Hobo's Book Club: Hobo, on "Bad Dogs"

Kasey Cox

I promised you – my loyal fans, readers, and admirers – that I would declare a “Hobo’s Book Club” selection each month. Kasey reminded me that it’s been more than a month since I wrote about “Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World”. I guess it’s not enough that I work two or three days a month at the bookstore. A cat’s life is hard, but a famous cat’s life is even harder. Though I love you all (even the littlest ones who swoop down on me, shrieking, when I visit the store!), I’d rather sleep on the couch or spy on the neighbors than work.

It is in this spirit that I chose the second book for my club: “Bad Dogs Have More Fun: Selected Writings on Family, Animals, and Life, from The Philadelphia Inquirer”. This is a cross-section of some of the columns that John Grogan wrote for the Philly newspaper from 2003 to 2006. During this time, Grogan was working on his best-selling book, “Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog”, which was first published in October 2005, and has gone on to sell an obscene amount of hardcovers, various sizes of paperbacks, children’s book spinoffs, and movie tickets. Go, Marley! Never underestimate the power and appeal of pets, I say! May some of your success rub off on me. (Just for the record, Marley is exactly the kind of dog I like – cute on paper, and on screen. Not live, at my house. Sorry, pups, but I’m a pen-pal kind of friend to the likes of you.)

What I like about “Bad Dogs Have More Fun”: (1) The title. For reasons previously stated above, as well as my general admiration for clever titles. (2) Many people have published this kind of book – a collection of essays, or a selection of columns they’ve written for a newspaper – but many of those newspaper columnists should have stayed with writing columns. John Grogan can write. He’s funny, and thoughtful, by turns sentimental or sarcastic or philosophical. He has great range. (3) This is the perfect kind of book to pick up when you don’t have a lot of time for un-interrupted reading, or if your attention span is short (nothing wrong with that: I’m distracted by important stuff, like naps, or cars going by outside!). This is a “Chicken Soup” kind of book, with a little more grit, more substance, less fluff, but still a lot of “feel-good” stories. Gift this to someone in the hospital, or nursing home, or leave a copy in the waiting home at the office. Put one on your bedside table, or in the wicker basket of magazines next to the toilet.

What I don’t like about “Bad Dogs”: (1) The fine print. John Grogan is not making any money on this book. “Oh, well,” you may say, “he’s already made a mint on ‘Marley’ stuff.” While this is true, it still doesn’t sit well with me. In the tiniest font possible, at the very bottom of the back cover, this is what it says, verbatim: “The articles in this book were originally written by John Grogan and published as columns by The Philadelphia Inquirer, which owns the rights to them. This book is being published through an arrangement with The Philadelphia Inquirer. Mr. Grogan has not participated in its publication and is not profiting from it.” Nevertheless, you better believe John Grogan’s name is splattered all over the front cover, to get you to buy the book. I understand that newspapers are feeling the pinch as production costs rise and readership drops. I still don’t like it. I’ll have you know that the Wellsboro Gazette lets me keep the rights to my articles, and publish them on my blog. Joe Parry, who wrote an outdoor column for the Gazette for years, as well as for Pennsylvania Game News, was allowed to keep the rights to his stories, and was able to publish a book which he benefits from. Kudos, Gazette.

(2) This collection has pieces which work for the time and place they were written about, and for, but don’t have the universal appeal that a reader is looking for in a collection like this. That’s what comes from putting newspaper columns into a book. I prefer a collection like this to run a little smoother and broader, like Robert Fulghum’s writing. Except, maybe, instead of “All I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”, you should try learning a few things from your cat.

Why not learn a few things from Hobo? Check out his past lessons at his blog, http://frommyshelf.blogspot.com. (Don’t put in the “www” prefix we’re all so used to.) Hobo hopes to be a star on the silver screen, but it might take away from his busy schedule or his book club time, so he’s not sure. Send your suggestions for the next Hobo Book Club selection to frommyshelf@epix.net.