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John Grogan
Although Marley & Me (2005) is obviously about a man and his dog, it’s really about much more than that: relationships, marriage, parenting, life in general. We are invited into the home and lives of John Grogan and his family as they lead fairly normal lives with “the world’s worst dog.”
More by John Grogan
Bad Dog, Marley! 2007. [a children’s picture book]
Marley, a Dog like No Other. 2007. [a juvenile version of the adult book]
Marley & Me Illustrated Edition. 2006.
About John Grogan
Official Web Site
Authors on Tour Podcast, August 21, 2006.
HerAlterEgo, “Adieu, John Grogan, PhillyFuture, February 2, 2007.
Maul, Kimberly, “John Grogan Objects to Upcoming Book,” The Book Standard, June 8, 2007.
Interviews
BookBrowse
Larson, Deanna, “When Man’s Best Friend is the World’s Worst Dog,” BookPage, March, 2006
“Meet the Writers,” Barnes & Noble
Memmott, Carol, “’Marley & Me’: Bad Dog Makes Good Reading,” USA Today, December 19, 2005.
Reviews of Marley & Me
Austinist, March 1, 2006.
Curtis, Bryan, ”The Truth about Marley: Should You Read the Times Best-selling Dog Book?” Slate, April 7, 2006.
DeafMom, ”A Story Every Dog Owner Should Read,” Associated Content, June 28, 2007.
Gammon, Sue, ABC Wide Bay, Queensland, June 13, 2006.
Jandy’s Reading Room, December 22, 2005.
KirkusReviews, September 1, 2005.
http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/search/books_authors/review_display.jsp?&kid=77977
Maslin, Janet, “Honoring the Best Bad Dog a Family Could Ever Have,” New York Times, October 13, 2005.
McKinney, Rawlings, The Beachcomber, December 15, 2005.
Publisher’s Weekly, posted on the Web site of the West Virginia Library Commission,
Timmins Public Library, March 20, 2007.
Pet Stories
Stories written about peoples’ pets abound. The workshop participants suggested a few, and there are also listed below some booklist sites.
“Animals of Inspiration,” Johnson County Library
“Fiction Featuring Animals and Pets,” Waterboro Public Library, Mostly Fiction!: Booklists
“Non-Fiction Reading – Dog Tales,” Palm Beach County Library System
“Themed Booklists: Animals [Birds, Dogs, Horse Tales, Sharks]” Overbooked: A Resource for Readers
Boulton, Marsha. Wally’s World: Life with Wally the Wonder Dog. 2006.
Johnston, Lynn. Remembering Farley: A Tribute to the Life of Our Favorite Cartoon Dog. 1996.
Kerasote, Ted. Merle’s Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog. 2007.
Kotzwinkle, Ted and Glenn Murray. illus by Audrey Colman. Walter, the Farting Dog series. 2001- [A series of picture books]
Montgomery, Sy. The Good, Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood. 2006.
Parkhurst, Caroline. The Dogs of Babel. 2003. [Fiction]
[And a cat story to look forward to: Dewey, a Small Town, a Library and the World’s Most Beloved Cat. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/04/books/04cat.html?ex=1333339200&en=e8da3a495b00c412&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink]
Dogs
The titles listed above, while ostensibly about pets in general, do seem to focus on dogs. They are more pet stories, however, rather than informational about dog training, animal psychology, etc.
Canadian Kennel Club
Feldman, Seth. “Wagging the Post-modern Dog,” CBC Ideas
Coren, Stanley. Why Does My Dog Act That Way? A Complete Guide to Your Dog’s Personality. 2006.
Sundance, Kyra. 101 Dog Tricks: Step-by-step Activities to Engage, Challenge and Bond with Your Dog. 2007.
Woodhouse, Barbara. No Bad Dogs: The Woodhouse Way. 1984
Humour
While Grogan’s book is poignant, it is also heart-warmingly funny. Animals do seem to provide scope for humorous writing.
Balliet, Gay L. Lions and Tigers and Mares…Oh My!. 2004.
Capuzzo, Mike. Wild Things. 1995.
Herriot, James. James Herriot’s Animal Stories. illus. by Lesley Holmes. 1997.
Stall, Sam. 100 Cats Who Changed Civilization: History’s Most Influential Felines. 2007.
Tarte, Bob. Enslaved by Ducks. 2003.
Family
One of the refreshing elements in Marley & Me is the normalcy of Grogan’s family life. He and Jenny experience the normal vicissitudes of marriage and family: miscarriage, post-partum depression, job changes, moving, anxiety, but most families suffer through disappointments of one sort or another. Through it all they sustain their love for each other and create a family, all the while becoming part of a larger community.
Diamant, Anita. Pitching My Tent: On Marriage, Motherhood, Friendship, and Other Leaps of Faith. 2005.
Donatich, John. Ambivalence, A Love Story: Portrait of a Marriage. 2005.
Lange, Willem. Intermittent Bliss: Reflections on a Long Love Affair. 2003.
L’Engle, Madeleine. Two-part Invention: A Crosswicks Journal. 1989.
Williams, Marjorie and Timothy Noah. The Woman at the Washington Zoo: Writings on Politics, Family, and Fate. 2005.
(Created with the help of the Orangeville Workshop participants. All Web sites accessed July, 2007.
Maureen O’Connor/WordsWorthy/Connecting Books and Readers/ maureen@wordsworthy.com)
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