Showing posts with label humor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label humor. Show all posts

10/06/2012

The Last Cafe Review

The Last Cafe
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A group of eccentric travelers are stranded by a killer blizzard at a small cafe in the middle of nowhere for two memorable days in this delightfully funny and touching novel by Kevin Cahill.
Narrating the events at THE LAST CAFE is Morton Poom, the town's local famous poet who fancies himself a mystery writer (and a very bad one at that). Poom introduces us to the strangers who seek refuge from the storm, among them the wealthy and snobbish Victor Spoils and his gin-swilling wife, Muffin; a sweet English Scholar, Linda Love; and a grimy biker only known as The Thief.
Among the locals are Myrna Zeligman, the elderly, chain-smoking cafe owner; Raoul Goldblum, Myrna's Jewish-Mexican cook; Elsa, the Last Cafe's overweight and nosey waitress; Carl G. 'Bud' Moore Jr. II, a gas pump attendant with some damaged gray matter; Sheriff Bill Fish, the one-eyed lawman with an itchy trigger finger; Quiet Dave, enigmatic owner of Dave's Guns and Gifts (who hasn't uttered a word in twenty years); Ivon Poom, Morton's grumpy father; and Bob The Dog, a gentle Doberman who carries on deeply philosophical discussions with the narrator Poom.
Cahill's quickly paced style is peppered with witty and hilarious dialogue that briskly leads the plot through each character's life story, and intertwines new relationships that grow through the passing hours. We learn about life and its many crossroads, as the Last Cafe slowly transforms into a metaphor for a stopping point where important decisions must be made before one can continue the journey of life.
THE LAST CAFE will make you both laugh and cry as Cahill's wonderful characters reveal their fragile yet durable spirit.

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A group of eccentric travelers is stranded by a killer blizzard at a small cafe in the middle of nowhere for two memorable days in this delightfully funny and touching novel by Kevin Cahill. Narrating the events at THE LAST CAFE is Morton Poom, the town's famous poet who fancies himself a mystery writer (and a very bad one at that). Poom introduces us to the strangers who seek refuge from the storm, among them the wealthy and snobbish Victor Spoils and his gin-swilling wife, Muffin; a sweet English Scholar, Linda Love; and a grimy biker only known as The Thief. Cahill's quickly paced style is peppered with hilarious dialogue that leads us through each character's life story. We learn about the journey of life and its many crossroads, as the Last Cafe becomes a brief stopping point along the way.

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9/12/2012

Kotter's Back: E-mails from a Faded Celebrity to a Bewildered World Review

Kotter's Back: E-mails from a Faded Celebrity to a Bewildered World
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I have never written a book review online. The nasty comments that the previous reviewer spewed has compelled me to offer my thoughts.
This book is really funny! Not only is it funny,but it is also a dark and subtle commentary on our celebrity culture. Everytime I read it, I find something new. Welcome back Kaplan! I hope his next book is a personal memoir.He is a funny and irreverant guy!

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When fifty-eight-year-old Gabe Kaplan, perhaps best known for his performance in the title role of the popular seventies sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, got an e-mail asking him to participate in a show called Celebrity Boxing, he couldn't resist the urge to have a little fun with the request. After exchanging a series of ludicrous e-mails with the show's talent coordinator in a mock-serious attempt at negotiation, Gabe was inspired to start a prank e-mail campaign. The result is this hilarious collection of correspondence. See how people react to Gabe Kaplan's absurd claims that he:* has slept with more women than Wilt Chamberlain* is an expert at Cossack dancing* thinks he's smart enough to become a member of MENSA* wants his image on a U.S. postage stamp* would like NASA to send him into orbit with Jimmy Carter and Dr. J* and many more!Witty, irreverent, and ridiculously comical, Gabe's e-mails and the responses he receives are sure to entertain anyone with a taste for the surreal.

