It's been my observation that humor is often generational. What one generation thinks is hilarious and totally "gets," another generation doesn't findIt's been my observation that humor is often generational. What one generation thinks is hilarious and totally "gets," another generation doesn't find funny at all. I think that is the disconnect between myself and this book. I am just too old to appreciate this modern take on sex and "romance," though I did learn a thing or two. (A person can pierce THAT!? Really? OMG!) ...more
This was a long ago Christmas gift that's finally finding its way into the "sell at Half Price Books" box. I kept it on the nightstand in the guest roThis was a long ago Christmas gift that's finally finding its way into the "sell at Half Price Books" box. I kept it on the nightstand in the guest room for a long time, and it brought many a laugh to family and friends. But now that everyone has access to endless LOLcats on their smart phones, this book's time has come and gone. Still, it was fun to read through it one last time before stashing it in the box. Good fun! ...more
3.5 stars I'm a great fan of Dave Barry, and so this was the perfect book to read during our recent trip to Florida. (Thank God we are vaccinated and 3.5 stars I'm a great fan of Dave Barry, and so this was the perfect book to read during our recent trip to Florida. (Thank God we are vaccinated and out of the house!*) With his trademark crazy Boomer humor (No, for you younger Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ friends, I did not use "boomer" as a insult, and you shouldn't either!), Barry defends the state that we in other states most like to mock. (How many "Florida man" jokes have you heard?) Along the way, he provides a pretty decent travelogue for "old Florida," i.e., the non-Disney parts of Florida. This was especially entertaining for me, since my family vacationed in Florida when I was growing up; as Disney World was then nothing but acres and acres of open swampland, I suppose we were traveling in "old Florida" before it was old! Lol Consequently, I have seen with my own eyes both the Gator Jumparoo at Gatorland and the divers in old-fashioned diving suits harvesting sponges. (Though, as I recall, the diver my younger brothers and I saw brought us up shells from the briny deep instead of sponges.)
If you are traveling to Florida anytime soon, take a copy of this book along to read and share with your traveling companions. If you are not traveling to Florida, find a copy and read it anyway, because we ALL could use a good laugh after the year we've just had!
This was definitely not my cup of tea -- or cocoa -- for holiday reading! Obviously, I knew it was going to be irreverent (just look at the cover art!This was definitely not my cup of tea -- or cocoa -- for holiday reading! Obviously, I knew it was going to be irreverent (just look at the cover art!) but much of it struck me instead as simply sad. As a glimpse into a childhood and adult lifestyle totally different from my own, it was informative. As a humorous look at the holiday that most embodies our collective hopes for a better world, not so much. ...more
This was difficult to rate. On the one hand, I couldn't see rating a humor book less than 4 stars when a) I spent a good deal of time laughing out louThis was difficult to rate. On the one hand, I couldn't see rating a humor book less than 4 stars when a) I spent a good deal of time laughing out loud while reading it and b) I plan to read the author's first book on the basis of my enjoyment of this one. BUT on the other hand, it's so very odd that I am hard-pressed to know who to recommend it to -- maybe to those with an exceptionally quirky sense of humor and a tolerance for taxidermy? At any rate, the author (who suffers from a number of psychiatric and physical disorders that limit her function but not her sense of humor) manages to take the mundane and the profane and make them funny. So, if you think this might fit your personal sense of humor, go for it! (And then let me know what you thought, because I'm really not kidding when I say I don't know which of my Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ friends might like it!) ...more
I bought this book in an airport bookstore at JFK in the hopes that I would be a badass by the time I landed at the airport back home. Sadly, I was noI bought this book in an airport bookstore at JFK in the hopes that I would be a badass by the time I landed at the airport back home. Sadly, I was not. I was, however, vastly entertained by reading it, and that was good enough for me. (-: ...more
Apparently, this book, originally published in 1990, has become a cult classic. I can only plead that I missed it due to the double-whammy of graduateApparently, this book, originally published in 1990, has become a cult classic. I can only plead that I missed it due to the double-whammy of graduate school and child-rearing that was my life in 1990. My daughter (now 37 years old) suggested that my husband and I might enjoy the Amazon series based on the book -- and we did, immensely. So when my book club selected this as our monthly read, I thought the book would be less enjoyable for me because, well, I knew what would happen.
Au contraire! (I make no apologies for that spelling, because I don't feel like looking it up. I feel the authors of this book would understand.) I laughed my way from one end of this book to the other! I would set it away on my bedside table and find myself smiling into the dark! This hilarious book deserves the rating that it has earned on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ (look it up -- remarkable!), and I recommend it to 4 out of 5 book club members, which was the percentage of our club who loved, loved, LOVED this book. (One member had read it before and keeps it on her beside bookshelf in case she just needs a laugh.)
