Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
The Dog Stars
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
Leave it to Peter Heller to imagine a postapocalyptic world that contains as much loveliness as it does devastation. His hero, Hig, flies a 1956 Cessna (his dog as copilot) around what was once Colorado, chasing all the same things we chase in these pre-annihilation days: love, friendship, the solace of the natural world, and the chance to perform some small kindness. TheDog Stars is a wholly compelling and deeply engaging debut. Pam Houston, author of Contents May Have ShiftedA riveting, powerful novel about a pilot living in a world filled with lossand what he is willing to risk to rediscover, against all odds, connection, love, and grace.Hig survived the flu that killed everyone he knows. His wife is gone, his friends are dead, he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, his only neighbor a gun-toting misanthrope. In his 1956 Cessna, Hig flies the perimeter of the airfield or sneaks off to the mountains to fish and to pretend that things are the way they used to be. But when a random transmission somehow beams through his radio, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better lifesomething like his old lifeexists beyond the airport. Risking everything, he flies past his point of no returnnot enough fuel to get him homefollowing the trail of the static-broken voice on the radio. But what he encounters and what he must facein the people he meets, and in himselfis both better and worse than anything he could have hoped for.Narrated by a man who is part warrior and part dreamer, a hunter with a great shot and a heart that refuses to harden, The Dog Stars is both savagely funny and achingly sad, a breathtaking story about what it means to be human.This ebook edition includes a Reading Group Guide.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
blurb
monalyisha
Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

Should‘ve named our dog Chanandler Bong.

Prairiegirl_reading Awwwww so cute!!! 1mo
Ruthiella Could that dog BE ANY CUTER? 😂❤️🐶 1mo
monalyisha @Ruthiella Winning comment right here. Slow clap. 👏🏻 1mo
See All 8 Comments
KadaGul @monalyisha I see him and think 🤔 of the name Charlie. Adorable 🐾🐕‍🦺#HappyThanksgiving 🧡🦃🥧🍎🤎🍂🐿🍁🏈 (edited) 1mo
Amiable @Ruthiella 😂👍🏼 1mo
AnnCrystal 💕🐕💝. 1mo
dabbe 😂🖤🐾🖤😂 1mo
Chelsea.Poole 😂 1mo
56 likes8 comments
blurb
DHill
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

By far my favorite book of the year.

LeslieO I‘ve read all the recent Hellers but haven‘t gone back to this one yet. 3mo
BarbaraJean Ohhh, I need to read this one! 3mo
46 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
DHill
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

Sunday Morning
Birds
Coffee
Book
Dogs
Perfect

#dogsoflitsy #sundays

dabbe 🖤🐾🐾🖤 5mo
41 likes1 comment
blurb
DHill
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

Up next.

Blueberry Enjoyed it. 5mo
ShelleyBooksie Beautiful yard! 5mo
dabbe Your yard = heaven. 💚💚💚 5mo
Tamra You have a green thumb! 5mo
35 likes1 stack add4 comments
blurb
Oryx
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

Finally it's reading in the garden weather. Or napping in the garden weather

dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 8mo
58 likes2 stack adds1 comment
blurb
Julsmarshall
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

Cleared the board in February! #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

TheBookHippie 🎉🎉🎉 10mo
TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! Fabulous month!!! 10mo
dabbe 🤩🤩🤩 10mo
willaful Way to go! 10mo
48 likes5 comments
review
Julsmarshall
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Pickpick

This was a difficult read but really well done. A pandemic has happened, the world as we know it has ended, and the few folks left are struggling to make a life. The writing is beautiful and compelling, and the setting in Colorado is unique and provides a calming aspect to the tension. Thanks for encouraging me to finish this one, @Ireadkidlit . Check your trigger warnings for this one. #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks good on #audio too.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 10mo
51 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
TheSpineView
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Eggs Perfect 👍🏼✨👌🏼 10mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 💙💛💫 10mo
52 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
squirrelbrain
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

Thanks for the Christmas gift Jenny @jenniferw88 - it sounds great! I thought I hadn‘t heard of it before but it‘s on my Litsy TBR, so I must have! 🤣

Also pictured is a rather challenging-looking jigsaw from hubby - that‘s my Boxing Day all sorted! 🤣

