A Gem -- Pure Joy to read, and funny, too.
350384
Filter House is the secret best book of the Summer. It has no business being left in the warehouse when you could buy it read, give it to your best friend, or read to your children.  These are a selection of entertaining and complex stories, filled with fantasy, love, and discovery.  This is definitely a book club and reading group book! Shawl wrote of many things, giving you something to talk about.

The professional reviewers have focused on "Wallamellon" with reason. It is completely charming; full of twists and turns. "At the Huts of Ajala," "Good Boy," "Shiomah's Land," and all the rest of the stories pull you into the story, whisking you away to a new land and a new way of looking at the world. When I mention one story, I think of another that is fabulous, too. My personal favorite is "The Beads of Ku."  It should become a classic.  This book is suitable for young adult readers.
4809170
This is one of the funnest books to read, ever.

The 'ten hundred words' limit does not get stale or ever truly 'limit' Munroe - he still manages to write some seriously interesting and educational stuff while keeping it entertaining. The whole way through you'll be making connections between what the simplified words mean and what you know from real life, but you'll also be learning a lot of new things. It's especially great when, through such simple terminology, you find out the answer to a question you never would've considered asking, like how Everest is not the furthest point from the center of earth, and that one of Uranus' moons once orbited the sun.

And that terminology gives way not only to humour but also to an insane amount of charm and sentiment. The introduction reads out like a child trying to explain why they've written a book. I personally love the section at the bottom of the page on "Tall Roads" (bridges) where Munroe writes with a child's voice about how bridges are so physically useful and well constructed, that life on other planets might use very similar models, and that somewhere, an alien might be looking at a bridge just like the one Munroe was looking at, and thinking about Munroe, too.

That kind of sentimentality is, I think, the central staple of Munroe's XKCD, and it only shines brighter in Thing Explainer due to the childlike wonder in the writing. Thing Explainer writes without expectation of understanding, prior knowledge of language, or any prior knowledge; it is one of the closest things to a window into someones thoughts.

I hope to clarify for many potential buyers that saw the early "Up Goes Five": this book is more focused on explaining things in paragraphs rather than the pure labelling style of that early prototype. This lends to a lot more explanations for the reasons behind things, rather than the one-dimensional humor of a pure 'translation' of the names of things. The book still has a large focus on drawings and writing about the drawings - certainly more than What If? had - but it also takes its time to go into depth about the function of things beyond their names.

I'd also like to clarify that this book is BIG! My expectation was a novel-sized book but it is in fact very large. Each page is very detailed, the book has fold out pages and a free poster, and the amount of individual topics is huge and will keep you entertained for a long time. INSANELY worth it for such a low amount of money! (I still cannot believe it was so cheap.)

This book is great for me and my family to make connections between what we already know and the book, but I believe it will also be great for kids to easily learn new things, and get a grasp of complex ideas.

