Satire Books

A great read! In this masterfully woven novel, Johnny Payne brings his engaging protagonist into 3-dimensional life in a variety of settings that I found surprisingly fascinating, including the worlds of boxing and horse racing. We encounter rich diversity of characters here as well, including an ex-wife who is writing a novel as we read, using the life of the protagonist as her subject. The plot of North of Patagonia is satisfyingly complex, and the reading is easy. I couldn't put the book down.

A great read! In this masterfully woven novel, Johnny Payne brings his engaging protagonist into 3-dimensional life in a variety of settings I found surprisingly fascinating, including the worlds of boxing and horse racing. We encounter a rich diversity of characters here as well, including an ex-wife who is writing a novel as we read, using the life of the protagonist as her subject. The plot of NORTH OF PATAGONIA is satisfyingly complex, and the reading is easy. I couldn't put this book down!

James Lileks has been compared to Dave Barry, and in many ways you might find the comparison apt because there is of course an overlap in attitude and "content". Of course "content" is not an issue in either of these great guys' books or columns. Both can write about absolutely abything and make it tear-wrenchingly funny. But that's about it for the comparison. Lileks will strike many as a more seriously funny writer, if you can imagine what that means. Dave Barry can keep you giggling throughout a piece, whereas Lileks is staid for several sentences - then makes an devastating, or devastatingly funny, observation or comparison that seems to come straight from heaven, and it hits straight through everything to, not just the funny bone, but to your very heart and soul! One reviewer for a newspaper said, "Lileks sparkles, he leaps out at you from the page." He was trying to convey the feeling I'm talking about, which is very difficult to do, and which you'll understand only after reading some of Lileks' stuff. There is a personal intensity about this writer that makes a deep impression on you, if humour can be said to make an impression. "Notes of a Nervous Man" is his best book, and a straightforward place to start if you haven't read James Lileks before.

James Lileks has been compared to Dave Barry, but I supposethat is only because of the fact that both are great humorists. As for style and content, is is obvious that there will be some common elements, because what people laugh at is predictable to an extent. The main difference is this: Lileks strikes you as a vastly more INTELLIGENT person, and his lines and observations are very, very INTELLIGENT. Dave may keep you laughing at a giggly tempo throughout, but Lileks... it's different. You're generally staid, and when he shoots off that climactic observation, it strikes you as something so manically funny that it knocks the wind out of you. You laugh as though you'll never laugh again in your life, and there is this urge to compare Lileks to God, to the Sublime, to ... That cannot be said of any other American writer. I would not go so far as to compare Lileks with Wodehouse... but if anyone had to have the title today of an aspiring Wodehouse, it has to be Lileks. There is a scintillating sublimity about him, something holy, something that makes one feel like praying... one feels closer to God after reading some of Lileks' greatest lines, even if such are only five in a whole book. That said, maybe someone wants to know what I'm talking about. The bottomline is this: either you'll find Lileks not very funny, maybe mildly so, maybe someone like Dave Barry but not so funny -- or you'll swear by everything I've said here! Notes of a Nervous Man is among his funniest, but no one can say which is THE funniest, because it's only those occassional zappers that strike you, and those are pretty evenly distributed over all his books so far. He even has a website - (hey hey hey, I'm not a PR agent for him!...

The best book of engineering humor ever written. Well, okay it may be the only book of engineering humor ever written. Write me directly (SClarkPE@aol.com) with ideas/comments... Steve Clark, P.E.END

Biased or not, Mr. Clark, P.E., has written a wonderful book! It's a bit tough to find, but the book expertly and hilariously defines the differences between the soft sciences/liberal arts and the hard sciences. I'd recommend it just for its definition of "partial credit" between the two worlds mentioned above.

SOULSEARCHERS COMPANY, written by the award-winning Peter David (and Richard Howell). The Soulsearchers are a screwball team of
psychic investigators. The adventures usually have a satirical slant, but can be serious, too. Sometimes at the same time. I deliberately use the term "screwball," because the
interaction between the male lead (a fire demon from an Arabic Hell) and the female lead (a former olympic athlete, with a magic vaulting pole . . . no, really) is reminiscent of
the old screwball comedies: witty, barbed, and very funny dialogue. Any comics fan with a sense of history will recognize the artists: Dave Cockrum and Jim Mooney. Need I
say more?

this is a good book.if you are formilliar with peters work from the hulk and aquaman aswell as spyboy and a litlne of other comicbooks, you will like this. he is an excallent writer. he has done a lot of star treck books aswell. so if you are formilliar with his work from that you aswell know what i mean when i commend his writing abilities. he is funny, witty, and serious in the same page, or at least he can be, and do a good job of it. if you are a fan of comic books and never read any of his stuff as well as star treck fans, now is the time to discover him. he is good at what he does. buy this book.