Ruthiella That puzzle looks amazing! 🤩 12mo
julesG 😍😍😍 Both good gifts. 12mo
willaful Our boxing day will be spent putting the advent puzzle pieces back in their individual boxes. 😂 12mo
See All 6 Comments
jenniferw88 Haha! It's a bit like me and my #Jolabokaflod swap book this year! I try to avoid books near the top of people's Litsy TBR, as I think others are bound to choose them! 12mo
TrishB That jigsaw looks great! 12mo
squirrelbrain @TrishB -I‘m getting there with it…will hopefully finish it tomorrow. Still haven‘t quite figured out all of hidden books yet though. 12mo
63 likes6 comments
blurb
Blueberry
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Perfect 🤩 13mo
41 likes1 comment
review
HettyG
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Bailedbailed

I don‘t usually comment when I bail on a book, but I will in this case because I wish someone had told me this: this is a very violent book, and the violence is so disturbing that I just can‘t stay with it. If you are sensitive to violence as I am, skip it.

blurb
HettyG
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

This is a dark book, you guys. I like it enough to keep reading, the way the character narrates his experience of past events is quite compelling. I‘m about a third of the way in, and came up with these rather amusing loaves of herb garlic bread while listening today 🤣🪴🏡🥖🧄

blurb
HettyG
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

This has been on my TBR for ages, finally getting to it for a weekend audio book to keep me company while I bake some bread. I didn‘t realize it was a post apocalypse sort of tale, and I‘m not always a fan of those, but I am enjoying it so far..:

review
rsteve388
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Pickpick

This was an interesting dystopian novel.that takes place in Colorado. I thought it was enjoyabl, but not my favorite Peter Heller book. I loved the details about Colorado and how this disease mentioned in the book changed the beloved state I live in. Overall: Good story: Found the narration choppy at points. 4 Stars.

38 likes1 stack add
blurb
rsteve388
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

#BookSpinBingo #TBR #FebruaryPicks Really glad I joined this community, it's been a lot of fun to read and check off books from my bingo card.

blurb
rsteve388
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

@StayCurious Your #ValentinesDaySwap is in the mail it's coming to you from FedEx! I forgot to mark the box! But here's a picture of what the box looks like. I hope you like it. Here's the Tracking Number: 289270380648

StayCurious Yours will be going out Monday! I‘ll tag you with a picture 😀 3y
StayCurious Hello I received my package today! 3y
rsteve388 @StayCurious Excellent! Thanks for telling me. I hope you like it. 3y
23 likes3 comments
blurb
PaperbackPirate
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

The #DashingDecember Readathon has concluded.

✅ finished My Life Among the Underdogs by Tia Torres
❌ did not finish The Dog Stars, but I got to p. 114/320.

Thank you for a great year of readathons @Andrew65 !

Andrew65 Great and thanks for taking part 👏👏👏🥳🍾🥂🎄 3y
PaperbackPirate Thank you @Andrew65 ! 💙🛫 3y
46 likes1 stack add2 comments
quote
Mskt6891
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

💔

8 likes1 stack add
review
tealwish
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Pickpick

First person, raw, stream of consciousness narrative about a man grieving so many losses in a post-pandemic world, painfully lonely and trying to hold onto his humanity. The kind of book that made me feel so much, almost that I temporarily lived another life. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Spoiler in the comments below if you want to know if the dog dies. #pandemic

tealwish Jasper, unfortunately, doesn't make it through the book. 😭 3y
44 likes1 comment
review
canbku
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Pickpick

Loved another Peter Heller book as audio! Suspenseful, but lyrical and and dreamy and philosophical. Loved it! Felt a little bit weird to hear about a major pandemic but it was written in 2012!

