What the Dogs Have Taught Me »

Emmy Award-winning writer MERRILL MARKOE has authored three books of humorous essays and the novel It’s My F—-ing Birthday, as well as co-authoring with Andy Prieboy the novel The Psycho Ex Game. She has worked as a radio host and a TV correspondent, and has written for television movies and numerous publications. She lives in Los Angeles.

Award-winning comedy writer Merrill Markoe, the slightly warped mind behind Stupid Pet Tricks, is an old hand with dogs. She knows who’s boss (they are) and the myriad ways a loving pet can make you feel guilty twenty-four hours a day. This new edition of Merrill Markoe’s classic collection of humorous essays gives readers the choicest selections along with brand-new material.

In these razor-sharp essays, Markoe recounts her dogs’ phone chats with animal communicators, her search for past lives, and her brief stint as a stun gun saleswoman. She describes the workshop that taught her how to launch an Internet porn business and another that gave proper instruction in the esoteric art of becoming a dominatrix.

She shares insight into what it is like to structure your day using only dog rules, how to spot a really horrible restaurant, and what it’s like to have a romantic dinner with Fabio. There’s even a bright side to preparing for the apocalypse: “At last, it is time to forget about fat grams and low cholesterol.” This enchantingly rambunctious and boundlessly enjoyable book gives you Merrill Markoe at her best. You’ll devour it in one sitting (and so may your pet).

Library Journal

Sure, there are loads of so-called humor books out there, and some of them are even by women, but this book, which is written by a woman, is truly funny in its descriptions of women, men, Emmy presentations, movies, living it down, so to speak, in Malibu, and, of most importance, living with a dog or , to be more accurate, dogs. It deserves a reading by men and women alike. Markoe, an Emmy-winning writer (for the Late Night with David Letterman show), takes a slightly curmudgeonly tone to advance her theories on overcoming boredom at a baseball game as well as giving advice on what to do when you are living alone, because there is no one to stop you. Reflecting her status as confirmed dog owner, Markoe's dog essays are the jewel of this book and are likely to be read before anything else. For all humor collections.-- Carol Spielman Lezak, General Learning Corp., Northbrook, Ill.