Wildly funny yet thought provoking at the same time
352912
Wildly funny yet thought provoking at the same time.  I look forward to seeing more from this author (preferably about these magnificent scoundrel-angels).
4285459
About half way through this read, I definitely thought I had read better.  Its not even as if Dawkins was wrong.  But in comparison to Harris' touching philosophical breakdown of region's evils, Dawkins' refutation of somewhat unsubstantial, 17th century theological design arguments seemed not only dry but lacking in fulfilment given 21st century geo-political ramifications of religious exertion (take 9/11, gay marriage, stem-cell research etc.)

Though his great capacity to dissect religious iterations from religious spokespersons is terribly revealing and very thought provoking, and in some scary ways quite hilarious.

But the later half of the book sums up some of the "meat" as it were to be an atheist in the modern era, taking offense to the true crimes committed in the name of God, no matter how subtle or seemingly benign today.  Touching commentary on religion's nose being poked where it ought not to go, into private homes to punish homosexuality, and into schools to indoctrinate our innocent children is both chilling and provocative (even if it has been addressed before.)

Most beautifully though is of course Dawkins' perspective.  The absolute reveling in science is to be found in few other sources.  Dawkins not only defends scientific rationalism (which ought not NEED defense amidst the irrational alternative) but it is done so with absolute poetic majesty as he humbly stares at the universe in awe.  He invites us to share with him the spine-tingling amazement of witnessing and learning with him.

His most outstanding point is one of "consciousness raising." That the reason these things need to be talked about is precisely why capitulation to creationist "shut up" arguments is the wrong thing.  Shutting up is the last thing we need to do, and being outspoken is NOT an offense to the cause.

While not the most important defense of "godless" reasoning per se, it is a triumphant contribution that should be read by anyone interested in the topic, even the believer who is willing to suspend faith for reason (a dangerous endeavor indeed). Dawkins is brilliant and well-mannered and well-worded, do yourself the favor and pick it up.
3392226
The author somehow manages to be hysterically funny and thought-provoking at the same time.  After reading it from beginning to end, I plan on buying copies as Hanukkah gifts for my nieces and nephews.  Highly recommended.
4216642
Jay Wexler is a rare mind.  He has an utterly unique ability to transform seemingly lifeless concepts into relevant and consistently entertaining prose.  Regardless of your political stripe or your religious affiliation (if any), if you care at all about constitutional issues of church and state, and you have a desire to deepen and contextualize your understanding of these issues while giggling, you should buy this book.
1284031
Both moving and laugh out loud funny, this book addresses the UFO abduction phenomenon, the psychology behind our need to believe in the fantastic, and the often over-looked miracle that is life on earth.  The  author may call himself the "Invalidater" but he views even his  most far- out interviewees with a suprising compassion. A truly amazing  book that everyone should read.
1502778
A very funny yet thought provoking read. I loved it! Don and Rosie are a mis-match made in heaven! Enjoy!
828270
This book made me laugh out loud so many times that my hubsband kept giving me funny looks as I read it. Even though the book is filled with hillarious tounge in cheek quips, it is also an insightful look at some of the greatest problems facing the "new" church. The book tackles weighty issues such as absolute truth, calvanism, the authenticity of the word of God and more. Finally, someone "contemporary" takes a look at how the "emerging church" has some disturbing currents under it's pretty, glassy surface. And, it's funny!!!

