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Reviews (8)

Trying Too Hard
The first few chapters got me laughing, yes. But later on, I felt like I was reading a stand up comedian's script. It made me feel that everytime she goes on a vacation, she turns every moment as an oppurtunity to make it derogatorily funny. A bit too pessimistic for me.
The most humorous book I have ever read!
This is the first book I've read by Irma Bombeck and I bought it because of the rave reviews from other readers.I was more than pleasantly surprised.I am recovering from a broken ankle and needing a "little cheering up".This book did the trick.I was laughing nonstop.I would highly recommend it!

LIfe turned comedy through the words of Bombeck
The title at first hadnt seemed so appealing to me, but the contents of the novel is what matters the most. My mother had urged me to read this book saying it was both witty and funny. A optimistic novel, turning lifes issues into comedy. In her book " When you Look like YouPassport Photo" she writes about her travel experiences which you can both laugh with and at the same time relate to. It starts off with her never having left her home town, to renting the smallest and most unpractical home RV in the world to deciding to leaving her children home to explore Europe. Even if you havent traveled you can laugh at the way she describes even the weirdest things and if you have relate to the tour guides and horrible food services. The memeroable husband always thinking that there are consipiracies going on in the system. The Hotel rationing the same piece of hard roll for every serving. Then there is always your typical bus groups. The health fanatic upfront, the photo mania and your typical drunk always singing at certain stops. I found it funny when she explaned that she had more children than she had window seats and just basically how she compared her life to things. IN her book, she gives tips and rules on travel issues. I havent read a book that made me laugh from page to page liek this one, this is a book no one should miss reading. Her perspective is always fresh, always giving her own ideas her own opinios. " Food for the dangerous" isnt this a catchy yet dangerous phrase. Erma describes all things with a different look. I heard that the authot died a few years ago and i praise her. Having suffering so much illness and even althrough this, having the ability to narate such an optimistic and hilarious book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Humor    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Form - Essays    4. General    5. Humor    6. Humor / Essays   

Editorial Review

Trust Dave Barry, middle-class America's chronicler of the absurdities and inanities of daily life, to provide the authoritative funnyman's guide to life with computers. Barry is sometimes insightful, as when he notes the ridiculous number of keystrokes needed to actually write something, often hilarious, as in his sendup of technological support hotlines, and occasionally genuinely indignant. This book is the perfect gift for anyone who, like many of us, can't live with computers and can't live without them. ... Read more

Reviews (54)

Better than you'd expect
This fine humorist tackled a subject that's been done to death and probably sold a whole lot of books doing it because he happens to be Dave Barry. A readable effort, but not a lot of belly laughs. However, there are two chapters where he decided to abandon the humor and go for realism. The result was some surprisingly moving fiction that mirrors life, quite unlike anything else I've read by Dave Barry. I haven't checked the timeline, but this is the guy who abandoned his humor column to be a novelist, and who improves which each novel. I got this at a book swap in Hangzhou, so for me it was definitely worth it. For the book-buying American, I have no idea.

Entertaining even when a decade old!
A.You have to like Dave Barry's style of humor.
My two cents
Well, everybody and his dog has already reviewed Dave Barry in Cyberspace, but I had to throw my two cents in: Thanks, Dave, for coining the term "WGU" (Whirring Grinding Unit). Now everybody I know who uses a computer uses that term. Congratulations on making the already over-wordy English language one word wordier - it's a word we desperately needed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Humor    2. Audio - Humor    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Audiobooks    5. Computers    6. Electronic data processing    7. Form - Essays    8. Humor    9. Internet - General   

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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Humor    2. Audio Adult: Other    3. General    4. Humor    5. Humor / General   

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Reviews (1)

