You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
i learned way more than i needed to know about this guy’s sex life, and i don’t like his use of a choker chain, but nevertheless this book had me crying in the bath over a dog that died 18 years ago who i never knew
One of my absolute favorite books. I couldn't put it down, even when it had me in tears; which was the majority of it. If I wasn't crying tears of heartache for the Grogan family, I was crying tears of laughter at Marley's crazy antics. I'd recommend it to anyone with a big heart and/or a love of animals!
Favorite Quotes Of The Book - "When I turned the corner, I stopped short. I would have bet a week’s pay that what I was looking at couldn’t possibly happen. Our rambunctious, wired dog stood with his shoulders between Jenny’s knees, his big, blocky head resting quietly in her lap. His tail hung flat between his legs, the first time I could remember it not wagging whenever he was touching one of us. His eyes were turned up at her, and he whimpered softly. She stroked his head a few times and then, with no warning, buried her face in the thick fur of his neck and began sobbing. Hard, unrestrained, from-the-gut sobbing."
"It was a fighter’s stance. His muscles bulged at the neck; his jaw was clenched; the fur between his shoulder blades bristled. He was intensely focused on the street and appeared poised to lunge. I realized in that instant that Jenny had been right. If the armed assailant returned, he would have to get past my dog first. At that moment I knew—I absolutely knew without doubt—that Marley would fight him to the death before he would let him at us."
I loved the above quotes, because they both encompass part of what it is like to own a dog. The first quote describes how a dog will support you unconditionally and always seems to know instinctively when you need this support. The second quote describes how a dog will protect you, sometimes at the risk of his own life. Of course, there were other quotes that delve into the downfalls of owning "the world's worst dog", and, as an owner of a pretty badly behaved dog myself, I could relate to a lot of them.
This book is a memoir of John Grogan's foray into dog ownership. He and his wife, Jenny, as relative newlyweds, decide to get a dog. They select their puppy from a litter of puppies, only to find out that the dog that they have chosen is essentially untrainable and incorrigible. I, for one, can relate; the only commands we have been able to teach our dog is "sit" and "lie down," unless you count "be cute." There was one part in the book where Grogan describes attempting to take Marley for a walk. He is straining on the leash so much that he ends up gagging and choking himself, an incident I know only too well.
I have read quite a few bad reviews of this book, citing the owners' incompetence, which sometimes borders on cruelty in the eyes of some reviewers. I do agree that the owners should not have left the dog neglected in the garage all day long; if they were going to be gone all day, the least they could have done is get someone to stop by to check on and play with the dog. We often leave our dog home alone all day, since both my husband and I work, but we let her roam outside. We can do that because we have a large fenced-in area; I guess not everyone gets that luxury. When we first got our dog, however, we would leave her in the garage overnight, because if she stayed in the house unsupervised while we were upstairs asleep, she would attack our cat, so it was really a safety issue with us. We couldn't let her stay inside for long periods of time until we could trust her completely, a trust she eventually earned. I read another review with which I would tend to take issue. One reviewer said that there was no reason for a dog to pee in his own territory unless he had no other choice; I would tend to disagree with that, because dogs use pee to mark their territory. That's just animal behavior; my dog is always going from tree to tree or patch of grass to patch of grass, leaving only a drop or two before moving on to the next place, all on our property. She is MARKING HER TERRITORY; that's what dogs do. It is irresponsible of a dog owner to expect a dog to "hold it" until off property. Another reviewer cited as an example of their incompetence as dog owners the fact that they were using a choke chain on their dog. I would never do that, but I would like to point out that Grogan and his wife were only using the choke chain because they took Marley to a trainer who told them to use one. You can't stress that they need to take their dog to a trainer and then say that something the trainer told them to do is not right. Maybe they should have gone to a different trainer, but it was really not their fault for listening to someone who is supposed to be knowledgeable about such things.
Incidentally, this book was also made into a movie starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. I watched the movie recently and it stayed pretty loyal to the book except that I believe, for the movie, a character was created who was not in the book, at least not that I can remember. In the movie, Sebastian is one of John Grogan's really good friends; he was played by Eric Dane from Grey's Anatomy fame. One other thing that they changed about the story, possibly so that the family doesn't look so cruel and unfeeling, is that, when Marley gets sick, they don't leave him with the vet and go on vacation. They stay in town and take care of him as he is declining. The book and movie are both wonderful; I highly recommend both. I also recommend a box of tissues.
"It was a fighter’s stance. His muscles bulged at the neck; his jaw was clenched; the fur between his shoulder blades bristled. He was intensely focused on the street and appeared poised to lunge. I realized in that instant that Jenny had been right. If the armed assailant returned, he would have to get past my dog first. At that moment I knew—I absolutely knew without doubt—that Marley would fight him to the death before he would let him at us."
I loved the above quotes, because they both encompass part of what it is like to own a dog. The first quote describes how a dog will support you unconditionally and always seems to know instinctively when you need this support. The second quote describes how a dog will protect you, sometimes at the risk of his own life. Of course, there were other quotes that delve into the downfalls of owning "the world's worst dog", and, as an owner of a pretty badly behaved dog myself, I could relate to a lot of them.
