From the inside cover:

John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, wiht a perfect little house and not a care in the world. THen they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of a puppy. Life would never be the same.

Marley quickly grew into a barreling, ninety-seven pound steamroller of a Labrador retriever, a dog like no other. He crashed through screen doors, gouged through drywall, flung drool on guests, stole women's undergarments, and ate nearly everything he could get his mouth around, including couches and fine jewelry. Obedience school did no good - Marley was expelled. Neither did the tranquilizers th eveterinarian perscribed for him with the admonishment, "Don't hesitate to use these?"

And yet Marley's heart was pure. Just as he joyfuly refused any limits on his behavior, his love and loyalty were boundless, too. Marley shared the couple's joy at their first pregnancy and their heartbreak over the miscarriage. He was there when babies finally arrived and when the screams of a seventeen-year-old stabbing victim pierced the night. Marley shut down a public beach and managed to land a role in a feature-length mvoie, always winning hearts as he made a mes of things. Through it all, he remained steadfast, a model of devotion, even when his family was at its wits end . Unconditional love, they would learn, comes in many forms.

Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness through a bigger-than-life, bad boy dog? Just ask the Grogans.

I have decided to make this book into a ring since its still on the best seller list. I found some interesting articles written by John Grogan which I plan on an including with the book, I hope you find it as interesting as I did. If you have a dog please add their picture to the journal entry so we can all see each other's dogs.

Thanks to Eucalia who wrote these guidelines for bookrings.

A bookring is when a book is sent from one person to another through a list of members who have signed up for it, and eventually ends up safe and sound back home with the person who started the bookring—me!

Here are the guidelines for this bookring:

1. When the person before you on the list is almost done reading the book they will send you a personal message (PM) asking you for your address. If you feel that you are too busy at that time to read the book within a reasonable time period (about 1 month), ask that person to skip you and go to the next person on the list. If this happens, PM me to let me know what’s going on and, if you want, I may be able to move you down the list so you can try again later.

2. When you receive the book, make a journal entry letting everyone know where the book is. Keep in mind that there are other people waiting to read the book after you, so try not to take too long to read it. If you know you won’t be able to get to the book within a month, pass it on to the next person on the list, PM me letting me know, and I can move you down the list so you can try again later if you’d like. If you’re reading the book and it’s taking you longer than expected to finish, make a journal entry letting everyone know! Remember, there’s no such thing as too many journal entries.

3. When you’re done (or almost done) reading the book, send a PM to the next person on the list asking for their address. Even if you think you already know that person’s address, it’s a good idea to double-check to make sure their address hasn’t changed—and also make sure the list order hasn’t changed since you checked it last. If the next person on the list doesn’t respond to your PM within several days, try again. If you still get no response within one week, PM me to let me know what’s going on and then skip this person and try the next person on the list.

4. After you’ve finished the book, journal a quick review of it for us letting us know what you thought of it!

5. Send the book to the next person on the list and post a journal entry letting everyone know it’s on its way. Sit back, relax, and watch the journals as the book completes its journey!

Please consider spending the extra 55 cents for delivery confirmation when mailing the book to the next person within the US.

The bookring members are:

KarenZero New York (US)
boogal New York (US) Book is here
napper New York (international)
DinaJ62 Virginia (US)
Caridad Florida (US)
DoveiLibri Florida (US/Canada if necessary)
sweetybeans Oregon (US)
anozira86 California (US)
Maxs-Mom California(US)
Aramena Oklahoma (Anywhere)
Hellie Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom (Waiting for shipping preference)
baileybird East Sussex,United Kingdom (international)
sadogs Shropshire United Kingdom Kingdom (international)
ajsmom British Columbia,Canada (Canada/US)
Home to kimsbooks03 in Pennsylvania

Arrived safely! Will read ASAP. Thanks for sharing it!

I enjoyed this book a lot. It reminded me of my family's black lab (who was normal, not crazy like Marley) and who we loved very very much. I still miss her and think about her often. Although I don't believe in it, I like to imagine an afterlife where I can play with her again - a doghouse in the sky.

