Read Time:2 Minute, 12 Second
There are dog owners…and there are obsessive dog owners. Dog owners are the
people who own a dog, take care of it, feed it, remember (most of the time) to take it
outside when it needs to go outside, and treat it like a pet. Obsessive dog
owners are people who own a dog, treat it like a child, feed it only the best food (which
they’ve carefully researched), dress it in fancy outfits, and repeatedly cancel plans
with friends because their dog will miss them too much.
Jenny Lee doesn’t
have a problem admitting that she’s an obsessive dog owner. In What Wendell
Wants, she goes into full detail about her obsession with her Soft Coated Wheaten
Terrier. She shares everything from the moment she talks her husband into getting a
puppy (the old bait-and-switch technique—leading him to think she wanted a baby, then
happily settling for a puppy) to Wendell’s first swimming lesson to his first Halloween
to his various illnesses (and non-illnesses). Through the course of the book, she
worries about his reputation, his self-esteem, his IQ, and his hairstyle. And she even
gets his portrait painted by a real artist (sadly, I’m not even kidding). It’s a good
thing that poor Wendell isn’t, say, a part of a soccer team—or competing for admittance
into Cambridge’s most elite doggy pre-school. Because I’d hate to be the doggy mom to
get in Jenny Lee’s way.
You don’t have to own a dog to appreciate this
look into the life of an openly obsessive dog owner. I don’t own a dog. In fact, I
never have (and I probably never will, since my husband is allergic). But I know my
share of obsessive dog owners, and that was all it took to keep me laughing out loud in
public places while reading this book. Then I’d nudge my husband and read passages to
him, too (often introducing them with “Who does this remind you of?” or “Does this sound
familiar?”), and we’d both snicker.
If you own a dog, you’ll be amused by
What Wendell Wants. If your dog owns you, you might be a little embarrassed by
this book—since it’ll take your obsessive behavior and wave it around in plain view—but
you’ll like it anyway. And if you don’t actually own a dog but know a few people who do
(especially if you’ve ever had plans cancelled on you due to a depressed pooch), you’ll
find this book absolutely hilarious.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
Happy
0
0 %
Sad
0
0 %
Excited
0
0 %
Sleepy
0
0 %
Angry
0
0 %
Surprise
0
0 %
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
0
0
