Humor Books

This is a great book. It's a nice mix of the ones we remember as children and a few more we wouldn't readily remember.
This is for the child who has a healthy appreciation for the art of Edward Gorey and the humor for Monty Python and love Lon Chaney. Trust me, there are these children out there, they really are under the age of 8 and they are very hard to buy books for.
What's really wonderful, for the adults who are finding their lives now revolve around reading stories to small children who remain illiterate, this book offers a lovely change from the norm. Honest to god, If I have to read one more Pretty pony story I am going to hunt that pony down....
I recommend it for children of all ages, even if you dont' have your own, it's just so worth having.

With the recent publication of Random House's, "Charles Addams: A Cartoonist's Life", by Linda H. Davis, rival publishers appear to be looking to their own overstocked warehouses to take advantage of this newest Addams literary craze. At least, that's how I'm interpreting the sudden reappearance of books like Simon and Schuster's, "The Charles Addams Mother Goose", which originally made its republished debut back in 2002, onto our bookstore shelves. Not that I mind, of course. Any republication of the Addams repertoire is fine with me, and had S&S not started sending out this book once again I never would have known what a fine complement C.S.A. made to some of the darker nursery rhymes out there. Mother Goose books come and go, but if you want to go for the memorable, the dark, and the amusing then there really is only one title you should even begin to consider. And it sports a Stephen King by-line on the cover.

Told in about 28 different nursery rhymes, "The Charles Addams Mother Goose" is everything you might expect from that most famous of New Yorker cartoonists. Here you can find all your favorites word-for-word, accompanied by the most peculiar of pictures. The mouse from "Hickory Dickory Dock" takes on enormous proportions. Jack Sprat and his wife seem to have eating habits outside of what we might consider the norm. Even the three blind mice are included, though the carving knife is now of the electric variety. The familiar Addams family characters do indeed make an appearance in some of these poems, and always in a fashion that seems tailor made for them. Plus it takes a kind of genius to be the illustrator who decides that the reason all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again was because out of Humpty hatched a baby dragon/dinosaur/scaly creature. Certainly the unique Addams brand is clear and present in every pic.

Kids who read this book, and there will be quite a few, may find themselves in later years wholly unable to separate Addams' vision from certain peculiar rhymes. Take, for example, that old chestnut "Solomon Grundy". Entirely apart from the fact that his name is now synonymous with a Batman villain, his story here is told in seven/eight panels. "Solomon Grundy, Born on Monday, Christened on Tuesday, Married on Wednesday, Took ill on Thursday, Worse on Friday, Died on Saturday, Buried on Sunday. This is the end of Solomon Grundy." Addams really takes the poem even further, though. His Grundy resembles a slightly undersized and grumpy Uncle Fester. And once he's, "Died on Saturday", his body resembles nothing so much as a cloud of dirty air. Then, wonderfully inexplicably, that same dirty air is put into a corked bottle and thrown into the sea with the line, "Buried on Sunday." It's this kind of random twist on old stand-bys that gives this collection just the right burst of original peculiarity. I'm not even gonna go into the eyedropper of holy water on the second panel or the mysterious mushrooms that grow out of Solomon's head on Thursday.

So which poem wins the Most Likely To Disturb Already Wary Adults Award? It's a toss-up, to my mind, between "Mistress Mary, quite contrary" and "Wee Willie Winkie". On the outset, neither poem seems particularly dark. In "Mistress Mary" however, an unhealthy waif of a woman with dark-lidded eyes and a lifeless expression waters mushrooms in a darkened basement. Lit only by a single bare lightbulb, the mushrooms have begun to sprout feminine heads, each with the creepy cheer of a babydoll's face. The picture looks almost institutional, what with the pale blond's stare into nothingness and the mushrooms' eerie plastered smiles. Compare that, however, to "Wee Willie Winkie". In that picture a boy and girl stare aghast at a window where a ghoul in a nightcap stares unblinkingly at them, his right hand ah-rapping at the pane. The whole picture is tinted a sickly green and blue and you've the feeling that the little boy who is not in bed could be in for some trouble soon.