This arrived safe and sound the other day and I'll start reading it, as soon as possible. Then it will continue on its journey.

I finished reading this today and I found it very touching; a great story for everyone. Grogan really painted a great portrait of Marley and he really draws the reader in with his description's of Marley's adventures and how they impacted his family's life. It has me thinking a lot about my cat, Dusty, and how he's getting older. He's 13 years old, but still a playful, loving kitty.

ETA 5/2/07: napper has asked to be skipped, so I've PM'd DinaJ62 for her addy.

Mailed today to DinaJ62.

Arrived safely today. I should be able to start it by the end of the week.

I laughed out loud!!! I am a lab owner, usually 2 at a time. This book brought back memories of my dogs,past and present. A must read for anyone who has loved an out of control pup.

Send off to caridad today.

Got it. In soon MTTBR pile.

I thought this was a great story. My father has a dog, Boomer, age 4, who is half Lab/Rottweiller. The description of Marley's antics are so similiar. Boomer ate part of a king size mattress (at least it was made of foam), has issues with storms and tearing up stuff. But I am just so in love with him. It can't be helped. Any animal lover will enjoy this story.

Thanks kimsbooksss03.

I should be able to mail it out this week.

Sent to DoveLibri today. Enjoy!

Rec'd safe and sound. I'm in the middle of a bookring, and then have a book that I promised to someone else, so this book will be after that. It should be on its way to SweetyBeans in Oregon within two weeks or so .... I'll keep you up to date!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
June 16, 2007: Next on my TBR pile! I'm getting there!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
June 21, 2007: Started this book and already enjoying its sweet natured charaterizations and the relationships ... I have a feeling I'll be done in NO TIME!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
June 24, 2007: TOLD YOU that I'd be done in no time!!! It was a wonderful, bittersweet book, bringing back wonderful memories of my own "parenthood" to a slightly "loopy" dog! Already packed and stamped, ready for its trip to "SweetyBeans."

This is a picture of our own "World's Worst Dog," who turned out to be a faithful good boy! (Fred)

just received today. I am sooooooo excited. i have one book ahead of this, but will get to asap.

thanks for the great postcard :) i can add it to my collection! woo hooo

i LOVED this book. i don't know why i expected the story to be about Marley's puppy days. i laughed so hard and cried just as hard. it brought back memories of our mariah (see pic).

i found myself comparing marley to our new pups and just how crazy my two rotties can get. i once came home to 5 punds of sugar and 10 pounds of flour strewn all over the living room and kitchen floors. my black dogs were gray. i could just imagine the fun they had though :) a must read for those who have had dogs, have dogs or even wnat one.

dogs truly are like no other creature on earth. they live to please and love unconditionally. i can't imagine my life without a dog.

Arrived today. I should finish my current read within a couple of days and then I'll start on this.

Loved loved loved this book! I had read a review about it just recently, and the reviewer was a little disdainful, talking about how we, the reading public, enjoy books about animals even when they aren't very well-written, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Now I suspect that reviewer is not an animal person, and I thought this book was well-written. Grogan has written a wonderful tribute to his faithful companion, that made me laugh out loud, and also cry. Reading about Marley's old age was very reminiscent of my Sheltie-mix, Misty, in the year or so before we lost her.

If you go to youtube.com and type in Marley the Dog, you can see his scenes from the movie! Very short with Marley in the background, but worth looking up. (There are several other videos featuring dogs named Marley, but I don't think they are this Marley).

I have PMd Hellie for an address, but will probably not actually be able to mail the book out until I get paid on the 15th. Thank you, Kimsbooks03, so much for sharing this book with us!

Update 8/14/07 Hellie said she's already read the book, so I've PMd baileybird!

Update 8/15/07 baileybird has also gotten another copy, so I've PMd sadogs.

Well, I've sent two PMs to sadogs, on August 15 and again on August 23, with no response. She doesn't appear to have been active since 2006 anyway. So today I've PMd ajsmom.

