Finny is a dramatic character-driven novel that follows Delphine “Finny" Short's life from early childhood well into adulthood. It's sort of a coming-of-age novel, not ending with young adulthood, but continuing through each phase of Finny's life. Calling it a dramatic novel doesn’t really do it justice, because it’s funny as well. It’s another of those books that had me laughing out loud making people around me look over to see what I was reading. And I wanted to tell them. In fact, I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to read them the scene that made me laugh, and how completely delightful I found this book. And I usually did. Not only did I want to talk to others around me about this book, but I found myself shouting ...
Category Archives: Humor
The Bucolic Plague
When a book causes me to laugh out loud twice -- before I even get to page one -- I'm pretty sure that I'm going to like it. From the page after the dedication page: "This is a memoir of a certain time in my life. The names of some characters have been changed, and some are composites of various people, experiences, and conversations I had then. If you think that's unfair, you've obviously never lived in a small town and written a memoir about your neighbors." Author's caution (from the page after that): "This book is not about living your dream. It will not inspire you. You will not be emboldened to attempt anything more than making a fresh pot of coffee." Josh Kilmer-Purcell goes on with that quote to compare The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentleman ...
We Were Here First: Baby Blues
I'm seriously getting into comic strips again these days. I never would have suspected, since I've seldom paid attention to comics since I was, oh, say about 14. But lately they've held some appeal for a quick laugh or chuckle and "Ah HA!" moments. That said, I just finished devouring We Were Here First: Baby Blues Looks at Couplehood with Kids. Neither I, nor Jonathan had ever read Baby Blues before. As we've been reading along with this particular book, we've found ourselves laughing outloud and pointing out particular strips that represent us. And oh my goodness, Darryl and Wanda MacPherson ARE us! It's incredible! Having recently added to our family, life isn't as calm and restful as it was when we only had one child. I can't ...
My Quotable Kid
One of the things I am most thankful that my mother-in-law did in recording my husband's childhood was recording all of the funny things he said when he was younger. All of my in-law siblings have these amazing scrapbooks full of their own quotes and whenever we look through them we spend time laughing and snickering at what everyone said. It's so hilarious spending time with your spouse when their logic was still in development stages! So, when I saw that Chronicles Books offered My Quotable Kid: A Parents' Journal of Unforgettable Quotes I knew I had to have a copy for our family! I do like to scrapbook, and I copy down statements that I want to save and remember to include. However, I don't always ...
A Special Mother’s Day Giveaway from Hachette
Would you like to win this set of books graciously provided by Hachette? Just Let Me Lie Down By Kristin van Ogtrop God Never Blinks By Regina Brett The Cradle By Patrick Somerville Heart of My Heart By Kristin Armstrong Roses By Leila Meacham You don't have to be a mother, you don't have to be a woman, you don't have to give them to a mother -- just leave a comment and enter. You do however have to have a physical shipping address in the U.S. or Canada. The winner will be announced on May 19.
College in a Nutskull
I probably shouldn't be laughing about this book but it really is quite funny. College in a Nutskull was put together by Anders Henriksson who is a Professor of History at Shepherd University. He had previously released a book entitled Ignorance is Blitz which was well received, prompting him to collect information from professors from around the country for this new update on the status of education around the country. Ok, ok, this book is really very sad. Inside of College in a Nutskull you'll find answers that actual college students have given in college essays and on exams. You have to wonder as you reading ...
Hear No Evil
Hear No Evil: My Story of Innocence, Music, and the Holy Ghost is hilarious. I related to it because of all the 80's culture references and appreciated the good-natured ribbing of Christian culture and biases. I wondered what approach he would take, if he would be sarcastic and belittling or play the "inside joke" card. I think that's what he went with, which made it good-natured as opposed to malicious or judgmental. That's the key. There are "inside jokes" that if you didn't grow up in the Bible belt, or aren't familiar with that rules-based Christian culture, you might not get it or think that he is poking fun. It's kind of like our families -- we might not want someone else to point out their quirks or idiosyncrasies, but if it comes from within ...
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Jennifer Donovan
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