b'Steven Rowleys Lily and the Octopus Tom Ryans Following Atticus An out-of-shapeThe love Ted Flask, the novels protagonist, has for newspaperman, Tom Ryan, and Atticus M. Finch,his dog Lily is all-consuming. He trusts her. They his miniature Schnauzer, become an unlikely pairhave wonderful, silly conversations and go on fun daily of mountaineers during their record-setting winter.outings. They enjoy Friday night pizza and watching TV. Deciding to pay tribute to a friend who died ofHe cannot live without her. Lily is Teds aging cancer, they set out to climb all 48 of New HampshiresDachshund. When he discovers the octopus growing on 4,000-foot peaks, twice, in the 90 days of winter. WhatLilys head, he argues with it and eventually does battle awaits them is the challenge of a lifetime, set in anwith it on the high seas, all in an effort to save his beloved enchanting but dangerous winter wonderland. TheirLily. The writing of the scenes during Flasks battle with remarkable story blurs the line between two species andthe octopus rivals that of any scene out of Herman follows the two friends for hundreds of miles in a rare testMelvilles book, Moby Dick. The octopus is how Ted sees of endurance. Lilys tumor. Why did I think we would be together forever? Lily Dion Leonards Finding Gobi It is the rare occasionnever made that promise. Dogs dont live as long as peo- when an autobiography involving a dog actually capturesple. In my head, I knew this. But to think that there the spirit of the dog. Leonard not only manages to capturewould come a day when we would part was to take the the essence of a little dog, but does so in a lovely tale ofjoy out of a day we had together, says Ted. true grit.If you spend your entire life trying to cheat death, theres Leonard always raced, laser-focused on winning andno time left over to embrace life. Dont be afraid. Thats being the best. For the 42-year-old Australian, runningall Im saying. had never been fun. Rewarding and satisfying, but neverAmazon Studios acquired feature film rights and the laugh-out-loud fun. And then, Gobi appeared.The bookmovie is currently in development is a two-story. Gobi finding Leonard is the first part. 48 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'