Dogs

OLD SCARS
Originally uploaded by solarixx

I am obsessed with animals. I should have been a vet or a zookeeper, but went a different direction. Besides, I could never deal with suffering animals as my job - so vet would be out of the question.

But this fella - how sad is he? I want to sit beside him and hug him, like I used to do with Howie, and pet his sweet head.

I just read The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. (buy it at your local independent bookstore, don't get it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, please!) It is the best novel I've read in years. It's the best contemporary novel I've read, ever. I'm going to write up a review soon, perhaps tonight.

But everyone should read it. Not because Oprah picked it (which made the man a millionaire, I'm sure) but because it is a truly wonderful tale of a mute boy and his dogs. I didn't want it to end.

And the author is going to be in Nashville this weekend at the Southern Festival of Books. And it's free!