Thanks, Thor. You better be working on your next book already...
2532812
If you love to laugh, then -- boy -- do I have a book for you! WILL@EPICQWEST.COM is quite simply one of the most hilarious novels (er, excuse me, "memoirs") I've read in a long time. The back cover mentions Candide and Dr. Stangelove, but the Marx Brothers and Monty Python's Flying Circus also come to mind. This is top-flight satire that's freewheeling and wild -- not to mention, incredibly smart. WILL@EPICQWEST.COM is written in the form of website entries (like an online diary); the website is of course the book's title (which, if you do a web search on WILL@EPICQWEST.COM is also an actual website). The "epic" adventures of the perennial screw-up/protagonist "Will" -- an "over-medicated" college freshman -- involves a hallucinatory "quest" to slay an evil scientist responsible for the creation of a deadly virus called IS ("Information Sickness"), a virus that kills anyone it comes in contact with via a kind of information overload...kind of like what one experiences on the "misinformation superhighway" of the internet (50 million websites and not a single straight answer to anything). Like a junior Don Quixote (perhaps no less self-deluded), hapless Will sets off with a sidekick, his self-aware, chatterbox laptop named "Spunk," who serves a guide and mentor one moment and foil and comic relief the next. Problem is: does the virus IS -- and the evil scientist -- even exist? Or is all this -- these extraordinary misadventures -- simply a side effect of the massive Prozac dosage our hero has been prescribed? Chapters open within chapters, like trapdoors, and the hero proceeds on his adventure often with the self-consciousness of a dreamer who is fully aware he is in a dream: nothing is real, while all seeming somehow hyper real. This self-awareness parodies post-post modern fiction or what's often called "meta-fiction:" but for me it's just unpredictably hilarious and zany. Truly this is one of best-informed, most witty novels I've read in a very long time. And the glowing praise for this book by authors like Tim O'Brien, Dennis Johnson, and Thom Jones -- as well as its underground reputation -- doesn't surprise me at all. A comic tour de force! Don't miss out!
3958330
It's as if William Burrows put The Secret into a blender added a dash of Philip K. Dick and a splash of Murakami, hit blitz, drank it through his ears and laser-eyed it onto the page.

Open this book to anywhere and you are in for some serious literary titillation. The shorts are both proverbial and folklore-like, the poems are uncompromising, and the dialogues delightfully deviant.

This collection of the weird and the wonderful is thought provoking and there are lessons to be learnt from each piece. Of particular note-worthiness are: "Fire under the Ass" - an incredibly funny and frighteningly apt tale of those who can't sit still. Short poem "The Way of Things" is the way it is... and my favourite: "dialogue of the nihilist and the choatician" (from which the title of this review originates) is a glorious conversation of illusion shattering proportions.

Amidst all of K.D.'s writings is a profound sense of understanding that I found enjoyable to relate to. I will revisit this book numerous times again in the future whenever I want to be reminded of how wonderful literary wordplay can be when tackling some galaxy scaled pondering.
2143503
If you have never read anything by TC Boyle, then you are in for a sheer delight.  Boyle takes a subject, based to varying degrees in fact and creates a microcosm containing a wild array of complex human characters and circumstances that make you laugh while at the same time causing you to think seriously about the human condition.  If that's not enough, his linguistic artistry will amaze you.  Talk Talk is not a long book, but it took me a while to read it because frequently I found myself pausing to marvel at his incredibly inventive, clever and often hilarious use of language.

Since you've read other reviews, I won't rehash the plot, but will say that after reading the book, I did a LOT of pondering over the meaning of identity.  I also formed strong but mixed opinions of the characters, which shows how "real" they became to me.

The title of a James Thurber book is particularly appropriate for describing Boyle's writing:  "For People Who Love to Laugh, and Know How to Think".

PS Water Music is my personal favorite of his novels.  My favorite of any novels, actually.
920044
Jill A. Davis somehow manages to write hysterically funny stories about the oddest people in a manner so smart and lucid that the reader is left chuckling with every page - while at the same time falling in love with the zany heroine of her latest book, Emily Rhode ('or Road' or 'Rowed' or even 'Rode', depending on the state of mind and at times acerbic patter of this marvelously created character).  This is a book that sparkles with witty prose, high and low humor, and surprisingly a sensitive degree of philosophy about the current condition of life we are all living.  The balance between funny and touching keeps the scales even, making the reader laugh at situations that in themselves are not at all funny - unless you have the perspective of Emily 'whatever'.