Someone should tell Art Bell about this book! I know it's supposed to be a humor book and it was published in 1996, but so many of its predictions are coming true it's downright scary! I've tossed my Nostradamus books in favor of "THE OPTIMIST'S/PESSIMIST'S GUIDE." I predict you will too!

I was recently sitting around with my wife and predicting what the Millenium will bring. She's an optimist, I'm a pessimist. Now imagine my face when I bought a book and saw in its pages not only both of those opposing views represented, but many many more. And they're all screamingly funny (at least the pessimistic ones!) I've read two books by Ed Strnad -- the other one was Growing Old Sucks -- so it's easy to guess which author was the optimist and which the pessimist. I suppose Barbara Kipfer and Strnad actually represent what we all really think. She reflects the hopes and dreams and aspirations we cling to about the future. He squirts seltzer in our faces and tells us what will *really* happen. And with a unique and razor-sharp sense of humor.

As we approach the Millenium, I recommend this book for anyone planning to be around in the year 2000 and beyond.

There aren't too many good literary satirists out there these days, in fact, it is just about a lost art. If you want to read good satire, you have to go back to literally hundreds of years to find people like Jonathan Swift and Voltaire. Okay, there's Thomas Wolf, but he is a rarity--and so is Vladimir Sarkoff, author of "Outrageous Tales". To say that Sarkoff's writing has an edge to it is a real understatement because it ripples with wit and is full of pointed jabs at everything from politicians to hippies. "Paper Wars" the first story in the collection, is the best account I've ever read about the everyday life of a white-collar working stiff. And Sarkoff's comic timing is superb, he doesn't waste one word.

This book is so hilariously funny, I had to stop reading because I was getting stomach cramps. This guy has a wicked sense of humor and if you like off-color stuff you will love this book!!!

First off, you need to know that "passing gas" is medical slang for what anesthesiologists do in the operating room: administer vaporous medications to keep patients asleep and comfortable. I'm not sure how commonly known that is outside medical circles.

After battling death and disease all day, I appreciate a little levity. I got plenty with this volume. Despite the title, the humor is not sophomoric. "Passing Gas" makes a great gift for any physician, nurse, physical therapist, or anyone tangled up it the healthcare system, even hospitalized patients. If you like TV shows such as "Scrubs" and "MASH," you'll love this book.

-Steve Parker, M.D., author of The Advanced Mediterranean Diet: Lose Weight, Feel Better, Live Longer

Want a laugh a minute at your doctor's expense? Then read Passing Gas and Getting Paid for It, a wacky take-off on doctoring by an anesthesiologist who knows how to poke fun at himself and his profession. Borsky has an ear for visual comedy, hyperbole, and slapstick humor with a touch of true compassion for patients and clueless interns thrown in the mix. A Dave Barry-esque romp, complete with a fundraising doc dressed as a polyp. No one could make this up.

I have a great time reading the stories in this collection both for myself and my son. The stories are short enough to keep his attention and it can be read in snippets so it is perfect fo those times when you are just looking for something to fill some down time. It is also fun to take the ballpark for in between innings. It is pefect for the fan who likes to learn about the little stuff that goes on in baseball both behind the scenes and in the newspaper.

I have a great time reading the stories in this collection both for myself and my son. The stories are short enough to keep his attention and it can be read in snippets so it is perfect fo those times when you are just looking for something to fill some down time. It is also fun to take the ballpark for in between innings. It is pefect for the fan who likes to learn about the little stuff that goes on in baseball both behind the scenes and in the newspaper.

Marilyn's book is one that will not be put down easily once you start reading. She has a handle on the details of life. Each story is one that we have all lived. The way that Marilyn tells the story, however, is much funnier, and somehow makes the memory of my (similar) story even funnier! I read only a few at a time, to make the book last longer...and hope each book's ending is followed by yet another book. For you folks who live in Wooster Ohio, where these stories originate, you truly live with a treasure! Enjoy these warm and affectionate books about being a mom and wife in a particularly humorous way only Marilyn can impart!

In Pieces of Mind Marilyn shares bits of her life as a harried, approaching middle-aged, wife and mother of three active children on-the-go, who also just happens to be a writer in her spare time. Ha! It is in the domestic vein of her life where she reveals to us "universal occurrences" or shared experiences that unify her readers as though she were writing about our own everyday lives. The difference being Marilyn can laugh at herself and at others, allowing each of us to laugh at ourselves, our lives, and become bigger, better people by remembering not to take ourselves too seriously.

Hillary Price is absolutely delightful, in this book which contains some of her best strips. I have this book and "Reigning Cats and Dogs". If you enjoy "Rhymes with Orange", these books are a must-have. I hope Hillary Price puts out another book real soon.

I look forward to reading everyday the Rhymes with Orange comic strip in my local paper. Now, to have several of them all together in one book is wonderful. I also have her previous book, "Reighning Cats & Dogs". Now, on a rainy day, I sometimes take them out, and forget everything else.