When you get right down to it, however, maybe the most disturbing part of this book is the Foreword written in 2001 by "Mrs. Charles Addams". In this section, the woman gives a bit of context to the original publication. It came out in the midst of Vietnam. It could be credited to two equally possible sources. But Mrs. Addams goes even further and finds in Charles's work an odd source of, of all things, comfort. "How wonderful to find a dinosaur inside Humpty Dumpty, rather than worrying that he had fallen and couldn't be repaired. Or being reassured that the old woman who lived under the hill had all the comforts of a real home and was better for it." You'll note that she makes no mention of the vampiric Doctor Fell who's poem reads, "I do not like thee, Doctor Fell" or the leather-clad specter of death that shakes hand with a little girl by a graveyard. Countering such an Intro, however, is the remarkable "Mother Goose Scrapbook" compiled at the end of the book. In it we see a poem that "for reasons unknown" was pulled from the original book moments before publication. In it, a worried shepherd holds open the doors of a fallout shelter as his lambs pelt past him into the darkness. A mushroom cloud erupts in the distance. Says the poem, "A red sky at night is a shepherd's delight. A red sky in the morning is a shepherd's warning." Since we've already determined that the book came out in 1967, I doubt the reason for the deletion is all that mysterious at all. Other choice details include New Yorker covers, photographs, book jackets, and even a drawing Charles made at the age of four.

Charles Addams has a following not too dissimilar to the Edward Gorey fans out there. This collection, however, demands to be owned by people outside of the regular obsessives. You can't say that Addams' visions of these nursery rhymes are anything but logical extrapolations. What's more, after repeated viewings they insinuate themselves into your unconscious. I'll never hear "This is the house that Jack built" without visions of knives, bulldogs, and dirty rats again. And I'm okay with that. A must-have purchase for anyone with a penchant for the peculiar.

In 1973 I was in second grade, and this was my favorite book to check out of the library. The only problem was, it was also a lot of other kids favorite too! I was always on the waiting list for it!!! The illustrations have been in my mind for over 30 years, and several years ago I tried to purchase it, only to find it out of print. I was so excited to find it recently rereleased. I now have my own copy, and am as fascinated by it today, as I was in second grade. The pictures are awesome, and show the true stories at the dark heart of nursery rhymes!!!It's a creepy little safe scare for adults and children alike. A really great book!

As only Chas Addams can do, the innocent nursery rhymes take on new meaning with these wonderfully ghoulish illustrations proving that a picture is worth more than a thousand words. I first read this book in the bookstore when I was 9 and purchased it with my saved allowance. I still have it and re-read it once per year. Sometimes I wonder if Chas Addams succeeded in capturing the soul of these well known verses better than any illustrator ever has. I recommend you purchase this book, light a fire on a stormy autumn evening and enjoy this book by candlelight with your own little fiends.

I was so pleased to find a re-print of this, the Mother Goose of my childhood. Yep, my parents gave me this Charles Addams -- and I've never been quite right since.
The hours I spent poring over pictures of the cadaverous Wee Willie Winkie, the Frankenstein-esque Dr. Fell, and little Wednesday Addams skipping rope alone, under a single streetlight . . . all these wonderful frissons were restored to me with this re-issue. Mother Goose wears Chuck Taylors!
If you love Gorey, Burton, and Lynch, you'll love the "Charles Addams Mother Goose."

My dad and Charlie were in business during their undergraduate days at UPenn. Dad would go out and take orders and Charlie would draw custom Christmas "and other special occasion" cards. I thought this was pretty neat. Nearing his deathbed, my dad finally confessed the he'd go out and take very specific instructions, gather photos, descriptions, etc. and bring other sordid details back to Charlie, who would then draw "pornographic" cards based on those orders. That revelation got me looking at Wednesday in a whole new light! It was enjoyable to read that Charlie was like that all his life.

One of the most commonly asked questions of cartoonists is, "Where do you get your ideas?"

And of course when the cartoonist is Charles Addams, this question leads to unrivaled speculation and disinformation, which over the years created its own brand of peculiar mythology.

Now comes an impressive new biography by Linda H. Davis. In "Charles Addams: A Cartoonist's Life" Davis takes on the stories that Addams slept in a coffin and drank martinis with eyeballs in them. Instead, what emerges is a surprising portrait of an amazing artist who led a full and colorful life.

Yes, Addams certainly had quirks and odd obsessions. But he was also universally loved, and so charming that he dated the likes of such luminaries of his time as Greta Garbo, Joan Fontaine and Jackie Kennedy Onassis (along with untold numbers of others). He drank hard, raced cars, and no party or social gathering was considered complete without him. His fan base ran the gamut from the criminally insane to Sean Connery and Alfred Hitchcock.

