Tag Archives: funny

“This book celebrates our well-intentioned but sometimes misguided affection and shines a light on the wonderfully awkward side of pet ownership.” – Awkward Family Pet Photos by Mike Bender and Doug Chernack

As anyone who has tried to gather parents, siblings, extended family, and daughters and sons for a photo knows, there is almost always something awkward about a group photo—especially a professional one. From wacky outfits that seem like a good idea at the time, to unwilling and pouty participants for a pose, almost all of us can pull out a photo and cringe with a smile about how awkward it seems looking back. These photos are too wonderful not to share and ask, “What were we thinking?!”

“What were we thinking,” indeed.

Pets add a whole new flavor of awkwardness to the mix. We love our pets (especially our cats), and want to capture them as an adored member of the family. We’re willing to endure the battle of getting them to pose to catch that perfect moment in time where everyone’s together. As Mike Bender and Doug Chernack mention in their introduction to the book, our love and desire for pets to be included as part of the family photo can sometimes be charmingly misguided.

Back in February, I featured some of my absolute favorite cat photos from AwkwardFamilyPetPhotos.com, and when Three Rivers Press contacted us about reviewng the new book, we were more than happy to oblige.

The book is divided into chapters based on types of portriats and types of pets. Of course, I speedily jumped to the Cats chapter (with an introduction contributed by Karen of mousebreath.com!), but the chapters on Farm Animals, Exoctic Animals, and especially the Awkward Pets chapter were equally rewarding in hilarity. The Awkward Pets Chapter catches pets at their most awkward moments, with not a care in the world for the camera lens.

Turnstyle!

One of the best aspects of the book is when a photo is coupled with a “Behind the Awkwardness” tale, where the photo contributor explains the story behind the photo. A favorite of mine is a photo of a little boy named Alex dressed in a cat costume on all fours beside his tabby cat. The now-older Alex in the photo explains, “Believe it or not, it wasn’t even Halloween—this was my every day wear.” Definitely reminds me of myself as a child! The stories behind the awkward photos and the sense of humor contributors have about them make the photos especially relatable.

Another one of the fun aspects of the book are the Tales from Veterinarians peppered throughout. As a frequent vet visitor with many silly questions about my cats’ behaviors, I always wonder how many strange stories they have to share about pet owners like myself. I especially loved a vet’s tale about a vest she received as a gift from a client which spiked her allergies—just wait until you read why!

This book is a treasure for pet owners and non-pet owners alike. For pet owners, we can see a bit ourselves in each photo and smile, and for non-pet owners, they get a silly, good-natured window into our world, where the pets are certainly a part of the family! And we do love them very much, especially for sharing in our awkwardness. As Mike Bender and Dough Chernack put it,

“Perhaps their most loving gesture of all is allowing us to be awkward. And for that, we are very grateful.”

You can purchase the book at AwkwardFamilyPetPhotos.com and on Amazon, but for one of our lucky readers, Three Rivers Press has provided us a book to give away! To be entered in the giveaway for this wonderfully funny book, just comment on this post by 11:59pm EST on Sunday, November 13th. The winner will be announced Monday, November 14th!