Classic Trillin
This is a real classic. It's an especial bargain at this price because it's two cassettes of Trillin reading various pieces compiled from his delightful, massive repertoire of work.No single piece stands out. They're all wonderful: funny (of course);humane; brimming with his usualunexpected, brilliant observations on everything from fruitcake to thingslike an exegesis of the origin of the famous expression, "Smart as aChinatown chicken". What's more (and unlike alot of other booksavailable on tape), the collection is unabridged (there doesn't seem to bea hardback or paperback equivalent so I guess that goes without saying) butmaybe its signal virtue is that it can be listened to over and over andover again.For a Trillin fan, it's impossible to get tired of thesetapes.If you have never heard Trillin reading his own work, this is theplace to start. His reading is terrific: guileless, self-effacing andperfectly tuned and faithful to his writing as a whole.Also, for theuninitiated, this is a perfect place to make Mr. Trillin's aquaintancebecause the range of topics covered in this collection really illustratehis top-notch ability to take the reader anywhere and write about it likehe'd known about it and thought about it everyday of his life.It seems tome this would be a perfect gift, too.Not just because it's an excellentrepresentative sample but because it provides the listener with a full,clear 'earful' of his seemingly boundless ability to capture andcommunicate the humorous aspects of just about anything.Maybe even moreimportantly, if you're aiming to turn someone on to Trillin, it's a perfectplace to start because this collection so faithfully reflects his standingas a humorist without malice.Bottom line: it's worth every penny, G-ratedand demonstrates Trillin beautifully at what I think he does best: sizzlecivilly and weild our language as well (and for the most part better) thananybody else out there. P.S. I gave it four instead of five stars because Iwanted MORE and would have gladly paid for it.It lost that star on a meretechnicality or, better put, on account of avarice and greed on MY part. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Other    2. Essays    3. Unabridged Audio - Humor    4. Humor / General   

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Reviews (31)

News from home
This is a compilation of Keillor's News from Lake Wobegon segments from his Prairie Home Companion PBS radio show.There is no particular plot here, just a series of vignettes about Lake Wobegon, it's history, customs and citizens.Using the device of this fictional town and its inhabitants Keillor gives a wonderful and accurate portrait of small town American, warts and all.His style is reminiscent of Mark Twain and Will Rogers as he tells stories of Lake Wobegonians that reflect the human condition, the joys and frustrations of growing up in a small town, the agony that is adolescence, the desperation of a young man to escape of his past and his struggles when he does.Like Twain and Rogers, Keillor is able to deftly weave stories that take the reader from sadness to hilarity in a few paragraphs.
Timeless Satire
Keillor's printed archive of his on-air monologues from "A Prairie Home Companion" from over two decades past are as pertinent and humorous today as they were when first recorded audibly and in print. While media and forms of entertainment have fast forwarded to speeds beyond normal human capability and subsequently produced a generation of adreno-entertainment junkies, for the person who still relies on a contemplative sort of amusement, Keillor's wit has no parallel. Despite the saturation of the aforementioned technology into every pocket of the nation via satellite, it resides in tandem with the same sort of people described in the book, which renders each chapter just as fresh as when first published.
Could not finish.
I had heard the title of this book so many times growing up I thought it must be good. My copy I picked up at the used bookstore says #1 National Bestseller on it. Generally when reading a book I will give it 50 pages. If I can't get into it in 50 I quit. This has only happened maybe 2 other times in my years of reading. I am 30 and an avid reader. Lake Wobegon was grating at my nerves from page 1. I could not get into it. I was on a long trip and forced myself to read to page 77 and then could stand it no further. I found it boring beyond belief. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Audiobooks    3. General    4. Unabridged Audio - Humor    5. Fiction / Literary   

Editorial Review

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Refreshingly funny
We love McManus and laugh at his marvelous stories.Especially funny for men who enjoy the outdoors.

'Pass out laughing' funny
I have always thought that Patrick McManus is the funniest writer on the planet. I read his stories when I need to laugh or relax. Sometimes I irritate my wife by reading it in bed. I try not to laugh out loud, but I only succeed in sounding like I am trying to muffle continuous sneezes.
Great Reading
This book brings a new meaning to outdoor lit.His humorus tales and fun characters make this book fun for all ages.For anyone looking for good reading or even for humorus interp. for speach as I did, Patrick Mcmanus is on the top of the list. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American wit and humor    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Audiobooks    4. Form - Essays    5. Unabridged Audio - Humor    6. Fiction / Humorous   

Editorial Review

In the world of contemporary travel writing, Bill Bryson, the bestselling author of Read more

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Reviews (192)