In this first ever biography of the subject, Davis charts Addams' meteoric rise and more than 50-year career as the most esteemed cartoonist at The New Yorker. With his cartoons, Addams became a significant cultural force by combining horror and humor, a genre that continues to flourish today. His impact and influence on generations of cartoonists is impossible to calculate, but it's fair to say that Gary Larson's Far Side would not have existed without him.

Addams' own unique creation of The Addams Family began as print cartoons which went on to inspire a popular TV series, animated cartoons and two Hollywood feature films. With these characters, Addams provided role models for eccentrics and nonconformists everywhere. The message of the Addams Family was simple: Namely that love and laughter can--and does-- flourish everywhere, even within families and social groups that seem outside society's norms.

An esteemed biographer whose previous subjects have included Stephen Crane and Katherine White, Davis spent over six years on this book and interviewed more than 130 persons who knew Addams well, or as well as anyone could. Although Addams died in 1988, Davis had exclusive access to his personal effects and papers that had been in the possession of his wife Tee until her death in 2004. Addams' two other wives also participated in helping Davis to define the man nicknamed "Chill" by his friends.

Davis provides a wealth of detail, but wisely avoids drawing hard conclusions or offering up pseudo-psychoanalysis. Instead, the dichotomy between the artist's urbane and cheerful public persona and his morbidly dark humor are presented in a way that leaves the reader, if nothing else, even more appreciative of Addams' depth, genius and mystery.

With this approach Davis reframes the question of "where" Addams got his ideas to that of "why." Addams was unlike anyone else, and so it is only natural that his ideas would be unlike those of others. As for why he was the way he was, that's a question Addams seems to have taken to the grave with him. In "A Cartoonist's Life" we see that just as one question is put to rest, another rises up - a conclusion that Addams himself would have no doubt enjoyed.

Who was Chas (Charles) Adams? While you won't know by the time you finish this revealing biography, you'll certainly expand beyond the line sketch you probably have now of his life. If you are a New Yorker fan, you'll know him from his hundreds of cartoons and dozens of covers that expressed a most unique and other worldly perspective. If you are a fan of celebrities, you may know more about him as someone who drove classic cars, dated high-profile women, and favored allusions to death and dying. If you are a classic television fan, you'll know that his cartoon characters were the foundation for The Addams Family. If you favor camp, you know about his armor collection, his preferences for cross-bows, and other lethal items which he liked to display in public.

The biography also reveals a kindly man who was patient with everyone, including those he didn't particularly like. You'll also learn of his fascination with the Morticia appearance (based on having married two women who met the bill). More surprisingly, you'll find him to have been victimized by his second wife . . . even long after they were no longer married. The book also portrays a heterosexual version of Truman Capote who fascinated many of the most desirable women.

Most pleasingly, Ms. Davis does a delightful job of portraying the development of his cartooning style and art . . . including dozens of prime examples that are well reproduced. Even when there's no reproduction, Ms. Davis is good at capturing the essence of an image in a few words. She also provides a history of 20th century New Yorker cartooning, including how many of the final cartoons represented the influences of many people other than the artist who signed the final version.

While each of those aspects is well and thoroughly portrayed, the core of the man doesn't quite make it through. Addams seems like a case of arrested development in many ways, but his willingness to be kind and considerate of others displays greater maturity than his preferences for self-indulgence and his cartooning approach suggest. In today's world, he would clearly be just another clever self-promoter . . . except that his stunts seemed aimed at creating joy rather than a higher income. Clearly, he didn't take himself too seriously, yet he did take his work seriously. Ms. Davis has, however, done readers and cartoon fans a great service by writing this biography which will undoubtedly stir up other sources and perspectives to flesh out the man who shortened his first name because it looked better that way on a cartoon.

Addams has always been my favorite cartoonist and I snatched a copy of this book as soon as I saw it. Reading this book led me to have even more admiration for this man, who had a rather energetic personal life (although not of the sort some might imagine) and who also served in the Army as, what else, an illustrator.

A must-have for anyone interested in Addams' work and a damn good read even if you aren't. Also, I thought the cartoons picked to illustrate the book were a perfect for this work.

"Charles Addams: A Cartoonist's Life" is a warm and tenderly written biography in which the essence of the man behind the dark side of his cartoons is gently exposed. Author Linda H. Davis has offered a comprehensive look into Charles Addams's life and it has a few surprises.