In all fairness, the 5th member of our club didn't just dislike the book, she hated it so much she couldn't finish it, so you may need to do a little investigation before deciding what percentage of the reading population you fall into. Here is what you need: 1) an irreverent sense of humor about most things human, including religion 2) some knowledge of the traditional biblical story of the Apocalypse -- you know, the Antichrist, Four Horsemen, etc. 3) the ability to lose yourself in a completely ridiculous story and 4) tolerance for strange, oddly-spelled names. If you have these qualities, I predict you will greatly enjoy this story (though I might suggest that you watch the television version first as I did, if for no other reason than to know precisely how to pronounce "Asiraphale.")...more
I found this book wise, humorous, and absolutely delightful! My identification with Otto Ringling, an upstanding member of mainstream society who reluI found this book wise, humorous, and absolutely delightful! My identification with Otto Ringling, an upstanding member of mainstream society who reluctantly finds himself on a cross-country road trip with his free-wheeling sister's current guru/holy man, was deep and heartfelt. His mixture of annoyance, curiosity, and embarrassment during this trip so closely mirrored my own in a similar situation that I laughed right out loud -- frequently! (My own situation? I drove an acquaintance to a cousin's home -- a round trip drive of several hours -- so that she would, hopefully, adopt a homeless kitten that my cousin was fostering. Upon arrival, this woman climbed out of my car, plopped down on the grass assuming a pose of classic meditation, and began loudly chanting. This continued for a full 10 minutes before we were "clear" enough to visit the kitten. This all occurred in a Midwestern town of less than a thousand people, most of whom still consider a Catholic to be a radical person with dangerously ritualistic tendencies, and half of whom I am related to. So when I say I know this character's embarrassment, I mean I KNOW it! Lol)
I also greatly enjoyed the road trip aspect of this book, primarily because I have been on the very road trip taken by these characters, from New York deep into the Heartland, and the descriptions of locale, both in terms of place and people, ring absolutely true. And though I have never been on a road trip with a bona fide holy man, I found the measure of "enlightenment" that Otto gains by the end of the trip to be satisfying (and dare I say, realistic?) and I finished the book in a decidedly positive frame of mind. So, if taking a lighthearted and humorous spiritual journey with two very mismatched characters appeals to your spirit as it did to mine, definitely read this book! ...more
I picked this up at the local library's book sale because I love Dave Barry, though I didn't realize he had ventured into fiction. (This book has a 19I picked this up at the local library's book sale because I love Dave Barry, though I didn't realize he had ventured into fiction. (This book has a 1999 copyright, so clearly, I am behind the times.) I would have rated the book 4 stars if the kidnapping scene had remained in the realm of the ridiculous and not strayed into the "okay, this is a little bit too real and not fun now" arena. However, the climactic scene in the Miami airport is absolutely hilarious and the epilogue takes humorous social commentary to new heights. So, a strong 3.5 stars from me. ...more
Despite the glowing reviews on the back of this book (which DO make this book sound absolutely hilarious), it does not -- as one of the comments claimDespite the glowing reviews on the back of this book (which DO make this book sound absolutely hilarious), it does not -- as one of the comments claims -- "speak to all women." I know this for a fact because it absolutely, positively, without-a-shadow-of-a-doubt did not speak to me. This is in spite of the fact that I was once a menopausal woman with chronic insomnia -- the book's target audience. Instead, I found myself alternately appalled and perplexed.
Some of this lack of kinship was no doubt due to the fact that the author and I clearly reside in differing socioeconomic groups. (An early reverie was on "Shoe Dating," in which the author played matchmaker for her shoes -- I swear I am not making this up -- and the humor was lost on me because, of perhaps the two dozen brands/types of shoes mentioned, I recognized two: Florsheim and Crocs.) This difference in financial worldview also made it very difficult for me to truly sympathize with the author's late night worries over the stock market when she has already told me as a reader that she splits her time between an apartment in Manhattan and a house in the woods of Pennsylvania, has a shoe fetish that she regularly indulges, and grew up spending entire summers at a vacation property "out of the city."
I also found some things just confusing. HOW does she live in the woods of Pennsylvania (at least long enough for her husband to regularly tend a large garden every summer) and NOT KNOW A OPOSSUM WHEN SHE SEES ONE?? Is she just not paying attention? Did she never read a children's book? Never go to summer camp? (Her family's vacation property was on the beach, so I'll cut her some slack there.) As I said, confusing, but not funny. Additionally, the constant use of the word "fucking" to describe, well, just fucking everything became tedious rather than funny.
