[Finished on 12/22/16]
Books: a memor (2008) by Larry McMurtry is McMurtry's attempt to make his life as a reader and a writer, as a book buyer, scout, and seller interesting to the average reader. I say attempt because he's not entirely successful. He gives us his memories in a very stream-of-consciousness, rambling sort of way. There's not a great deal of organization in his stories...one thing leads to another and he jumps back and forth in time like a regular H. G. Wells in The Time Machine. There are some interesting anecdotes and memories of particularly good finds. But overall it's just not as interesting as I'd hoped it would be. ★★
[Finished on 12/23/16]
Keep Laughing (1959) is a collection of jokes and anecdotes by Morey Amsterdam which was put together before he became well-known as Buddy Sorrell on the Dick Van Dyke Show. Amsterdam was well-known for his ability to come up with a joke on any subject, an ability that earned him the nickname "The Human Joke Machine." This collection has some very good one-liners and short jokes. Some of the longer stories don't quite meet Amsterdam's best work, a few of the jokes are dated, and the jokes about women drivers got old fast. But, overall, the humor is good and there are several laugh-out-loud moments. ★★★[Finished on 12/27/16]
Those Funny Kids! (1975) by Dick Van Dyke is a collection of anecdotes and one-liners sent to Dick Van Dyke by teachers throughout the United States. It contains definitions by children who really don't know what words mean--but that doesn't stop them from coming up with a meaning--and historical "facts" from misinformed miniature historians. Readers even get a dose of kid-filtered religion from the children who attend parochial schools. Some of the stories are a bit dated, but there is still plenty of good, clean humor for today's readers. ★★★
1 comment:
I'd read all of those. Seriously.
Post a Comment