Puppies are so in right now

We journalists are always looking for trends. That way, we can write a trend story, get ahead of the curve, get noticed by readers and other journalists and maybe one day actually make some money in this business. (Well, the last one is probably pretty unlikely.)

Trend stories are sometimes fairly bogus, other times dead on and usually very unscientific. No big deal there; it’s just journalism, and if the readers approach trend stories with a healthy dose of skepticism, it’s all good.

And, well, I think I’ve spotted the newest trend: Doggies!

Yes, doggies (and by extension puppies) are the hottest thing on the market right now. My evidence? Inquirer columnist John Grogan’s new book, Marley & Me: Life and Love With the World’s Worst Dog, hit No. 1 on the Publisher’s Weekly bestseller list. It’s a runaway best seller in its 17th printing. The Inky did a nice profile of Grogan in Sunday’s paper. It was also a bit of a trend story, since the humor columnist for Bark magazine has a new book coming out, Grogan’s book is all the rage and there are other copydog books soon to follow.

I write about this simply to notify you, the reader, of who’s at the forefront of this doggies/puppies are awesome fad: Well, John Grogan. But know who else is? That’s right, yours truly. I’ve been posting puppy photos since early September.

I can only assume that other things I harp on in my little corner of the Internet will soon become big trends as well, which is why I’m writing up a pitch right now for The Complete Northeast Times Letters Collection. I mean, who wouldn’t buy that?

Dog’s tale unleashes canine passion [Inky]