If you've made it this far into this review, my Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ friends, you are probably wondering why I did not just rate this book only one star. This is why: The epilogue. Apparently encouraged by a friend "with great generosity and love" to write something "deeper," the author adds a poignant, moving, and eloquent requiem to her mother and to the exceptionally flawed and complicated relationship between them. THIS was a deeply honest and beautiful piece of writing that was worth reading, convinced me that the author really does have talent, and earned this book an entire extra star. (It also reminded me again how very, very grateful I am to have grown up with the mother I had. Some things really are priceless.)
This is the first time I've read Kurt Vonnegut (which I'm very nearly ashamed to admit, since I live in Indianapolis), and now that I have, I'm not suThis is the first time I've read Kurt Vonnegut (which I'm very nearly ashamed to admit, since I live in Indianapolis), and now that I have, I'm not sure exactly how I feel about his writing. Certainly the black humor can't help but make you smile, albeit in a wry, "crap, that's exactly how people I know act, including sometimes me" sort of way, and I liked the often blessed Mr. Rosewater. But the story felt choppy to me -- a poor word choice, perhaps, but "choppy" is the best I can come up with to describe the lack of flow. Having said that, I must now add that I read this book in 30 minute segments at bedtime, and I don't think this is a book that lends itself well to that reading style. If I had read it during a long, lazy summer afternoon while on vacation, I might have an entirely different impression of the book's flow. For that reason, I intend to read more of Vonnegut's work, but probably not until I retire and can give his books the attention countless critics have told me they deserve! ...more
A wonderful book that will make you laugh right out loud, touch your heart in ways you don't expect, have you cheering for the underdog in a world fulA wonderful book that will make you laugh right out loud, touch your heart in ways you don't expect, have you cheering for the underdog in a world full of bureaucrats, and teach you the true meaning of community while making you SMILE, SMILE, SMILE! I recommend this book to every single one of you, my Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ friends. ...more
If you have never given a graphic novel a shot, try this one. It is delightfully entertaining and full of humor, while still having some very insightfIf you have never given a graphic novel a shot, try this one. It is delightfully entertaining and full of humor, while still having some very insightful things to say about depression, personal identity, and various other weighty subjects. It also has really funny stories about dogs, so how can you lose? Read it! ...more
Many thanks to my daughter who gave me this debut novel -- a humorous coming-of-age story set in southern Indiana, precisely the place that I came of Many thanks to my daughter who gave me this debut novel -- a humorous coming-of-age story set in southern Indiana, precisely the place that I came of age. The fictional Nathan (and the author) grew up right in my backyard, so to speak (though several decades later), and the delight of knowing every little town, park, and wide-spot-in-the-road mentioned in the story was a novelty all in itself. (Evansville -- right smack on the Ohio river -- is the town in question, in case you're wondering, though the action in the novel is set through-out most of the southern half of Indiana.)
Though Nathan's family is . . . er . . . bawdier than mine was, and his attitude toward life more irreverent, I'm nevertheless enough of a Hoosier to know that many of the colorful, broadly humorous characters he meets are not as exaggerated as you might think, especially in the rural, woodsy areas he frequents as an ornithologist (a word none of the people he meets would use -- he's a professional birdwatcher!) And I'm also enough of a Hoosier to know that you never, and I mean never, underestimate the mean streak in a snapping turtle -- a snapper.
If you are looking for a book with oddball charm, look no further -- this is it. ...more
Love dogs? Love Dean Koontz? Yes? Then buy this book and prepare to laugh. Or just love dogs? Then also buy this book -- all proceeds benefit Canine CLove dogs? Love Dean Koontz? Yes? Then buy this book and prepare to laugh. Or just love dogs? Then also buy this book -- all proceeds benefit Canine Companions for Independence, a service dog organization that trains dogs to behave better and more helpfully than most (actually, all) young children that I know! (When I was in occupational therapy school, this organization sent us a volunteer "puppy raiser" to speak about the organization during our lunch hour. His puppy -- as in his actual young dog , i.e., not fully grown or trained yet -- sat beside our table with perfectly good manners while a delicious sausage pizza was within a literal paws length away. Neither my child nor my dog -- nor to be truthful, myself -- could have survived that temptation for an hour, and yet this puppy did.) So do some good in the world and treat yourself to a few chuckles at the same time, and buy this book. You'll be glad you did. ...more
Loading...
