For some reason, it really fits to have dogs portrayed as middle-aged men.

<i>I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I've read several things by 'The Oatmeal', though only one previous book. Most of what I've read I've spotted here or there posted by others in threads on the internet, or in his own twiter feed, and occasionally on The Oatmeal's own website. I've generally tended to find the material to be humorous so when I spotted one of his books pop up on Netgalley, I . . . after a certain amount of time, jumped on it (the hesitation was based on the book being 'just' 36 pages).

So, let's open it up and see if it's any good, eh? The other book I've read by him involved cats plotting to kill you, so it seems fitting for the next book I read by him to be about dogs. Specifically, as the title indicates, comics arranged around the concept of what humor might be found by imagining the author's dogs (author of the book, not author of this review) as middle aged men.

Right, okay now I'll open the book. Or I well when I figure out where I lost the thing. Tabs everywhere, but where art thou book? Found it.

Well so far I've snorted when I saw two men bouncing around acting like dogs, specifically when they sat on the same sofa as another man and licked him. I assume this other man is supposed to actually be human, though it is hard to tell if you make both humans and dogs look like humans. Maybe 'The Oatmeal' should have made the humans look like dogs so it'd be easier to tell them apart?

And now I'm ill. Barfing isn't something I like to see. By anyone or anything. A barfing catepillar would be horrible to watch. A dog that looks like a human who eats too much too quickly and then barfs? Yeah, I'm ill now. Thanks.

Hmm. Then the barfing comic is followed up by watching the middle aged man be coached to stare at another man like shape and stare at them in the eye. Then poop. Yes, the author should have made the humans be dogs or something. I just assume that the boy scout is supposed to be human, but . . . the dogs are human so . . . is the boy scout also a dog? A human? A dog-human?

Oh. Well. Then one of the 'dogs' accidentally goes missing and a 'lost' poster is put up. Noting that a middle-aged man has gone missing. So . . it's not just the readers who see these middle-aged men as middle-aged men. Everyone does. So . . this is creepier than I thought it was. Because these are not dogs who the reader sees as middle aged men. These are actually middle-aged men <i>acting</i> like dogs. As I said, creepy.

Hmm. Then the book is completed. As I noted somehwere along the way, this is only 36 pages in length (though I think the last page was actually not as far as 36 pages in).

So, to recap, I snorted (once), was made ill, felt creeped out, then came to the realization that the middle-aged men were in fact middle-aged men acting like dogs. Not actually dogs that the reader is suppsoed to see as middle aged men. So felt even more creeped out.

Sadly I did not find this humorous.

June 28 2017

Loved it!

I remember my best friend talking about The Oatmeal back in high school or maybe college. I didn’t like him. His drawings creeped me out. Oh have I grown since then! If My Dogs Were a Couple of Middle-Aged Men reminds me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbycvPwr1Wg&t=17s&index=6&list=LLuH1nf5lHJ0mK5dXpxCdM4g but while Cat-Friend, Dog-Friend feels somehow clean, even as Dog-Friend goes to eat Cat-Friend’s vomit, If My Dogs is hilariously disgusting: rolling in muck, panicking when the doorbell rings, eating too fast, sleeping with their butts in their caregiver’s face, making prolonged eye contact while pooing, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

You definitely have to a have a particular sense of humour to enjoy The Oatmeal’s off-beat comics. Not everyone is going to appreciate the idea of two old men behaving like dogs in the most loving and (often) most disgusting sense.

The Oatmeal is always funny. I was a little disappointed that there didn't see to be any new content but re-reading the older stuff is still a laugh.

I wanted to read this book because it's by the Oatmeal. I didn't love it, but since I'm not overly fond of dogs I guess I'm not the target audience. It did bring a smile on my face though. Would recommend to dog lovers.

Two things: First, it's from The Oatmeal's Matt Inman so it's not possible that it won't be funny (no matter what my cats say). Second, any frequent reader of The Oatmeal has seen these. Nevertheless, many a dog owner will enjoy them and this is the perfect book for a cat lover to give a dog lover to help them reassess. 😉

This book is cute for dog owners. It portrays exactly what it's like to have a couple of dogs if they happen to be human. Extremely quick read (10 minutes max).