Ajsmom said that she already has a copy of the book, so there's no one left on the list! I guess it's ready to come home to you, kimsbooks03, as soon as you send me your address!

Well, there's no one left on the list, and I've not had any response from two PMs to kimsbooks03. I'm gonna just put this in my bookshelf and let it set for awhile, as I hate to do anything with it before getting permission from the owner.

Since it just bugs me to have a book sitting around when I've already read it, I'm sending this out to travel some more. I posted in the forums and found two people who had rings for this book that had stalled, so I PMd all the participants who were left on those two rings. I think I got five positive responses. Since I prefer to ship within the US myself, I opened the ray to new participants also in hopes of getting someone in the US who would ship international (thanks Alexialeigh!).

SORRY, NO NEW PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ADDED.

So here's the shipping order:

1. velvetsack (US)
2. NMReader(US)
3. tolchuck (US)
4. alexialeigh (US)
5. trex3 (CAN)
6. scrutiny (China)
7. Miss-R (UK)
8. boirina (Portugal)
9. YellowBow (Portugal)
10. pepita-di-Corfu (Greece)

And then home to Kimsbooks03 !

Usual ring/rays rules apply.

Edited: Mailed 1/18/08!
Edited again 4/9/08 - heard from kimsbooks03 and added to end of list.

Received in the mail today. It's a bit thicker than I expected... I'll read it as soon as possible. Thank you for sharing!

Some readers have criticized John Grogan and his family for the treatment of Marley depicted in this book, particularly of a later episode in which the Grogans go to Disneyworld, regarding it as thoughtless and callous. One Amazon reviewer flipped the book's playful subtitle on John and Jenny Grogan, calling them "the world's worst dog owners."

Such criticisms are unfair. As a dog lover, I understand that there are times when you really try to make the best decisions for everyone, canines included, and make mistakes despite your best intentions. I found the scenes in the book sharing such moments to be rather candid.

In its best moments, Marley and Me gives the reader exactly what the aforementioned subtitle promises: the story of the love shared by a family and a dog, and the trials ensuing therein. I was reminded several times of my own pets and what they have meant to me.

Unfortunately, the reason that the book isn't simply titled "Marley" quickly becomes very, very apparent. John Grogan is absolutely in love with the titular Me. Sometimes, it seems he just can't get enough of him(self). There are many stretches of the book, particularly during the middle third, that read like the memoirs of some NPR listener...who happens to have a dog. There were several times during this book that I had to take a break because I became so bored of reading Grogan's torpid anecdotes regarding some job he had taken, some article he had written, or some place he had had sex with his wife. During these periods I kept thinking, "Where's Marley? I want Marley! Tell me more about that lovable dope on the cover!" I also became irritated with Grogan's incessant bitching about some minor amount of work he had had to do at some point in his life. From the way he tells it, you'd think it was he who had given birth to the couple's first child, not Jenny.

Thankfully, at some point around page 200, Marley steps back into his rightful place at center stage and stays there. It is within these pages that dog lovers will find exactly what they were looking for when they picked up the book. It is sentimental without becoming sappy. It is reflective without losing its charming subtlety. Most of all it is just plain enjoyable light reading. I loved reading about Marley's adventures at the beach and in the snow. The book's final moments actually brought tears to my eyes--and that is very hard to do!

It is too bad that the book took so long to get as good as it did. With more heavy-handed editing, I think Marley and Me could have been published as the all-out heartwarming tale it is intended to be, rather than the uneven late bloomer that it actually is.

Marley is headed to Albuquerque.

Found in my mailbox this morning.

I thought I should give an update. I am running a little behind on my rays and rings as they all arrived at once, even some that I have been signed up for 2 years ago. I shold complete this weekend and mail on Monday.

I am enjoying the book. I do not find it as riveting as the other book I am presently reading (The True Story of Hansel and Gretel) but it is a good light hearted read).

I really enjoyed this book and was surprised when at the end I found myself tearing up.