Not one of his better works
This collection of short essays he published in an English paper (and meant for an English audience) seem to miss the mark for American readers.It's as if he published this because he needed money.There was nothing original in this book, nothing really funny and what few authentically funny parts there were seemd trite and at times exaggerated.
A minor work of collected news columns
Not particularly interesting or funny. None of the ridiculous turns of language of a Dave Barry column, no elder-statesman crabbiness like Andy Rooney's. Just routine bitching about airlines, office supplies, and so on. Save it for "A Walk in the Woods" or "A Short History of Nearly Everything"

Good, but Bryson can be preachy
Bryson has been one of my favorite authors for years now - the first thing of his that I read was a magazine article comparing American weather extremes with those in his beloved England.This collection of his writings on things American has me confused.Most of it, as his wife points out, is griping about this and that.Bryson has a tendency to talk down anything that doesn't fit into his view of how life ought to be and a maddening myopia when it comes to understanding why things are the way they are in this modern world.Balancing that though is his self-deprecating humor and his beautiful writing skills.There is a piece on global warming in this book that all ought to read.So, basically, even though he is preachy, and a bit gripy, he is laugh-out-loud funny and writes so very well that I will keep reading him. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1971-    2. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    3. Anecdotes    4. Audio - Autobiography / Biography    5. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    6. Audiobooks    7. Description and travel    8. Essays & Travelogues    9. General    10. Humor    11. Literary    12. Social life and customs    13. Travelers    14. United States    15. Travel / Essays & Travelogues   

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A Breath of Fresh Air
Bailey White's voice says as much as her words. Her writing is poetry, with periods. Her syntax is southern, only better: she likes her subjects. You hear the cicadas, the crickets, and the alligators. You smell the earthand the old books. You are there, and don't feel the chiggers. You are notonly delighted and surprised by her observations, but enriched by hertouch. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Humor    2. Audio - Humor    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Fiction    5. General    6. Literary   

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Maybe the animals have us beat?
Of all the animals, man is only one that blushes -- or who needs Way to go Erma
I love Erma Bombeck.She is the best author I've read.This bookcontinues that tradition.Every chapter is a laugh.The best part is, youcan reread and reread the book and still laugh.Only Erma could do such athing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Audiobooks    3. Essays    4. Form - Essays    5. Unabridged Audio - Humor    6. Humor / Essays   

Editorial Review

Rush Limbaugh claims his talent is on loan. With this book, Franken demonstrates that he owns. The frankly Democratic author's shtick reminds us how much of a free ride conservatives have gotten in the mainstream media.For instance, he really drives home the weirdness of the conservatives' preachiness about "family values" in light of Newt Gingrich's and Bob Dole's first marriages, and Rush Limbaugh's first, second and third marriages.And he has great fun with Rush's and Newt's miraculous draft deferments in a chapter where he imagines all of the great conservative "chicken-hawks" out on a Vietnam war patrol under the leadership of Ollie North. ... Read more

Reviews (379)

Truthful and funny
I like this book because it is hysterically funny and quite entertaining. The humor runs from silly to witty, but it'sconsistently funny. That aside, Rush Limbaugh is one of the few humans who loves himself far more than his mother ever could. The irony of his self-induced hearing loss is that Limbaugh, more than anyone, loves to listen to himself. Al Franken's book is an overdue breath of fresh air in a right-wing atmosphere of lies. And this is what is most important.

Al Franken is a funny, funny guy and Other Observations
To start off, I really do not think I have to clarify who the author is and where he's coming from. Anyone picking up "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big, Fat Idiot" likely understands Al Franken, his politics, and his typical humor. I have never seen him on "Saturday Night Live" (I am unfortunately a little too young), and so I base my review solely on what I have heard and read.
A great read
First of all, I must admit that I am a little biased in my rating. I have read most of Al Franken's books and listen to him on Air America (and am always informed and entertained). But with that said, I still believe it's a fair review.
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Subjects:  1. 1996    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Election    4. Humor    5. Political satire, American    6. Presidential candidates    7. Presidents    8. Unabridged Audio - Humor    9. United States   

Reviews (9)

Hilarious!
I picked this book up at a liquidation sale at a used book store mainly because I liked the title and not knowing anything about the author.This was my first reading of Patrick McManus and now I just have to read more of his works.My better half was trying to watch TV while I was reading this and I kept interrupting by reading sections of the book.His comment was "I can relate to that."I got to the point where I couldn't read any more until I wiped my eyes. This is a must-read for anyone who needs a good laugh.

