Marley & Me and me

I don't know if this is the case with anyone else also, but between a book and its movie adaptation, I tend to enjoy more the one I have watched/read first. This has really happened with me too many times over to count.
I had watched Marley & Me sometime back and had absolutely loved the movie. I came across the book in the library, but did not pick it up for months. Going by precedent, I had already assumed that I wouldn't enjoy the book, now that I know the story and all. But one day, for a lack of anything else to read, I picked up this book, took it back home and got into bed with it. And it was only when I finished it that I got out of my bed.
I simply loved the book. Now let me say this right off. For all those people who read to have their grey cells tickled, this just might not be the book for you. This is the kind of book you take up to read when you just want to pass a lazy day without having to tax your brain too much. But does that make the book sound senseless? It is far from that.
Probably because I have never owned a pet dog, I was super engrossed in the antics of Marley. It was heart-warming to see how an animal could have human instincts and become a part of a family. At every emotional moment in the book, I would go "awww" and think, I also want a pet dog. There were so many incidents that made me all tearful and stuff, especially when Marley consoles Jen in his own special way, after her miscarriage.
The book was good, but it was far from perfect. At some points, it did feel like a random putting together of isolated instances. And I felt that the end was a little late in coming. A couple of chapters deleted from the latter half of the book would have made it immensely better.
All in all, I loved the book, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a light yet fun read.