Challenge Complete: Humor

The Humor Challenge Reading Challenge was a new one for Jamie over at Whatever I Think Of last year and she's brought it back in 2018. I decided to give it a try at the Cartoonist level and have finished my fifth book to fully qualify myself as a Cartoonist. Thanks, Jaime, for sponsoring this one.

Choose a level from below.  You may go up a level, but not down.

    Cartoonist: 1-5 books

    Humor Columnist: 6-10 books

    Comedy Writer:  11-15 books

    Stand Up Comedian: More than 15 books

1. Star Wreck 6: Geek Space Nine by Leah Rewolinski (2/11/18)

2. With Blood & Kisses by Richard Shattuck (2/23/18)

3. The Wrong Box by Robert Louis Stevenson & Lloyd Osbourne (4/3/18)

4. Gun in Cheek by Bill Pronizini (6/27/18)

5. Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer (10/30/18)

Hope Never Dies: Review

Hope Never Dies (2018) by Andrew Shaffer is a humorous, action-packed thriller starring everyone's favorite political bromance: Uncle Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Shaffer gives us a Biden who is feeling rather at loose ends after the excitement of the White House. He's let himself go a bit--gaining around the middle and being decidedly less active. He's also feeling discarded as he watches Obama on the internet--flitting about on his extended vacation, sailing and hobnobbing with the elites of Hollywood and beyond. Looking for a new best friend, is what Biden thinks.

Then Obama shows up in the woods behind Biden's house--cigarette-end glowing like the opener of some pulp-era thriller. And, by golly, if that's not just what it is. One of Biden's favorite Amtrak engineers has been found dead on the tracks. the police think its suicide, but Obama has news for his old VP--the man had a map with with Biden's house on it. Was there a plot against Biden afoot? Was the man planning to come to "Amtrack Joe" for help? The two men team up to follow the clues that begin to appear--ditching secret service men and setting out on their own to discover a mystery much deeper than the death of an engineer. 

This is quite simply a fun, campy ride. It's also a bit of wish-fulfillment for those of us who would like to see these guys back together doing something meaningful for America. It plays heavily on the Biden-Obama relationship portrayed in so many memes

and gives us a crime-fighting team to root for in these dark times of #45 in the White House. In addition to the campy, bromance moments, Shaffer manages to give readers a pretty decent mystery to unravel around a very topical plot. ★★★

[Finished 10/30/18]

Gun in Cheek: Review

Gun in Cheek (1982) is a collection of the "best" of the worst in American and British crime fiction. Bill Pronzini provides the reader with a run-down of synopses and large snatches of quotations of what, in his opinion, represents some of the worst stories and writing in various subgenres of mystery--everything from hard boiled dicks to Had-I-But-Known damsels in distress and amateur detectives to the boys in blue and everything in between. Pronzini's got us covered.

Mike Tooney tells us in his review over at Mystery*File that we shouldn't "try to read this book in one sitting because it just might make you dizzy with laughter." Unfortunately, humor is a subjective thing and I think maybe my sense of humor is far afield from Mike's (and most of the reviewers on Goodreads). I just honestly didn't find many instances where the passages were so doggone funny. Most passages were either examples of just plain bad writing or (especially in the hard boiled line) it seemed like business as usual. After all, hard boiled detective stories seem to corner the market on outlandish descriptions such as this:

She was as lovely as a girl could be without bludgeoning your endocrines. (from Killers Are My Meat by Stephen Marlowe)

The best of the book seems to me to be the tidbits of publishing history that Pronzini gives us along the way. For example, the interesting chapter giving background on Phoenix Press. He also provides details on the development of the various subgenres and his comments on various authors and their characters is often more entertaining than the passages he quotes. In fact, I enjoyed it most when it seemed to be at its most serious--giving facts and background rather than trying to provide passages that I thought sure were supposed to be funny....but weren't. ★★★ (primarily for the history and facts)

[Finished 6/27/18. I feel a little--but just a little--bad claiming this for the Humor Challenge. BUT I put it on the list fully expecting it to be funny and many others have found it funny. So--on the Humor Challenge it goes.]

