Earth (the book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race / by Jon Stewart

With America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (817 STEWART), Daily Show host Jon Stewart and some others turned essentially turned their cheeky daytime humor into an equally irreverent mock textbook--equally funny as well--which hilarilously poked fun at both politics and education. With this book, the mileu of the mock textbook is still dead center but the focus has shifted to everything planet earth and the human race. The audience is aliens who have arrived on earth only to find it deserted after man has been wiped out by their own self-destructive technology. The book pokes fun at anything and everything, delightfully deconstructing all aspects of society from our perceptions of aliens themselves and the planet itself, "Due to scientific limitations and more than a touch of narcicissm, we believed everything in the universe literally revolved around us. It was a theory called geocentrism, which was originally egocentrism, but they spelled it wrong." (p. 3). There's observations on everything from commerce to culture and from biology to religion, all of it riddled with somewhat shallow idiosyncracies and just begging to be read out loud. (817 STEWART)

Laugh Out Loud Reads

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
by Bill Bryson
American expatriate and travel writer Bryson has written several books of wide appeal. In this personal memoir, he takes a look back at his Iowa childhood in 1950’s America depicting such humorous past times as neighborhood brawls (with girls), sneaking into carnival tents, and 3 TV channels to choose from.


Brain Droppings
by George Carlin
Veteran stand-up comedian George Carlin offers his two-bits on life, liberty, and the humorous side of truth. Never one to mince words, Carlin’s edgy style speaks pointedly about life’s foibles and everyday comedic occurrences.


I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight
by Margaret Cho
Left-leaning feminist comed-ienne Cho presents her attitudes and outlooks with a variety of loosely put together essays on race, politics, religion, family, dating, and sex. In the past decade, Cho has found a loyal following among Generation X’ers and her material in this book will resonate well with the 20 or 30-something age group.


Git-R-Done
by Larry the Cable Guy
Known for his appearances on the blue-collar comedy tour, Larry the Cable Guy has become a hugely popular entertainer, well-renowned for his offhanded bluntness and crude but honest depictions of personal hygiene, bathroom humor and Southern crassness.


Yeah, I Said It
by Wanda Sykes
Confrontational, wise-cracking comedian Sykes has used her attitude-driven personality to entertain and enlighten audiences over the past few years. Known for her high-pitched tone Sykes has also been a prominent voice-over actor in many cartoons and movies.