Adult

You’ve probably seen the movie any of the 357 times it is aired each December, but if you have never read anything by Jean Shepherd, you are in for a real treat.  Shepherd is a master at nostalgic storytelling, especially around holidays.  He also wrote a wonderful collection of stories about the Fourth of July.

Bombeck is a prolific humorist whom I have just discovered, thanks to my own baby that’s on the way.  This woman really makes me laugh. 

Johnson is the genius who wrote all of those wonderful children’s level biographies (see below), and Blanchard is one of the best motivational speakers I have ever seen.  This book is a sales phenomenon, as I believe every business in the galaxy is required to purchase it.  More importantly, their message is to the point and clear and does not ramble on and on with no point like the remainder of this sentence.

Not exactly the book I’d read to spread holiday cheer, but a delightful play, nonetheless.  Particularly good reading for the ignorant.

I know, I know.  It exceeds my 200-page maximum, but the print is big and the book is small.  Since basketball season just started, I thought this look into Bradley’s experiences with the Knicks would make good reading.  It is definitely good reading for New Yawkers who cannot stomach the current crop of players at the Garden.

I’ve been reading all sorts of nursery rhymes and fairy tales to my newborn, and I remembered this collection of hilarious retellings of well-known stories for adults.  

Speaking of retellings of well-known tales…I used to love watching the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show when I was little, and this book includes all of my favorites from the “Fractured Fairy Tale” sketches. 

Sedaris is one of my favorite humorists, and this collection of short stories should make you laugh following a hectic holiday season.

I am guessing this is more of a “guy book.”  While many find this book to be disturbing, I think Palahniuk does a great job of creating characters who struggle to deal with their mundane lives.  Maybe I fit the profile of a serial killer for saying this, but I found the book and movie to be hilarious.

Quindlen’s reflections on her reading experiences, readers and the state of reading in general is one of the best accounts I have ever read on why books matter.

This could also be classified as young adult, as this was the first book in middle school to get me to laugh so hard that I had to put the book down.  Holden Caulfield is a profile of every teenager I’ve ever known (including myself), and it is a shame that this is one of the most banned books in America (attention all serial killers).  I think the only reason I read this book was because there wasn’t a movie – what a lucky break.

Lili Sanchez gave me a copy of this book that I used to read to my ESL students at USC.  Can you believe that we had internment camps for Japanese Americans in the 1940s?  This appalling chapter in American history is masterfully retold through one family’s experiences (I believe this book formed the basis of a mediocre Dennis Quaid movie).

I wanted to give Steve Martin his props, as I was disappointed that he did not get to host this year's Oscars.  I laugh at just about anything this man writes or says.  This is a good book to cheer you up, and, at 128 pages, it should cheer you up quickly.

As far as I'm concerned, this Neil Simon classic is the funniest play ever written.  Oscar Madison and Felix Ungar are two of the most delightful characters ever created in print.

In case you have not seen "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart, this book makes a great segue into the mind of the man all politicians should fear for his sharp wit.  What surprised me was how great his parody translates into print, and I especially enjoy his Larry King interview with a kinder, gentler Adolf Hitler.