Parodies Books

As a Canadian of Scottish origin, I experienced a big wave of nostalgia on reading this book. Dr Ken B Moody, self-styled curmudgeon, has a whiff of Calvinism as well as mothballs about him, as he reveals what goes on behind the mask of medical inscrutability and says it like it is. He can be funny, frustrated, lugubrious, moralising, self-deprecating in the course of one anecdote and his ubiquitous satire is directed as much at himself as at his patients. Dispersed in the social comment are choice fragments of information on everything from bowels and brain cells to badminton and John Buchan. He also provides thoughtful and , frequently, helpful insights into painful aspects of the human condition, like cancer, bereavement or Alzheimer's Disease.
His style is fluent and humorous and, like a schoolboy, he enjoys puns, with cleverly contrived patients' names that make you laugh out loud. (My personal favourite is that of the local tradesmen, "Whyte Vaughn & Mann".)
This is a book to be dipped into at many levels. It would be a splendid alternative to the dated magazines in Dr Ken's or Phil MacCavity the dentist's surgery!

W's Wise Words to the World is a fun little book. The Author spends time in his introduction to explain the philosophy behind the book, while staying politically neutral.
This is a perfect book to give as a present, to Democrats, Republicans, and every other political conviction, as it so carefully maneuvers around being bias in either direction. It actually manages to not be a heavy, long, biographical-ish description of "W", and is more for pleasure than information and analysis.
W's Wise Words to the World leaves much up to your personal interpretation, and leaves you craving more from Dan Blue. And i say that if you are ever going to buy just one "political" book regarding "W", this is it.
I had an exceptional great time reading it, a few good laughs, and I highly recommend it to everybody!
Order it today!!

Jonathan Gray has guest lectured several times at a class I teach on The Simpsons and Philosophy at UCB, and I whole heartedly give his work my highest endorsement. Gray's knowledge of parody is well-articulated and incisive and he has a way of conveying his ideas with savvy and wit. Unlike some of those other Simpsons books which have found their way onto bookshelves, this one strikes a balance between satisfying that Simpsons geekdom we all crave and a solid theoretical acumen. His knowledge and love of The Simpsons is top notch, and this book easily compares with the very best of the Simpsons books already published, such as those by Alberti, Pinsky, or Turner.

This the perfect gift for anyone who is having a forty-something birthday. Believe me, because I am the author and know this to be true. Also, the cartoons are by Lennie Peterson the Big Picture guy who just got signed to a huge syndication deal and will soon be rich. The text is dead solid perfect for anyone who now has more hair growing in his ears than on his head. Believe me, I know about these things.

If you've ever wanted to be able to identify anything from a rabbit to a fox to a bear or a koala by its dung, well, this is the book for you. A two-page spread on each animal includes loving descriptions of each animal's fecal habits, as well as photos or drawings of turds both large and small. The book is just small enough to fit into a large pocket or a small bag, making it easy to take along as subway reading (in case you relish those weird looks from strangers) or to help you identify those piles of crap you find while hiking.

You'll learn a huge amount about how various animals' feces are used to enable scientists to better track and analyze their movements, habits, and health. The book includes a wide array of factoids regarding how dung is used: as fertilizer, tourist souvenirs, a water purifier(!), a necessary part of complex ecosystems, a source of food or shelter for some critters, and more.

The book has a humorous, irreverent tone, invoking every possible name for poo that you could possibly think of and then some.

I loved this book equally for its tone and for the fascinating bits of information scattered throughout--some hilarious, some poignant, some quite gross. You'll learn how the CIA used tiger poop during the Vietnam War, why ants farm and protect aphids for their honeydew-dung, and how ancient civilizations used various types of scat in medicinal remedies. Not to mention the wealth of information scientists have gathered about animals thanks to their dung, either directly or indirectly.