A Thought: I'd love to see this style of writing carried across to genres beyond science, because I think it has the potential to make generally interesting yet charm-less writing far more fun; history books, biopics, even short stories. Perhaps someone will develop a system for 'translating' Wikipedia articles.
4084854
One of the funniest books I've ever read!
I loved this. The thing is, it's one of the few books I've read that I will go back and read again.
The beauty of it is that you can pick it up and have a giggle, or a full on guffaw, then just move on after five minutes. But it will stick in your head, causing smiles throughout the day ahead.
The subject matter is portrayed in such a way that I both laughed and cried with the author, but to be honest,  the tears were of laughter. It's clear that Candace is an amazing person. That she can put up with her condition and turn it into a book to make people laugh along speaks volumes.
Please, please, do yourself a favour and read this. Your life will be better for it, I assure you!
17474
I had to read a good part of "The Decameron" last quarter and I have gone back to read more stories from it even though the Fall quarter is over. This is a great book: funny, entertaining, subtly revolutionary, insightful, and superbly well-written. Approach it without fear. It is a Classic, but it will have you laughing, thinking, and learning far better than any current best-seller. Anyone with an interest in journalism and/or history will profit from Boccaccio's Introduction, at the beginning of the First Day. His description of the Plague in Florence is vivid and gripping, and this eventually provides the background for the setting of the one hundred and one tales that seven young women and three young men will narrate in a villa away from the dying city. Also, the Introduction to the Fourth Day presents the reader with an unfinished, but hilarious story about a man who has been kept away from women. This story is what my teacher called the 101st, and I have to agree with her.
  Do not think that all "The Decameron" deals with is sex. The mostly illicit sexual encounters depicted are some times funny, sometimes sad, but they share a common trait with the stories from the Tenth Day, for example (these ones are mostly about sacrifice, abnegation, and servitude), or with those of the Second: Boccaccio's concern for his society and the terrible tensions that had reached a breaking point by the 14th century. The Plague, in Boccaccio's universe, acts as a catalyst of emotions, desires, and changes that had to come.
  Read, then, about Alibech putting the Devil back in Hell, Lisabetta and her pot of basil, Ser Ceperello and his "saintly" life, Griselda and her incredible loyalty in spite of the suffering at the hands of a God-like husband, Tancredi and his disturbing love for his daughter, Masetto and the new kind of society he helps create with some less-than-religious nuns, and then it will be easier to understand why Boccaccio is so popular after 650 years. And although it may be skipped by most readers, do not miss the Translator's (G. M. McWilliam) introduction on the history of "The Decameron" proper, and that of its many, and mostly unfortunate, translations into English. This book is one of the wisest, most economic ways of obtaining entertainment and culture. Do not miss it.
3401086
This is the perfect gift for someone who enjoys both laughing and reading, even if that someone is yourself. "Burnadette Peters Hates Me" delivers guttural laughter in digestible, well-paced stories that reveal naked, honest truths about the author and those around him. While other humor-driven authors might tout their own wit and wisdom, Keith Stewart concedes his own lack of grace, and shows that wisdom is an earned trait, and wit is often a matter of circumstance.

A great book to leave off the shelf, within reach of curious house guests. Couldn't recommend it any higher.
942653
What a team!  This book is so terrific it amazes me that Pratchett & Gaiman haven't done another, but I guess they're too busy on their own projects.  I can't say anything that earlier reviewers haven't already said in praise of this hilarious and philosophically pointed novel--except to mention the wacky wordplay, very likely Terry Pratchett's.  As it happened, the first time I read the book I was studying the Welsh language and when I came across the quite authentic-sounding name of a Welsh town, Pant-y-Gyrdl, I nearly drowned in tears brought on by excessive laughter.  I suppose in our advanced era of Pant-y-Hos, that particular pun might go by without notice.  Too bad, but it's far from the only bit of wordplay that will make you giggle.  And sometimes stop and think, which is even nicer.
2884173
This small but 'fat' book is a gem.  Pick it up and open it anywhere to be greeted by insightful, profound and surprising wit. It has such depth that it is obvious the author knows full well, the experience of Zen (on the Path of sudden, joyful and enlightening moments in the Eternal Now).  Laugh out loud at its outrageous facing of truths.  This book is now out of print, so it is a great opportunity to buy it from this source, while still available.
1510240
I was just re-reading parts of The Cosmopolitans. What really struck me is that while I remember the book being funny, to the point where I laughed out loud a lot (and laughed until I cried more than once), the truth is that just about every single individual sentence in the entire novel is funny all by itself. Which is an amazing feat. And I don't mean funny as in trying really hard or being full of jokes--the writing just has an effortlessly insightful and sharply observant quality that makes for good humor.

I'll leave it to other folks to summarize the plot and structure and themes. For me, th book served as a very delightful, entertaining and thoughtful catalogue of human frailties: the thousand and one ways that clever and well-intentioned people make themselves ridiculous. In almost every scene, these characters are making goofy efforts to prop themselves up and fit into the world, and they never quite succeed. But the book never degenerates into snarkiness. Kalman's portrayals are sympathetic and tender. And while none of these characters do anything grand or heroic, in the end you sort of end up admiring them for their persistence and determination.

I loved this book, it is mucho recommended.
877486
This was a fun, funny book, one I completely adored. The phrase that comes to mind is that everything was done "just right". The story never dragged, was never dull, every scene had a purpose, it didn't end too soon or go overlong, points were got across with wit and eloquence, never belabored. Ms. Heller makes it look so easy-- deceptively so!