'Pass out laughing' funny
I have always thought that Patrick McManus is the funniest writer on the planet. I read his stories when I need to laugh or relax. Sometimes I irritate my wife by reading it in bed. I try not to laugh out loud, but I only succeed in sounding like I am trying to muffle continuous sneezes.
Strange Encounters of the Bird Kind
The title of these comments is from one of the tales in this third collection of short stories I have read by Mr. Patrick F. McManus. The author has been writing the yarns and his versions of his childhood "true" stories for decades, and has now produced 12 collections of these essays in book form. Many of the stories are about being outdoors and failing miserably as a hunter and fisherman, but one gets the impression that to the extent he fails, he does with seeming intent. It's the outdoors he loves, not harming it or its inhabitants. When he does speak of a successful outing with his friends he complains so much about the "success" that again you can tell coming home empty handed is his real goal. A collection of stories is what he is after.Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio: Juvenile    2. Outdoor Skills    3. Unabridged Audio - Humor   

Reviews (4)

Wonderfully funny!
I grew up reading Erma Bombeck. I have always loved her columns and her books. My parents and I would sit around the dinner table and discuss her columns ~~ but now as a mother and a wife, I have a much better appreciation of Erma's writing.
Bound and Gagged
One of the funniest humor columnists of all time, Erma Bombeck has scored again with this funny snapshot of family life. Erma does it again:)
Just the thought of a family re-union sends Erma Bombeck reliving her family's past. And it is _hilarious_! Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Unabridged Audio - Humor   

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Reviews (5)

AWESOME
fantastic comedy, risque w/o being lewd, always on time and pertinent with todays trials and tribulations! I LOVE THIS WOMAN!

LOL funNY
Rita's mind works in very oddball thoughts that ring true and hilariously so.
Hilarious!
Rita Rudner is my new favorite comedian. I wish I could find some of her stand up on CD or cassette, but her reading her book in this audio recording is really funny! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. General    4. Unabridged Audio - Humor    5. Humor / General   

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How To Remember Jokes: And A Whole Lot of Drop-Dead Jokes To
It was worth the money for the jokes alone!After listening to the advice, in this recorded book, for the first time, I can actually remember jokes!Well done! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Humor    2. Audio Adult: Other    3. Form - Jokes & Riddles    4. Humor    5. American wit and humor    6. Audiobooks    7. Form - Parodies    8. Memory    9. Mnemonics   

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Rhubarb comes alive under Keillor's direction
"Rhubarb" is a collection of four stories from Garrison Keillor which take simple things in life and make them profound, in an absurd sort of way. Appropriately, the first story is called "Rhubarb". In it, Keillor basically gives his take on the history of rhubarb and tells how the plant affected its discoverers. Next, Keillor ventures into the "Sweet Corn" market by explaining how the vegetable saved, and ruined at the same time, the relationship between a mother and her son. Next comes "The Sun's Gonna Shine Someday", a story in which Clarence Bunsen rises above a miserable week. And finally, "Yellow Ribbon" explains how a teenager uses the opportunity to get away from Lake Wobegon to understand "his people", as well as himself, better. Overall, four very good, well told stories. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Other    2. General    3. Unabridged Audio - Humor    4. Science / Earth Sciences   

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Reviews (41)

different
The book is funny at points. I expected more recipes. I listened to the audio version, read by the author herself. She employs liberal use of the callback, so much so that she latches on to a few key phrases and repeats them to the point of browbeating. The recipes are sickening. I could barely stand to listen. If those women actually eat that way, it's no wonder they are all saving for lipsuction. If I heard her say "one runningoverteaspoon of vanilla" one more time, I was gonna find her and punch her in the face. Just say a teaspoon and a half of vanilla! The part about her mother having a stroke makes her seem incredibly selfish and coldhearted. Maybe being dispassionate is just her way of coping.

Delish!
The good thing about this book is that it has alllll of the old standard recipes (Death Chicken, Chocolate Stuff) and a bunch of fabulous new ones... some that wouldn't clog your arteries with the first bite!As always, the side-stories and "financial advice" are hilarious and you'll find yourself wanting a ceee-ment monkey.

