Humor Books

This book makes one review their priorities in life. It is a book to keep on hand, to consult when things seem to be getting "out of hand" I procrastinated starting the book as I thought it would be morose, but on the contrary it was quite inspiring and often very amusing. I ordered an additional copy to pass around to my family and friends.

Randy Pausch set to standard for living life to the fullest. When faced with his inevitable demise, he made the most of every moment, and became an eternal voice of encouragement. This book is a blessing.

Clearly, Prof. Pausch has spent a lot of time to thinking through the meaning of life and in this anecdotal account of the last months of his life he has convincingly expressed the importance of time. Very easy reading with deep meaning and a fitting bequest to his family.

I enjoyed this book in so many ways and it really makes you think about what is really important in life. I was overwhelmed by Randy's strength and love for his family. This book inspires you and makes you want your children and family to read this book so they will learn the importance of building ones self esteem and encouraging others to go after their dreams. My grandfather use to tell me that you can do anything you want to do as long as you put your mind to it and not let others discourage you. Randy taught his students the same and has left such a wonderful gift to his children with his "Last Lecture".

Totally Awesome book. Very riveting story and a great presenetation. I laughed, I cried, I learned some life lessons and took time to review and reflect on what my life was and could be. Thanks Randy.

Inspiring and uplifting! Laced with laser sharp humor, Eat,Pray,Love is the account of a mid-thirties woman figuring it out! Read it now!

I couldnt put this book down~!`
i'm going thru my own stuff right now and found myself crying at parts of this book when it hit close to home.

I was shocked when I logged on to Amazon and saw so many snarky, bitter reviews; I expected this book to have a solid five star rating. I do a lot of reading and it not every day that I find a book so engrossing, so honest, so profound, and so funny that I clear my schedule in order to plow through it. To all those mean-spirited reviewers, my question is: if you hated the book so much, why did you waste your time on it? Seems to me those folks are the ones who needed this book the most, yet read it without appreciating any of the gifts it has to offer. Now, I am not saying that this book is some sort of holy text; to the contrary, the writer is, or at least starts out, as a whiney, neurotic mess, who admittedly can be quite annoying in her self-referential misery. And her path to spirituality reads more like a TV reality show than the Bhagavad Gita. But I love the intensely personal, hyper observant, open-to-everything way in which she embraces her experiences, as well as the gritty and witty way she communicates. The chapters are packed with wonderful nuggets of information, wise insights, fascinating observations of people and cultures, and delicious moments of sensuality, spirituality, grace and inspiration. As a person who enjoys nature writing, my one disappointment with the book was that her interest seems so exclusively focused on people. I would have enjoyed a little more natural history, the names of some of the beautiful flowers and butterflies she describes, or a description of a dog or cat or sacred cow that even begins to match the sensitivity and wonder with which she describes humans. But that is a minor quibble with a major achievement. And I don't even say this because I identify with the author's journey. I spent my glorious months in Italy when I was 20, have met my soul mate, and am able to quiet my mind without visiting an Ashram. But I, and I suspect most of us, can always use some help expanding our world views and and shoring up our moral and spiritual failings; this book inspires such self-work while being thoroughly entertaining.

This is a very interesting and fun book to read. Elizabeth is creative in her descriptions of her experiences.

Not only did I find her whiney and self-absorbed, but also didn't see her as a really great writer. I almost quite half way but I hate not to finish, so I slugged through it all. There were a few interesting times in the book, but they are few and far between. Just find someone who read it and ask them to recap their favorite paragraph and you're done.

I was looking forward to reading Mike's latest book for weeks before it finally came out, and when I finally got my copy I wasn't disappointed. Michael Moore is in true form in this fast, funny and insightful read. I couldn't put it down and it felt healthy to have such a good laugh while never losing sight of how serious this election will be. It's worth the price just to read the first chapter, a humorous question and answer session entitled "Ask Mike".

What's the point of even reading this? Let me save you the trouble - I can summarize the whole thing for you: Republicans suck and Democrats are the only truly intelligent people on earth. Voting for a Republican makes you inhuman, and worthless.

This is the kind of horribly drivel that is ruining America. I wish Moore and Ann Coulter would both find a new home in Zanzibar or something. Just go away with the hate-filled rhetoric.

Whatever happened to cordial disagreements?

Don't buy, read or touch this book and feed the machine that ruins us all. Remember: united we stand, divided we fall.

The book is a sad attempt at getting back into the headlines. It is not worth the money.

Once again, Michael Moore exposes the truth of this election, and throws the punches many Democrats are afraid to throw. Every American concerned about the future of the country needs to read this book before November 4th.