The Wrong Box: Review

 Body, body--Who's got the body?!

The Wrong Box (1889) is a hilarious mystery spoof by Robert Louis Stevenson and his stepson Lloyd Osbourne. It revolves around Masterson and Joseph Finsbury, two brothers who are the last surviving beneficiaries of a tontine. A tontine is a rather diabolical "investment" scheme--subscribers pay into a fund that is then invested for the lifetime of the participants. It is a winner-take-all scheme meaning that the only one to benefit is the last man or woman standing. This, of course, puts all sorts of temptation in the way of the participants (and/or their heirs)--especially once the numbers start to dwindle naturally. I, mean, after all if you have to live to be 100 in order to outlive the competition just how much are you going to be able to enjoy the spoils? And one's sons or nephews might also think it a good idea to shuffle the competition (and you--last, of course) off the playing field so they have an opportunity to enjoy it for you.

Michael Finsbury is Masterson's son. He is a successful lawyer who isn't afraid to skate a little close to the wind if necessary to get a client off and win a case. Morris and John Finsbury are nephews (and wards) of Joseph. Because Joseph was not the best of businessmen and managed to fritter away what little money he held in trust for his nephews, Morris has gotten the old man to sign over his winnings from the tontine (should he outlast Masterson). So--more than ever, Morris spends his days watching over dear Uncle Joseph just to be sure that he doesn't catch a cold that turns into pneumonia and leads to death before tontine. 

He also has a vague feeling that his Uncle Masterson is really dead and Michael is just pretending the old boy is still alive and kicking while he waits for Joseph to keel over. Once that happens, he [Michael] will produce a "tame doctor" who will verify Masterson's death (after Joseph's) and Michael will scoop the pot. This must be avoided at all costs.

Morris decides that the best plan would be to head to the country with Uncle Joseph and keep him all cozy at the seaside where he can breathe the lovely country air and be just as healthy as can be. Plans go awry when there is a train smash-up and an elderly dead body is found in the rubble--with bruised face and wearing what seems to be Uncle Joseph's coat. Morris and John are in despair--there goes their inheritance! So they decide to stash the body in an out-of-the-way cottage until Morris comes up with a plan to ship uncle's body to himself in a huge barrel. The barrel gets mislabeled and the body winds up going on an unexpected journey--from barrel to packing crate to piano and back again. Who has the body? And is Uncle Joseph really dead? Is Uncle Masterson really dead? Who is going to inherit all that money?

This is an absolutely delightful story--the black comedy is a little unexpected from Stevenson, but it is hilarious. Watching Morris drive himself quietly crazy as he tries to outsmart Michael and track down his missing uncle is great fun. Who would have thought that the most prominent and interesting character in a book would be a dead man who won't sit still long enough for you to get a really good look at him? Not that the other characters aren't interesting, they are. Stevenson always provides great characters and those in The Wrong Box meet his standards. Highly recommended. ★★★★

[Finished on 4/3/18]

With Blood & Kisses

With Blood & Kisses (apa The Snark Was a Boojum; 1941) by Richard [Dora] Shattuck is a fun
romp. Golden "Sandy" Gate has traveled East to visit her father's people--against the advice of her mother who says, "Don't look up your father's people. They'll get you into trouble." But she can add nothing definite to this vague warning and Sandy winds up driving her Aunt Maud around the Massachusetts countryside on a nostalgic trip to visit all the places Maud and her husband Wilson Wilson (no, we didn't stutter) used to frequent. 

They wind up caught in a snow storm at house that seems to be just this side of a loony bin. It's filled to the brim with young pregnant women (and even the dog is pregnant) who all hope to produce the first heir in the Shilly family since good ol' Uncle Mortimer kicked the bucket. His will says that the first of his three nephews to produce a child with Shilly blood will inherit everything--leaving the others out in the cold. Everyone seems to have taken their frustration with this will out on the family lawyer, Ward McKay. And someone is especially put out and has been making attempts on the lawyer's life--even taking a potshot at him out the window when he, Aunt Maud, and Sandy try to leave the house in the car that's no longer there. It's been stolen by the youngest of the Shilly nephews (the only one young enough to definitely be out of the produce-an-heir stakes).

