I truly loved this book.

It is a perfect book that exemplifies exactly why I have such a deep love for reading.

As I delved into its pages, I found myself laughing out loud at the humorous moments, thoroughly entertained by the engaging story.

And then, there were those heart-wrenching parts that made me actually cry my eyes out.

I know it might sound a bit extreme, but seriously, who doesn't go crazy over their pets??

The author's writing was so skillful and well-crafted that I was completely immersed in the story.

When I reached the end, I was filled with a sense of sadness that it was over.

Anyway, this is a really good book.

I highly recommend that you should read it. :-)

Nicole has a penchant for sharing quotes, and this particular one truly tugged at my heartstrings.

“Every night for thirteen years he had waited for me at the door. Walking in now at the end of the day was the most painful part of all.” This simple yet poignant statement captures the essence of a deep and lasting bond.

The book it comes from is filled with a wonderful mix of both funny little dog moments and the inevitable sad times. It's a truly engaging read, but I would only recommend it to dog owners. Those who have not experienced the unique love and connection with a canine companion may not fully appreciate the depth of emotion that this book evokes.

As for my previous review, I still firmly stand by what I said about Owen Wilson's voice. It adds a certain charm and character to the story that is both endearing and memorable. Overall, this book is a must-read for any dog lover looking for a heartwarming and touching tale.

4.5 stars

I've simultaneously desired to read and feared reading this book ever since I witnessed the movie adaptation and shed tears in 2008. When this book presented itself to me at the unbeatable price of $0.10, I simply had to seize it. And I'm extremely glad I did.

"Marley and Me" is the story of a dog who was about 50% goofy hyperactive energy and 50% love, as seen through the eyes of an owner who accepted him for who he was. The antics and chaos caused by Marley, the nearly 100 lb yellow lab, are presented in a charming and endearing manner. I can't claim to agree 100% with every action or statement of the Grogan family, but I appreciate the way they loved their dog. This is evident throughout this reflective account of Marley's life.

There were a few chapters where the author deviated a bit from the main track and perhaps became a bit self-indulgent with details about himself, considering the book's central focus was supposed to be Marley and his impact on the family. However, most of the time, this was the main event. But I did feel slightly disengaged from the stories when it delved into great detail about things like how he would spend his days adventuring around to write columns as a journalist.

Aside from this, I found the writing very witty, clever, and engaging. This book delivered on all fronts: I laughed, I cried, I mourned, I rejoiced. Dogs are truly remarkable creatures! (Especially Labrador retrievers, those lovable rascals.)

I truly did enjoy this book, and I read it at a rather brisk pace.

There were numerous fun and entertaining bits throughout the story that kept me engaged from start to finish. However, I must admit that I couldn't hold back a few tears at the end of the book.

I have a deep love for dogs, but my goodness, what would it be like to have a dog like Marley?

I suppose you would need to have a healthy bank balance, among other things. Dealing with Marley's antics and the various situations he got into would likely require a significant amount of financial resources.

Not only that, but you would also need a great deal of patience, love, and understanding to handle a dog with such a unique personality.

Despite all the challenges, having a dog like Marley would probably bring a lot of joy and laughter into your life as well.

Overall, this book was a great read that made me both laugh and cry, and it really got me thinking about what it would be like to have a dog like Marley.

I have a dog, my very first one. And just like all overly excited and enthusiastic first-time parents, when I got it, I was determined to read every single book on the topic. Marley & Me by John Grogan was next on my long and ever-expanding list. It had been on the bestseller lists for quite a while, so I was expecting it to be a light and enjoyable read, something palatable to the masses and easily read between Mitch Albom and Nicholas Sparks.

With “Marley & Me,” I was anticipating a dog book, a man’s book. After all, on the cover is a picture of a cute little puppy looking up at the camera with innocent, loving eyes and a subtitle reading, “Life And Love With The World’s Worst Dog.” So I was sure it would be a story about a man and his dog.

However, what I got was a book about marriage and babies, two things that I find rather unappealing. My feelings about them rank somewhere between ironing shirts and slamming my penis in a sliding door.

