on their faces and stirring joy in their hearts. TV reporters and local papers wrote stories about the goose and Down East Magazine listed “The Augusta Goose” as one of Maine’s treasured monuments in its June 1999 edition. Marjorie helped pick out the goose’s outfits until her death in December 2014 just a few weeks before her 96th birthday. Goose now resides at Farrington Elementary School, a mile from Marjorie’s home. Each day, school children choose outfits to dress Goose.

Signed copies are available at The Art Walk Shop & Studio, 121 Main St., Winthrop; the Kennebec Cabin Co. (home of the Cabin Masters) 915 Western Ave., Manchester; Jefferson Market & General Store, 242 Waldoboro Rd, Jefferson and online at Amazon.