Humor Books

An hilarious look at the hard-boiled world of Scottish youth football of twenty+ years ago, contrasted with today's enabled and pampered state of American youth soccer.

and a takedown of all that is suburban flatlining. Late night laughs that kept my girl up and she ended up protesting everytime I picked it up.
I passed a copy off to a Scottish bartender, here in LA, so that she would be able to use the comeback to, "Glasgow" "oh.what part of England is that..." "the scottish part"
Great job Senor Black...E.E.

Alan Black is a force of nature. A Scottish force of nature to be exact. This is a hysterical, thought-provoking, funny, tragic memoir about the world's biggest and most popular religion. soccer. Or football as it's known in the civilized world. But it's also a story of a man coming to grips with his past, with his present and his future. It doesn't matter if you are one of the unwashed American masses who doesn't understand or appreciate the beautiful game. If you've ever been a kid, you should read this book. this is Black comedy at its best.

I don't watch soccer. I don't care about soccer. But this book made me laugh so hard I got eyeballed on the bus as perhaps a bit 'special'.

No one's feelings should be hurt here when he makes fun of you - and yes, he'll make fun of you, and you, and you. He's equal opportunity in mocking athletes, non-athletes, Americans, Scotsmen, parents, coaches, everyone. No need to be offended. Its all in good fun. And its all true.
Really, you have to read this book.

I wrote a review for this book on June 28 and now it's gone. In fact, there were a few reviews up here. Well, thanks to Google cache here's what I said:

When I was a kid in the 1970s, they said in the future soccer would become massively popular in America and we would all use the metric system. Didn't happen. The metric system is pretty much only used to refer to illicit drugs, but almost every American kid in the suburbs plays in a soccer league at least once.

Alan Black's "Kick The Balls" is about his adventures coaching a kids' soccer league, yes. But it is much more. It's about Alan trying to assimilate into the American suburbs. And this is the super funny stuff. No one is safe from Black's barbs: TV preachers, kids, Dockers pants, parents, multiculturalism, the cult of the suburban lawn. Oh and it's not just a snarky hit piece on the easy target of suburban life, Black reserves his sharpest wit to mock himself: a cynical, uncomfortable, Scottish transplant to California. Recommended to anyone in need of a hearty jaundiced laugh at the world and themselves. Extra bonus funny (and insightful) if you are in the position of trying to cope with maintaining your identity and making new friends in a suburban, middle class, vanilla wasteland (i.e., if you're like this reviewer).

Witty, surprising, and focused, Kinky is a book of poetry that I purchased a long time ago and reread almost every other week. I love Duhamel's sense of humor -- it is biting. The theme of the book could not be more fitting. Scrutinizing Barbie, her inadequacies, her flaws, her perceptions of reality, is a fascinating foreground set against a background of political, social, and emotional turmoil. Highly recommended to all readers!

There's a rumor floating around that Duhamel's got a Selected Poems forthcoming from _________. (I don't want to start a stampede). It's about time. Kinky is yet more evidence that Ms. Duhamel is quickly becoming one of our shrewdest social critics.

First off this is one of the funniest books of serious petry ever written. Second, using Barbie to show all the hypocracy and flaws in our culture and society works wonderfully. Third the empathy the poems show for those of us, for whatever reason, don't fit the Barbie and Ken mode is truly touching.

Modern poetry tends to drool over itself when addressing sexuality. Kinky touches on modern american sexuality with a healthy willingness to see diversity in behaviour. There is no lurid, smutty element in this book. It has no deep-seated sense of shame; that is so common as the motivation in modern poems. I felt happiness as the motovation in these poems. A good read.

I've read all of Denise Duhamel's collections of poetry. _Kinky_ is the funniest, most focussed, most controlled, least self-absorbed, most accomplished of them all. I've given it to friends and shared it with my family, and we all absolutely love it.

If you like cats / Kittens this is for you. Book based upon web site comparing cutest kitten. Mostly a "picture" book :)

I purchased the book on Christmas Eve at my local B&N. My son had to be practically dragged bodily from the book table even though I assured him that I had bought a copy and it was in the bag.