That being said, this book is actually very, very good. By page thirty-two, my eyes were welling up with tears. The book ended up being a relatively slow read for me because I had to stop every other paragraph to engage in various activities like lifting weights, drinking beer at a strip club, and watching kung fu movies in my underwear while having a bowl of cereal for dinner. You see, “Marley & Me” is not just a story about a man and his dog. It’s the story of a young married couple who adopts a dog. And like all good characters in good stories, this particular dog is far from perfect. In fact, it’s a complete outrage. Marley is a barking, drooling, rampaging, gnawing, destroying, pillaging Viking of a dog. His energy seems endless. He gets kicked out of obedience school, eats expensive necklaces, rips apart furniture, and destroys an entire garage. He even transforms into a howling terror of a werewolf during thunderstorms. He never stops moving, his frenetic tail constantly wagging and knocking over anything in its path.

With Marley’s hyperactive and destructive backstory carefully laid out, it becomes an emotional scene when the couple gets pregnant only to lose the baby in the first trimester. And when the mom comes home, she is comforted by the surprisingly now-calm Marley, with his big head on her lap and his still, patient body at her side. I, being a non-breeder, was an absolute mess when reading this scene. I felt like a thirteen-year-old girl saying goodbye to her friends at the end of summer camp, a mother at her daughter’s wedding ceremony, a girlfriend who didn’t get anything from her boyfriend on Valentine’s Day, or even Meryl Streep in a Meryl Streep movie: weepy and distraught. Grogan masterfully balances the humor, stress, and satisfaction of pet ownership with a young wife as they transition into parenthood. His story is a pleasure to read, effortlessly weaving together funny anecdotes, emotional growth, and the changing priorities that come with parenthood, all with an amusing animal for comic relief. Hollywood couldn't have done a better job.

The Grogans get pregnant again, and their birth story is one of the more interesting ones I've heard. (Again, I'm a non-breeder, so hearing this kind of schmaltzy stuff usually bores me to tears. I always wonder why people tell me this. What do they expect me to say, “Congratulations, you successfully carried out a maneuver that baboons accomplish every day, but with less fanfare, books, websites, and talking?”) But the Grogan's story is quite remarkable as it offers a unique window into the child birthing methods in America. Before the birth, they reserve and pay extra for an upgraded, special birthing suite. But when the big day arrives, they find out that all of these suites are full. “We can't control when women go into labor,” a nurse tells them. Not only that, but all of the “normal” labor and delivery rooms are full as well. After a few phone calls and some scrambling, they are led into a completely different part of the hospital. The room they are put in is bare and unadorned, lacking the floral curtains, pastel pillows, and cushy couch for dad that they had expected from their prenatal tour.

The section they are in is for the poorer, mostly immigrant population of their southern Florida community. Seeing their dismay and concern, the Grogan's doctor assures them that since the poor typically can't afford prenatal care, they tend to have higher-risk pregnancies, so their room is actually equipped with more specialized tools and instruments to prepare for these higher-risk deliveries. Also, these poorer immigrants can't afford the expensive, pain-relieving epidurals that have become so common in American births. So throughout their entire birth, the Grogans are treated to the un-drugged screams and painful yelps of their impoverished neighbors. As a non-breeder and a bleeding heart liberal, all of this was thoroughly fascinating. Who would have thought? I opened a book looking for a Jack London-esque dog story and ended up getting a socio-economic examination of the United States. Ah, books! And to think there's more to this world than the news and current events I get from my usual two sources: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and my pot dealer.

From there, the story meanders down a gently twisting road into an enjoyable tale of an American family, complete with happiness and sadness, disappointment and success, children and pets, jobs and vacations. The Grogans get pregnant again, and this time the mom goes into labor months too soon and is put on strict bed-rest to prevent a premature birth. A healthy baby boy is finally born at the same hospital, and the day after Donald Trump's baby. Afterwards, the mom battles severe post-partum depression and demands that Marley be given away. At this point in the book, I remember silently chanting my encouragements to the narrator to “Get rid of the wife! Keep the dog! Keep the dog!” Ultimately, there was no need for such drastic measures. This story is too good and perfect for tragedy. It's a story where wives and misbehaving dogs learn to live in harmony. There is the birth of a third kid (a girl!), a new job and a move to Pennsylvania (complete with the dog bellowing from the belly of the plane, serenading all the un-amused passengers as his owners play dumb, feigning ignorance and similar disgust at such an obnoxious beast).

And through all of this idyllic American family's adventure and change, Marley is there, though growing ever older. Marley, of course, eventually trots into the sunset, and my tears were plinking down on the pages the whole way. Grogan tugged at every one of my heartstrings. Since I got a dog, I have often remarked that they make great starter-kids. In fact, I have often wondered why parents bother upgrading to human children given that dogs are expensive, entertaining, time-consuming, and very rewarding.