Then the news comes on the radio that a homicidal maniac has escaped and is roaming the countryside (just to add a little extra spice to the proceedings). Shortly thereafter Ward McKay is found dead--hanging from the ceiling in the front room. Sandy plays detective with Rodney Shilly--one of the nephews and the executor of Uncle Mortimer's estate--while Aunt Maud plays midwife to the expectant mothers. There's a suspicious butler named Daybreak, a superstitious cook, and a righteous veterinarian (who is only there to oversee the birthing of the Shilly puppies, not to take care of human babies, thank you) in the mix. There is much wandering around in the dark looking for clues and trying to hide evidence. And Aunt Maud talks a mile a minute and reminds me of the ladies in Arsenic & Old Lace. Rodney and Sandy do finally get the bottom of everything, manage to fall in love, and a good time is had by all--well except for the lawyer...and the murderer...and a few suspects who've been naughty in other ways.

If you're looking for a mystery where the clues are there for the taking and you can come to a nice, tidy conclusion right along with the detectives, then this isn't exactly what you're looking for. If you're looking for something along the lines of a screwball mystery movie plot of the 1930s or 40s, then have we got something for you! This is great fun. Aunt Maud steals the show and Sandy and Rodney have several romantic misunderstandings on their way to true love and a mystery well-solved. I did guess the culprit--but I definitely was going more by a hunch than by any evidence strewn about. A delightful, quick read. ★★★★

[Finished on 2/23/18]


Quotes
You mean about the buggy tipping over? Well, Wilson thought I was hurt...and he put his arm around me and then of course he felt we must marry....I was dying to marry somebody; you know how young girls are. It was really very sweet, the whole thing. Just like some women's magazine; I'm sure you youngsters aren't half so romantic. ~Aunt Maud (p. 6)

AM: I had him cremated, we were in Naples at the time. and I brought the ashes home and had the briefcase made especially; we've never been separated since. Why, Sandy I thought you knew....Haven't you heard me talking to him all day?
SG: Well, yes, but--"
AM: Mercy, you didn't think I was talking to myself, did you? What an odd sort of person you must have thought me. ~Aunt Maud; Sand Gate (p. 7)

WM: It might interest you to know, Rodney, that another attempt has been made on my life
....he held out his hat for inspection, Sandy expected to hear him request that it be labeled "Exhibit A, for the people"
RS: If you ask me Ward, you've got a persecution complex.
...It took McKay a moment or two to recover his power of speech. "Persecution complex!" he yelled, then. "Persecution complex!" Dashing his hat to the floor, he danced up and down beside it, gibbering. ~Ward McKay; Rodney Shilly (p. 13)

Oh, well, you're a little weird yourself when it comes right down to it, running around looking for your uncle's ashes in a briefcase. What a cozy bunch of lunatics we are, to be sure. ~Rodney Shilly (p. 17)

Sandy thought, this is as much like the Mad Hatter's tea party as anything; at any moment the signal will be given and we'll all move one place to the right. (p. 18)

Mrs. Wilson, Miss Gate, will you excuse me? It seems McKay has been poisoned. Just keep right on with your dinner. ~Rodney Shilly (p. 19)

[Re: the escaped convict]
That would be Ruben Hubb. I'm just sure of it. They've kept him shut up at home for years, ever since he strangled the mailman; Rose wrote me about it. They had enough influence to keep him out of a public institution; they couldn't bear to have put away, of course. He used to be a strangler rather than a beheader, but I'm sure it's the same man. Under the circumstances, I think we had better stay the night, don't you, Golden dear? ~Aunt Maude (p. 21)

SG: Well, if the storm keeps up at least the maniac won't get here, will he?
RS: I don't suppose so, but then I don't know about maniacs. They're probably brimming with super-human strength. ~Sandy Gate; Rodney Shilly (p. 23)

Well might she be nervous about her hairpins, Sandy thought; you got the feeling that if they fell out, Maybelle would fall apart and dissolve into pink soapsuds before your eyes. (p. 26)

