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A reader walks into a bar...
A wryly wrought book can evoke a well-deserved smile during troubling times. Here are five new ones that would make great gifts, each characterized by smartness, silliness or plain old cornball fun. |
But seriously, these books keep you laughing
REVIEWS BY MARTIN BRADY
By John Naish Plume, $14 224 pages ISBN 0452286883
Southern speak
As a stand-up comedian and, more recently, in his WB television program "Blue Collar TV," Jeff Foxworthy has gained a reputation for having a little more savoir faire than his redneck peers. That doesn't by any means put Jeff Foxworthy's Redneck Dictionary on the highbrow end of comic material. This compendium, compiled by Foxworthy and four other comedy writers, looks for the "punning" nature to be found in "cornpone-speak," as old words emerge with new meanings. The text is arranged like a conventional dictionary, including pronunciation and usage tips, with each word used "appropriately" in a sentence. Take, for example, intense: "Next time we go campin', I suggest we sleep intense." So it goes through a couple hundred entries, which celebrate the stereotyped view of working-class Southerners and their distinctive dialect.
By Jeff Foxworthy Villard, $16.95 160 pages ISBN 1400064651
Living a dog's life
Bad Dog, by R.D. Rosen, Harry Prichett and Rob Battles, follows the format of last year's bestseller, Bad Cat, in depicting the very strange behavior of household pets. Or should we say the strange (and sometimes unforgivable) behavior of their owners? Each page features a color photo of a pooch dressed in an outlandish get-up (a bright pink wig, a witch's hat, a tiara, a football helmet and a striped prison uniform are among the accessories). The photos have captions that try to define the pups' attitudes, revealing them to be, by turns, a bemused, hostile, embarrassed, feisty, resigned and sometimes very put-upon bunch. "I may be rich, but I still like to sniff a fire hydrant now and then," sniffs a Bijon wearing multiple strands of jewelry. The photos include submissions by pet owners, which makes us wonder just who really needs obedience training.
By R.D. Rosen, Harry Prichett and Rob Battles Workman, $9.95 248 pages ISBN 0761139834
Man against the machine
Daniel H. Wilson, a doctoral candidate at Carnegie Mellon University, has a serious background in robotics research. Hence, he's eminently qualified to offer advice on How to Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion. This modest-sized paperback nicely splits the difference between reality and farce, with Wilson cuing in his readers to the far-flung advancements that have already been achieved with robotics, then juxtaposing those ideas with droll (if possibly effective) lifesaving remedies for the average human should the 'bots rise up against us. Wilson cites well-known sci-fi flicks along the way, and he seems to have a healthy respect for Hollywood's technical vision, even in light of his own insider knowledge. The tips for avoiding oblivion—"Escape at right angles," "Lose the human heat signature"—all play out logically in Wilson's way-out scenarios, but the author also elicits subtle, well-intended chuckles at the same time. (We might laugh even harder if we didn't pause to think it could actually happen.)
By Daniel H. Wilson Bloomsbury, $14.95 176 pages ISBN 1582345929
One more for the road
Finally, Zack and Larry Arnstein's The Bad Driver's Handbook: Hundreds of Simple Maneuvers to Frustrate, Annoy, and Endanger Those Around You takes a common, everyday bugaboo and turns it on its ear. Their premise: that "good" driving is only a matter of perspective, that in fact there is liberation in intimidating pedestrians, eschewing use of turn signals, and even tailgating ("How Close Is Not Close Enough?"). The authors also take aim at typical entries in the DMV handbook, discuss ways to talk a police officer out of issuing a ticket, suggest dos and don'ts for successfully sleeping at the wheel, describe the many ways one might stop at a STOP sign, and much more. The book's last chapter provides a tongue-in-cheek "final exam." The humor here is in the recognition of our own challenges behind the wheel and the amazing folly we sometimes observe in others.
By Zack and Larry Arnstein Santa Monica Press, $12.95 192 pages ISBN 1595800042
Martin Brady is a writer in Nashville.
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In Hypochondria Can Kill, British health journalist John Naish offers amusing, often ironic reportage on strange or little-known maladies that have been cataloged by health organizations worldwide. Naish writes in a style reminiscent of the syndicated column "News of the Weird," soberly recounting endless varieties of rare but nonetheless legitimate physical conditions, arranged under 17 broad chapters, such as "Love and Sex," "Headache or Tumor?" and "Sport and Leisure." Naish addresses how the phenomenon of hypochondria exhibits itself within these contexts, and he lists some of the world's most famous fakers. Included in this group are Florence Nightingale, Enrico Caruso, Igor Stravinsky and Marcel Proust, with Naish confirming that a lot of hypochondriacs live, albeit nervously, very full and long lives. There are plenty of smirks in the reading here, but more often Naish evokes a sense of incredulity about the strange ways of illness and wellness.
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