74 likes1 stack add
blurb
canbku
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

Started several audiobooks and this is the first one that's grabbed me on a long time! Third Peter Heller in as many months

51 likes3 stack adds
blurb
Julsmarshall
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

This is going to have to be a DNF for now. It is just a bit too sad for my current state of mind. Beautifully written so I will definitely come back to another time. #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

KathyWheeler It‘s a good book, but to really appreciate some books, you really have to be in the right mood. 3y
TheAromaofBooks Yes, right book/wrong time is definitely a thing!!! Hopefully you'll have the headspace for this one later. 3y
51 likes2 stack adds2 comments
blurb
Julsmarshall
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
review
Buechersuechtling
post image
Pickpick

You‘re not too surprised, this is a “Pick” for me, are you❓😊 If you‘re not too sensitive about our current pandemic, I fully recommend it. I so much identified with Hig. 💗 At first, I was a bit shocked by the dog-eat-dog-society, the author presented. I thought this would never happen. But if you think it over, Heller‘s probably right.

Nice add-on: Now I‘m familiar with various types of gasoline and when they go bad. 🙃

blurb
Buechersuechtling
post image

Can‘t emphasise how much I ❤️ this. There are so many truths in it. For example when he moans his buddy. He describes states of mind I want to highlight with a text-marker and yell: “Exactly.”

Of course, with his skills he is painted to suit the story but I often think I‘d do, act, feel like he does.

I‘m really enthralled. 😍 I want to know how it all continues but I don‘t want the book to end.

blurb
Buechersuechtling
post image

📷: https://shutr.bz/33GSHES

I‘m enjoying the green outside so much, I needed to share a picture with you. Even if it‘s a symbol picture taken from the internet. ☺️

You may have noticed I‘m online less often. This corresponds with my reading time on weekdays also being cut significantly. I need to do daily workout/physical exercises 🤸‍♀️at home now. Very time consuming. 😢 And since I‘m not very keen on sports, you know, I really hate it‼️

blurb
Buechersuechtling
post image

I was a no too big fan of all my recent reads or audiobooks. But this audiobook I really love. 💙

Almost from the beginning I was hooked by the setting. A book about a pandemic listened to during a pandemic. 🙂 Well, now you know, what kind of person I am. 😇 But I really feel for Hig. I like how he tells the story (and the voice of the narrator matches brilliantly‼️) and I deeply understand all his doubts and most of his thoughts.

review
StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Pickpick

Post-apocalyptic, post-pandemic, dystopia. Probably not something I should have read right now, but it was excellent. Took me a bit to get used to the writting style, had to think of it like reading a journal. To quote GQ - "The Road, but with hope".

96 likes4 stack adds
review
Kav138
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
Pickpick

I wanted to read this when it was published, but never got around to it. Finally picked it up and enjoyed it. It has very subtle and nuanced manner in arousing emotional response . Well done.

quote
sparky89
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller

"Grief is an element. It has its own cycle like the carbon cycle, the nitrogen. It never diminishes not ever. It passes in and out of everything."

quote
sparky89
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller

"Is it possible to love so desperately that life is unbearable? I don't mean unrequited, I mean being in the love. In the midst of it and desperate. Because knowing it will end, because everything does. End."

quote
sparky89
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller

"So I wonder what it is this need to tell.
To animate somehow the deathly stillness of the profoundest beauty. Breathe life in the telling."

review
bookandbedandtea
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Mehso-so

I'm conflicted about this book.
Pros: It's set in Colorado! The writing is very descriptive, which I always love. I was engaged by Hig's story. I'm fascinated by end of the world stories.
Cons: The story drags in the middle; needs editing. The love story is lame. The (few) details of their pandemic hit too close to home right now.
I'm glad I listened to this rather than reading it. #audiostitching makes everything better

blurb
bookandbedandtea
Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

I killed 30 minutes of work time creating my #BookSpinBingo square 😁
This morning I started listening to the tagged book. I LOVE that it's set in Colorado but that first chapter is a bit creepy during a pandemic. 😬

33 likes1 stack add
review
Nihiljames
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Pickpick

Just starting this one...

Blueberry Good one. 4y
2 likes1 comment
review
AvidReader25
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Pickpick

What a surreal book to read in the midst of a pandemic! The plot revolves around Hig, a pilot who survives a pandemic flu and lives at an airport with his dog Jasper and an extreme survivalist, Bangley. The writing is sparse but powerful. I didn't love the romantic plot in the second half as much as the rest of the book, but I still loved it as a whole. His relationship with his dog & his ability to hope in the midst of grief were just beautiful.