This book was the unexpected hit of Christmas Day. Everyone, regardless of age and whether or not they were "cat people," became engrossed in choosing which kitten was the cutest and booing if their choice was dissed on the next page. I hope they come out with a Kittenwar board game next, or maybe a Kittenwar for the X box crowd?

If you enjoy the "Kittenwar" site, you will love this book! I am giving it to my niece who has a new kitten and she will love it!

I love this little book. I participated in the contest and was pleasantly surprised to see the picture of my kitten in the book. Then I found my name in the credits for the photographs. How cool is that!

If you love kittens this is a wonderful book. My daughter brought it to school and those girls can not get enough of it.

I just completed Laugh and Learn and found it to be a helpful resource.

I have used humor in my training programs for a long time, but with some inconsistent results. The author's advice to focus on having fun (instead of trying to be funny) was a breakthrough for me and has resulted in improved instruction.

We teach a graduate class at Western Michigan University entitled "Humor and Fun: The Brain's Best Learning Strategy." After much deliberation, we made LAUGH AND LEARN the required text for the course. We love the sound and accurate science on humor and brain function, and meanwhile it is a genuinely funny read. In short, the book both proves AND demonstrates the central point of the course: that fun really is the best learning strategy.

Our students include pre-school, middle school, high school, and college teachers, and even administrators. In spite of the fact that LAUGH AND LEARN was written primarily from a trainer's point of view, we find that it offers good stuff for all. We're delighted to report that the response to the book (and the class) has been excellent. We highly recommend this book for virtually any teaching professional.

As a corporate consultant and trainer, I'm always looking for ways to increase my effectiveness in helping clients really learn the material at hand. Like many, I don't consider myself particularly funny, and worry that I could do more harm than good by trying too hard to incorporate humor into workshops.

Doni Tamblyn does a terrific job not only showing the reader how to easily and safely insert humor, she also references fascinating research that clearly supports why humor is so critical to the learning process. The book is written in a friendly, approachable style that makes it a fun read, and I appreciate the handy index to the "95 Ways" listed at the beginning of the book for quick reference.

I highly recommend this book not only to other professional trainers, but to speakers and presenters of all types. Personally, after trying some of Tamblyn's strategies, I not only feel more confident in front of a room, but hey, I'm having more fun too. You can't beat that!

As a corporate consultant and trainer, I'm always looking for ways to increase my effectiveness in helping clients really learn the material at hand. Like many, I don't consider myself particularly funny, and worry that I could do more harm than good by trying too hard to incorporate humor into workshops.

Doni Tamblyn does a terrific job not only showing the reader how to easily and safely insert humor, she also references fascinating research that clearly supports why humor is so critical to the learning process. The book is written in a friendly, approachable style that makes it a fun read, and I appreciate the handy index to the "95 Ways" listed at the beginning of the book for quick reference.

I highly recommend this book not only to other professional trainers, but to speakers and presenters of all types. Personally, after trying some of Tamblyn's strategies, I not only feel more confident in front of a room, but hey, I'm having more fun too. You can't beat that!

"Laughter and Learning"

I'm reading this book, and I sense it is what I have been waiting for. I believe Doni Tamblyn has really nailed it. She's given structure to what seems to be the very complex art of effective teaching. I'll start giving her methods a try by using the "smooth" vs "crunchy" approach for initiating group/team work, and by finally using some of those cartoons I've been accumulating for years.

I'm also thinking about how I could apply some of her ideas to my online distance learning courses, where teaching and learning are not in a traditional classroom. This environment lacks the needed spontaneity, but I could see what would happen if I divided my online class into small discussion teams competing for bonus points for "fabulous prizes" to be awarded at our once-per-week lab meetings.

I appreciate that Ms. Tamblyn has combined her comedic experience with Dewey's ideas, theories of motivation, accelerated learning, and optimal/compatible brain learning, the
Koran, the Talmud, famous quotes, tips on psychology and comedic delivery, and has taken the time to share her synthesis of them in a book. Her Laugh and Learn is not only a great how-to book, but also a scholarly piece of work. I don't usually find how-to books with an index, references, endnotes, so many examples, and a case study! (Her "anatomy of a creative learning module" is precious.) Thank you, Ms. Tamblyn!"