Addams, born into relative prosperity in Westfield, New Jersey just prior to World War I, could have lived a rarefied life (and in some ways he did) were it not for his penchant for seeing the world in a different way from most of us. Davis points out that Addams, although never admitting to liking children and never having any of his own, nonetheless gravitated toward children at parties and visits to friends' homes. He was wildly popular with the children he got to know and that childlike quality is evident in the cartoons he drew. He disliked the word "macabre" in describing his work and as the author points out there is never any outward blood and gore in his cartoons. The ghoulishness is implied and having been treated to several of Addams's cartoons in this book I would agree with Addams himself....his best cartoons are uncaptioned.

Charles Addams's personal life was another matter. Married three times, his second wife, Barbara Colyton, had the most and longest lasting effect on him. Control and money were her issues and she dominated the cartoonist for years after their divorce. Yet as Davis points out, Addams never had too much of an axe to grind with her or other women in his life. Indeed, he had many women as confidants...something most men eschew.

It is surprising to see how little money Addams made in his life, relatively speaking. He seemed to care about other things and one of the great loves of his life was his dog, Alice. Remarkably, too, Addams lived in an age where, at the New Yorker at least, cartoonists were mostly given ideas from which to draw something. It appears that his originality came later rather than earlier in his career.

Linda Davis has done a fine job in taking us through the life of this wonderfully warm, if complicated man. As his friend, the writer Philip Hamburger remarked on Addams's death in 1988, "Charles Addams was 'sui generis'". Without a doubt he must have been. I think Addams would have been a lovely dinner guest, replete with humor and full of attentive, quiet listening to his fellow guests. I wish I had met him.

I must confess- I didn't follow the chelsea boys saga before I got this Book; Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down!
I caught myself Laughing out loud late at night like a lunatic.
The characters are beautifully illustrated and developed. I feel like my friends and I have traits from all the characters, Which makes it more fun, sometimes scary.
To ME is like a GAY- SEX AND THE CITY.
KUDOS to Glenn and Allan's talent.
I Can't wait for this wonder duo's new book.
Again, this one is a perfect gift for any Occasion (Im getting a few books for those last minute emergency gifts)
Buy this book and give it away, anyone could use a bit of laughter this days.

Chelsea Boys is a very funny tale of 3 main characters that defies the norm we're used to seeing in the gay community. Rather than limit themselves to dating and sex(fun things never the less),the authors have tackled loss of parents, gay parenting and racial issues.This isn't your grandma's strip. Even though this format is known as a comic strip, I like to think of it as a complete story. Every strip follows the characters as they negotiate life with each other and with the greater community at large. Where else do we see such diversity in the gay community. Blonde and buff, short and jewish, black and sassy. On the surface, these may seem like stereotypes but if you read into their stories, they have to face many complex issues in their lives. Even though the story takes place in the neighborhood of Chelsea, it really represents all of Manhattan with it's wit and humanity.

I have been following the Chelsea Boys for years and am thrilled to see that they have finally gotten their stories together in a book. In my opinion, this is the only strip out there in which the characters open themselves enough to expose the reasons for who they are. The boys deal with real issues that face all of us (and I mean all of us - gay or straight) in real life and gives depth and "realness" to gay people.

The writing by Allan Neuwirth is insightful and poignant. And, as always, Glen Hanson's illustrations are brilliant. I look forward to future additions to the Chelsea Boys library.

Neuwirth and Hanson use the lighthearted medium of a comic strip to deliver deeper and more serious messages about the reality of being a modern gay man. Every strip has a lesson to ponder and the authors smash sterotypes wide open. Ironic indeed that the strip is named Chelsea Boys given the author's overwhelming proven point that sterotypes are rather silly given the fact that noone indeed ever lives up to the expected ideal.

Neuwirth and Hanson add a work of great relivance and importance to the cannon of gay literature. This is a must have for every gay man's libray! A great gift for friends too!

Hanson and Neuwirth have created warm, acerbic, witty, and utterly human characters who totally defy the Chelsea Boy stereotype. So don't let the strip's title fool you. These guys are universal-just like gay men from Pasadena to Poughkeepsie. This is a great collection, both for the terrific drawings and the wonderfully inclusive stories about these three gay roommates and people of ages, races, and sexual orientations in their lives.