30 likes1 stack add
blurb
Blueberry
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

1. I preloaded my ereader incase Overdrive went down if the library closed.

2. More milk because 2nd son is coming home tonight from university.

Tagged is a good apolcalypse book.

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

TheBookAddict We went to get water and eggs, but they were all out. So I guess we‘ll have to manage with what we‘ve got. 5y
TheSpineView Good luck finding milk! Thanks for playing! 🍀🍀🍀 5y
Blueberry @TheSpineView found milk but no canned kernel corn or evap milk or eggs at two stores. 5y
49 likes3 comments
review
Lauren.Archer
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Mehso-so

As someone who loves Dystopian novels and Peter Heller‘s writing, I was a little disappointed.

Suet624 Oh shoot. That‘s too bad. 5y
65 likes1 comment
review
Crinoline_Laphroaig
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Mehso-so

Not my favorite sort of read. Too depressing and unsettling but Books and Brews Club is always fun.🍻🤓
#booksandbrewsclub

52 likes1 stack add
quote
madamereadsalot1
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

#hammock #quotsyjuly19 @TK-421

(I Loved this book so very much when I read it many years ago, and despite that adoration, I forget about it quite often. How is that?)

22 likes1 stack add
blurb
MiqueMarie
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
tpixie Congrats!! 6y
8 likes1 comment
review
MiqueMarie
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Pickpick

#mmdchallenge #mmdreading full review @ https://miquereads.blogspot.com

CAWPILE Rating:

C- 9
A- 10
W- 9
P- 7
I- 8
L- 8
E- 8
Avg- 8.3 = ⭐⭐⭐⭐

blurb
madamereadsalot1
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
20 likes1 stack add
blurb
Blueberry
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

Met for BookPub last night at a local pub and had a great time. Our theme was post-apocalyptic. These are some of the books we discussed.

JulAnna I have The Book of M on my TBR. 6y
Reggie I read World War Z almost 10 years ago and I think about that book a lot, still. 6y
Blueberry @Reggie the audio was very well done with many different celebrity voices reading. 6y
Blueberry @JulAnna The librarian heading our group was having a lot of trouble getting through it. Especially the middle. 6y
JulAnna @Blueberry Good to know! 6y
55 likes5 comments
blurb
JanJan
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

My lab was cancelled today, so I'm enjoying my unexpected reading time before I dig into into studying for final exams.

britt_brooke Nice, enjoy! 6y
NAM99 Good luck on exams! 6y
77 likes2 comments
review
LitLogophile
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Panpan

This has been on #mountTBR forever, and it probably could‘ve stayed there.

Hig, his dog Jasper, and his neighbor/partner Bangley take on survival in the post-apocalypse plains. It‘s written in choppy sentences and has moments of surprising depth, or emotion.

However, I spent most of this book wondering where it could be going and progressively losing interest. But hey, I guess that the apocalypse would actually be pretty boring, so 🤷🏻‍♀️

DivaDiane That‘s a shame. I‘ve found that the books on my shelves that I have bought at one point but not yet read are overwhelmingly good reads. 4 and 5 stars all. I‘m not feeling deprived by my book buying ban! 6y
LitLogophile I normally completely agree! I have some that look amazing sitting on my shelves and I know that I can go to them next time I‘m in a slump😍 @DivaDiane 6y
57 likes2 comments
blurb
Blueberry
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

#Stars from my read list. My favorite was The Dog Stars.
#SisforSeptember @CaliforniaCay

review
Jason7
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image
Panpan

Peter Keller has the unique ability to make the apocalypse boring. Everything in the book is too convenient, and it feels like he‘s trying to hard with the excessive descriptive language. Overall rating: 2.98 stars

TheBookKeepers I love that all your ratings go out two decimal points 😂! Excellent! You have great reviews 👌 6y
Jason7 Thanks! I‘m glad you like them. 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Welcome to Litsy! 6y
15 likes3 comments
blurb
Booksnob
The Dog Stars | Peter Heller
post image

I‘m not so sure about this one. Have you read it?

Zelma I haven gotten to it yet but have a heard a few great reviews for it, one from a trusted friend. (edited) 7y
19 likes1 stack add1 comment