Consistent with Inman's style as The Oatmeal, the book, while short, was laugh out loud funny, particularly for me as a dog owner. It's also rare that I find a quote I know will come out of my own mouth in regular conversation, but the sentence "My face is LITERALLY a Slip 'N Slide of tears" was definitely stored for future use.

Hurray! Matthew “The Oatmeal” Inman is back with another fantastic and funny pet-themed comic book, If My Dogs Were a Pair of Middle-Aged Men.

The observations aren’t at all original and any dog owners will be familiar with them: freaking out when you leave, losing their shit when someone knocks on the door, playing with squeaky toys, and eating like slobs, to name a few.

But what makes this book special and uniquely hilarious is Matt’s dogs are envisioned as two fat old men: one who looks like Uncle Fester and one who looks like Ignatius J. Reilly!

Watching this pair of lunatics doing everyday doggy things is ludicrously funny - I was laughing the whole way through! Kudos to Matt for such an inspired concept. It helps that Matt is a super-talented cartoonist who knows how to perfectly sell the jokes in comics format.

At under 40 pages, this one’s a lot shorter than his other books but it’s an ideal gift book for dog owners and/or fans of The Oatmeal. As both of those things, I loved it - an excellent comedy read and highly recommended for anyone looking for a chuckle!

A short book of simple drawings that are really relatable to dog owners. Readers will find themselves nodding & thinking, "Yep, that's what dogs do!" I don't think I can call the drawings "cute"...they're actually probably more on the ...'obnoxious' side...?! But, I liked it....
I received this e-ARC from NetGalley, in return only for my own honest review.

Look, I love The Oatmeal, Matthew Inman’s online comic. Whenever he posts something new I’m all over it and enjoy most of his work. This “book” was a disappointment. The concept is fine, funny in spots though not laugh out loud for me. But I’m not a pet owner so probably someone who actually has dogs would get more enjoyment out of it. But the reason I put book in quotes is because it’s only 31 pages. Not sure how much this will retail for but I probably wouldn’t buy it for anyone I know.

Just the cover and title of this book had me in stitches. The Oatmeal is so absolutely warped in all the very best ways and taking this funny little idea and creating an entire book with this single scenario had me shaking with laughter. Spoiler alert: my favorite panel shows one of the middle aged men (who is a bit rotund in the rest of the book) looking like someone emaciated from being left on a stranded island too long when put in the bathtub. Genius. Buying for all of my dog loving friends and family for the holidays.

My actual rating is 3.5 /5 .
I liked the central idea of the book. I loved the illustrations but felt that the book is too short. By the time you get engaged into it , you reach the ending of the book.
The depictions are very relate-able for Pet lovers/owners like me. Though the scenarios are not new they are quite hilarious and entertaining. This book perfectly fits the category - "Old wine in a New bottle".

I would love to read more works of Oatmeal.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a Free Copy.

Hilarious! As a person who has a dog, I approve of every single word written.

The Oatmeal always provides a fun and fresh perspective on the world. This unique look delves into the psyche of dog and what it would be like if they were middle aged mean. Comedy ensures and I am sure that I would not like a pair of middle aged men.
One star depleted because it was way too short; just as you really get into it, it ends.

If My Dogs Were a Pair of Middle-Aged Men is self explanatory in title. It's a laugh out loud depiction of the traits we normally see on dogs, the catch being that they're not dogs at all, but middle-aged men. From taking a bath to playing catch, this will have you laughing in a fit.

I was reading this in my school's cafe and I could not stop laughing. It was great! My only complaint was that this wasn't longer. It's a super quick read, around 30 pages. It's a perfect gift for that special dog-owner in your life.

On par with most previous titles by The Oatmeal.
I'm not sorry that I spent time on it, but if I had spent actual dollars, I would wish that I had bought a cocktail instead

I generally love Matthew Inman and The Oatmeal, but this is probably my least favorite "theme" of all of his comics. It had its cute moments, but all in all, I'm not super entertained by cartoons of middle-aged men licking their own butts? I dunno - pass for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with this ARC! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was cute and hilarious, just like I expect from Inman and the Oatmeal. Pet owners (even cat people!) can and will find something to relate to in this short little comic. I laughed out loud more than once.

Ah The Oatmeal, guaranteed giggle every time. I've read this book a few times now and the bath comic strip still makes me laugh out loud.

Absolutely hilarious! If you're a fan of The Oatmeal - or a fan of dogs - then you'll definitely love this. And, if you've never heard of The Oatmeal, you'll love this anyway. Nothing like imagining your dogs are two middle-aged men!

Now I can't unsee the image of two middle aged men sitting at the foot of my bed licking their respective crotches.

This is a fun gift book for dog lovers and fans of The Oatmeal. The concept is very amusing and the comics themselves are at times laugh out loud funny. However, it is worth bearing in mind that it is incredibly short.

That was hilarious and very fast read just enough to escape the everyday tasks and get off your mind the amount of things awaiting for you to finish.

If you have a dog or a pet you would be able to relate like the rest of us and you would laugh genuinely, because you know it is soo true!

I liked the art work and the humor was spot on!

I gave it 4.5 totally enjoyed it.

If My Dogs Were a Pair of Middle-Aged Men from Matthew Inman is a short humorous collection os comics reimagining dog behavior as if from, you guessed it, middle-aged men. You are likely familiar with Inman as The Oatmeal and if you like his other stuff you'll like this.

I found some laugh out loud funny and some a bit more like a groan, but such is the nature of a collection. I do not think this is his best work, which really is just another way of saying this was less appealing to my sense of humor than a lot of his other work.

I do think this would be a wonderful gift for dog owners, particularly dog owners who have multiple dogs and who believes, as he states in his dedication, his "two idiot dogs, without whom [he] would probably be exactly where [he is] now, if not further." Maybe reading that dedication is what made me resistant to the humor, I can't imagine even saying that in jest, but then my dogs mean the world to me.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

This was hilarious! I've seen The Oatmeal's comics floating around on the internet but I've never actually read more than a few panels in passing. I wanted to read this because it sounded funny and because it's about dogs - dogs are my life so it seemed like a real no-brainer. Turns out this book is genius! I am a dog owner so I could relate to most of this book. You don't realise how weird dogs are until you imagine them as middle-aged men!

This is laugh-out-loud funny and I just want to say that I died laughing at the SLORP panels because I've been in Matthew's position SO MANY TIMES. I wish it was a little longer because I didn't want it to end. The idea might seem simple, and it is, but it is brilliant. I would definitely recommend this to others and I would read more by The Oatmeal.

*I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is hilarious, definitely one of the Oatmeal’s best. Whether or not you love dogs, this book will have you laughing. Like all of the Oatmeal’s comics, the humor comes both from the drawings and the truth inherent in the situations. If you have dogs, I can guarantee they’ve behaved like the two middle aged men on more than one occasion (eg. pooping while keeping in eye contact with the nearest human & barking like there is an ax murderer at the door only to shower love on the visitor when you open the door). Come to think of it, your pets have probably done everything covered by If My Dogs Were Two Middle Aged Men. I can easily imagine my dogs saying the same things (thank goodness they can’t talk in real life). I already know I will be giving copies of If My Dogs Were a Pair of Middle Aged Men to several of my dog-loving and one of my dog-less friends.


I highly recommend If My Dogs Were a Pair of Middle Aged Men.


5 / 5


I received a copy of If My Dogs Were a Pair of Middle Aged Men from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


--Crittermom