El buen sentido del humor se encuentra, encerrada entre las cubiertas de este libro !
Nomás abrelo, amigo !

que regula tu estado de ánimo y la que al disminuir te manda derechito al ABISMO DE LA DEPRESION, AUMENTA CON LA RISA...
Y este libro ES UN BUEN PRODUCTOR DE SEROTONINA

PORQUE CON ESTE LIBRO...¡INVIERTES EN LA COMPRA DE ALEGRIA Y CARCAJADAS !

Y LA RISA NOS HACE FALTA...
Aqui está, encerrada entre las cubiertas de este libro !
Nomás abrelo, amigo !

QUINCE DÓLARES POR DOS HORAS DE RISAS CONSTANTES...SE ME HACEN MUY BARATOS !

This book is so worth the time! It is enjoyable and funny, but Thor hits home with what seems to be simple Biblical teaching and truths that we make hard to live by. I truly enjoyed it and appreciate its challenge to live its message.

This book is hilarious!! He has no problem touching the hard subjects and because he does it with humor it hurts less. We saw him live last night and he is so funny! I was so glad I purchased this!! With chapter titles like "The Sexual Life of a Nun"; "My God is bigger than your god"; and "Damn Theology" you know there must be something good in the pages. I giggled from the preface thru the end and I had to come write a review. *nevermind that I also got a deal on the price if I promised to write one* I mean it really was good.

The funniest and best book I have read in ages. It is hard to put down! It is a great book that keeps you laughing!

This book made me think and laugh out loud at the same time. Very well researched. Cutting edge research AND comedy. Very funny.

This book is packed with truth, provocative and hilarious!
I love how Thor slices up the watering down of truth in witty, insightful ways. I couldn't stop reading this and finished it in a couple sittings.
Wow! Loved it! How did I feel about it? Loved it? This book will be too smart for a few people, but they probably aren't reading Amazon book reviews anyway.

This is one of the funniest compendiums I have ever read. Gloriously, delightfully, and devastatingly accurate caricatures by the great Ronald Searle bring to life the hysterical adventures of the fearsome, loathsome nigel molesworth, the curse of st. custards, his grate frend peason, the oiks, cads, MASTERS and of course his own bro molesworth II chiz chiz chiz. the late author, Geoff Willans, was an for a short time a schoolmaster, and he obviously recorded EVERYTHING he saw while he was at it.

Maybe it's larking on an esoteric subject you have to have experienced to see the funny side - in which case it would be totally lost on those outside the English grammar school system of twenty years ago and more - but for my money there is no funnier book around. What's more I think JK Rowling owes Willans and Searle a debt - surely it is no coincedence that she named her legendary school of wizardry and witchcraft "Hogwarts" after a fictional Molesworthian Latin play?

Totally, utterly recommended.

The Molesworeth books made me laugh when I was the same age as Molesworth, and they still make me laugh now I ma probably the same age as headmaster GRIMES chizz chizz chizz. Delightful to find all four books in one volume, and encounter again Molesworth himself, and Peason, Fotherington-Thomas who sa hello clouds, hello sky and skip like a girlie, Sigismund the mad Maths master, and all the rest. Willan's hilarious prose and Searle's marvellous drawings complement each other perfectly. Like a previous reviewer, I too would like to knwo what the Mrs Joyful prize looks like, but you can't have everything. As for another reviewer worrying about spelling Willan's name wrong, well, who knows how to spell Willan anyway? For years and years I thought his name was Williams! Spelling is for girlies anyway.

It is uterly wet and weedy, but I sa as long as there are clouds and sky (dere Fotherington-Thomas), and skools and MASTERS and noble brave fearless BOYS - and GURLS as well! chizz chizz, and lat. french, geog. hist. geom. peotry and even swots, bulies, snekes,oiks and greedy guts; then, my deres, there MUST also be the timeless prose encountered in 'The Compleet Molesworth'. This heady reference work is kindness of that worthy scribe, Geoffrey Willans and the unassailable art of Ronald Searle, master of the scratchy pen illustration. Noone else in the world space universe could draw Molesworth 1 & 2, gillibrand, peason, grabber, et al with such fearsome accuracy. As long as we have this rich chronicle on education to dive into, then our future generations of skoolchildren shall be uterly safe.
As any fule kno.

Ol' Nigel is the topp of the whizz Its Jokes are really weird chizz But oh surprise,don't you know whence comes the name of th'school of tooday's top of the show? Read at page 131 or so (Penguin edition) a little piece named ...shiver whit anticipation the Hogwarts!...hem hem,so well, doesn't that ring a little bell?

