I won this book as a FirstRead. 
 Ted Flask is a 42-year-old man living in Los Angeles. His best friend and companion is his daschund, Lily, whom he adopted as a puppy the day before his 30th birthday. Ted and Lily have a whole routine set up: on Thursdays, they talk about boys they think are cute; on Fridays, they play Monopoly; Saturday nights are for watching movies, and so on. One Thursday while they are discussing Chrises, Ted spots an "octopus" on Lily's head. 
 Steven Rowley is an amazing writer. You can feel the love and bond between Ted and Lily on every page. The blurb for the book says, "Remember the last book you told someone they had to read? Lily and the Octopus is the next one." Normally, when I see quotes like that, I end up thinking that book was good but not as great as it was made out to be from the quote, but THIS! ONE! IS! I highly recommend this to anyone, especially people who have loved and had their own special bond with an animal.