Here’s a mystery:  How does a writer who lived many years without the incomparable pleasure of sharing his life with a dog, embark on a novel written from a dog’s point of view?

The answer lies with Oscar, a 70-pound labrador who rarely leaves novelist Paul Yoon’s side.

Yoon grew up without dogs and lived a life of writerly discipline until his wife, also a writer, persuaded him that their home in the Catskills was incomplete. “My life was a box,” he told me, “and Oscar broke it wide open.”

As Yoon observed Oscar’s curiosity and joy, he began to wonder about the quiet dialogue humans have with their animal companions and the communications animals have between themselves. Out of that, came Etna, the war dog at the center of his new novel, who is trying to make it home after the conflict.

“Etna” is one of my favorite novels of the summer.

I often get a lot of my book recommendations from the library, Instagram, "Book Tok" and MPR News' The Thread (obviously) but one of my most reliable sources of great reads recommendations is Ed.

Ed is 78 and lives around the corner from me. He's a walker — he walks the neighborhood regularly — and a talker. Ed ALWAYS has something to say, some comment to make, some anecdote to recall and he ALMOST always has a book recommendation for me. (He's also always prepared to chat about his tomatoes, my marigolds, the neighborhood dogs, the Minnesota State Fair, etc.). 

We've been chatting for years but it's only in the last year, I'd say, that we've divulged our shared love of books and reading. It's been a treat — our tastes are VERY different. And, honestly, I doubt Ed has read any of the books I've suggested. However, I'm happy to continue benefitting from HIS recommendations and, in fact, one of my favorite reads of 2026 was an Ed recommendation: "Elmore Leonard's Stick."

The book I'm reading right now (after starting and stopping three completely MEH novels) is another Ed-pick. I haven't finished it yet so I can't officially recommend it but I will say it immediately grabbed by attention and I'm excited to see where it goes.

Author Thomas Perry published "Vanishing Act" in 1995; this is the first in a series, and so it's the first time readers get to meet our main character, Jane Whitefield, a Native American from the Seneca tribe who has an interesting job. Whitefield helps people disappear when they need to, helps people discover solutions when they need help, and, all in all, seems like a pretty kick-ass heroine.

I'm a few chapters in and we've already pulled a gun a few times, swapped clothing with a client, and punched the beejeepers out of a fella who was CLEARLY up to no good. I'm not sure where this is going but I am absolutely going along for the ride.