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The Commode Companion
An interactive photo book that exposes the innermost thoughts of animals, birds, bugs, butterflies, and frogs. Over 100 photographs of wild creatures expressing their questions, comments, or complaints. Designed to induce laughter and thwart constipation. A new feature is that readers can suggest their own captions for the pictures. If accepted, they will be added to the book and the reader will be credited in subsequent copies sold. No commode should be without a copy.
128 pages, Paperback
Published July 15, 2015
5 people want to read
About the author
Rolf Margenau
9 books100 followersRolf Margenau has written six novels and published two photography books.
The novels feature a main character named Wylie Cypher, first seen as a twenty-year-old college dropout who comes of age during the Korean War. At forty, Wylie is a successful but burned out lawyer with a failing marriage. He tries to find lost youth on a trek with his daughter through the high Andes. Instead, he finds mayhem, murder, a devastating civil war in Peru, and loses a toe.
Retired, in his mid-sixties, Wylie does battle with BIG AG as a Master Gardener. He befriends a group of eco-terrorists who help save the Monarch butterfly. Then, in a novel called National Parks, an aged Wylie lives in a dystopian future where Congress attempts to sell off our national parks to bail out a bankrupt country.
Longevity, a fable about the results of a medical team’s effort to prolong human life by 30 years, will be published early in 2019. In it Lucy Mendoza leads a team of scientists at the Prendergast Foundation who are testing an enzyme that might extend our lives by thirty years. The federal government, a major pharmaceutical company, and a billionaire investor have no qualms about eliminating Lucy to ensure that project will fail. Her former lover Grant Duran, an ex-Marine special ops officer who’s lost a hand and is now a molecular biologist, thwarts the first attempt on her life.
The novels featuring a younger Wylie are realistic, with a dose of humor. The books about older Wylie are solidly satirical. Critics find them very funny, but meaningful and thought provoking.
The author retired Wylie Cypher in 2019 to research and write about how young people with a German background respond to the demands of World War II, on the home front, at war and in an American POW camp. War Story was published in September 2021.
Rolf Margenau lives amid farmland in northern New Jersey with his first wife of over sixty years.
The novels feature a main character named Wylie Cypher, first seen as a twenty-year-old college dropout who comes of age during the Korean War. At forty, Wylie is a successful but burned out lawyer with a failing marriage. He tries to find lost youth on a trek with his daughter through the high Andes. Instead, he finds mayhem, murder, a devastating civil war in Peru, and loses a toe.
Retired, in his mid-sixties, Wylie does battle with BIG AG as a Master Gardener. He befriends a group of eco-terrorists who help save the Monarch butterfly. Then, in a novel called National Parks, an aged Wylie lives in a dystopian future where Congress attempts to sell off our national parks to bail out a bankrupt country.
Longevity, a fable about the results of a medical team’s effort to prolong human life by 30 years, will be published early in 2019. In it Lucy Mendoza leads a team of scientists at the Prendergast Foundation who are testing an enzyme that might extend our lives by thirty years. The federal government, a major pharmaceutical company, and a billionaire investor have no qualms about eliminating Lucy to ensure that project will fail. Her former lover Grant Duran, an ex-Marine special ops officer who’s lost a hand and is now a molecular biologist, thwarts the first attempt on her life.
The novels featuring a younger Wylie are realistic, with a dose of humor. The books about older Wylie are solidly satirical. Critics find them very funny, but meaningful and thought provoking.
The author retired Wylie Cypher in 2019 to research and write about how young people with a German background respond to the demands of World War II, on the home front, at war and in an American POW camp. War Story was published in September 2021.
Rolf Margenau lives amid farmland in northern New Jersey with his first wife of over sixty years.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 25, 2015
If you've ever had a friend post a humorous looking picture on Facebook and ask his or her friends to provide a caption, you'll have a good idea of what to expect with The Commode Companion. The origins of the name should be apparent. It's the perfect book for those times when you're looking for entertainment in bite-sized bits. The just shy of 100 pictures and Margenau's suggested captions should do the trick for a few visits to the room down the hall. How many will depend on how regular you are. I found the captions humorous and amusing. For the Kindle edition, the book works fine on an eink based ereader, but the pictures are much better in color. Use your tablet computer or smartphone for best results.
The book description calls this book “interactive.” What this is getting at, explained more fully in the book's introduction, is the author invites readers to propose alternative captions. The intent is to update the book from time to time based on these suggestions.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
The book description calls this book “interactive.” What this is getting at, explained more fully in the book's introduction, is the author invites readers to propose alternative captions. The intent is to update the book from time to time based on these suggestions.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
November 23, 2015
This is not my usual type of book to review, but the author wrote such funny emails asking me to review his book that I just couldn’t resist. Besides, he promised I didn’t need much time to read the book either. I was out of excuses.
First of all, don’t skip over the Author’s Note. It displays Margenau’s dry wit. The rest of the book was cute and funny. It does exactly what it sets out to do – entertain readers otherwise occupied. I received a free ebook from the writer and unfortunately the ebook misses its mark. This type of book – a companion for bathroom visits – needs to be a paperback book so that you can set it next to the toilet. I also found the pictures a bit one-dimensional as my kindle is black and white. That said – I would totally recommend this book if you’re thinking about grabbing the paperback copy.
First of all, don’t skip over the Author’s Note. It displays Margenau’s dry wit. The rest of the book was cute and funny. It does exactly what it sets out to do – entertain readers otherwise occupied. I received a free ebook from the writer and unfortunately the ebook misses its mark. This type of book – a companion for bathroom visits – needs to be a paperback book so that you can set it next to the toilet. I also found the pictures a bit one-dimensional as my kindle is black and white. That said – I would totally recommend this book if you’re thinking about grabbing the paperback copy.
October 11, 2015
This book had me hooked beginning with the author’s note. In his explanation on how the book came to be, it was like he took a page from my life. I do the same thing. I am always giving verbal dialog to animal activities. In fact, my grandson recently confided that growing up, he really thought I could read the animals’ minds.
This is a quick, funny read. I enjoyed each of the jesting captions for the pictures. I like that it was made interactive, giving me, the reader, a chance to give a better caption. What a clever idea to put this into book form for reading in the “throne” room. I can also see it as a coffee table book. I think the author should also make a companion book, but with people instead of animals.
This is a quick, funny read. I enjoyed each of the jesting captions for the pictures. I like that it was made interactive, giving me, the reader, a chance to give a better caption. What a clever idea to put this into book form for reading in the “throne” room. I can also see it as a coffee table book. I think the author should also make a companion book, but with people instead of animals.
October 25, 2015
This book is absolutely hilarious. The photographs are great and many of the captions are funny. We often wonder what animals think and how they deal with the things around. Well, this book surely takes a chance at figuring out the deepest thoughts of our animal friends. While I didn't like all the captions and some of them failed to provide the desired comic effect, the ones I liked were very imaginative. If you're looking for some comedy, give this book a try.
July 27, 2015
Great photos, hilarious comments. I had a sore butt from staying on the "commode" while I finished reading the book!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews