Bad Dogs Have More Fun: Selected Writings on Family, Animals, and Life from The Philadelphia Inquirer

by John Grogan

Bad Dogs Have More Fun is an unforgettable collection of more than seventy-five newspaper articles from The Philadelphia Inquirer written by former columnist John Grogan. Combining humor, wit, poignancy, and affection, these columns provide insight into the intriguing and wonderful world we live in. Whether it be writing about animals (from dogs to elephants to geese!), powerful and moving comments about his own and other families, trenchant comments on life's foibles and farces, or his interviews and interactions with people who are memorable and unusual in their own right, John Grogan makes us laugh--he makes us cry--he makes us think.

Genres: Animals, Nonfiction, Dogs, Humor, Essays, Memoir, Comedy

247 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

John Grogan has spent more than 25 years as a newspaper journalist. Previously he worked as a reporter, bureau chief, and columnist at newspaper in Michigan and Florida. He is also the former editor on chief of Rodale's Organic Gardening magazine. His work has won numerous awards, including the National Press Club's Consumer Journalism Award. His first book, Marley & Me, is a number one international bestseller that was as a major motion picture on 2008. His second book is The Longest Trip Home. John lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, Jenny, and their three children.

Reviews

[Kirsti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huh, I wondered why I felt like something was off with this one. I mean, the title should indicate that this book is about dogs,and coming from the author of Marley and me you think you're going to have a fun read that might get emotional. Not so, few of these stories are funny, and fewer still are about animals. I wondered why as I read; would John Grogan capitalize on the success he had before? Few people can get enough of Marley after all. Then I read a post by John himself; that he had no hand in this book's production, and I knew why it felt different. Sure, all the writing is his, but it just felt flat after the joyous story that is Marley's. The Philadelphia Inquirer merely complied some of his columns over the years, and honestly, most of them weren't things I was interested in or that appealed to me. Don't read if you are expecting Marley and Me two, because it isn't here.

[Ladiibbug · Rating 1 out of 5]

Non-Fiction

Front Cover:

"Bad Dogs Have More Fun

Selected Writings on Family, Animals, and Life from The Philadelphia Inquirer

John Grogan, Author of the #1 New York Times Best-seller, Marley and Me"

Copyright Page:

"The articles in this book were originally written by John Grogan and published in a beloved column in 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. A percentage of profits from the sale of this book will go to The Good Dog Foundation."

So the publisher and newspaper publish a book with a cute dog on the cover (in a bathtub), title it Bad Dogs Have More Fun, prominently (sp?) show the author as "John Grogan, Author of the #1 NYT best-seller Marley and Me" ... and Grogan, according to the copyright page, does NOT profit from the book and has not participated in its publication.

Can you say "Greedy"?. How about "Cash in on someone else's work"? This alone left a very bad impression and ticked me off royally before I even began reading.

Sounds like though Grogan wrote the articles while previously employed by said newspaper, they own the rights to his work, and decided to cash in on the wild popularity of Marley and Me, about his life with his dog. I am very offended for the author's sake that this book features his name and the title of his book on the cover, when in fact he does not profit from the book or have anything to do with it.

This book is divided into sections (Families; Animals; Life) which feature short essasys of previously published material. Because the cover shows the picture of a dog, is titled "Bad Dogs Have More Fun", and Grogan is shown on the cover as the author ... I assumed this was a dog-related book.

I skimmed a few essays on Families, then went to the Animal section ... about half were about animals other than dogs, and most of those were reworkings of stories about Marley, that I read in John Grogan's Marley and Me.

Am I missing something here? I would NOT recommend this book.

ETA: John Grogan, author, comments on the newspaper and Vanguard Press cashing in on his work in his blog (5/5/09) -- see paragraph 4:

http://www.johngroganbooks.com/blog/2...

[Ana on the Shelves · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not a book of stories about bad dogs. As the subtitle says it is a collection of writings about several themes that John Grogan published in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Is it banking on the fame of “Marley and Me”? Probably. But let's be honest, you would try to do the same.
Reading about the most mundane things in life can be very entertaining and sometimes will even make us look at things differently. However it all depends on the writer’s talent with words. We have to be sucked in the book, the prose needs to be engaging and fun. Unfortunately this book fell far away from that mark. It felt flat and sometimes boring.
Some of the topics are actually interesting but somehow end up being turned into something unremarkable.

[Joanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is made up of John Grogan's (Marley Me)newspaper articles from The Philadelphia Inquirer. I didn't appreciate the short articles on what I felt were often forced topics to make a deadline. Read Marley and Me instead--it's wonderful.

[Mom · Rating 1 out of 5]

John Grogan wrote Marley and Me and I was ready to enjoy more 'bad dog' stories. Turns out, they are miscellaneous newspaper articles written throughout the years by the Marley author...and only a handful contain stories about dogs. Very disappointing. And very self-serving, if you ask me. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone...even if it has a really cute-looking bad dog on the cover.

[Sharyn Schmit · Rating 1 out of 5]

You can't judge a book by its cover - or its title! Wouldn't one think this book was about dogs? I got this on CD so I could listen to something light. It is a reading from his articles that he writes in the paper - two were funny - Parenting 101 and the one when he is a suspected terrorist at the airport - twice in one trip.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before reading Marley and Me, I frequently read John Grogan's columns in the Philadelphia Inquirer because he wrote about the common man and always found fascinating subjects for his columns. This book is a collection of some of those columns, published by the Inquirer, so while the work is Grogan's writing, it isn't a book of new writings and long-time readers of his columns have probably read it all before.
For me, most were new, as I only read the Inquirer for 4 years while in college. This book brought back memories of college mornings reading the paper before class. The editors obviously couldn't incude everything, but they were wise enough to include a couple coumns involving Marley as well as the complete set when a column was part of a multi-day series.
I would have liked more 'dog' columns, as I bought the book expecting dog stories based on the title, but otherwise, I enjoyed the book very much, and the format lent itself well to reading a couple columns before bed every night

[Nancy Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divided into three sections, these essays by the writer of Marley and Me show off the mind of a man who has lived with an undisciplined dog. His essays run from humorous to serious to poignant to cute to thoughtful (and everywhere in between).

Tackling the subject of family, animals, and life, his reprints of some of his columns makes the reader wish that a Philadelphia Inquirer was available everywhere. Some of the essays are laugh-out-loud funny; some will bring a tear to the eye; others will make a person think differently; and some do all of the above.

He focuses on good news stories about little known people, but also calls out those who act inappropriately. He doesn't spare himself though.

Each story takes a few minutes to read, but leaves the reader thinking well beyond that.

[Danielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was disappointed by the this book . . . I LOVED Marley Me so I was really looking forward to this book. What you should know about "Bad Dogs": it's less of actual stories and more of a compilation of short musings on Family, Animals, and Life in general. Read if you want to be bored.

[RoseAnn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was expecting this book to be uplifting stories. Instead it was open-ended stories with not much resolution. 'Cat is lost in airport; family looks for him for a month; the end'. No update on whether the cat was found?

Maybe these are more interesting as part of a daily newspaper column but they were very unsatisfying compiled the way they were.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of newspaper articles done in three parts. In the first part you have family which has stories both heartbreaking and inspiring. Like learning the violin even with severe hearing impairment. The second part is animals which has funny stories of animals being very naughty and stories of animals being heroic. And sometimes just resorting to heroic feats to eat food hidden on top of the fridge. The final part is life and tells stories about the authors family and others. It also makes you think about our differences and also our similarities. This book does cover some hard topics but it does so very well. It will make you chuckle and also tear up it will also make you think some of the stories will stay with you. I did enjoy this collection of articles very much.

[Shirley Eiswerth (Quackenbush) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved Marley and me, this is part dog but more anecdotal about his life, humorous and charming!

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book of his columns but pretty old so most of the columns are from the early 2000's so kind of dated. I thought it was all animals but just a part of it is. I hated his book, "Marley", but he wrote very movingly about what Marley meant to the family and the dog's death. Also, wrote about writing the book, "Marley and Me", and what happened and I may have to read the book again with those things in mind. I hated "Marley" and me because, as a dog trainer, there is no reason to have a dog as ill-behaved as that. Also, for all that so many people like them, I am not overfondof Labs.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of heartfelt articles from Grogan's newspaper articles. Wonderful book. It even includes the beginnings of Marley and me by including his goodbye note to Marley. Now don't get me wrong, this is not all sappy but rather a great mix of life in general. You will be amazed how many ideas he touches on in these excerpts. I can't tell you how many times I said to myself....finally someone else thinks that!

Love it!!!!

[Lorie Briggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of mixed reviews in this but I guess it boils down to expectations. I read Marley and Me and, like almost everyone else, identified with the family and bawled while laughing (at times). I was not expecting another Marley....this was clearly a collection of columns. Since I am not from Philadelphia or south Florida, I never read his columns. So I just enjoyed them as they are...easy-to-read slice-of-life columns. I liked it.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of short stories, some good some not. It is not about dogs but it does have a few new stories about Marley and about what happen after the book came out. Not a great book, just ok.

[Cara Hinton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute stories from Mr. Grogan's time as a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Interesting and nice to read when you're feeling like something light.

[Nan Hurley · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title was obviously chosen to sell the book, glad I didn't buy it. Just a collection of the author's newspaper columns. A tiny uninteresting selection of pet pieces.
Not worth reading.

[Kellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written after the infamous “Marley”. A book John wrote about his dog during the early years of his marriage.
This is a collection of articles John wrote for a newspaper in the Philadelphia area called “Inquirer”.
The articles are pretty good.
Some are better than others.
I particularly liked the story of the Jewish folks who wrapped Christmas presents at a local mall. Or the one about the little girl who fought cancer.
John had some controversial topics like gay marriage, gun control, and smoking bans.
I agreed with his take on Zero Tolerance in schools and the ridiculous airport carry-on rules.
The spoof on the weather conversation amongst media personalities was a bit ridiculous. Could have done without it.
He sheds light on puppy mills, guard dogs and all the letters he received from dog owners after he published “Marley”

This book was a nice diversion from all of the murder mystery thriller books I normally read. Yes, it is not a “Marley Part 2”. It says right on the cover it’s a book full of articles on dogs, life and family.
However much I enjoyed it, it didn’t knock me off my feet, hence the 3 rating.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A heartfelt, hilarious, and deeply human read

Bad Dogs Have More Fun is exactly what the title promises, fun, with a capital F, but also so much more. John Grogan takes you through snapshots of real life with such warmth, humor, and insight that you forget you're reading newspaper columns. Each story feels like a conversation with a wise, witty friend who just happens to have a deep appreciation for animals, family, and all the messy, beautiful moments that make up a life.

Whether he's writing about Marley-level chaos or quietly reflective family moments, Grogan brings authenticity and heart to every page. Some stories made me laugh out loud, others hit like a gut punch in the best way, but all of them reminded me why storytelling matters.

If you've ever loved a dog, struggled with change, or simply needed a reminder of the beauty in everyday life, this book is for you.

And let's be honest… bad dogs really do have more fun. 🐶💛

[Kenneth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a misleading title. If you think that you will be reading "Son of Marley", then you will be disappointed. Marley, and other rambunctious pups get a brief mention here.
The Philadelphia Inquirer owns the rights to the newspaper columns written during John Grogan's time at their newspaper. Grogan did not participate in the publication of this book, nor did he profit from it. A percentage from the sale of this book went to the gooddogfoundation.
There is quite a mix of topics covered, and I enjoyed most of them. His humor is entertaining.
He gets a bit preachey is some of his rants, and on the audio Cd, the narrator's (Arte Johnson's) sharp voice can be a bit grating at times.

[Tania · Rating 1 out of 5]

Decididamente, muito aquém da qualidade do "Marley e eu".

Consegui ler algumas histórias no início, até perceber que não ia encontrar muitas em que constassem animais.
Acabei por folhear o livro e ler aquelas em que mencionavam animais, incluindo a que fala do enterro do Marley, e arrumei o livro. Tentei durante 3 meses, mas não deu. Muito chato.

Quando vi que eram crónicas de quando o John escrevia para o jornal, pensei que era algo muito mais interessante.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, John Grogan was able to capture the world in his eyes and write down what mattered to him about it and the people who call it home.

I have never been so interested in the life of someone who I have never met in person and only know through 3 other books I have read.

The stories, or rather...columns, were so intriguing and entertaining to read. I felt as if I was living the life of the people described within each story. I could see, smell, taste, touch, what's the last sense? Hear! that's it. I could hear John's voice reading the events out loud. Then when other people were quoted, I imagined what they sounded like, what they looked like (if descriptions were not given) and trying to remember what my life was like during the times of the columns.

These stories brought out some of my raw emotions. I distinctly remembering the feeling of intense fear with the idea of getting old, and becoming a vegetable like poor old Daisy.

The stories got me really thinking and taking life as it comes. Enjoy every single waking moment. Even as you slumber, dream of happiness and life goes well.

Some stories brought back memories, like where I was at the time of 9/11, or the Amish school shooting.

One story seared my soul, the one of Felix the cat. The lost cat.
The story was written on April 4, 2003 and is on page 62 of this book under the section titled: Animals.

Felix was a cat who was lost at the airport in Philadelphia and never found. (I don't know if he has since then, the story was written in 2003, but I found out about it 2 days ago.)
The airport had AGAIN "made" a mistake with baggage handling and Felix was caught up in the mistake. His owners were devastated and I was too. To have a loved one, vanish at the mistake of strangers, it makes my blood boil. The owners of Felix must have had a lot of mercy within them to avoid strangling the baggage handler who royally f-ed up.

