[alert variation=”alert-info”]Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Kindle
Purchase: Powell’s | Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | iBooks[/alert]

Sophie Gamand’s dog photography in Wet Dog may be enjoyable to dog lovers – some may even love them — but for others the photos are a yawn. You may page through the book once then set it aside or give it as a gift to a dog lover. Readers will find a great number of cutesy photos of eighty dogs right after their baths, most with sour expressions on their faces (baths are not among their favorite activities). However, the photos are almost identical, with only the dogs themselves changing between shots. Many readers will be dismayed by some of the photos: dogs in turbans, wrapped with soft bath towels, with shower caps, with bibs tied around their necks, ribbons of all sorts, some even with curlers in their hair.

Except for the introduction that presents a background on the author, her obsession about dogs, and her photography, there is no text in the book, not even captions for the photos. The book ends with thumbnail photos of the same eighty dogs while dry, identifying them by name, age, pedigree, and occasionally their origins. At the end of the book Sophie includes three New York, Brooklyn, and Bronx groomers and links to their websites, which is only useful to a small demographic of the potential reader base – a strange choice.

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