I am so glad that I got a review copy of "If My Dogs Were a Pair of Middle-Aged Men", I thought it was really funny and it did make me laugh out loud - brilliant way to pass a hour!! Definitely 5 stars from me!

I can’t tell you anything more concerning what this book is about that isn’t already in the title; I do love it when it’s so on point.
Some of these jokes hit a little too close to home, some are kinda gross, but mostly it’s just taking usual dog behaviors and ramping them up to hilarious heights through rudimentary artwork that somehow makes it even funnier. The pooping and bathtime scenarios go into “I can’t believe he went there but I’m laughing so hard” range.
3.5 pushed up to 4/5

This book definitely had me at the dedication. "This book is dedicated to my two idiot dogs, without whom I would probably be exactly where I am now, if not further." It is such a perfect summation of what dog ownership feels like! I was laughing the whole way through, easily imagining my own idiot dogs in these scenarios. I can't wait until this comes out, I look forward to sharing it with other dog owners!

I am a bit fan of The Oatmeal, I own a copy of How to Tell if Your Cat is Trying to Kill You and regularly check the website. This short collection just didn't work for me. There is only one joke and it's not especially funny. Perhaps it's because I'm a cat person! My main issue is that this isn't very commercial. A longer, broader comic collection about dogs from the Oatmeal would be a far more exciting prospect.

The book is the story of the author’s two dogs pictured as two middle age men. It doesn’t sound funny but it is totally hilarious! I’m sure the people at work were wondering why I was first giggling and then laughing out loud at some of the cartoons.

As a servant of two cats, I enjoyed The Oatmeal’s earlier book, How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You. However, as an owner of two dogs, I loved this one even more. Who hasn’t wondered why dogs circle “thrice” before doing their business? Or why dogs chase cars but run from toddlers? After reading this book, it feels weirdly normal now to see dogs portrayed by middle-age men. I’m going to picture my two-year-old female Chihuahua, Janet, as a middle-aged woman from now on. Hopefully, that will explain some of her unexplicable behavior.

5 stars.

This book is delightful in appearance and charming in story.

Like all things from "The Oatmeal", absolutely hilarious.

Good heavens, I needed that! The Oatmeal is always good for a laugh, as long as you like your humor a bit on the nasty side. But it's so honest and silly to look at how our animals behave as if it were one of us. Pretty absurd and super funny!

I love The Oatmeal. I'm not sure why his particular brand of humor gets me but it does. I'm also generally not one to laugh out loud at books but in this one's all too short duration, I laughed more than once. Not a single page was turned without at least a smile. For anyone who has a dog, I highly recommend this. If you don't own one, I'd still highly recommend it.

Full disclosure: i love reading The Oatmeal's web comics. This book is hilarious.

My first introduction to the Oatmeal was many moons ago when I was learning web design. The comic I first stumbled upon was about building a website with a difficult client. It was honest and accurate which made it hilarious. Many years later I purchased 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth and Other Useful Guides. It has remained in my bathroom to educate guests while they drop the kids off at the pool. I enjoy Matthew Inman's art and humor which is why I jumped at the chance to preview his latest work.

If My Dogs Were a Pair of Middle-Aged Men is a short gift book about Matt's two dogs, as middle aged men. Does that sound weird? It is. That doesn't stop Inman from personifying his dog into two old dudes, and he does it well. So much so that I was immediately reminded I'm more of a cat person. :adds How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You to wishlist:

Fans of the Oatmeal will enjoy this. I laughed out loud at least once. So the real question is would I buy this as a gift for a friend? Yes. Would I buy it for myself? Probably not. I'd rather spend money on one of Inman's longer books.

*This book was received as an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.*

Super quick read (about 30 pages) and was really funny.

If you're a fan of The Oatmeal, it's definitely a book for you. If you're a fan of really dumb jokes, this is a book for you.

Plus only The Oatmeal could draw dogs as humans and make it seem like the most normal thing. Fun book, would recommend.

Though overall pretty funny, a lot of these jokes are the types of things I've seen over and over relative to dogs. Also, this was really too short to constitute a whole book.