I'm getting closer to my goal of 50 books this year... this is #43 and #36 on this year's list.
Free-Range Chickens by Simon Rich; humor; A-
Generally I keep my chuckles contained, but Free-Range Chickens is laugh-out-loud funny and I'm jealous of Simon Rich's mad talent. He's just 24 and writing for Saturday Night Live... at that age, I was writing radio spots for "Your House Doctor," not my second book.
Most of his essays take up barely a page, but they are a hoot. From Batman's complaints about the security of Gotham City's prison system, to qualities to look for in a secret service agent... Rich never fails to tickle the proverbial funny bone. Rich is at his best when making observations about those things we take for granted: the life cycle of chickens, our e-mail checking frequency, and losing a tooth. He gets irreverent in his chapter on God, but it's about what you'd expect from a comedy writer.
Way Off the Road by Bill Geist; travelogue; B-
Bill Geist is that amusing segment host seen on CBS Sunday Morning. He loves to ask honest questions to odd people, celebrating them and their idiosyncrasies. In Way Off the Road, Geist remembers some of his favorite small town interviews--observing town celebrations, aerial mail delivery, a lost luggage salvage store, the town the Viking company built, and many more.
The stories are punched with humor, but they tend to sag and sound repetitive. Most fascinating are the little places he finds that I just might want to visit.
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