I am a huge fan of Moore's writing and his ability to use humor to address issues that, to be blunt, can be very dry. This book was a little bit of a mixed bag for me. It had some humorous parts and some useful information but it seemed to lack the depth that previous books held. Some of the questions in the Q&A Section were just plain silly. Overall, it was a quick and worthwile read but not his best.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames is filled with more of David Sedaris's essays on pretty much anything that crosses his mind. From his neighbor Helen to the boil on his lower back to wanting to see the dingo at the zoo. Sedaris dwells on his inadequacies to the point of sleep (the reader's). There are some humorous moments, but Sedaris focuses on the negative too much and the comic relief too little.

Straight from the Van Gogh on the cover through an essay on the practicality of the colostomy bag. The book is filled with the sort of uncomfortably wonderful humor that we have come to expect from Sedaris. Whether you've read his previous five novels or are picking up your first, you'll love this book.

I'm a Sedaris fan - I think his sense of humor is very intellectual and hilarious. He makes fun of himself and gives his impression of the things going on around him - just really funny. I laugh out loud with this one.

A few years back word got around that one of Sedaris' first books (Naked) was to be made into a film. The idea seemed impossible. "Naked" is a seemingly random group of short stories. Sporadic but polished diary entrees at best. There was no real story there. Matthew Brodrick was rumored to be attacked to the project and it seemed for a short time that it was actually going to happen, then things, I guess fell apart. Since "Naked" Sedaris has written several other books, "Me Talk Pretty One Day", "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim" and now "When You Are Engulfed in Flames".

The books all follow the same pattern, Sedaris takes notes and entries from his diary and/or life experience, seasons them with humor and slight exaggeration and then presents them as self-depreciating musing about his family, his world, and himself. They are like candy to read (his stories/observations often around a dozen pages or so long) and often bring forth a chuckle or two if not a full blown guffaw. The inherent problem however is that when Sedaris wrote "Naked" (fresh from the success he had with his masterpiece "Santaland Diaries) he seemed to have a gold mind of material or maybe it was that his style seemed so fresh and new; but now there seems to be few surprises. Not that familiarity breeds contempt, but perhaps it breeds a slight bit of boredom. Such excerpts from "...Flames", like "Solutions to Saturday's Puzzle" and "Of Mice and Men" are very funny and biting. Others seem to tread over to familiar territory. "The Smoking Section" (a far too long story about Sedaris quitting smoking in Japan) has us back in a classroom with our hero learning Japanese. Funny, but not unlike "Me Talk Pretty Some Day" when our hero was learning French. There are also more stories about his youth, his hard smoking colorful mother, the cranky father, his boyfriend Hugh. All are enjoyable but all are very familiar.

As I look back on this book as well as his others, the idea of a movie makes more sense now. With each book we get a little more nuance, a little more filler. As a whole the books reflect a sort of non-liner auto -biography and right now that's good enough for me; but it begs the question: Can a David Sedaris movie be made? Maybe if you mined all of his work. If Hollywood were to bite again, what's the worst that could happen? Perhaps it might give David more material for his next book.

As always, David Sedaris delivers an easy to read and very funny book. He never disappoints.

I can't remember when I found a book so funny. I was constantly laughing out loud--filthy, funny, and highly immature--loved every minute. Thanks Chelsea.

This is a great book. I lost count on how many times I laughed. I look forward to reading more books by Chelsea Handler.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book! It literally made me LAUGH OUT LOUD! I didnt want to read it too fast because then it would be over so soon. She is freakin hilarious. All her stories made me crack up. And what made it even funnier is that I can actually picture her doing this stuff! By far the funniest book I've ever read!!!

Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea

Great read . . . Quick read! good choice

This book is hilarious, and whoever does think so has problems....I would reccomend reading this book especially if you live in LA, i relate with about every experience in this book.

This book is definitely enjoyable because Chelsea is so funny, likeable, and a decent writer. The book is in the category "memoir/humor" but I really think that even though it wasn't meant to be, it could be a psychology text too. It's nice that she takes her situation lightly, but she really is psychologically damaged (not saying most people aren't). Her perspective seems a little wack, like it's so normal to her to drink THAT much and have THAT much promiscuous, virtually anonymous sex. To read the book, you would think strangers just walk up to each other, say hello and go have sex. Promiscuity makes me pretty uneasy, and so I took one star off the book for her taking it so lightly.

On this amazon page, a review from Publishers Weekly reads, "Opening with a cute story from when she was seven...." I think the reviewer is missing the point completely. The story was not cute AT ALL. I don't know what purpose Chelsea had in mind when choosing the story (probably just the sex connection), but it reveals much more. It is a glimpse into the larger framework of the really bad parenting (common in our culture) that created the promiscuous alcoholic adult. Hardly a cute story, more of a violent, very psychologically revealing story.