Now I know. Dogs die. We need something that will stick around a bit longer and wipe our ass.

I've watched the movie and I've read the book.

However, for me, the latter is way better. The movie may have its own charm with its visual effects and acting, but the book offers a more in-depth exploration of the story and characters.

It allows you to imagine the scenes and emotions in your own mind, which can be a more personal and immersive experience.

If you are a dog lover, I highly recommend this novel. You will appreciate the bond between the human and the dog even more.

The author's description of the dog's behavior and personality is so vivid that you can almost feel like you are there with them.

It's a heartwarming and touching story that will stay with you long after you've finished reading.

I had initially put off reading "Marley and Me" because all the feedback I received about it was that it was about a destructive dog that was poorly trained. I regarded destructive dogs as not being funny, similar to how I don't find the stupid things people do when drunk amusing.

However, it turns out that I like the book enough to include it in my list of favorite books about dogs. What I hadn't heard about the book before was how wonderful it is to share the life of the author and his family, which includes a destructive yet great dog. It presents a familiar theme for all of us who have dogs; the challenges of having a puppy, at least some degree of destruction (even if it's just soiled rugs), and unfortunately, health challenges as the dog gets older. And hopefully for all of us, it also touches on familiar themes of dealing with life challenges such as trying to have children, the birth of children, and job changes (hopefully for the better). These are indeed familiar themes, but they are presented in a comfortable and well-written way. To this, some unusual elements are added, involving an interesting locale, neighborhood murders and crime, lightning, moving tables, and being cast in a movie.

I'm sorry to all those who recognized the good aspects of this book and described them in their reviews. I'm sure they said it better than I could. But since I thought I knew what the book was about, I didn't read their reviews previously. I will now look at other reviews again so that we can share the goodness from this book. And yes, I'm aware that they made mistakes in training the dog. I've seen a dog with a damaged trachea from a choke collar and know that positive dog training is more effective. The book also serves as a good lesson on what not to do when selecting a breed and an individual puppy. Overall, it's a great book and is excellent for starting conversations about choosing and raising a dog.

This is a truly mediocre book penned by what can only be described as horrible dog owners.

Marley might seem like an amusing fellow on the surface, but the truth is that pets are much like children. You simply don't experience the same level of joy when hearing stories about someone else's kids as you do when observing your own. I, for one, have dogs that I hold dear, and often, the things they do bring me great entertainment. However, I'm well aware that others might not find the same level of enjoyment if I were to regale them with tales of my dogs' antics. For this very reason, I found that there were no parts of this book that were truly funny. Maybe if Marley were my dog, or if I at least knew him personally, I might have laughed at certain passages. But alas, that's not the case.

Unfortunately, this wasn't even the aspect of the book that I disliked the most. What really stands out is the fact that the author and his wife are abysmal pet owners. At best, they can be considered negligent parents. More accurately, a great deal of their behavior borders on animal abuse. In the half of the book that I read, they engaged in the following actions:

* They decided to get a dog for purely selfish purposes, namely as a form of parental practice.

* They read nothing about the breed before choosing to adopt a Lab, showing a complete lack of responsibility.

* They failed to do any research into the breeder, further compounding their negligence.

* Despite obvious behavioral issues, they failed to seek out a trainer to work with Marley's quirks.

* They failed to provide Marley with adequate protection from storms, which completely terrified him.

* They used a choker with excessive zeal, almost deriving joy from Marley's near self-strangulation.

* They allowed Marley to escape from a moving vehicle, seemingly finding humor in the situation.

The worst part, however, comes at the end. During the last few weeks of his life, Marley becomes extremely sick. What does the author do? He leaves the dog at the vet's office and packs the family into the van for a Disney vacation. Fortunately, he gets back just in time to have Marley put down. I then get the distinct impression that he expects us to feel sorrow for his loss.

I simply can't fathom going on vacation while either of my pets is left deathly ill at the vet's office. I had already developed a strong aversion to the author's idea of pet care, and this final incident only served to validate that opinion.

What a truly beautiful book it is!

I happened to read this shortly after losing my beloved 10-year-old golden Labrador to the cruel clutches of cancer. As a result, I discovered that it evoked extremely intense emotions within me.

The book is written in a remarkably good style. Some of the antics that Marley gets up to are so quintessentially characteristic of a young Labrador!