I am the proud possessor of Down With Skool, How to be Topp, and Molesworth's Guide to the Atomic Age in original bindings. I say "possessor" because I've highjacked them from my mother and brother. Needless to say, knowing that a re-print is out there is proof positive that dere Santa does exist. 'Pon my soul, darling Arabella, but life may not be as tuough as it seems. What I hadn't known until I ran across the factoid some years ago is that Searle began drawing while in a Japanese prisoner of war camp, with burned matches. Since then I've always wondered to what extent that experience informed his views of st custards.
Anyone who enjoys eccentricities and eccentrics simply must have these works in his library, right alongside Wodehouse and Betty McDonald. There is nothing like them.
Just one question: What exactly does the mrs joyful prize actually look like?

From The Rebel Housewife to One Madcap Mom...I felt an instant kinship with Kathryn Mahoney. She writes fast-paced, clever essays on universal truths and embarrassing secrets of motherhood -- and the lady is funny. From totally relate-able riffs on Reality TV, modern-day children's birthday parties, and our eerily number-ized society to WYSIWYG Woman (which I whole-heartedly support!), CRACKED AT BIRTH offers fantastic diversion and out-loud laughs to overwhelmed Moms everywhere -- CRACKED AT BIRTH would be a great gift to those women in your life.

-- Sherri Caldwell, Humor Columnist & Reviewer,
Co-Author, The Rebel Housewife Rules: To Heck With Domestic Bliss!

Kathy was funny in high school and she has gotten funnier! She is a modern Erma Bombeck. My husband picked up the book and started chuckling as he began to read. We need to keep a sense of humor in the midst of the chaos of family life. Kathy has a knack for putting the adventures into words that we all can relate to and laugh at. A great read for Moms (and Dads too!)who are trying to maintain their sanity through the ups and downs of everyday life in the trenches.

This book is just great... true to life stories with a humorous twist! A good read when traveling for any parent!

A friend gave this to me as a "baby #3 gift". It was so nice to just sit and laugh about all the craziness of motherhood. It's nice to know I'm not alone!

Some lives were just made to be made fun of. Some lives are so wacky, so silly, so undeniably cracked up, you just can't help but chuckle. Kathryn S. Mahoney is living one of those lives.

Kathryn Mahoney, who thinks she was CRACKED AT BIRTH, takes time to sit back and good naturedly marvel at the absurdity in her life. And, like the next door neighbor who keeps us in stitches with her zany tales, Mahoney shares the absurdity with us - one laughable story at a time.

CRACKED AT BIRTH is a collection of Mahoney's essays from her humor column, "Sunny Side Up," which has been running in six newspapers published by Nashoba Publishing of Devens, MA, since 2001. In this lighthearted essay collection, Mahoney tackles such hilarities as:

*Attempting yoga with children in the house

*The feeling of being invisible

*How to make your husband leave the room

*Household mishaps

*Valentine's Day romance failures

Mahoney seems to have mastered the art of being funny without being too sarcastic. Her style is refreshing and fun, and nearly all of her essays end with a feeling that, given the choice of any other life and family on the planet, she'd still choose the life and family she has. Her essays are warm and endearing, with just enough silly thrown in to make them irresistible.

While CRACKED AT BIRTH is consistent - none of her essays are weak or boring - Mahoney's funniest work revolves around her husband and the relationship between the two of them. Far be it from Mahoney to engage in man-bashing - she'd rather lovingly poke fun at the things that make her hubby so adorably male. This slant on love, marriage, and romance is a refreshing style for all those women who adore their hubbies but sometimes just can't help but shake their heads and chuckle over something they've said or done. Mahoney should follow CRACKED AT BIRTH with another humor book ("Cracked at Marriage," perhaps?) filled with nothing but marriage and romance-related essays.

Make no mistake, however; CRACKED AT BIRTH points out the sunnier side of so much more than love and marriage. Mahoney has no qualms ribbing her kids, her mother, even herself! It is this quality that gives her work tantalizing breadth.

Good for a light read and perfect for the bookshelf of any aspiring humorist, Kathryn S. Mahoney's CRACKED AT BIRTH will tickle your funny bone and maybe even make you look at your own cracked life in a little sunnier light.

I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me. Take a look at ..... site regarding the first chapter of Crackpot. It is as wild as the book. Many of the links are gone, but many are still there. Loved this book.