I think Chelsea may be missing the point too, by spinning her wheels searching for a need to be fulfilled over and over, when it is impossible. But hey, she is funny as hell. and she seemed to come around at the end!

not great... I actually liked her newer book better (are you there vodka.. its me Chelsea).. After reading that book first, I was thinking this one had to be even more raunchy... but it wasn't what I expected. It wasn't bad... I enjoy the way she writes. I just was let down after reading the other book first.

I absolutely loved this book!!! Its an easy and extremely funny read!! Some of her stories kept me laughing for days!!!So if your looking for a good laugh I would definetely reccommend this book!!!

I like to watch Chelsea's show, and she has a wry sense of humor; however, the way she conducted herself as a young woman is both frightening and sad. The thought of two underage women constantly drunk and inviting Godess knows whom into their beds, including criminals and absolute undesirables, wreaks of low self esteem, lack of self respect and no boundaries. I have to wonder if young women know they are putting themselves in danger when they get drunk and go home with strangers?? Not to mention diseases???? This lifestyle is not healthy. Think before you leap or read! I don't recommend this book to young women, who may be influenced to behave in unhealthy ways.

I read "Are you there Vodka, It's Me Chelsea?" and loved it so much that I immediately ordered "My Horizontal Life". Chelsea has a brilliant way of telling stories that makes you fell like you are out having a drink with a close friend. Not one to pass on to my grandma but definitely all of my girlfriends!

While it was obviously published at a fairly low-cost and a surprise hit, I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell has some stories that are truly hilarious. If you enjoy the misadventures of Hank Chinaski, but with less self-loathing and a lot more humor then Tucker Max is up your alley. So, crack a beer or ten and prepare to be horrified and laughing. Horrified at the stories and also at yourself, for enjoying them so much.

Highly amusing. Not for the easily offended though. Was great for a few great laughs.

Tucker Max should have a monument erected in his honor! This book is beyond hilarious and is definitely worth reading. I seriously couldn't put it down. BUY IT! I repeat, BUY IT!

This book is hillarious. Ever single thing in it just reminded me of something a friend or I had done and I would get caught laughing out loud while reading it. Buy this book.

I had heard of Tucker Max from his website and while walking through the bookstore, I came across this book and decided to buy it. I had not read a book since college, it is not something I enjoy doing, but the book looked hilarious and I have not been able to stop telling people about it. We are passing it around my group of friends so everyone can have a chance to read it.

We have all seen guys like him in the bar and I know the kind of girls he picks up. I see them walk out of the bar and I always wonder... what happens next... is it really as I would picture? WELL... Now we can find out!

I told some of my young friends they have to read it before they turn 21 and start going to bars because it will be a wakeup call for the innocents! LOL

I would love to sit in a bar and see Tucker Max work.. but until then, I love the book!

As I was reading this one I noticed myself giggling. Not because of the content of the story but because I began to realize this novel sounded like a Dick and Jane book. See Stephanie run. See Ranger run. See Stehpanie and Ranger run. I've never noticed before in any of the other novels how simplistic the writing style was. I'm a fifth grade reading teacher and I felt this book would have been to much of an easy read for my fifth graders.

Then I noticed that the story line was NOT memorable. I can remember previous novels with such ease (Stephanie wrestling the naked midget, Grandma opening the closed casket, or even the exploding cars). This novel had nothing "special" about it. There was nothing new or exciting. The characters sounded flat and boring. I felt like I was watching a soap opera with bad actors compared to a movie with Oscar winnning actors. I use to enjoy Stephanie having to fight over who she wanted more between her two men, but now I feel there isn't even a choice. Morielie is obviously the choice and everytime she lets Ranger kiss her brings down my repect for Evanovich for letting her character loose "character." At this point, I'm not sure if I want to read any more Plum novels.

The second disc was the same as the first so do not know if I heard the whole book or not otherwise was OK.

While #14 isn't the best in the series and was perhaps not as deftly crafted, it's got some good laughs and has a good story. Though Evanovich consistently delights, it's unrealistic to expect every work to be a masterpiece. While I wait patiently for the next installment, I'll re-read my personal favorites and hope that the Joe-Steph-Ranger triangle heats up again in #15.

Stephanie and her friends keep me laughing. I stayed up all night laughing at the book. My husband even started the series!

If you want mystery, fun, adventure, and the occasional sexual escapade, this is the book for you.

Some people just spend too much time whining because the book isn't high art.

Get off your high horses. Evanovich is hilarious. You are just jealous.

This an interesting book chock full of the gritty behind the scene details of working in a few New York restaurants. Chances are if you liked Tony Bourdain's 'A Cooks Tour' you will enjoy this, same idea different perspective. Some of the stories are really funny while others are just plain scary. You'll never look at your waitstaff the same way again!

I liked the book.
As a reader of the blog for a couple of years, I was worried that the book would be mostly a repeat of the blog entries. I'm happy to say most of it seemed fresh to me. I really enjoy his writing, the blend of inside info and human interest stories. I'm curious to see where he goes from here...

