Mostly Bob

LEAH GARCHIK

^{March 1, 2006}

Devoted pals threw a book party for Tom Corwin at the Chandlery on Pier 38 on Sunday, which seemed in keeping with the subject of the celebration. "Mostly Bob'' is an unusual book, one sentence per page, and one repeated visual image, a half-hour read at most. It's about a special friendship, in fact, what the author called "a sublime relationship'' between the musician-music producer and Bob, the 9-year-old dog who took it upon himself to move in with him in Mill Valley.

A few years later, just after Bob died, Corwin told their story in a letter informing his friends of the death. This e-mailed letter was passed around, and within six months, Corwin was hearing from strangers sharing similar emotions. When someone suggested the letter might be publishable, "I saw the book in my head,'' says Corwin.

At Sunday's party, Peter Coyote read about half the story to the assembled guests, including one dog, a dachshund. In modest remarks afterward, Corwin didn't take credit for his own role in changing Bob, but instead stressed that the story is about Bob's determination to turn around his own life, finding happiness and security for himself. The dachshund, nestled in its owner's lap, seemed to have learned the lesson already.