Emily is a trained lawyer whose career is put on hold with the sudden hyper-dramatic news of her mother Joanie's lump.  No, cancer isn't funny, but Joanie is such a wildly entertaining character that when Emily moves in to care for her, all goes slightly bizarre. We meet the father Jim who left the family when Emily was very young and for whom she has no concern, the spendthrift airhead sister Marjorie who treats the world like a shopping party, Rick the boyfriend of Emily to whom she cannot commit, Perry her gay therapeutic friend, and Paul her therapist whose sessions contain some of the most hilarious (and most insightful) moments in the book.  Divided into very short, titled 'chapters', Davis ably lets us get close to Emily by exploring her foibles and her perception of the world and her family by means of what could be stand-up comedy routines - until the sadness peaks through.  Marriage, therapy, death, fatal illnesses, fidelity, menial jobs for overeducated people, failed relationships - all are grist for Davis' keen mind and wit.

An example of Davis' writing:  'As she's lying there waiting for surgery, I imagine a cancerous Pac-Man - or Lady Pac-Man - running through her body eating up her healthy tissues, her life, expanding its mass and taking over.  Devouring the flesh that nurtured me, or longed to. I want to scream. And I'm mad that I'm of a generation that can best relate to parent's cancer to a video game.' And that is only a short tidbit of the superb writing by Jill A. Davis.  This is a smart book, exceedingly well written, and one of the most entertaining reads of the year! Now in paperback... Grady Harp, January 08
896078
I loved it!  Laughed and laughed.  There are some provocative ideas about Christianity and faith as well, but buried in a  totally enjoyable read.
2956890
I love Christopher Moore's writing. He knocks my socks off with his weird sense of humour. But this was the most thought provoking of his books I've read in a while. And I really, really liked it. I still think about it every once in a while -- it's that powerful. And, of course, humorous as well.
4381307
I laughed out loud so much while reading this novel, which is amazing considering some of the really dead-on depressing stuff depicted here about cross sections of our current culture.  While it spins into absurdity toward the end,  I thought it was a fun romp, and the characters are real enough.  It's tempting to think they're exaggerations, except I KNOW people just like them--scary stuff, but rather than cower in the corner at the reality, this book made me shake with laughter.  Super fun (and intelligent) read!
3036881
Fascinating, funny, cerebral, astounding peek into "how the other half lives". The book seems long, but to me that is a GOOD thing - I don't want it to end! I'm listening to the audiobook in the car, so I get it in somewhat small doses... just enough to make me think and reflect and wrestle with the ideas... and I can't wait to chat with friends about each new topic. I think you need to be quite intelligent to really appreciate this book. I fear the vocabulary used and level of sentence complexity is above the "average" reader, for whom a lot of the nuances would be lost. It reads like an anthropology textbook turned into a personal, captivating analysis. I was simply fascinated by so many of the aspects of this world of which I know nothing. (I'm highly educated, but very far from wealthy.) If you're smart, and want to think while you laugh, your jaw drops, and you exclaim "really????" .... this book is for you!
1246402
Had me laughing out loud and really makes you think about life and what's important. I loved that the author doesn't sugar coat anything and just when you think you disagree with the ideals or you may be getting offended, his theory comes full circle and you start to understand the thought behind it. Funny, entertaining, and outside the box.
4930849
A bounty hunter, a secretary, a con man, a nut farmer and his wife and family--a very unusual mix, but just the right one for a hilarious and thought-provoking, drama-filled prose. Yes, the book is that funny and interesting!

It took me a while to get into, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. The peak of it all was the scene where a certain character was found rocking his burned body on the roadside. I laughed so hard I thought I wouldn't stop.

I thought the characters were nicely fleshed out and delivered well in their roles. The dialogue was rich, full of humor and wit; the setting was multi-fabulous--made me dream of a vacation in Costa Rica. And yeah, I learned a thing or two about the IRS. Lol!

There was some swearing which made me uncomfortable, but thankfully, the swearing was not so much. I chose not to consider it while awarding this book a star rating, so it wouldn't take away from the general impression I hope to across in this review.