Some estimate that there are now only 16 people left in the USA who do not have a blog. Add to the blogosphere The (anonymous) Waiter, who vents about different species of objectionable customers, bosses and co-workers. The blogging waiter has weaved his postings into a coherent book in WAITER RANT. The book crackles with humor, insight and - ultimately - pathos.

The Waiter can not only wait tables, he can flat-out write. He has a collection of hilarious vignettes from seeing the whole spectrum of humanity (and occasionally) inhumanity in the restaurant business. Example: the staff dupes a clueless co-worker - a Syrian dude -- into thinking that one of the night's specials is freshwater ostrich. His customers explode with laughter as, straight-faced, he extols the taste of freshwater ostrich over saltwater ostrich. While the book is funny, it is not entirely comedic.

The Waiter reports on one family with a small child spotting a homeless man hanging around outside the upscale Bistro. The dad orders dinner to be taken out to the guy as a charitable gesture after the little girl asks if the guy ever begs for food.

As The Waiter traces how he left his longtime restaurant and the decision to take his life in a new direction, the mood changes. The book navigates a wide emotional range and develops an unusual depth.
WAITER RANT is a rollicking good time, that closes with a list of "How to Be a Good Customer."

Here's my tip: read, savor and enjoy WAITER RANT

I bought this book because it was shown alongside Anthony Bourdain's book, Kitchen Confidential, here on Amazon. I enjoyed Bourdain's book. I'm currently suffering through Waiter Rant. In Bourdain's blurb on the cover of Waiter Rant he says the book is Kitchen Confidential for the front of the house. Sorry, Chef, you're wrong about that one. It's boring and the writing is only average.

The first thing I will say is that this book is aptly named. It is indeed a rant, and like many things in life, it probably felt much better for The Waiter to write than for us to read. The title had me gleefully anticipating some funny, entertaining behind-the-scenes stories and observations about waiting tables. There are some of those, but one has to wade through some awful rants which are as garrulous as they are obvious. Over the course of several pages, for example, he informs us that for a waiter to spend $300 on a bottle of booze when money is tight is not a very good idea. Well, golly! Thanks for that but I think I could have figured that out without the book. Also, his supposedly verbatim (they are in quotation marks after all), recollection of conversations have got to be totally fictionalized: I mean, read the astonishingly banal (and overly lengthy) conversation with Beth in chapter 5 and tell me: do people really talk like that? And there are a few real head-scratchers, like when he writes about the fact that gambling is generally a waste of money (another of the book's many "duh" moments), he repeatedly uses the term "one-armed bandit" to refer to the person gambling rather than to the slot machine itself. No editor caught that? Come on.

In fairness, I have heard that The Waiter's blog is much better than the book, and I have not yet checked it out. But I sure hope it is, because this book, with it's pretense of philosophical discourse, goes nowhere slowly. It tortures the reader with lengthy, boring stories with painfully obvious morals. Even though I was only looking for a light, entertaining summer read with some fun anecdotes, I was disappointed even in this modest hope. I do not recommend this book.

Absolutely dreadful; a complete waste of time and money; does not work on any level.

I read this book expecting it to be a "how-to" on meeting and getting to know women. I was very pleasantly surprised to find a captivating true story of a man's (and several other men's) metamorphosis from socially inept people to masters of attracting women. For anyone looking for the "how-to" material, it's all there, woven into the story. But there is more. We get to truly see these men for who they are and we see how becoming successful with women affects their lives in different ways. It is encouraging, extremely entertaining, and even heartwarming.

I gave some thought to purchasing this book after reading Tucker Max's "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell". I never would have figured it's a book on how to turn yourself from a social outcast into a player...by using magic tricks. Wow can you get any lamer? Do you honestly think that pulling a quarter out from behind your ear is going to get you women, you mine as well dress up in your star trek outfit and head out to the bars...don't forget your pointy ears.
Suggestion: Don't waste your money, I'd rate it lower if I could.

This book is about the chronicles his journey from a lonely man with no confidence to a master pickup artist. Eventually, the pendulum settles somewhere in the middle in this guys life. Even the ending is satisfying. Very interesting, very involving and very enlightening. I also recommend other book about relationships I Love You. Now What?: Falling in Love is a Mystery, Keeping It Isn't

Thanks Style, not only have you given hope to shlubs like me, but you have demonstrated that self-improvement, while done to get women, is still a good thing. Over the last 3 years you have done little more than learn how to become an interesting person. I only wish that some of the bores in my life would take the time to learn how to be a little more interesting. Of course, living in Washington DC, there are never going to be a shortage of boring people. Thanks to you, I am effortlessly rising above them.My friends are complimenting me on the transformation that has taken place since I became aware of you. Thanks again!