Garfield Sits Around the House: His 7th Book

Garfield #7

by Jim Davis

He's the #1 champ at sleeping, eating, and watching TV—and when the world's favorite cat sits around the house, he really sits around the house! And of course, he’s as sassy and lovable as ever when he chases Odie, plays with Nermal and Pooky, and makes life both wicked and wonderful for his owner, Jon.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Fiction, Comic Strips, Cats, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics

96 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 1983

About the author

James Robert "Jim" Davis is an American cartoonist who created the popular comic strip Garfield. Other comics that he has worked on are Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, Slapstick, and a strip about Mr. Potato Head.

Jim Davis was born in Fairmount, Indiana, near Marion, where he grew up on a small farm with his father James William Davis, mother Anna Catherine (Carter) Davis, brother Dave, and 25 cats. Davis' childhood on a farm parallels the life of his cartoon character Garfield's owner, Jon Arbuckle, who was also raised on a farm with his parents and a brother, Doc Boy. Jon, too, is a cartoonist, and also celebrates his birthday on July 28. Davis attended Ball State University. While attending Ball State, he became a member of the Theta Xi fraternity. He earned the dubious honor of earning one of the lowest cumulative grade point averages in the history of the university, an honor incidentally shared with Late Show host David Letterman.

Davis as of 2007 resides in Muncie, Indiana, where he and his staff produce Garfield under his company, Paws, Inc., begun in 1981. He was married to Carolyn, a singer and elementary teacher whom he met while both were attending college, and has a son named James with her. However, the couple divorced, and Davis since 2000 has been married to Jill, Paws' senior vice president of licensing, who has worked there approximately 25 years.

Ironically, Davis did not own cats when he started Garfield because of Carolyn's allergies, but they owned a Labrador retriever named Molly. With Jill, the family has expanded to include children Ashley and Chris; three grandchildren, Chloe, Carly and Cody; cats, Spunky and Nermal; and a dog, Pooky.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say about these collections of strips that I haven't already said? They're funny, they're cute, and they're clean-cut; what's not to like?

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Book 7 in Garfield's continuing quest to locate and digest the ultimate pan of lasagna (without having to work too hard to get it). Along the way, he torments Odie, Jim, Nermal and the rest of gang in classic Garfield fashion.

[Michael Kiripolsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Garfield. That Charlie Brown Christmas album. Cuddling up in bed while it snows. Perfection. 10/10

[Mark Austin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't ever remember laughing at Garfield. Reading it was like re-watching an episode of a sitcom you've already seen ten times and know all the plot threads and punchlines. There's a bland comfort to it and, for a stretch in early Middle School, bland comfort was preferable to none.

I consumed all the Garfield books in the Middle School library, idly wondering when something new would happen to shake up the Groundhog Day-esque loop in which they lived their lives, for a character to maybe grow or change. As the library's stock dwindled, so to did my desire to wade through any more of Garfield's doldrums.

In some ways the world of Garfield seems to represent some primal desire to keep everything safe by maintaining the conformity of each new day to the mold fixed by the last, but such a life seems more like death by whimper.

[Iggy Igwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Garfield gets insulted by a talking bathroom scale.

[~☆~Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much 3 Stooges type violence that i never much noticed before. Not funny! Mindless drivel!

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great classic Garfield! Not a whole lot of development for the characters in this volumn, but I don't think it's always needed. Garfield is good enough on his own!

[Remo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bueno, qué decir de los Garfields, uno de los compañeros de nuestra infancia (y adolescencia y parte de la vida adulta). Recuerdo haberme encontrado el primero en casa de un amigo y habérmelo devorado de una sentada, con 5-6 años, sin entender varios de los chistes pero disfrutando mucho de los más obvios. Hoy en día, en casa, a los ojos entrecerrados con mezcla de desprecio y aburrimiento los seguimos llamando ojos de Garfield:

Esta sensación de saber que siempre iba a encontrar unos cuantos graciosos la tuve durante las dos décadas posteriores en las que Garfield iba apareciendo periódicamente en mi vida. No es una obra culmen de la literatura, pero nos ha alegrado muchos momentos.