First, let me say that this book should have more universal appeal than do his movies. We all know that his movies are just too gross for some people to stomach, but there's nothing here that any adult reader should find offensive. If you enjoy homorous writing, a la Woody Allen, Steve Martin, Joe Queenan, David Sedaris, etc., you should find this little volume right up your alley.

Waters displays an acerbic, eccentric, but highly insightful comic sensibility. There are fifteen short pieces here, which first appeared in various magazines during the mid '80s, primarily NATIONAL LAMPOON (When it was still funny) and AMERICAN FILM.

The book opens with a bang, in one of the funniest pieces, "John Waters tour of L.A." Needless to say, this is not the L.A Chamber of Commerce "official guide." He takes us to some of the seamier sights, including the spot on Hollywood Boulevard where you can catch "the legless, one-armed white guy who break-dances on the street for horrified families as they stroll up the Walk of Fame." He also offers some timely,timeless advice for when you're driving around L.A: "Never look at pedestrians; they're the sad faces of L.A., the ones who had their licenses revoked for driving while impaired."

There really aren't too many weak entries in the collection. He does go a bit over the top in his rhapsodizing of Pia Zadora, perhaps, in an article devoted to that queen of glitz, but one comes to expect "over the top" from Waters. Who would want it any other way? He's also very much the exaggerator when it comes to his likes, "Puff Piece (100 Things I Love)and his dislikes: "Hatchet Piece (100 Things I Hate)." Amongst the things he most admires are Supermarket Tabloids: "Then I gazed at the great LAS VEGAS SUN wire-photo of a giant ostrich, escaped from a zoo chasing a totally bewildered middle-aged woman down the street. Every time I see her horrified expression, the creative juices start to flow." Not content with this passing mention, he writes an entire article entitled WHY I LOVE THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER as a paean to that fine bastion of journalistic integrity.

Some of Waters' images do convey a bit more of the "so banal it's hysterical" quality of his movies, as when he conjures up "a fancy Santa," in a piece called WHY I LOVE CHRISTMAS.
"Why hasn't Bloomingdales or Tiffany's tried a fancy Santa? Deathly pale, this never-too-thin-or-too-rich Kris Kringle, dressed in head-to-toe unstructured, oversize Armani, could pose on a throne, bored and elegant, and every so often deign to let a rich little brat sit NEAR his lap before dismissing his wishes with a condescending 'Oh darling, you dont REALLY want that, do you?" I mean, really, wouldn't you just love to have John Waters' private phone number and be able to shoot the breeze with him about popular culture? No!! you say? Well then this book's not for you. However, if you enjoy mordant, biting wit, and a breezy, conversational style of writing, this book is definitely for you. It was sent me by a friend. I'm going to be sending a few copies out to other friends now. Who knows, maybe we could start a John Waters cult?

BEK

This collection of essays is one of the most compulsively readable, and re-readable, books I have ever owned. I was drawn to it, as you might expect, by my enjoyment of Waters' camp classics. But to be honest, I enjoy Waters the essayist at least as much, if not more, than Waters the filmmaker. Waters' films, and particularly Pecker, Serial Mom, and Hairspray, set the scene for the miscellany of obsessions which animate this book. Crackpot offers a comforting way to understand Waters' recent turn to a more conventional cinematic venue: these films are *also* celebrations of his passionate likes (and dislikes).

Waters writes a witty and acerbic prose, which conveys genuine passion for his obsessions, obsessions which include trials, the National Enquirer, Woody Allen's Interiors, dangerous candy, menthol cigarettes, and Christmas. His preferred methods seem to be the catalogue and the reminiscence: Waters' list of 101 things he hates, and 101 things he loves, are obsessive ruminations on the everyday, and Waters' methodical survey of his everyday touches gives new meaning to the sublime *and* the ridiculous. Most memorable to me, perhaps, is his LA Tour, a pre-OJ intinerary of murder, mayhem, and showbiz, and his loving tribute to the Enquirer. But his celebration of William Castle, or shame-faced coming out as a fan of avant garde, his ritualistic account of Christmas and his loving descriptions of his interests, home, and personal history all make for a case study of obsession that feels both candid and arch, in Waters' inimitable, and paradoxical way. If you read it once, you're going to read it again.

This is absolutely the funniest book that ,Baltimore Bad Boy, John Waters has ever wrote! This book made me laugh out loud several times to the point that I'm sure my significant other may have harbored thoughts about having me committed.

