My Need To Read: non-fiction

Title: 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (And Other Useful Guides)
Author: The Oatmeal
Series: n/a
Genre/Themes: non-fiction, humor, illustrations

Quick Take: Freaking. Hilarious.

Book Description: In Matthew Inman's 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (And Other Useful Guides), samurai sword-wielding kittens and hamsters that love .50-caliber machine guns commingle with a cracked out Tyrannosaur that is extremely hard to potty train. Bacon is better than true love and you may awake in the middle of the night to find your nephew nibbling on your toes.

Inman creates these quirky scenes for theoatmeal.com, which launched in July 2009 and already has more than 82 million page views. In fact, every 15 to 30 seconds, someone Googles one of theoatmeal.com's creations. Now, 60 of Inman's comic illustrations and life-bending guides are presented in full-color inside 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (And Other Useful Guides).

Review:
Where has Matthew Inman (a.k.a. "The Oatmeal") been all my life? Until recently, I've not been familiar with this seasoned web-designer-turned indie web-comic creator. It seems the man's found his calling; whereas he was once dealing with all manner of crap in his one-time profession, he's now turning the laughably unfortunate situations in to plain laughable ones.

5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth is a compilation of humorous illustrations, some originating from the author's website and others created specifically for the publication. Whether you'll find the content funny certainly depends on your preferred brand of humor. This book's got irreverence and a healthy dose of misanthropy. The Oatmeal knows how to turn life experiences into bite-sized bits of hilarity. Sometimes you'll laugh at the absurdity of situations. At others, you'll laugh because of the truth lining the commentary. The visual style, however, is pure caricature, and fits perfectly with the kooky tone of the content.

The book features such classic themes as:

"Why It's Better To Pretend You Don't Know Anything About Computers"
"8 Ways To Tell If Your Loved Ones Plan To Eat You"
"The Ten Types of High Fives"
"How to NOT Sell Something to my Generation"
"14 Things Worth Knowing About Cheese" (my personal favorite!)

As a big fan of situational humor, I enjoyed the content immensely; I'll definitely be gifting copies to my friends come Christmastime. ^_^ If you like Stephen Colbert, Justin Halpern, or The Onion, this book should be right up your alley.

Rating: 5 of 5 stars
"I Absolutely Loved It"

Title: Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin
Series: n/a
Author: Kathy Griffin
Genre/Themes: humorous memoir
Published: Sept. 9, 2009 by Ballantine

Quick Take:
From the tongue-in-cheek title to the celebrity-filled index, this book was a hoot. Griffin manages to write a memoir that is at once touching, informative, freaky and above all FUNNY.

Book Description (partial, from Publisher): Official Book Club Selection is Kathy Griffin unplugged, uncensored, and unafraid to dish about what really happens on the road, away from the cameras, and at the star party after the show. (It’s also her big chance to score that coveted book club endorsement she’s always wanted. Are you there, Oprah? It’s me, Kathy.)

Review:
I like to consider myself a "fan" of comedian Kathy Griffin. Her reality show, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, is full of kooky situations where Griffin's personality is deliciously larger than life. On one particular episode, she announced to the world that she was planning on writing a tell-all book about her life. She informed her pal Rosie O'Donnell of this development, exclaiming, "Guess what my book's going to be called? Official Book Club Selection!" in an uh-huh-you-heard-me-right manner before Rosie gave her a you-go-girl! high-five. At that moment, I knew I had to have this book in my life. ^_^

If you know anything about Kathy Griffin, you'll know that she's all about the snarky humor. Most of her stand-up work is centered around a loose, conversational type routine that is blessedly free of the "set-up/punchline" framework common to many other comics. She really seems to enjoy "dishing" on celebrities, including her awkward (or wonderful) interactions with the many personalities populating Hollywood. Her book has some of that same humor, and even includes a handy index at the end allowing for easy reference to the myriad stars she mentions. She clearly doesn't mind telling some tales out of school…about herself as well as others.

However, the book is not set up to duplicate her particular brand of stage comedy. Indeed, her humor translates quite well to the page, and avoids gratuitous punchline-after-punchline. But she also provides a genuine and seemingly heartfelt description of her upbringing, family, career struggles and personal dramas. While it's clear that Kathy deals with a lot by using humor (a trait that she apparently got from her parents), she's not exempt from frustration and heartbreak, and that comes across in this memoir. She seemed to have a good balance in which the reader is entertained but also gets a glimpse of the real Kathy.

It's made obvious through this book that Griffin absolutely adores her parents. I think that this more than anything else really grabbed me about her; one is so used to seeing the Firebrand Kathy who's always pushing buttons. It was touching to see how, in her own way, she's all about family first.

I'm of the opinion that this book would appeal to many, including those who are not very familiar with Griffin's work. Her dedicated fans will totally be able to envision her dishing her story and enjoy her irreverence. And the uninitiated would get a slightly smoother dose of Kathy Griffin. The only prerequisite is that you have to love the Funny. ^_^

Rating: 4 of 5 stars