I saw this book on the shelf and was immediately attracted to it thinking, wow has someone done a parody of the Where's Wally series replacing Wally (Waldo, North America) with the hide and seek champion coward Osama Bin Laden. That's exactly what this book is, in fact you not only have to find Osama, but a number of his henchmen as well, who are hiding in all the major cities around the world, New York, Paris, Sydney, Cairo to name but a few. It is also not just the bad guys the reader has to find. The concept of the humour of this book is playing on the fact that America can't find Osama, so you also have to find the American secret service agent as well, who obviously since he can't find the highest profile person on the planet may need help finding himself. You'll also need to find hidden weapons of mass destruction and other objects

Obviously extremist patriotic Americans with no sense of humour will not get the joke that is the concept of Where's Bin Laden but everyone else including most other Americans will have at least a smile on their faces when they first see this book. It is pretty much the same thing visually as the Where's Wally books if you just want it for the find an image amongst a lot large more complicated visual image, so if you were going to get one of those books but want a laugh as well I'd get this instead.

Each of the cities portrayed has a small blurb on why they are now terrorist targets such as Sydney because Australia supported the USA in invading Iraq so obviously the author has certain views that you may or may not agree with, but you can just ignore those text boxes and enjoy the book purely for its visual humour anyway.

The book achieves what it sets out to. I have no idea if Daniel Lalic is the Weird Al Yankovic of the picture book world. I can't compare it to other books of his as this is the only one I've ever come across. I can say though that without a doubt, if you take a copy of this to your workplace or wherever else, everyone will want to have a look at it. Many people will ask where did you get this? So if you have read it and shown it to everyone you know, you'll have no problem selling it onto someone else who wants to show it to their friends and getting your money back. Get a copy and check it out, it's a good laugh!

David Feldman returns! . . . for fans of his series of
IMPONDERABLES books (and I'm one), that's good news because
by reading his latest effort, you'll learn the answer to the question
raised in the title: WHY DO PIRATES LOVE PARROTS? . . . along
with answers to such other questions as: Why are most psychics
women? How does the vending machine know when it's Sunday?
And why do peanut butter cookies have crisscross marks
on them?

I like the fact that Feldman thoroughly researches each and
every question, then proceeds to answer it in a manner that
not only informs but also puts a smile on your face . . . for
example, in case you've always been wondering what do they stuff
in medicine balls to make them so heavy, he found this out from
the MediBall company:

The balls are filled with an aqueous gel composed of potassium
polyacrylate and water. It is non-toxic and non-hazardous,
the same material is used an absorbent in baby diapers. Should
not hurt you unless you eat too many of them.

I also liked his discussion of the most frequently asked irritating
questions . . . among them: Do blind people dream? (Yes, but
they rarely see anything in their dreams.) . . . also: How many
licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? (The
average seems to be 600 to 800 licks, though my finding
is more along the lines of Mr. Turtle, who when in commercials
was asked how many licks it took him to get to the center,
replied, "I never made it without biting."

The accompanying drawings by longtime Imponderables illustrator
Kassie Schwan added to my enjoyment of this wonderful book that
will make a great holiday gift for folks of all ages.

The authors have a keen grasp of the married state, and have tweeked some of the funniest comments about that state that I have ever read. I truly enjoyed reading this one -- and giving it to my husband!

John Gray has made millions on his "Mars and Venus" series of relationship books...But true romantics and lonely hearts will find Mike Nichols' book both howlingly funny and refreshingly real...No baloney here, just good, clean fun at the expense of both sexes...In the end, it's not how you play the game of love, but if you manage to keep your sides from splitting...This book is a humor classic!!

I'm a sucker for just about any "how-to" book written on comedy. I don't purchase all the ones that I find, but the good ones get me to pull the wallet out. I pulled the wallet out for this one! What a great resource for someone interested in comedy writing. There are kinda two books in one in this tome. One part covers the basics of writing comedy, and the other part covers how to make a career as a comedy writer. It also distinguishes comedy writers from comedy performers - the two are not necessarily one and the same. This book is about comedy writing - not comedy performing.

But don't pass up this book just because you don't intend to be a professional comedy writer. Any writing that is intended for an audience will probably be better received (and enjoyed?) if it includes at least a touch of comedy or humor in it. If you are a consultant who writes books, ebooks, and/or creates and delivers seminars and workshops, then you will do yourself a favor to get this book and study its contents.

If you are a member of Toastmasters and want some insight on how to tackle the Humorous Speech manual, then consider getting this book.

The author has over 20 years experience as a comedy professional and he's written over 40 books. The quality of this book exudes all that experience. It's very informative and well-written. And being a 3rd edition says a lot about the book. It's been around and has been made better with each edition. It was a pleasure to read. 5 stars!