This book is a fabulous collection of Dan Piraro's "Bizarro" Sunday comics. Unlike other cartoonists, Piraro has the incredible ability to portray realistic ideas and situations while still maintaining a "cartoon atmosphere." His ability to create such imaginative cartoons makes him one of the most original and hilariously funny artists out there. These full-color Sunday cartoons will give you an idea of how witty and true-to-life Bizarro can be.

In addition, each cartoon includes a small caption, perhaps explaining the meaning of the joke, or how Piraro came up with the idea for a certain cartoon. These small bits of information even sometimes explain who certain characters represent and their purpose in the cartoon. Also, in the back of the book, there is an in-depth explanation of each of the hidden symbols that Piraro hides in his comics. This is a genuinely funny book and should be read by all comic lovers--Bizarro or not. Such a chance to take a ride inside Dan Piraro's head is one that should not be passed up.

i interviewed dan piraro when this book came out. later i became a fan.

cool book......cool dude.

it makes me go laugh laugh.

it makes me eat more cereal. wear less hairspray.

jack e. jett
the jack e. jett show

I think Dan Piraro is one of the few people who have a handle on what life is all about. His cartoons show an insight into our world that precious few have. This latest of his books exceeds what I expected. The comments on his thinking are an added plus that put him over the top.
I don't know how his next book can be any better, but I'm sure it will be. Why am I sure? because I saw his Bizzaro Bologna Show when it came through town, and he was even funnier than I thought was possible.
I really feel sorry for the people in the towns that don't have him in their daily newspaper!!!

I've been a fan of Mr. Piraro's work for several years, and almost creamed myself when I heard he was coming out with a collection of his greatest Sunday cartoons!! "Life is Strange and So Are You" lived up to my utmost expectations, keeping me in hysterics for hours on end. My husband threatened to call poison control because he thought I must've accidentally eaten hallucinogenic mushrooms on my pizza, I was laughing so hard-but I assured him through my tears of hilarity that it was all Dan Piraro-who's just too freakin' funny!

I love his drawing style, the vibrant colors he uses, the secret symbols he sneaks in the art, and his outlandish sense of humor illustrated in every gag. The personal notes included with each cartoon give new and much-appreciated insight , sharing the author's comments and inspiration on each panel.

BUY THIS BOOK, IT WILL CRACK YOU UP!!

P.S. Thank you, Mr. Piraro, for giving of yourself, and for gracing the world with a heaping dose of laughter--exactly what we need!

Bizarro is by far one of the best cartoons in print today. He is clever, extremely funny and obviously he is a good artist. This book is cleverly done with all the little extra comments on each cartoon. They give a small insite into the mind of this cartoonist. It is truly a Sunday Treasury.

I thought I'd go into withdrawal permanently after Calvin and Hobbes stopped running. Thank goodness for Lio and also Brewster Rockit (also well worth checking out). Lio makes the Addams Family look like a well adjusted family. A bargain at twice the price!

What a wicked sense of humor. I love this cartoon. I think you have to have a warped send of humor to really enjoy Lio but for those of us that do this is a wonderful collection of the cartoons.

Another reviewers comparison to Charles Addams is spot on. Dark humor, but so very well done.

Lio is both humorous and well drawn, a rare find on the comics page these days.

A comic not for everyone, but enormously funny to anyone who enjoyed the ADDAMS FAMILY or the MUNSTERS.

Lio is the heir apparent to Calvin and Hobbes; he seems a little strange when you first read his comics, but very engaging and a true lover of nature and all animals. Can't wait for the next Lio; meanwhile it is ready him in the comic pages!

A very enjoyable book. Just the high quality reproduction of the covers would make this a great book.
A richly savory festival of imagination, creativity, insight (cultural, sociological, philosophical, etc.) and, of course, delightful humor and splendiferous transcendental artwork. Lots of charming tidbits including photos, extra art reproductions, etc.
Thanks Frank and The Usual Gang for this inundation of funshine and good cheer!