It is a perfect blend of hilarity, heartbreak, and beauty. I wholeheartedly relished reading this book.

Every page seemed to draw me in deeper, making me laugh out loud at times and bringing tears to my eyes at others.

It truly captured the essence of the special bond between a dog and its owner.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever loved a pet or simply enjoys a touching and engaging read.

It is a book that will stay with you long after you have turned the final page.

OK, I was dead set on hating this book. Seriously, a freaking doggie book? Why on earth would I bother reading it? Well, the reason was that the woman who recommended it to me, Jessica, is as passionate a lover of the written word as I am. She had previously guided me through "Grapes of Wrath". I had tried to plow through it twice before her and despised every single letter until she influenced me. Since then, I've read it twice. She also convinced me to read "Watership Down", a darn bunny book. I swore I wasn't going to read that crap. But read it I did, and it turned out to be a great book. So, with much hesitation, I borrowed "Marley and Me" and promised to give this doggie book a chance. It took me about a month to get around to it, but it only took about 4 days to finish reading it.

"Marley and Me" is John Grogan's tribute to his Labrador Retriever, Marley. A big, clumsy oaf of a dog. It's not great literature. I didn't even realize it was a good book until I reached the end. It's about a newly married couple and their crazy Labrador Retriever, Marley. Marley eats everything, doesn't follow commands, attacks guests with his tongue, and goes berserk and causes massive destruction during thunderstorms. He actually sounds a lot like a larger version of my friend Chris' dog, Buddy. A completely psychotic dog that you can't help but love and laugh at.

Grogan is clearly a talented writer as you can vividly picture all the drool and damage this dog causes. You can also distinctly feel the loyalty Marley has towards his owners as well as the love his owners have for him. As the book progresses, you witness the growth of the Grogan family through this wild dog. As I mentioned earlier, I didn't even think this was a good book until I read the last word. Halfway through, I knew it was well-written, but I wasn't particularly moved. I was familiar with the dog and the family. I just didn't really care about either of them. A family growing bigger with a crazy dog...so what? But as Marley gets older, you start to realize that you do care. When he can no longer tear through their house with the same wild abandon, you care. And when you reach the end, if you've ever had a pet, your eyes might well tear up a little bit.

Damn you, Jessica, you were right. It was good. It was a decent 4-day journey with Marley.

Bad dog, good dog.

"...owning a dog always ended with this sadness because dogs just don't live as long as people do."

I don't know why I never wrote a review about this book. In the past 5 or so years that I owned a copy of it, I read it several times. I guess you can call it a comfort book. Grogan has a very recognizable writing style. His tone is warm and funny even when he's tackling serious issues.

The interesting thing about this book was that I picked it up hoping to read about a dog controlled by demons. And while I definitely got that, I also got an entire tale about the story of a man trying his damn best to fit into adulthood, to support his wife, to love his children. Not only did I care about the very great and crazy dog, I cared about John and his family. And John, I might never meet you. But I really hope you're doing okay. And I hope you learned how to dress your kids without putting their clothes upside down.

And to you Marley, you were really the best and worst dog of the world. If I loved this family so much, it was in no small part thanks to you.

Marley was a dog full of energy and mischief. He broke a lot of things in the house, from furniture to dishes. But what he really broke was my heart. Every time I read about his antics and then his inevitable decline, my heart would ache. He was such a beloved member of the family, and yet his time with them was so short. It made me realize how precious life is, and how quickly it can pass by.

Despite all the chaos and destruction he caused, Marley also brought so much joy and love to the family. He was always there to greet them with a wagging tail and a slobbery kiss. He taught them about responsibility and patience, and he made them laugh when they needed it the most. In the end, he may have broken a lot of things, but he also left behind a legacy of love and memories that will last a lifetime.

Despite the fact that the story is predictable and the writing is nothing spectacular, this was a sweet way to spend a few hours when I finally could find time to read.

I have owned dogs for most of my life, and as I read about Marley, I saw a little of each of my own dogs in him. It was a reminder that even the worst behavior in dogs is still offset by their unwavering devotion.

Dogs have a special way of stealing our hearts with their loyalty and love. They are always there for us, through thick and thin.

Although the book may not have been a literary masterpiece, it did manage to touch my heart and bring a smile to my face. It was a simple and enjoyable read that I would recommend to anyone who loves dogs or is looking for a lighthearted escape.

In conclusion, while the story and writing may not have been perfect, the book still had its charm and was a pleasant way to pass the time.