The Sweet Potato Queens' Big-Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner)
Jill Conner Browne has done it again. She and the "Tammy's" will take you to laughter city with this one. She couldn't be any funnier!Of course, I love any book about queens, or being the the Queen! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Audiobooks    3. Cookery    4. Cookery, American    5. General    6. Humor    7. Unabridged Audio - Humor    8. Humor / General   

Reviews (1)

Fun listening to cope with traffic on the Northway...
If you are a Dave Barry fan, you'll enjoy this compilation of tales....The piece about Elvis fans and the saga of the Tupperware Song are the best!John Ritter is an excellent choice to read / "sing" thetales (very expressive storyteller and great "singer" for thistype of musical content).Thanks for making the commute more tolerable! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio - Humor    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Audiobooks    4. Composers & Musicians - Country & Folk    5. General    6. Humor    7. Popular music   

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Reviews (35)

A woman's stance on Guys
A really honest book for a man to write and strikes a chord for every wife. From a female point of view it is good to know that men recognise their 'guy' habits. It is extremely funny and his observations are 'spot on'.
Hilarious to the point of pain
I guffawed so hard it was painful and so wished I had written it - even if I had to be a guy to do it! (Naw - not really.)

Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys
This book is horrible - not at all funny.Waste of money - good thing it was relatively cheap.I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Humor    2. Audio - Humor    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Audiobooks    5. General    6. Humor    7. Topic - Business and Professional   

Editorial Review

British-born Jonathan Raban sets out on a passage from Seattle to Juneau in a small boat that is more a waterborne writing den, and as usual with the brilliant Raban, this journey becomes a vehicle for history and heart-stopping descriptions that will make readers want to hail him as one of the finest talents who's picked up a pen in the 20th century. The voyage through the Inside Passage from Washington's Puget Sound to Alaska churns up memories and stirs up hidden emotions and Raban dwells on many, including the death of his father and his own role of Daddy to his young daughter, Julia, left behind in Seattle. More than just a personal travelogue, however, Read more

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Drifting, not sailing
The author fails miserable to hold together the historical journey of Vancouver, his current plodding through the inside passage, and his personal family life. Drifting from one to the other I dreaded learning more of this egomaniacs personal life! If the 430 pages had been edited down to 100 dealing with the history of the area, told as he travels through it, it might be a winner.But alas it's not.

Finest kind
My first Raban was his 2003 novel, Waxwings, which threw me for a loop (I loved it) so I resolved to read more. That was a good idea.Turns out Raban writes mostly non-fiction and mostly about his travels in North America.He's originally from the UK and he exerts just the right sort of "outsider" view that inflects his writing to come close to perfection.Passage to Juneau is, in many ways, an elegiac memoir of a man's efforts in life in general and the passing landscape and its history.A beautiful composite of an unusual book.I'm off to read more of Raban just as soon as I can.
At his best when writing about others
The autobiographical genre is a difficult one: it tends to be the case that one has either a life worth writing about or the skills to write well. Raban most definitely has the skills, but whether his readers find him as interesting as he finds himself is questionable. That said, any book needs a structure, and a voyage is ripe with metaphor and symbolism: his own trip to Alaska makes a decent skeleton for the stories and musings he passes on to us. A veneer of fictionalization might have made his self-centeredness, and the harshness with which he deals with his separation from his wife, a little more palatable.
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Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    3. Art    4. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Essays & Travelogues    7. Folklore    8. Historical - General    9. History    10. Indians of North America    11. Northwest, Pacific    12. Romanticism    13. Sailing - Narratives    14. United States - Pacific - Alaska    15. Humor / Political    16. Nonfiction    17. Adventure   

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Reviews (2)

it is really cool
THIS STORY IS FUNNY IT WILL MAKE U LAUGH FOR EVER

The Mark Twain of our time
Patrick McManus who writes regularly for Outdoor Life magazine brings 5 of his stories together.His humor is mostly about his own misfortunes.This audio cassette features the voice of George S. Irving.George pulls the audience in like a grandfather telling his grandchildren stories around a fire.His voice is very familiar, but I don't know where I heard it before.If you have a friend or relative that enjoys the outdoors this book is for them.The tape includes the following stories: Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Fiction    3. Form - Essays    4. Suspense    5. Unabridged Audio - Humor