I wanted to vomit when I discovered that the Airline company soon began to forget about Felix and shrugged it off as no big deal. I would be so pissed if that was cat. I can't get over the laziness and lack of support that airport has given after how ever long it was.
I would sue, but even that wouldn't bring Felix back.

If a child was lost at an airport, everyone one would be all over it for as long as it takes to locate the child and reunite them with the family.
In the column, it clearly stated that "Pets are family too" so where is the determination to find Felix?

The night after I read Felix's story, I couldn't sleep, it was too painful to think of a lost cat in a big airport and never to be found more than a year later.
I rattle my brain wondering what happened and how it could happen. I wish I knew the answers I crave. I hugged my own cats and went to sleep, still uneasy for another couples lost family member. Talk about caring readers.

This book is absolutely fantastic! It was an entertaining read all the way through. Funny, gripping, it makes you want to read on. I was so amazed at how humorous a book like this is and how it can actually make me Laugh Out Loud.

The book was filled with its depressing sad stories as well. When any newspaper publishes stories of the deaths of children and/or loved ones, I get a searing pain of guilt, that I am still living while these people (whom I have never even met) had to die in terrible ways. The dull sense of loss that firmly grabs the attention of any reader is like when a character in a movie or book dies, even if that character is entirely fictional. As readers, we feel sad and have an emotion that coincides with loss.

The difference here is that this book is all real. A Non-fiction that depicts real people and real events. For the people who have died within the pages of this book, I thought about what you may have looked liked, how your voice might have sounded, and how your life went, and what was going on as it came to its untimely and tragic demise.

The events that occurred in this book, such as September 11th, and the Indian Ocean tsunami. I understood the words that John Grogan used to define these events and what it did to our views and beliefs.
He says: "That Day. You know where you were, and I know where I was. We always will". (Grogan pg 23)
I find this to be very true and I clearly remember everything about that day, and getting the news and watching it LIVE on TV. I was only 9 years old then.
Some kids on the plane that hit the Pentagon were 11. If they were alive today, they would be 20. Perhaps getting a great college or University education, maybe married and starting their own family. Sadly we will never know.

The tsunami was an event I remembered well also. The day after Christmas, what child could forget, especially when a tsunami wipes away islands.

The stories of John's personal life were a great interest to me because I have read his other books, "Marley and Me" (which showed me 13 years of his life) and "The Longest Trip Home" which documented his upbringing, his meeting of his wife and beyond "Marley and Me" itself. These articles tied up loose ends.

I was entertained all the way through this book, and one day hope to own it.
I think everyone should take a swim in John Grogan's ideas and thoughts, we might all learn something. I certainly did.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected. I thought it would be about cute dogs that got into trouble. It has nothing to do with dogs. Okay, maybe one short story about a dog. After reading other reviews I now understand that it past articles that John Grogan wrote for the newspaper he was working for. It is a fast read and enjoyable.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book but the name is misleading. I thought the book would be mostly about dogs but it wasn't. The section on dogs was squeezed between two sections about his doings with humans including his family. It consisted of his columns from the newspaper he writes for. A good read but probably more relevant to people living in his area.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mother bought me this book a few years ago after she saw a dog on the cover. I love love LOVE dogs.
I have refrained from reading it because it's short articles about random things, not a lot about dogs. And it is clearly stated that John Grogan gets zero profit. Basically the publisher and the newspaper in Philly he worked for are profiting.
Well.... I'm glad I read it. His writings are so thoughtful, some sad others are so uplifting​. This embodies what journalism is all about, telling stories. Making people feel some emotion whether good or bad. A pleasantly delightful read.

[Hazel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have read some reviews before opening this book. Expected a second Marley and me, only got a handful of dog stories. The columns in itself were not bad, but I feel misled by the title and cover.

[Adelaide Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um conjunto de histórias do dia a dia. O título seria mais apropriado se fosse A vida de um dono de cão, acho que houve um aproveitamento do autor por o seu primeiro livro Marley e Eu, ter sido um sucesso

[Stellan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book although the title did not throw me off a little I still loved this book's contents. I knew John Grogan was a famous writer so I thought I would give this a try. It has many storys that I feel I can connect with. Although some sad every clip from his columns comes with a lesson.

[Emily Mellow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of these articles are amusing, but in the end I had to stop reading it. I just don't find this guy's perspective that interesting, and several articles were sort of grossly pro-life, so it felt like propaganda at times.