The holidays are coming up, and that means spending time with the family. Or perhaps finding that friend of yours who’s ‘of the hobby’ a gift that he might not even know he wanted until he gets it. On the other hand, you don’t want to break the bank getting the perfect thing. And you certainly don’t want your family to catch that Kyell Gold novel just lying around the house. That would definitely lead to some awkward dinner conversation with Grandma.

Well, you’re in luck: I have a suggestion or two that might be just the thing for those long, boring stretches of quality time with the family or that friend who’s collected the entire catalog of Rabbit Valley, Sofawolf Books and Bad Dog Press. Even if you’re not in a bind with presents or alternative furry entertainment that’s acceptable in mixed company, these books are pretty awesome and you should read them anyway. They’re all books that just happen to have furry characters for reasons other than aesthetics. Well, for the most part.

We’ll start out with the chickiest of the three — Sight Hound by Pam Houston. It’s a novel that plays out like a literary duet between a woman, Rae, and her Irish wolfhound, Dante. Rae recounts the trials of her relationships and life in general, laying bare the problems that keep her unhappy, and Dante is there to provide the counter-point, lessons that would benefit Rae if she would just listen. These two narratives are supported by a chorus of side characters, each with their own perspectives on what’s going on. There’s Rose, another dog, Sam the cat, two veterinarians and Howard, a nervous, yet surprisingly mature actor. These voices all rise and fade beautifully thanks to Houston’s deft writing. Each perspective fleshes out not only the character, but the world they inhabit, the narrative and themes.

Sight Hound is a nice bit of light reading. Though the book deals with heavy things like loss, death and depression, it somehow manages to keep an optimistic and gentle tone. It illustrates how a patchwork community can be formed from a host of broken people, and how these people can come to rely on each other in spite of their shortcomings. The going isn’t always easy — the characters are as frustrated with each other as they are in love — but with the right amount of understanding and commitment, the family that forms is worth all the trouble it causes. It’s the perfect thing for remembering that the people you’re with, whether it’s the family you grew up with or the one you’ve created yourself, enrich and shape you just as much as they drive you crazy.

The Bear Went Over the Mountain is a different beast entirely. It’s billed as a “fairy tale for grownups,” and it certainly has that feel, but it’s also a gentle satire of the book publishing industry, Hollywood, and the nature of fame. Arthur Bramhall, an English professor and struggling writer, writes his first good novel, and hides the manuscript under a tree for safe keeping while he celebrates with a few friends. A bear finds it, reads it and likes it, then steals it, hoping to trade it in for some food. He steals a suit and tie, gives himself a name (Hal Jam, from some of his favorite food), and the story takes off from there. Arthur and Hal, throughout the course of the book, trade places, slowly subsuming themselves into their adopted societies.

You get the sense that this novel is going for something pointed, but it never quite gets there. The satire remains soft and it really removes the teeth from what Kotzwinkle is trying to say. He does a pretty good job of keeping the characters (even Hal) relatable, and you sympathize with their desperation even when you’re shaking your head at what it drives them to do. I got the feeling that I was supposed to laugh along at these people, but they were far more earnest than they were funny, so the trouble they got into just made me feel sorry for them. The tone doesn’t quite strike the balance it wants, but it’s a pretty enjoyable read nonetheless. And hey, if you like bears, you really can’t go wrong. You’d be sold on the cover alone.

If you like your novels with a lot more punch, then Gun, with Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem is the book for you. Lethem won the National Book Award for the detective novel Motherless Brooklyn, but before he rose to literary prominence he cut his teeth on truly ambitious, truly strange post-modern sci-fi. Gun is his debut novel, and it’s one of the best dystopian noir mash-ups I’ve ever read.

The book follows a detective named Conrad Metcalf, who’s working the case of a man who believes he’s been framed for murder. Of course, the deeper he gets into the mystery, the more people work against him to solve it. One of those people, as it so happens, is a smartly-dressed evolved kangaroo named Joey Castle.

The novel is full of very unique dystopian ideas: technology has created an intrusive, controlling government, but not in the way you think. There’s a karmic account that’s used to keep track of your criminality, and news is ominous music about war rather than facts. There’s also hyper-intelligent, jaded talking babies and evolved animals every bit as neurotic and dangerous as the rest of humanity. The people get worse as the technology gets better, and Conrad finds himself an increasingly anachronistic stereotype in a world that has moved on to bigger ways of doing business without him. It’s fascinating to watch him drown in the chaos of the world around him just as much as it’s fun to imagine the vivid world that Lethem’s created. The ending is particularly neat, as Lethem goes further with the concept than you might suspect.

If you’re looking for a good companion novel, go with Lethem’s second, Amnesia Moon. It’s a buffet of post-apocalyptic goodness that’s somehow even more surreal. No furries, though, unless you count a fur-covered girl. And I don’t.

So, there you have it: a few books that will scratch that furry itch for you or a literary friend who’s looking for something a little different. Back before the fandom really took off, kids, this is how we did it back in the 90s.