The University of California, Davis, presents a sampling of books by campus authors in this last-chance-for-summer reading list, starting with The Last Laugh, Lynn Freed’s well received novel about women who are trying to write new lives for themselves as they enter their 70s.

We also include Down the Up Staircase: Three Generations of a Harlem Family; a history of the Ghost Dance religion; a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gary Snyder; two volumes about pets; and a not-so-old favorite, Seashells. Enjoy!

Read more about The Last Laugh and Freed’s next book, The Romance of Elsewhere, a collection of essays, due out in October.

The Petitation Companion: Enhance the Lives of You and Your Pets with Mindfulness Meditation — By Elisabeth Paige, a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Veterinary Medicine, and Joanne Leslie, her mother. Suffering from bipolar disorder, Paige knew meditation would help her condition, but she couldn’t muster the concentration required. Then she involved her dog. This 2016 volume provides instructional prose, sprinkled with anecdotes and humor, to help people focus their minds on “petitation.” The pet might get something out of it, too. The book and audio components are available online. Read more about The Petitation Companion in this UC Davis news release.