(After you've seen the covers you'd probably like to peek inside). Check out: Absolutely MAD Magazine - 50+ Years

If there are better sight gags than those on the cover of Mad magazine, then I have yet to see them. This book is a collection of the first 400 covers and some of them had me hysterical with laughter. My favorite was the one where Alfred is holding a hard taco shell behind a Mexican dog that is straining mightily. Others were just as funny, although some did require explanation. The producers of the magazine were not above applying a little duplicity when creating the covers.
The only drawback for younger readers will be that knowledge of the current events of the time is a precondition if you are to get the joke. For example, some covers feature political figures, and if you don't know anything about them, the joke is lost. Other covers are spoofs of hit movies of the time, so the explanatory captions are a welcome addition. Having lived through those times, I understood most of them, but there were a few times when I didn't understand the joke until I read the caption.
This book is very funny and you cannot help but be impressed by the quality of the artwork and the zany intelligence that went into the covers of Mad. The producers of Mad constantly lampooned themselves as idiots, but they were without question geniuses.

this book is well designd and gives all the information about the covers over the years, including notes about the spacial covers.
i highly recomand this book to any mad reader.

I loved this book , mostly because Im a mad magazine FAN!!! BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!!!! GREAT BOOK

The first copy of Mad I saw was issue 29 in September 1956 (still got it too) and I was hooked. How could a magazine be so funny and be so spot-on with its satire? Easy, just employ the `usual gang of idiots' that's how. I kind of grew out of it when I discovered the National Lampoon, how could a magazine be so funny etc, etc. But I have always had a soft spot for Mad and this book of covers is a super addition to my back issues and other Mad books.

All 399 (up to November 2000) covers are in this well designed and printed book Mostly one or two covers to a page sometimes with Frank Jacobs' commentary and with a lot of the latter covers you get to see the preliminary cover roughs. As the years go by you can see how the covers changed from simple visual gags into ones that are much more graphic and busy because they have to work harder on the newsstand. The ideas are still very funny after all these years though. My favorite is issue 35 (October 1957) a wraparound that celebrated the fifth anniversary with a great painting from Norman Mingo showing a few dozen very famous American merchandising characters seated round a dining table, Alfred's at one end grinning. I would love this as a poster.

I think it is worth mentioning for Mad fans the seven CD-ROM `Totally Mad' set, every page from the issue one thru to December 1998, the interface is very user friendly and the discs have a lot of additional aural and visual surprises.

BTW, Robert Silver's photmosaic book cover, made up from the magazines covers, is stunning.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

masquerade caused a frenzy when first published in england. kit williams book was the first ever 'real' treasure hunt, with a 'real' prize buried somewhere in england. masquerade is no longer available, which is a shame, but, this little book not only covers the orignal story, but explains the answers to the puzzle of masquerade. this is a wonderful book for all ages to love and enjoy. buy it!!

I received the original hardback book as a gift when it first came out and spent hours and hours picking out all the clues that were hidden in the text, boarders and luscious illustrations. I wanted that beautiful, detailed hare pendant with it's terra cotta case so bad. I never figured that living in America I would actually be able to find it. I came a lot closer with just a guess about the clue that's on the second page than I ever thought I would.

One of my favorites.

The illustrations are great, plus it is very fun to try to solve all of the riddles. I had no idea that the jewl was found until i got the book, and my family and I never figured out the answer, but I did find all of the rabbits. The origanal book is very good, and if you have one, you should hold on to it, so in 40 years you can go to the Antiques Road Show, and get lots of money!!!

I first learned of this by reading a book with information on treasure hunts. It told the answers, and I thought, "How hard could this be?" As soon as I could, I checked Masquerade out from the library. I read it, tried to put the answers with the pages, and it was hard! I would definitely recommend this book.

Ever since first reading this book in my local library in 1980, I'd been itching to discover the location of the buried Masquerade jewel--not for the prize itself, which was found long ago, but for the sport of deciphering Kit Williams' paintings, which contained clues. Driven mad by the author's early assertion that it was "so simple, a ten year old could solve it," I worked at it periodically in the years that followed and finally caved in when I saw that amazon.com sold a version that contained the solution. I purchased the book merely to end my twenty years of suffering.

How close did I come to solving it? Not nearly as close as I would have liked--as an American, I have very little knowledge of England's geography (mandatory to solving the puzzle, despite the previous disclaimers). I did have part of the solution correct; I knew the letters that bordered each painting spelled out locations, but the method was not as simple as the author pretended. Needless to say, I feel much better now that I know this.