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8/23/2012

The CEO of the Sofa (O'Rourke, P. J.) Review

The CEO of the Sofa (O'Rourke, P. J.)
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CEO of the Sofa is an uneven book. It's basically a collection of some of P.J.'s writings on everything from Hillary Clinton to driving to being a new father. It is linked together in an homage to Holmes' "The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table" as a series of diatribes P.J. unleashes on the Democrats next door, his assistant, his wife, his daughter, his godson and the baby sitter (usually as his alter ego, the Political Nut).
I can't, in good faith, recommend this book to non-P.J. fans. The wit is there but the book lacks the coherence, factual analysis and dogged persistence on a subject that characterize his best books - Eat the Rich, Parliament of Whores and All the Trouble in the World. Even his previous collections - Vacations in Hell, Give War a Chance and Age and Guile - had related articles sandwiched together in sections. This just sounds like someone rambling on and on from topic to topic with no rhyme or reason. If you're not familiar with O'Rouke, I recommend the above-mentioned books, which are excellent.
Some of the stuff in the book is very good. Some of it isn't. His open letter to Democrats, his discussion of how being a parent changed his outlook, his (well-deserved) lambasting of Hillary and his analysis of the impeachement scandal in which no side is spared his sharp tongue, are top notch. But the CEO linkages annoyed me. Moreover, he took his old articles and pasted in asides to his (fictional) audience. The pasting is obvious and the asides are unnecessary and distracting. If he'd just done this as a coherent collection of his writings, it would probably be a 3.5-4 star book. As it is, it's 3-3.5 stars for PJ fans, probably less for novices.

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8/13/2012

Recipes From Ladybug Farm: A Companion Cookbook Review

Recipes From Ladybug Farm: A Companion Cookbook
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On the third page of this book is the following statement: "Note: This book is intended as a novelty only. Many of the recipes included herein have not been tested, and the author makes no claims regarding their accuracy or their originality."
Neither of the reviews on the Amazon page mention this fact.
That said, the recipes look fairly standard and most would probably turn out OK.
I just resent buying a cookbook only to receive it and find out that it's a "novelty".

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Bridget's Blueberry Scones... Miss Emily's Brunswick Stew... Ida Mae's Fruit Cake... These are some of the seventy-plus recipes from Donna Ball's beloved "Ladybug Farm" series of novels that are included in this novelty collector's recipe book.Organized according to seasons, rather than traditional food categories, this book emphasizes the use of fresh, seasonal ingredients that should bring out the best in any home cook. Pithy advice from Ida Mae and Bridget, along with memories from the previous Ladybug Farm books, are designed to bring a smile to the table, along with a great new dish or two.

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7/25/2012

Rantalicious: True Tirades from a Woman on the Edge Review

Rantalicious: True Tirades from a Woman on the Edge
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I was laughing all the way through this book! I was actually giggling in my living room while reading Rantalicious and I think my boyfriend must have thought I was insane! I could definitely see myself in the book and the author's viewpoints.
"Rantalicious: True Tirades from a Woman on the Edge" is a book for the "everywoman"! I highly recommend it!

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FROM APEX REVIEWSThe eclectic conversations of the ladies room...the dreaded perils of losing unemployment benefits...the trials and tribulations of weight loss plans...the eye-opening (mis)adventures of a trip to Atlantic City...Throughout the pages of Rantalicious: True Tirades From A Woman On The Edge, author Alisa Steinberg introduces the reader to a variety of different issues constantly confronting the modern woman. Probing, laconic, and laced with a healthy dose of her trademark humor, Steinberg's various rantings double as hilarious personal anecdotes and insightful delvings into the heart and mind of a woman at war - with forces both internal and external. Drawn from Steinberg's own real-life experiences, the off-the-wall stories in Rantalicious succeed in tapping into the common pulse of joy, pain, love, heartache, and general drama that beats in the everyday lives of countless women. As such, readers are sure to identify not only with the harsh reality of her daily stress, but also the fearless way in which she chooses to confront it. A thoroughly entertaining, highly rewarding read.ABOUT RANTALICIOUS: TRUE TIRADES FROM A WOMAN ON THE EDGEIn Rantalicious: True Tirades from a Woman on the Edge, bestslling author and humorist Alisa Steinberg delves into her off-the-wall life and mind to deliver these ultra-ranting and comedic tales that are signature Steinberg.Explore Ambushed at work. Ambushed at Saks., Tales of Tirades, Discontinued Products and Sephora Lip Liner #133 , This Ranter's Guide to 1-2-3 Weight Loss, andmuch, much more in this funny and tantrum induced collection of real life stories.