[David Allen Hines · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading Garfield since about 1978 and now in 2023 at the age of 51 I am re-reading my earlier Garfield books sitting on a shelf for years and so glad I am! In this 7th book (there are now over 60!) the Garfield characters are now better drawn and developed than in earlier works. Almost every strip brings a smile, and there are some great strips such as when Garfield eats so much his stomach outgrows his legs, as well as a hilarious visit to Jon's parents at their farm. This is a great classic Garfield book all fans of the series will enjoy and for those who came to Garfield years later in the strip's history, a great look back at the strip's earlier times!

[Jess Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Newspapers at dawn

We get to meet John’s grandmother for the first time who has a party with Garfield at John and Odie’s expense. It was well worth it and I hope to see her again. This is the first time we see Odie beat Garfield at his own game. Is this where he begins to stand up to Garfield? There was a lot of humor here and it was really enjoyable reading it again after three decades.

[Amber Robbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A blast from the past. Grew up with a mother that loved Garfield. I recall her having some of these collected volumes as well as clippings from newspapers. She got me some novels from the scholastic bookfair and I learned to read with her comics. Saw some of these on sale dirt cheap and grabbed them. Some of the humor still stands up. Some of it is dated and would probably fall flat with anyone born after 2010. Quick, fun, little nostalgia trip

[Robert Bussie · Rating 5 out of 5]

All my Garfield reviews are the same. You either get the wonderful humor or you don't. As for me, I grew up reading the hilarious antics of Garfield, Jon, and Odie and years later I still find it funny. It is like a comfortable old friend making me laugh when I need it.

[Kaelin Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that is as good as the others in its series. Lots of interesting characters and more humor. It's a great book and yet another good book for children to read!

[Ash Mallinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Garfield comics, he reminds me of my cat Fonzie.

[Christine Rains · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading through the books with my eight-year-old son who is a new fan!

[Warren Nie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book. I wish Garfield could talk though. That will be more interesting. Otherwise, this book is the best.

[Lemmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super funny!!!

[The Professor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny, hilarious book!

[Tammy Chaffins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Garfield!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The visual gags make my daughter crack up. I really enjoyed the week with Grandma, and my daughter enjoyed Garfield spitting watermelon seeds at Jon.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Garfield can make me smile when I am reading about that darned, fat cat. Always hungry, and with his mischievous attitude, Garfield always finds himself getting into trouble in one way or the other. This lasagna-eating cat loves to pick on Odie, the dog, and Jon, his human. Is Jon really Garfield's owner? Well, Jon may think so, but I'll bet Garfield has his own ideas about that one.

Jim Davis celebrates Garfield's fourth birthday in Garfield Sits Around the House.

[HeavyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Garfield when I was in middle school. I had several of these collections, and I read them all again and again.

I'm giving three stars based on the way I felt about the book when I read it the first time (or should I say the first 10 to 15 times?). Now I can't imagine reading any one of these books one time.

I can barely believe how many of these collections exist.

[The Badger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was addicted to these as a kid. I drove my parents insane following them around demanding, "Read this one!" I'm sure that my Dad regretted owning a bookstore. As an adult, I foster cats, and every foster kitten has a picture taken in a box labeled "to: Abu Dhabi." None of my two personal cats are obese, but one is especially adept at tossing chihuahuas off furniture using only one paw...

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Garfield is always a fun, easy comic where you can leave your brain at the door but enjoy plenty of snickering at the felines' bizarre and selfish antics. A cute book that's fun to look through.

[Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

love it:)

[Benjamin Plume · Rating 4 out of 5]

good your mama joke, less good book.

[Little Miss and the Legomeister · Rating 4 out of 5]

Legomeister loves the Garfield books. He laughs out loud while reading them, and follows me around to show me the funniest parts.

[Kai · Rating 4 out of 5]

FunnyXD I love GARFIELD!!

[Rosibel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so funny, I got the book for my son today but my curiosity won and I read it , it made my day ^.^

[Satrina T · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book we see Garfield turn four and we get more adventures involving food, food and more food!