They say not to judge a book by its cover, but truth be told, it was the cover that drew me in when I spotted this book on the shelf at Daunt Books Marylebone.
Check it out — a book called ‘Thoughts of a Dog Walker” that looks like it has been chewed by a dog. And each copy’s damage was slightly different, too. A gimmick? Maybe, but damn clever. (The rest of the books' design is smartly done, too.)
But enough about how it looks, what’s the content? Well, it’s a book of poetry, which isn’t normally my jam. (Although “Dickinson” on Apple TV+ has gotten me reading Emily’s wonderful work.) But in spite of my misgivings about the genre, I loved this book.
The writing is sharp, funny, and even though the author, Mark Cooper, is a brit you won’t suffer too much as an American. I throughly enjoyed it, and I bet you will too. In the U.S., you can order a copy from Amazon.
I’ve put a couple of my favorite poems below, to whet your appetite, but there are several more I could have picked.
Bonus tip: Don’t miss the copyright/declarations page. It’s the only one I’ve ever found to be worth reading.