This book is a memoir of John Grogan's foray into dog ownership. He and his wife, Jenny, as relative newlyweds, decide to get a dog. They select their puppy from a litter of puppies, only to find out that the dog that they have chosen is essentially untrainable and incorrigible. I, for one, can relate; the only commands we have been able to teach our dog is "sit" and "lie down," unless you count "be cute." There was one part in the book where Grogan describes attempting to take Marley for a walk. He is straining on the leash so much that he ends up gagging and choking himself, an incident I know only too well.
I have read quite a few bad reviews of this book, citing the owners' incompetence, which sometimes borders on cruelty in the eyes of some reviewers. I do agree that the owners should not have left the dog neglected in the garage all day long; if they were going to be gone all day, the least they could have done is get someone to stop by to check on and play with the dog. We often leave our dog home alone all day, since both my husband and I work, but we let her roam outside. We can do that because we have a large fenced-in area; I guess not everyone gets that luxury. When we first got our dog, however, we would leave her in the garage overnight, because if she stayed in the house unsupervised while we were upstairs asleep, she would attack our cat, so it was really a safety issue with us. We couldn't let her stay inside for long periods of time until we could trust her completely, a trust she eventually earned. I read another review with which I would tend to take issue. One reviewer said that there was no reason for a dog to pee in his own territory unless he had no other choice; I would tend to disagree with that, because dogs use pee to mark their territory. That's just animal behavior; my dog is always going from tree to tree or patch of grass to patch of grass, leaving only a drop or two before moving on to the next place, all on our property. She is MARKING HER TERRITORY; that's what dogs do. It is irresponsible of a dog owner to expect a dog to "hold it" until off property. Another reviewer cited as an example of their incompetence as dog owners the fact that they were using a choke chain on their dog. I would never do that, but I would like to point out that Grogan and his wife were only using the choke chain because they took Marley to a trainer who told them to use one. You can't stress that they need to take their dog to a trainer and then say that something the trainer told them to do is not right. Maybe they should have gone to a different trainer, but it was really not their fault for listening to someone who is supposed to be knowledgeable about such things.
Incidentally, this book was also made into a movie starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. I watched the movie recently and it stayed pretty loyal to the book except that I believe, for the movie, a character was created who was not in the book, at least not that I can remember. In the movie, Sebastian is one of John Grogan's really good friends; he was played by Eric Dane from Grey's Anatomy fame. One other thing that they changed about the story, possibly so that the family doesn't look so cruel and unfeeling, is that, when Marley gets sick, they don't leave him with the vet and go on vacation. They stay in town and take care of him as he is declining. The book and movie are both wonderful; I highly recommend both. I also recommend a box of tissues.
I am not a dog lover, but I loved this book. Very funny, very touching. I was laughing out loud.
This book was fairly predictable and like anyone who does or has owned a dog, I cried at the end. The beautiful thing about this book was the spotlight on how our dogs share with us some of the best features of being human and our shared common humanity.
Recently turned into a major motion picture, Marley and Me, is the autobiographical story of a family who comes to own the world’s worst dog.
John and his wife, Jenny, decide to get a puppy before having children in the hopes it will help prepare them. What they don’t realize until much later, is that Marley is no ordinary dog, and they missed some crucial steps. But despite all that, the Grogan family continues to grow, love and nuture their dog through good times and bad.
John Grogan, the author, entertains his audience with many funny stories and adventures he has with Marley as man’s best friend, including but not limited to thunder storms, house sitters, Dog Beach, new babies, and car rides. What Grogan impresses the most is that no matter how bad the dog, how crazy and neurotic, he teaches you more about life than you can ever imagine, and you love your pet regardless.
John and his wife, Jenny, decide to get a puppy before having children in the hopes it will help prepare them. What they don’t realize until much later, is that Marley is no ordinary dog, and they missed some crucial steps. But despite all that, the Grogan family continues to grow, love and nuture their dog through good times and bad.
John Grogan, the author, entertains his audience with many funny stories and adventures he has with Marley as man’s best friend, including but not limited to thunder storms, house sitters, Dog Beach, new babies, and car rides. What Grogan impresses the most is that no matter how bad the dog, how crazy and neurotic, he teaches you more about life than you can ever imagine, and you love your pet regardless.
Pro někoho jako jsem já, kdo nikdy v životě zvíře neměl a k psům nemá kladný vztah už jen kvůli nepříjemným sousedům a jejich věčně uječeným čivavám anebo naopak obrovským labradorům, kteří se rádi prokousávají pletivem plotu a chodí konat potřebu na cizí zahrady (tedy naší zahradu), byla tahle knížka rozhodně zajímavá. Nejprve mě utvrdila v tom, že psa opravdu nechci, ale na druhou stranu to musí být skvělé mít někoho, kdo vám dá celé své srdce. Je to prostě dobrá knížka a přečtěte si jí, a dokonce mě rozbrečela, no jo no.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced