Book Covers

To celebrate October Adopt-A-Dog month the Lafayette Library has planned a very special event. On October 28th as part of the Lafayette Library's Sweet Thursday literary salon, local journalist and author Steven Winn will join Los Angeles based screenwriter and novelist Bruce Cameron at 7:30pm in the Community Meeting Room to discuss their compelling books about dogs.

Sweet Thursday features local authors discussing their books and the craft of writing. Usually held on the third or fourth Thursday of every month, Sweet Thursday is supported by the Friends of Lafayette Library.

Readers may recall in the San Francisco Chronicle Steven Winn's humorous tales of his dog Como, a scruffy terrier mix who proved to be the challenge of a lifetime. Como was rescued from a shelter by the Winn family and immediately he made it clear that Winn was persona non grata. While Winn's wife and young daughter were favored, Winn himself was anything but.

In his popular book, Come Back Como: Winning the Heart of a Reluctant Dog, the author shares his troubled relationship with Como and how he came to appreciate what this little white terror could teach him about patience, relationships and humility. Winn says of the initial rejection that he tried not to take it personally, but he did consider how he might return Como to the shelter, including claiming he was allergic to the dog. However, his daughter Phoebe would have none of that.

In addition to Como's story, Winn says this book is also about his family. "Our daughter was 12 when we got Como and now she's in college," says Winn. "The dog is really an arc of our daughter growing up."

It is the family elements of Winn's book that Susan Weaver, Lafayette Senior Community Library Manager particularly liked. "It's about loving your child so much that you're willing to make it work," says Weaver, "and along the way, something happens and you realize that your life is richer and better because of your efforts."

Bruce Cameron is the author of the successful book, 8 Simple Rules for Dating my Daughter, which became a hit television show starring John Ritter. As a young boy Cameron enjoyed a special bond with his first dog, whose intense gaze inspired his most recent novel, A Dog's Purpose. The story is narrated by Bailey, a dog who, when he realizes he has been reincarnated, sets out to discover the purpose of his multiple lives.

As a dog lover and a writer, Cameron had been pondering the concept of this story for quite some time. "I was seized with the notion of what if your dog never dies." He knew the story had to be told from the dog's perspective and Cameron wanted the voice to be realistic. "That was the challenge," he says.

According to Lafayette's Maya Michon, Cameron's twelve-year-old niece, her uncle got it just right. "My favorite thing about the book is how the author writes in the dog's voice," she says. "I like it because it's funny and I think that he really sounded like a dog."

A Dog's Purpose in on the New York Times Best Seller List and has over 12,000 Facebook fans. Twelve-year-old Brooke Lennox, also from Lafayette, can understand why. She says she would recommend A Dog's Purpose to both kids and adults and anyone who likes dogs. "It was fun to see what the author thought a dog's perspective is."

In addition to the discussion, the evening will include a book sale, sponsored by the Bay Area Book Mobile, and signing of the authors' books. Event producer Maria Hjelm has also invited therapy dogs from Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation. Twenty percent of the proceeds from the book sale will go to ARF.