I have to agree at times I thought the author's ego was being stroked rather then telling us Marley's tale.

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed today. I apologize for not getting it off last week before I left on my business trip.

Received this book from NMreader on a book ray. I'm very anxious to read it as I am currently read another by same author 'Bad Dogs Have More Fun' and enjoying it very much.

First, my apologies for holding up this bookring for so very long. My husband had a heart attack just days after receiving the book so virtually everything else went on the back burner...no, farther away than that, pretty much just completely left my entire realm of thought. But then one day when I had taken a break from my hospital vigil to come home and 'freshen up', spend some time with my two dogs and just catch my breath, I noticed "Marley and Me" sitting on my bedroom nightstand. I grabbed it up and took it back to the hospital with me.
What to say about his book ??? During one of the most frightening times in my life, 'Marley' just sucked me from a world of fear and strife into a world of laughter and pure enjoyment. I'm certain the hospital staff thought I had cracked under the pressure as I would sit in the Intensive Care Waiting Room ,where everyone talks in hushed tones and tries to stifle their crying and anguish, and there I am, laughing out loud so hard that tears are rolling down my cheeks until I would catch a disapproving glance from some other nervous visitor. I would quiet myself the best I could, but I would read on and soon burst out laughing again. I had to get up and leave the waiting room a few times because I couldn't control my giggles. 'Marley', literally kept me sane while I waited for the news that my hubby could be moved out of ICU.
Thank you so much for including me in this bookring and for your patience with me while 'Marley' was sidelined for a while.
I enjoyed this book so much that I got myself a copy of the audio version to listen too in my car.
So, just today I sent this book on its way to 'alexialeigh'. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Thanks again
(N.J.)...(aka Tolchuck)

Just receive today. Thank you

Mailed off the trex 3 today....happy reading!

Marley and Me arrived yesterday. Will read as soon as possible .

i enjoyed this book so much it reminded me of our last dog rex and his puppy days any one with a dog or who loves dogs will realy like this i now have a new puppy so here i go again on its way today to scrutiny

The book arrived in the mail today! I'll get onto it soon!

I've wanted to read this book for absolutely ages! I'm finally glad I got the chance to, because it's such a heartwarming, funny read. It's written wonderfully and it was a pleasure to read. I'm sending it on once I get the next address!

No message back from Miss-R. I will try again and if I don't get a reply, I guess we will skip her?

Nothing from Miss-R. I am messaging boirina for her address now.

Hmm. Nothing from boirina either. Maybe something is wrong with my PMs? Would someone else mind messaging Miss-R and boirina? Perhaps you can get through to them.

This has been sent off to boirina about 4 days ago.

The book got here today. Thanks a lot!

I enjoyed the book, and as I was reading it I couldn't help looking at my two dogs. And remembering all the other dogs I've ever had. :)

The book is leaving for pepita-di-Corfu tomorrow, as yellow-bow asked to be skipped.

Thanks for sharing!

and after soooo much time waiting i finally have Marley with me. I'm planning on getting down with it straight away, so hopefully it won't take me too long to finish. Thanks boirina for sending it!

i just finished reading the book... being a dog lover all my life and dreaming of having a Labrador of my own i couldn't not like reading about Marley's life. i actually got quite emotional near the end. Since Marley & Me is now on the movies i'm also planning on watching the film..
i've already PMed the next bookcrosser on the list so now i'm waiting for an address to send the book to.

Marley has come back to me! After I read this, I was unable to get ahold of the originator to return the book to her, and after awhile I sent it off on a second round of travels. Then she contacted me and asked for the book to be returned to her, so I put her name the end, but the last person was unable to get ahold of her. I will let the book sit amongst my TBR books until she contacts me again.

This book has been sitting around in my house for four years now, because I never got kimsbooks03's address to return it to her or a response from her to my PMs.

So I've checked wish lists, and wolflvr8 is wishing for it, and I just recently sent her another book so I already have her address, so Marley is going to go visit her now.