D: I was just clearing my throat, Sir. Begging your pardon, of course.
RS: Of course, well, next time you feel one of those hyena laughs in your throat, swallow it, don't clear it. ~Daybreak; Rodney Shilly (p. 31)

snow wasn't like rain, making a friendly tapping sound. Snow fell silently, it blanketed the world in silence; snowflakes were like the ghosts of raindrops, sadly haunting the air they remembered from a warmer incarnation. (p. 35)

Sleep in this house? Oh, no; it would be dangerous to expose the unconscious soul to the baleful influences at work here. Hatred the soul's black lover--the house was steeped in it. (p. 35)

Descending the hall stair, Sandy thought, I'm just like one of those nitwit heroines who go creeping around empty houses at night for no good reason and get strangled by homicidal maniacs. I ought to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my curly head and go to sleep. (p. 37)

Buttering bread, Sandy thought, I'm in love. If only I can get away before he finds out. Her normal self seemed to hover somewhere just above her left shoulder, watching with derision the changling Sandy who had fallen so idiotically in love under circumstances far from romantic. (p. 48)

What's the fun of having your virtue if you can't fight for it now and then? ~Sandy (78)

Star Wreck 6: Geek Space Nine

As one might suspect, Star Wreck 6: Geek Space Nine (1994) is the sixth Star Trek parody by Leah Rewolinski. And I think Leah is running out of humorous steam--either that or maybe I just don't find Deep Six Nine (er-- Deep Space Nine) as much fun to parody as other portions of the ST universe. So...maybe my bias is showing. Because Deep Space Nine is not my favorite variation on the Star Trek theme (my apologies to all DSN fans out there).

This time around, an epidemic of boredom has struck Geek Space Nine--the space station's crew and inhabitants couldn't act themselves out of a wet paperbag and their stories are not selling to the Universal Enquirer the way they used to. This means that tourists are avoiding the place like the plague. Starfreak Command who has poured way more money into the pricey dump than they should have cannot let the tourism numbers drop any further and so the crews of both the original USS Endocrine (under Captain Smirk) and the flashy, updated USS Endocrine-D (with Captain Ricardo) are sent to the strategic Gummi-Quardrant station to find a way to plug the tourism drain. 

But the troubles aren't over when the starships arrive--in fact they multiply. Because Endocrine crew members start disappearing right and left into the mysterious Talent Void. Commander Dacron risks losing what little personality he has and heads into the Void to bring back the missing officers. Will he be in time? Will they find a way to reverse the effects? Will they then be able help the Geek Space Nine folks get their space station mojo back? 

Will anybody care? Oops...got carried away there. But, honestly, the epidemic of boredom was so bad it just oozed right off the page and engulfed this reader. I have really enjoyed the previous installments of ST humor provided by Leah Rewolinski. I just didn't find this one all that funny.  ★

Which almost makes me unwilling to count it for the Humor Reading Challenge. Almost. But, the whole point of reading this parody at this particular time was because I thought it would be funny and it would be perfect for the challenge. And who knows--maybe if you're a DSN fan, you'd find this funny. A whole bunch of people on Goodreads did....

[Finished on 2/11/18]

Humor Reading Challenge 2018

The Humor Challenge Reading Challenge was a new one for Jamie over at Whatever I Think Of last year and she's brought it back for 2018. Any book (fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, graphic novels, poetry collections, plays, picture books) labeled as humor counts. As such, all book formats (paper, audio, electronic) may be read. After checking my TBR stacks to see if I can make a fair showing, I've decided to join up at the Cartoonist level--if I really get my funny bone tickled, I may level up. For the full rules and to join in, click on the link above

Choose a level from below.  You may go up a level, but not down.

    Cartoonist: 1-5 books

    Humor Columnist: 6-10 books

    Comedy Writer:  11-15 books

    Stand Up Comedian: More than 15 books

1. Star Wreck 6: Geek Space Nine by Leah Rewolinski (2/11/18)

2. With Blood & Kisses by Richard Shattuck (2/23/18)

3. The Wrong Box by Robert Louis Stevenson & Lloyd Osbourne (4/3/18)

4. Gun in Cheek by Bill Pronizini (6/27/18)

5. Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer (10/30/18)