This is the book that piqued my intrest in John Waters over ten years ago before I could even be called a teenager.

For a man with such a reputation for being "filthy, perverse, trashy, etc., etc., etc.", this book ggives the reader a delightful gllimpse into his bouyant and often child like mind. Whether raving over meeting with Pia Zadora, listing the events of a truly hellish day, or giving a guided tour of Los Angeles as only he can, he guides the reader along in a cheerful skip, full of bounce and frolick.

Even for one who's unfamiliar with his films, this book is a light, quick read sure to entertain and provide laughs, crating a vivid and lovable image of the man known to so many as "The Prince Of Puke"

Upon the second reading of this book, I've found I enjoyed it just as much- if not, more. I noticed a lot more the second time. Nowadays, comic collectors will just bag up their books and never bother to read them. DON'T DO THAT TO THIS BOOK. Read it. And buy two- one to read and one to preserve...

In one of the most original evil plots of all time (a madman tries to blow up the moon!), the Feimans have outdone themselves. The distinctive, Popeye-esque artwork will keep the casual reader captivated, while the clever plot will capture even the shortest of attention spans.

Sci-fi thriller and morality play combine in this comic book that entertains all ages. It's fun for the kiddies, but intelligent enough to engage the adult reader. (Makes a GREAT Christmas gift or stocking stuffer.)

Myke Feinman's "The Crystal Skull Files" does something that hasn't been done. He takes all the excitement and adventure of the daily strips of yesterday and turns them into a full length graphic novel. No waiting until tomorrow's paper to find out how his protagonist, Terry Freedom, made it out of the latest jam. Just one long satisfying read from beginning to end. Satisfying is the word for it. Like any writer worth their salt, Myke makes you keep turning the page to find out what happens next. It's not only the writing that works it's the Segar-esque (Popeye) bigfoot style art combined with a Caniff-esque(S. Canyon) action tale. Of course, like Myke's first graphic novel with Terry "The Mask Conspiracy", "The Crystal Skull Files" is ripe with underlying themes such as freedom of speech and basic human rights. None of which is preachy but worked into the story with good results. There is also several other strips by Myke and others in the back of the book so it's definitely worth the price of admission. It's clearly worth more that a subscription to a daily paper.

I received the Crystal Skull Files through the mail, and was I pleasantly surprised!! Both it and Feinman and Company's first effort, "The Mask Conspiracy" are used as teaching tools in schools across the country. And let me just say that the people at Ink and Feathers are very friendly and very accomidating. Write them, and I'll bet you get a reply! The art-work is great, reminding me also of earlier comics. There is a message in each of the two comics from I&F, and there is nothing even slightly distasteful. Don't be afraid to let your Junior High Schooler read this. Unlike most other comics on the market today, there is nothing to be concerned about. Keep up the Good Work!

34 years of being a Cubs fan - this book made a lot of sense to me. Really well done. I devoured this book in two days. People on the train looked at me as I laughed my way through it.

If you consider yourself to be a Cubs fan, you must read this book. It is an amazing book depicting the life of a Cubs fan. It is especially good at helping all of us Cubs fans laugh at ourselves!

I first bought this book because it seemed amusing but after receiving it I discovered a well written book with great facts and anecdotes. It did make me laugh and I felt at one with the Cubs Nation. It is one of my favorite books to send to friends.The Cubs Fan's Guide to Happiness

This book is a MUST for the person interested in becoming a better Cubs fan. I work with a group of women that LOVE to go to the Cubs games. They invited me last year - I had fun, but didn't know much. I was given this book to "teach me" about the Cubs and how a Cubs fan exists. Ellis gives details about being a Cubs fan that are so helpful such as "TANY - There's Always Next Year" and "Beer Will Make it Better". The illustrations were great, and the glossary will come in handy when I go to my next game. I got a lot out of the book, but I know that even the most knowledgeable fans will find lots of new and interesting information in this extremely funny book. You won't be disappointed - it's any easy read, and entertaining. Highly recommend!

This is a delightful read for Cubs Fans. (I happen to be one living in exile in New Jersey!) It offers comfort for Cubbie fans woven with good day to day advice for living in general. I do have two beefs with the author though. A) He suggests that the Cubs are pretty much a White Collar Team. (B.S.!) and B) He winds up the book on a downer. "A Century of Losing: 100 Years 100 Frustrations". Other than that, It is a must for any Cub fan.