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7/08/2012

Bad Bear Detectives: An Irving and Muktuk Story (Irving & Muktuk Story) Review

Bad Bear Detectives: An Irving and Muktuk Story (Irving and Muktuk Story)
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Those Bayonne Bears are back, and there's not a safe muffin in all of New Jersey. "Bad Bear Detectives" is another delicious book in Daniel and Jill Pinkwater's hilarious "Irving and Muktuk" series, and it's one of their funniest. While Daniel Pinkwater specializes in combining the outrageous with the dryly understated (much as James Stevenson does in his stories about Grandpa and Wainey), `Detectives' has some of the funniest lines of all the "Bear" books, and Jill Pinkwater's colorful backgrounds and imaginatively drawn backdrops and bears (the latter are so uncomplicated and sheer white that they seem to leap off the page) engage the reader and convey the slyly innocent, but oh-so-guilty personalities of the muffin-obsessed bears.
When determined Police Captain Hare fingers Irving and Muktuk as the prime suspects in a heist of "expensive Italian designer muffins from the waterfront, the bears take a break from cheating at poker to proclaim their innocence:
"This is bad," Muktuk says, "Make one mistake and anytime a muffin is missing, the coppers are all over you."
It is unfair, "Irving says.
"Of course, we have made more than one mistake," Muktuk says.
Unfortunately, their history of muffin larceny (stretching from Alaska to the Bayonne muffin factory) is so well known that not even the zoo director sides with them, and even offers a punishment: "If it is proven that they took the muffins, they will be locked in their [apartment-like] room at night, and they will have to pick up trash around the zoo for a year."
However, the bears are so convinced of their innocence (or have a huge capacity for denial) that they resolve to "remove the smirch from their names," by stealing detective hats and finding the true culprit. "Isn't it a bad idea, where we are going to prove that we did not steal something, to start out by stealing hats?" Irving asks. In Pinkwater's usual deadpan style, Muktuk replies, "We have no choice...without hats, we would be spotted as polar bears in a second."
There's only one soft spot in the story, some good detective-bad detective interrogation of a watchman that doesn't quite fit, but two pages later Pinkwater returns to prime Irving and Muktuk form: "If you were a bear..." Muktuk says. "I am a bear," Irving says. IF you were a bear, and you took the muffins, what would you do next?" Muktuk asks. "I would eat them!" Muktuk says. With their working theory that bears must have stolen the muffins, Irving and Muktuk have inside knowledge of the muffins' location. They're so familiar with the loot that they pick up the smell of "mirtilli dell'italia, or blueberries of Italy, and--surprise!--the scent of bear! Still hanging onto their excuse that they're after some other muffin-loving bears, Irving and Muktuk lead us back to the Bayonne zoo ( ! ), where they find the muffins behind a waterfall next to the polar bear pool! They're slightly soggy, but good enough to finish off.
"So, it was us! We did take the muffins!" Muktuk says. "Because we are bad bears," Irving says. "Yes, we are, Muktuk says."
And this is a very excellent book. In the Pinkwaters' hands, the bears are clever symbols of young children, so egocentric and single-minded in their hedonistic pursuits that their heartfelt tale of innocence lasts right up to the muffin-eating conclusion. As they eat the last muffin morsels, they know that punishment will follow the crime, but their eyes seem to say that nothing will hold them for long--and nothing ever does. Good for them, and good for all of us, because there's nothing quite as delightful as the blueberry muffin-eating bears of Bayonne.

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1/17/2012

Mouse Cookies & More: A Treasury (If You Give...) Review

Mouse Cookies and More: A Treasury (If You Give...)
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My 4 year old daughter loves this series. In this book are four of the titles (If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, If You Give A Pig A Pancake, If You Give A Moose A Muffin and If You Take A Mouse To SChool)plus songs, activities and recipes to accompany each story. The CD reads through all of the stories and sings the songs. The stories are easy to follow along and the illustrations are wonderful. They start with the title of the book and progress from there. For example, If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk and so on. The stories are engaging and my daughter's reading skills are progressing rapidly. I have fun changing the stories up. I'll say the mouse will ask for a glass of water and my daughter will correct me. They are great for early reading skills and memory. If You Give A Pig A Party is her other favorite after mouse cookie which we purchased separately. This is the one my daughter usually asks for before bed. She'll snuggle up with the book, we put the CD on and it winds her down. The Cd lasts approximately 30 minutes. Ihighly reccomend this series for beginning readers.

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All three characters from the #l national bestselling If You Give . . . series have brought their books, recipes, songs, and activities to this family treasury, chock-a-block full of fun things to do. Parents, grab your kids! Kids, grab your parents and join Mouse, Moose, and Pig as they read, bake, sing, and play.


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