Need some funny? here is a perfect gift!

IT SEEMED FUNNY AT THE TIME: A LARGE COLLECTION OF SHORT HUMOR by David Lubar (Kindle 2011) seems to me to be a perfect selection in this frenetic season where people cut into lines and lanes and lives. Since it is an eBook, I can pull it up whenever I need some laughter to dispel the irritation brought on by the slings and arrows of a busy holiday season. From the copyright page to the table of contents, it should be readily apparent that this is one funny man and one funny book. The essays range in topics as varied as HMOs, home made beer, Halloween, computers, book reviews, and much more. I hope Lubar will forgive me for a small excerpt from "An Aptitude Test for Reviewers."

1. Before writing a review, it is essential that the reviewer:
a. crefully read the entire book
b. skim the book or at least most of it
c. carefully read the entire book jacket
d. skim the jacket or at least most of it
e. kill a kitten with his bare hands

Do yourself a favor. Download the book. Save yourself some raging during the holidays. <663>

Tag, You Are It!

Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong have collaborated on a collection of poetry that simply: YOU. MUST. HAVE. P*TAG is available in download from Kindle for $2.99(http://www.amazon.com/P-TAG-PoetryTagTime-ebook/dp/B005OSJ5PO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1317825300&sr=1-1). Vardelll and Wong have brought together some of the finest contemporary poets including Lee Bennett Hopkins, Noami Shihab Nye, Betsy Franco, Paul Janeczko, Sara Holbrook, Margarita Engle, Marilyn Singer, Arnold Adoff, Kathi Appelt, and J. Patrick Lewis (and there are many more). The rules for this poetry tag game were that one poet was tagged, selected a photo (all taken by Vardell) and wrote a poem and a short narrative about the inspiration for the work. Then, a new poet was tagged. This poet had to select a new photo and then include a minimum of three words from the previous poem in the new addition. The results are spectacular. Here is an eBook worthy of classroom use with plenty of teen appeal. Plus, it is perfect for reading aloud as well. <518>