I wouldn't say the satire in this book was deeply profound or anything new, but Heller got in some pretty good zings. If you're laughing, the author has succeeded.
2608555
Not only did I love reading this, I'm going to tell everyone I know to read it. Invaluable advice, written in a clear, straightforward, fun to read way. If I could give it ten stars, I would.  Wise, worldly, witty. Provides a kick in the rear--without any pain.
671580
Delightful, well-written, informative, and fun.  Who could ask for more?
1578020
There's funny pictures
with funny commentary -
each page a delight
3351420
A Great book, I recommend it to all! It is funny, heartfelt and purely joyful entertainment... A wonderful read indeed.
3397738
This is a delightful book. My wife and I read it out loud with our  seven year old daughter, and I'm not sure which of us enjoyed it more. Both well written and funny, the main character has a bit of the trickster in him, and it's hard not to laugh out loud or smile as he defeats poachers, thieves and would-be in-laws. The only comparison I can think of is Roald Dahl in an extraordinarily good mood. I hope the author writes many, many more.
2654355
I picked up Phil Rosenthal's "You're Lucky You're Funny" for research, as I needed a bit of background info for a novel I'm writing. My intention was to skim it and move on. After one page, however, I knew I wasn't putting down this book until I'd read every delicious word. It's not only hilarious, but so charming I feel like I've just spent a vacation with a favorite friend. A very smart, very funny favorite friend. Plus, it taught me more about the inside world of sitcoms than I'd even hoped.

But even if you're just in it for the laughs, this book is worth the price. Hell, the fruit-of-the-month story alone is enough to make me recommend it. And that's not even the funniest part (for my money, it's his description of the "all-inclusive" vacation from hell).

I read this in hardcover, but see that it's also available in audio format, which I think might be a lot of fun, as well. I listened to a clip, and Phil Rosenthal has a delightfully anachronistic Old New York accent--kind of a cross between Top Cat and Nicely Nicely from Guys and Dolls. So whether you read or listen, you're in for a great trip.

-Ellen Meister, author of Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA
2346751
Extremely satisfying to read.  I couldn't put it down.  I don't know what I expected, but this wasn't it.  It was funny, certainly, but what I really liked about it was how well everything ties together, even little incidental things.  I also liked the way it weighed the Baptist brand of religion against taking the bible less literally, and the references to dinosaurs.  The ending was perfect.  Favorite character was easily the guy's mother, I was worried about her in the back of my mind all the way til the end.  All in all, excellent reading.  Very worthwhile.
1859508
A friend of mine handed me this book and said "Read this. If you and Savage ever met, you'd probably get along like a house on fire." I wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, but after reading the first page  (a hilarious rant on dance music and the strain it has placed on his  relationship) I started to have an inkling. Savage has a sense of humor and  a cuttingly ironic (and dare I say, occasonally bitchy) tone that I love.  He tackles the issue of children, childbirth and adoption with almost no  sentimentality; no sappy paeans about "God's Little Miracles" or  "sweet bundles of joy" for this writer. Try "ultimate  consumer item" and "I need a hobby, so why not a kid?" And  the REAL reason Savage wanted to adopt has to be read to be believed--but  you'd better make sure you're not reading the book in public when you get  to that part, because you're going to howl with laughter and possibly scare  small children and animals with your convulsions.
But this book wouldn't  have been as good if it had been just one comic riff after another about a  couple of gay guys trying to adopt a kid. Savage discusses some fascinating  political and philosophical issues about being homosexual, ranging from gay  Republicans (a contradiction in terms, I would've thought) to gays in the  military to how difficult it is to detect intolerant fruitcakes nowadays.  There's even a love story: how Savage met his current boyfriend is another  so-funny-it-must-be-read-in-private bit. And even though he treats the  adoption part and, to a certain extent, his relationship with his boyfriend  very facetiously, quite a bit of tenderness still shines through. Savage is  also, quite simply, a good writer. His prose is a joy to read, with  fantastic comic timing and a wonderful crispness in every sentence. If you  like your humor tongue-in-cheek and if you're willing to take some of what  Savage says with a grain of salt, I can't recommend this book highly  enough. It's one of the funniest and most enlightening books I've read all  year. You won't always agree with what Savage says or does, but you  definitely won't be bored.