That having been said, let me conclude by stating that the story of Jack Hare's journey is enjoyable, the paintings are absolutely exquisite and the mystery is still intriguing, whether the jewel is still in the ground or not. I recommend it to anyone who loves puzzles--just be prepared to work hard at the solution; it's not easy!

Chris Regan combines the insight and humor -- and surprising informative-ness -- of "America (The Book)" (which he helped write as a member of The Daily Show staff), with the pithy cocktail party knowledge of a fact-a-day calendar.

Smart, funny, historical comedy, with a great, biting viewpoint and a shocking breadth of knowledge and humor. Great for dipping into, or reading cover to cover.

After reading Mass Historia: 365 Days of Historical Facts and (Mostly) Fictions, all I can say is too bad there are only 365 days in the year. I did not want this book to end. The zingers come fast and furious. The writing is smart and funny. And the book is big enough to fit nicely on the coffee table, yet not too big to leave a mark on your bare thighs when you take it into the bathroom. I can't recommend this book enough.

Regan's book is a hilarious romp through the ages! Even though MASS HISTORIA has heft, I will take it everywhere I go so I can know, at a moment's notice, the interesting or odd things of the past that happened on any given day. This book is also a great gift for anyone who appreciates history and/or laughing out loud.

I originally bought this book as a gift for one of my cousins, but after flipping through it, I decided to make it a keeper. It was so funny I couldn't put it down. If you're a fan of "The Onion's Our Dumb World", or "Frizzell's guide to the Universe" you will love this book!

If you enjoy laughing at the pain and misery of others (and who doesn't) this book is for you. Mass Historia is a pretty funny look at the past. There are a number of interesting facts hidden inside the humor so if you're not careful you might learn something before you're done. Written by one of the writers of the Daily Show's America (The Book) and contains the same type of humor.

The book gives one or more historical events for every day of the year. In addition to the historical event there is a humorous made-up event or a humorous comment about the actual event. Some of the humor is laugh out loud funny, some is mildly amusing, and some I didn't really find all that funny. Occasionally a joke gets overplayed, like President Taft's large stature.

I have been a faithful FoxTrot reader for years. Roger, Andy and their kids Peter, Paige and Jason are always good for a reality check with a large dose of laughter. I've got two girls and let me tell you, I see a lot of my kids in Paige with, I believe, even a healthy dose of Jason thrown in. And they have Peter's bottomless stomach. Of course, they're faithful FoxTrot readers too. I used to read the strip to them, explain what was going on, but now they get it just fine and we three all laugh together. Then my girls try and explain the strip to their dad, who pretends he doesn't get it.

The FoxTrot folks are a great family, one we sort of got used to checking up on every day, so we took the news that Mr. Amend was going to cease daily distribution of his wonderfully funny people and turn his strip to Sunday only, with a bit of sadness. Still, we have these terrific FoxTrot books to keep us going with our FoxTrot fix. Mr. Amend is to be commended for his great gift to our culture and his great gift to so many lives. I truly believe a laugh a day, helps keep the blues away and the FoxTrot gang are always good for a laugh. Heck there are a lot of laughs in the FoxTrot books. I know, I have them all and I am, along with my girls and my hubby dear, eagerly awaiting the next one.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention, we don't have an iguana, but my girls do have a pet gecko and, you guessed it, his name is Quincy.

I've been a Foxtrot reader for a long time and personally I think there is something suspiciously wrong with people who don't find Bill Amend's characters funny as all get out. If you want a good laugh, check out Bill in your local newspaper, or better yet, get one of the Foxtrot books. They are all great, really, they are.

Like many of Mr. Amend's fans I'm a bit disappointed he's switching his strip to Sunday-only, but fortunately I can still read him daily in the Foxtrot books. Get them one and all and you can keep right on a laughing.

the only problem i had with this book is that it took me no time to read through it. very funny, wish it had lasted longer. a must read.

A kid thinks that they are immortal. And will try this. So thekid in us, is in the sled enjoyingthis.

I absolutely loved this book. It was absolutely hilarious. With Jason seeing Jurrassic Park, The Fox family going on vacation, and Jason and Marcus's 83 story Comic Book Store this book was great. 5 Stars!